Rania D. I have played them from other shops that are not Walmart because I live in the U.K. they are terrible. but i think the best affordable guitar I have owned is the epiphone dr 100. I is £100(I don’t know how many dollars) and it is amazing actually.
@@raniad.1786 go on amazon, find a cheap strat knockoff, they are good for starting out, but take it to a music shop to get it set up properly, and get them to show you basic maintenance
Have been in the music biz for more than fifty years and the guitar is my primary instrument. A long time ago, I attended a seminar in British Columbia that was put on by a guitar specialist from the U.S. I have used this particular trick for many years and trust me, it works. Firstly, the choice of string is your but, how they are wound is critical. For example, I have flat wound my strings around the post for years. No kink, under winds or anything like that. Why? Because if you have an under wind or a kink, this is a point of flex. The strings can bend just a little and, come out of tune. If the strings are wound taught flat against the post, there is no flex, and you get a reduced amount of stretch after the strings have set up. Next, and this is a little difficult to learn but, trust me, I did it and it is worth the effort. on the 5th and 6th string, I wind the strings so that there are only three winds on the post. The 3rd and 4th strings have four winds around the post and the 1st and 2nd string have five winds. Bear in mind that there are no kinks, over winds or under winds. It is all flat. Obviously it is important to use more turns for the fine wire strings on the first and second strings so that they can get a bit. Once my strings are set up in this manner, allowed to stretch in and tuned, they rarely ever come out of tune more than a very minor tweak. Lastly, when using phosphor bronze strings, I take a cloth, spray a little WD-40 on it and drag each string through the cloth to put a very find coating on the strings. This really inhibits the oxidation that is so common in this type of string and, it extends the string life.. Hope this helps you like it has helped me for years. Keep on playing. The world can use the sanity. Cheers Paul
Hi, Things I do when changing the strings : - add some graphite in the nut gorges using a pencil. Graphite is an excellent lubrifiant; - polish the frets AND the fretboard with a 000 iron sponge. This can't make problems it juet gets shine and clean - add lemon oil, same brand as yours but I put less oil and put it using toilet paper. This is droppable any time it is dirty and it gets dirty quite fast. Bernard
I made myself a fret guard for polishing frets from a piece of stiff clear plastic - the kind of packing that hangs from a hook in the store. It's not too thick but hard enough to resist scratching to some extent. Works well and is readily replaced.
That's great. I haven't seen those Grover extension nuts before, for some reason. A simple and very clever little thing. See, one can learn something new everyday if one keeps the eyes open.
Awesome and thanks Phillip McKnight that's very kind of you to share, I love it when people are so 'selflessly helpful'... an all around genuinely kind persona. Thanks again.
I've been playing for nearly 50 years and the 2 finger then 3 finger tip while putting strings on I thought was a great idea. I've been using the eye it method and sometimes my eye is dead on. Sometimes not so much. That was a great tip. And right or wrong a piano tuner showed me how he used WD40 on what may or may not be called a nut on a piano for a lube.
Phillip does on outstanding job in all of his videos. Here is something I do when cleaning the frets with steel wool. Wrap a small neodymium magnet in one layer of plastic wrap. Place the magnet between your fingers and the steel wool. It will grab all the steel fibers. When you are done carefully unwrap the plastic to collect the steel fibers from the magnet.
You and Darrell Braun, have helped me so much! I’ve been playing for 35 years, and I wish I had all of this info in my early years....better late than never, right?
I can't play anymore because of a disability. But i just learned so much that I might learn to play slide. I like that raised bone nut. Very informative to learn something new every day. I like your simplicity with the combination of attention to detail.
Thank-you yet again Mr. McNight! Another video I wish I had seen a couple days ago, just spent some time with phosphor & 80\20 strings trying to figure out the pros\cons. I am a self-taught tech, just opened a shop in Nashville & your lessons have been invaluable. I will be ordering one of your cool shirts after I make my next sale so you can keep more videos coming. I'll wear it proudly! One request? I recently picked up a super Strat with a Floyd Rose- never been a tremolo guy, so fixing it & setting it up was a slow tedious process. Any chance of a Floyd Rose set-up video in the future? Thanks again, keep rocking!
I just subbed a few days ago and I just love how knowledged you are and how good you explain things. Nowadays people tend to hide all these secrets for themselves thinking they are going to loose clients or something like that. I love doing my guitars stuff myself so this is golden. Are you going to make a video on adjusting guitars? That'd be golden.
Catching up and checking off those boxes on the questions I have had for years. Getting my shirt tomorrow sir. I'm sold, and a fan. Thank you for helping me get that bucket list of issues and questions checked off! I appreciate it!
I recently found your videos and greatly appreciate the no-nonsense style and the fact that you give much needed attention to reasonably priced guitar products (there's only so many times I can watch videos about $4,000 Les Pauls that are fun to watch but that I'll never buy). My one complaint is that it seems the volume of your videos seem rather low. Maybe iit's just me but I don't think so.
I was given an acoustic guitar by a guy who said he hated it! I also bought a metal nut and turned it into a cheap lap steel slide guitar and it works great for learning! Also there's some good advice on cleaning the nut on my other guitars that I'll be doing from now on. Thanks for posting these tips!
Hey you wouldnt believe how much of your content I watch. I even have a shirt in large part because I wanted to contribute to your efforts. I have the Runt 20, THR10X, Katana50, Fender BaBr 15 LE, Blackstar FLY 3, NO REGRETS because I did my due diligence. I trust &appreciate your independent Reviews and varied content! You save me time so I can play more. Thanks Phil! Sincerely
Thank you, Phillip. Most of us are a little lazy (I just raised my hand) regarding easy, regular, specific maintenance on our guitars. You've inspired me to do better.....
Thanks for the video - I loved the very simple comparison of 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze. It would have been great to have also fitted 2 High E strings for the comparison.
Whenever I have to tighten up an output jack, I like to put a drop or two of clear nail polish on the threads. When it dries it helps to keep it from loosening up again, but it's easy enough to take off if you need to layer.
Nice little tip. Before I got lasik, I wore glasses and used to have a lot of trouble with the screws coming lose. My optometrist made that same suggestion and it worked great.
Thanks Phil, inside nut of the Jack came undone on my Taylor but stayed on the wire,I took a 1/4" wooden dowel puched it into the jack hole, remove the outside nut onto the dowel then puched the jack to thr sound hole and reinstalled the nut to the jack, pulled it back through the jack hole and repaleced the outside nut. I did not remove the strings to do it! I like you solid wire technique too!. Keep on Strumming!
That Grover nut is cool for someone that that wants to quickly switch to slide only. And it's only 4-6 bucks. I wouldn't use it personally though as I still want to fret when using a slide. It is a fallacy that you can't play slide with low action. It is more difficult. You have to develop a light and precise touch.
I got one of those nut extensions and its still sitting in my tool bag, I'm sure the guy that suggested it to me didn't hear me say I'm using an electric guitar so when I put it on my action was waaay too high and it overlaps on both ends of the fret board lol
I prefer just a slightly higher nut and slightly more relief in my neck because who wants to just play slide without fretting chords? Only lap steel players I guess
Hey there mr. McKnight. I just wanted to take the time to say thank you very much for the videos. I stumbled upon your channel the other day, I forget exactly what I was looking up(think it was how to make your diy guitar sound like a 1000 guitar or something along those lines) and straight away I hit subscribe. You are very informative, easy to understand, easy going, talented, you get to the point, and most of all, you make it fun and entertaining to learn. Keep up the great work and I look forward to watching more. Thank you again!
Thanks for pointing out the Grover Perfect Nut. Changed an old cheap acoustic into a slide guitar. Hadn't had much use for it till now. Feels like I'm learning guitar all over again. Thanks again for the tip!
"It's super easy. Just gonna pull this through" - video cut, right before the jack fell down inside - shows it when already pulled through. seconds later: "now the best thing about this, you can feed the washers over and go over all this" -video cut, right before he pushed the jack back in the guitar Made my evening.
It is actually quite easy. Slide chord into the hole, pull out of sound hole, plug into jack. thread back into guitar and jack hole using chord. easy peasy
It might also be because he had to use both his hands. Right to pull in the wire while the left goes inside and makes sure to let in slide to avoid yanking it out
@@jesseroel8362 No m8, you can clearly see when he tries to slip the washer back over, the tape is too wide & the washer doesn't slide easily over the tape, it gets stuck. Once the vid cuts & comes back, that piece of tape is now narrower. He clearly had issues doing it & edited it out.
Def learned stuff about the diff strings! I hardly play acoustic, but I have a few, and have NEVER paid attention to what I bought for restringing, except for gauge. Now, I'll def be paying attention to what I buy in the future! For what it's worth, I measure string slack to the next tuner on 3/3, and to the 2nd tuner on inline 6. Thanks for the video.
Glad to know these tips Phil! The capo trick is ingenious. I have a few old acoustics that I wanted to start using to play around with my kids, and maybe get them interested. Unfortunately though, time and weather have really done a number on the action. Actually I could probably effectively play slide on two of them with no modification at all lol. Is there anything I could do to lower the action? I was thinking maybe sand down the bridge. The action seems most high near the nut though. Could the nut be adjusted in this way? Thanks, great vids.
Please check first if the neck adjustment is right: hold down the string between the first and last fret, then watch the space between the string and the frets in the middle area, like from the 7th to 10th fret. - If it's more than half a millimeter, or 2/10", then the neck needs to be adjusted, and I bet that's the case. If you strung up a classical, or Spanish guitar with steel strings made for Acoustic, Western or electric guitars, you might already have damaged the neck severely, then changing back to low tension nylon strings may save the guitars life. Even on all other models, reducing the tension may be a good idea, especially for beginners, since that also reduces the force needed to press down the strings to play... - If that does not help, the guitars, usually have a socalled truss rod to pull against the string tension. In most cases, you can adjust it by turning a nut on a screw, which can be found either at the headstock, covered with mostly plastic, or at the other end of the neck; turning clockwise will pull the neck back and therefor lower the action, so that's what you'd want. But: a) get the correct tool for the nut or else you damage it; b) tune the guitar first with the strings of choice, and c) make gentle, small changes, very little, then control if it's getting better, and continue until it's perfect. If you turn the truss rod nut too much, the neck may even bent backward! Then things get even worse, and you absolutely don't want that. - Oh, forgot to say, of course check the tuning after each step, because with the truss rod's tension rising, the pitch also goes up, so tune down accurately. In the end, your guitar should be much nicer to play, though then maybe the frets may need care, too - but that should better be done by a luthier, or at least with great care. - Best success, and more power to you! :)
Of course, if the nut, or as I prefer to call it, the saddle is too high, then of course you can do a nut job (yass!) on it. I'd wrap very fine sand paper around the string that runs through the corresponding groove, then “get into the groove” ;) “and move” (right!) the sandpaper with the string, mainly to make it deeper, not wider... Ah, this'll inspire songwriting folks! ;) Seriously, you should frequently use the uncovered string, held from the nut to the last fret to see if you lowered the action enough, but “never too much” (L.Vandross) - i.e. let at least 1 mm distance between the nut's groove an the first fret! Okay, okay, if you “freak out” (Chic) from just hearing that, or are impatient, then leave it to someone who knows what s/he's doing - better safe than sorry (I think that's a song, too, but can't figure by whom). Cheers! :)
A last word of warning, before you may cause trouble: the truss rod is much more sensible than it looks like, and, handled improperly, can be broken. A costly, and therefore better avoided repair - of course by not damaging anything! ;) As a metal craftsman once put it, „Nach fest kommt ab!“, which means a screw is tight eventually, but breaks if you continue tightening. Sure, if you turn back before it's too much, you may get away with it... With the grooves in the nut job I described in my other posting, it's not that easy: if the action is set too low, strings will buzz in the first frets, unless you set the bridge way higher than regular - which is exactly the opposite of what you want...! So first be sure what you want to do, and how - but I guess that's why you asked instead of trying to solve everything with spoon, kitchen knife and hammer! ;) As I wrote before, power and succes to you, “let the force be within you”...?!
+UprightBassist Thanks for the reply. They are all steel string acoustics: Takamine, Washburn, and a Squire. I didn't really want to mess with the truss rod b/c the necks seem fairly straight. Also, after trying your trick it seems that the strings do seem further from the frets toward the bridge, which is weird considering the action is so high near the 1st couple frets. On the one I've been playing most I've been tuning the guitar down a whole step and then putting a capo on the 2nd fret to bypass those 1st 2. I was going to try and sand down the backside of the nut, but I guess trying to deepen each string slot in the nut might be a better idea. Thx again
I have a Tanglewood Memphis semi acoustic and I noticed that the surface of the neck between the frets has dips worn away through use,,,, any ideas about rectifying???/
Good Man! You're taking time to help educate others. And yes, "there is more than one way to skin a cat", and I have a few I'm more comfortable with. But I applaud you and keep up the good work. And to anyone looking for tips and tricks...PAY ATTENTION! He knows what he is doing and you will pick up something of value!
I have super wide fingers and I thought it might limit my ability to progress, I noticed your fingers are similar to mine and you are phenomenal. Great inspiration.
Hi Phil, really enjoy your channel. A trick I use for an acoustic jack is to solder a piece of wire to a 1/4 inch jack. You insert it into the output and use it the same way you use your device.
Dear Philip, Really appreciate your humbleness. If I may put my two cents in i use fretboard lemon oil sparingly as i have read on many online forums that fretboard oil damages glue binding fretboard to the neck in the long run.
Sir, i have a problem with my cheap acoustic guitar.. What ever the brand of the string that i use for that guitar, i never never never never can get the E tuning.. Why is that?
thx a lot for the string alloy comparison! I had a different sound on my guitar after changing the strings and thought its just because they are new... but it never got any better. So thx to u i understand my mistake and change them back now :)
Find an odd chunk of foam, and cut it into little cubes that you can cut slots into, and glue the foam around the wires with rubber cement. If the wires still flop around too much in the guitar, you can glue these cubes to the kerfing to secure them, try regular white polyvinyl glue such as Elmer's glue.
Great videos, all, Phillip. Thank you for all the effort you spend on our behalf. I don't know that I've watched them all but I'm trying to. I'm 76 yo and trying to learn acoustic guitar, for the second time. I tried 50 years ago but didn't have the time or the availability of modern tuners to help train my ear. This video was great for guitar maintenance and restringing. I was unable to see clearly how the new strings wound around the posts. I looked to me like they wound below the hole in a downward direction without any strings crossing. Is that correct?
I never knew the difference between the two types of acoustic strings. I just bought a new Martin D28 and that sort of stuff will be very important to me now. Another great video sir and I thank you very much.
Thanks for the video. I've played guitar for 30 years and still learned some things. I always screw up the string length... will try your 2 and 3 finger method.
I bought my new guitar,but the strings are too high from the fret not like in other guitars. Should i go back to the store and let them fix the strings? Thanks.
dont forget to be realistic - you must do some work whatever method you decide on for becoming a guitarist I have spent months studying playing guitar and discovered a fantastic resource at Guitar Guru Method (google it if you are interested)
Thanks man.I have developed some bad habits when it comes to taking care of something I precious. Simple advice that I've never thought about.great video.
Helpful stuff - thanks, Phil! My variations: for the fret guard, an old hotel room "credit card" key will do nicely....use a razor/Exacto knife to cut a slit long enough to fit your last fret, close enough to the edge of the card so it fits in between the last 2 frets, and you're good to go with no expense; Steel Wool - 4 ought (0.0000) rather than three ought; *Before* oiling the neck, Formby's buildup remover is a great product....apply, rub lightly with the steel wool (Taylor does this, so it's fine for my own Art & Lutherie Cedar) and get down to the clean wood, then I use Formby's lemon oil, or a good Linseed oil on the fretboard and wipe dry; Didn't see the need to pull the loose strings out of the bridge for the jack tightening....they were loose enough to let us work between without re-kinking the ball end of the string; Nut lube - have used a light base of petroleum jelly to hold a touch of graphite powder in place. As you said, no right way, just what works for you.....we appreciate your generous spirit.
For example? I bought an acoustic a while ago and never knew which strings it came with. It sounded very metallic and harsh (but in a good way, great for playing gnarly rock/blues riffs). Now I've put on new strings and it doesn't sound like that anymore.
RCK EMY i am personally using the .11 earnieball for training and some kind of daddario strings for gigs. the earnieballs are softer to the finger whilst the daddario sound better and are 150% of the cost of the earnieball
RCK EMY nice all you can do is to find the right strings through trial and error. i have probably tried at least 20 different strings for acoustic and 10 different for electric guitar.
Be careful of the steel wool around pickups, it makes a mess when it's attracted by the magnets, and it can find its way into pots & switches. If you have a magnetic pickup and/or electronics, mask them off with paper & tape before you get the steel wool going. Steel wool is to electronics what ebony dust is to wood finish products: Contamination.
Phillip - Thank You Very Much - The plug on my Acoustic and my Acoustic electric (Thin Line Tele) both loose and both buzz at the wrong time and were driving me crazzzzzzzzy. Much thanks.Regards,R Mcg
Going back in time , I would suggest an electric-acoustic yamaha. Their quality always seems to be consistent. I am a beginner with a Seagull -folk acoustic- very good, but a Yamaha sounds much richer and only a few dollars more. Also, don't spend a lot of money until you improve - by then you will know more about what really excites your skills !
10k?? Buy a Martin D-45, and you won't have to ever buy another acoustic guitar. It's the best production guitar made. Period!!! Plus it will hold its value if you take care of it, unlike other brands.
The guitar wasn't built with strings attached, having no strings doesn't damage a guitar. Least not that I have ever seen. Too much tension or too high a gauge, that does. Changes in humidity, hot cars and poor storage is the killer.
Obviously if you want to store it long term without strings releasing tension on the truss rod is a good idea. I tend to store my acoustics tuned to C.
I Find The Way Brother Phill Goes Into His "Zone " Every Time He Plays His Guitars,Be It Just A Few Notes Or A Quick Cord, A Look You See All Grate Musicians Make,A Look Of Listening To What You Are Playing! Phill's Passion For All Things Guitar, I Find A Real Inspiration To Keep Playing As. Much As I Am Able And To Learn Everything I Can About Guitars & Music! As Always, Thank You Phill. 6/17/16
Scott is one man and has one man's opinion , however being from a word working back ground I can say that mixing water and wood can cause many problems. Natural oils and wood makes wood happy. I have always used linseed oil on my fret boards.another , mans opinion
I've had a D50 guild for 30 years and only oiled the frets once. or twice, VERY lightly.. I think the 'fret bath' in the video is total overkill, and could potentially raise the grain on the neck. BTW: My Martin D28 is 12 years old and the neck is just fine, no oiling required. Keeping them in a case and not on a stand, really helps preserve the instrument....
Thanks for your info, clean and clear, you take the fog out of the aire! I use a micro amount of refined linseed oil, on cloth and ouickly wipe it off, once a year, and let it sit about an hour before restringing. Bo Par ee! It's all magic. PS, thanks for the string sound comparison, God bless.
2:26 looks just like the action on the first act Walmart guitar I learned to play on when I first started out
Corey Taylor same and it has no truss rod so I can’t lower the action if I wanted to play it even though I have a much better guitar now-
Same here lol
Did the guitar allow you to learn since I'm starting out and I need an affordable guitar.
Rania D. I have played them from other shops that are not Walmart because I live in the U.K. they are terrible. but i think the best affordable guitar I have owned is the epiphone dr 100. I is £100(I don’t know how many dollars) and it is amazing actually.
@@raniad.1786 go on amazon, find a cheap strat knockoff, they are good for starting out, but take it to a music shop to get it set up properly, and get them to show you basic maintenance
Been playing for almost 3 decades. Its always good to learn something new with this video. Thanks
Have been in the music biz for more than fifty years and the guitar is my primary instrument. A long time ago, I attended a seminar in British Columbia that was put on by a guitar specialist from the U.S. I have used this particular trick for many years and trust me, it works.
Firstly, the choice of string is your but, how they are wound is critical. For example, I have flat wound my strings around the post for years. No kink, under winds or anything like that. Why? Because if you have an under wind or a kink, this is a point of flex. The strings can bend just a little and, come out of tune. If the strings are wound taught flat against the post, there is no flex, and you get a reduced amount of stretch after the strings have set up.
Next, and this is a little difficult to learn but, trust me, I did it and it is worth the effort. on the 5th and 6th string, I wind the strings so that there are only three winds on the post. The 3rd and 4th strings have four winds around the post and the 1st and 2nd string have five winds. Bear in mind that there are no kinks, over winds or under winds. It is all flat. Obviously it is important to use more turns for the fine wire strings on the first and second strings so that they can get a bit.
Once my strings are set up in this manner, allowed to stretch in and tuned, they rarely ever come out of tune more than a very minor tweak.
Lastly, when using phosphor bronze strings, I take a cloth, spray a little WD-40 on it and drag each string through the cloth to put a very find coating on the strings. This really inhibits the oxidation that is so common in this type of string and, it extends the string life.. Hope this helps you like it has helped me for years. Keep on playing. The world can use the sanity.
Cheers
Paul
+245194LAC Is using WD-40 not good with 80/20 bronze?
245194LAC
I’ll definitely try this when I get a guitar
I read this comment and it lasted a quarter of the vid
Thanks 245194LAC that's very kind of you also to share
That was great. I've been playing for 50 years and still learned something.
The finger thing when restringing is a good idea. I've been guess-imating and usually get any where from 1 wind around the post to 12
I really needed this guy in my life. This guy is a guitar genius.
Hi,
Things I do when changing the strings :
- add some graphite in the nut gorges using a pencil. Graphite is an excellent lubrifiant;
- polish the frets AND the fretboard with a 000 iron sponge. This can't make problems it juet gets shine and clean
- add lemon oil, same brand as yours but I put less oil and put it using toilet paper. This is droppable any time it is dirty and it gets dirty quite fast.
Bernard
good lord sanchez i'm not letting a drop of lemon oil on my guitar
I made myself a fret guard for polishing frets from a piece of stiff clear plastic - the kind of packing that hangs from a hook in the store. It's not too thick but hard enough to resist scratching to some extent. Works well and is readily replaced.
That's great. I haven't seen those Grover extension nuts before, for some reason.
A simple and very clever little thing.
See, one can learn something new everyday if one keeps the eyes open.
I'd like to find one, I could customize an acoustic guitar with it.
Awesome and thanks Phillip McKnight that's very kind of you to share, I love it when people are so 'selflessly helpful'... an all around genuinely kind persona. Thanks again.
I've been playing for nearly 50 years and the 2 finger then 3 finger tip while putting strings on I thought was a great idea. I've been using the eye it method and sometimes my eye is dead on. Sometimes not so much. That was a great tip. And right or wrong a piano tuner showed me how he used WD40 on what may or may not be called a nut on a piano for a lube.
Phillip does on outstanding job in all of his videos. Here is something I do when cleaning the frets with steel wool. Wrap a small neodymium magnet in one layer of plastic wrap. Place the magnet between your fingers and the steel wool. It will grab all the steel fibers. When you are done carefully unwrap the plastic to collect the steel fibers from the magnet.
You and Darrell Braun, have helped me so much! I’ve been playing for 35 years, and I wish I had all of this info in my early years....better late than never, right?
I can't play anymore because of a disability. But i just learned so much that I might learn to play slide. I like that raised bone nut. Very informative to learn something new every day. I like your simplicity with the combination of attention to detail.
Thank-you yet again Mr. McNight! Another video I wish I had seen a couple days ago, just spent some time with phosphor & 80\20 strings trying to figure out the pros\cons. I am a self-taught tech, just opened a shop in Nashville & your lessons have been invaluable. I will be ordering one of your cool shirts after I make my next sale so you can keep more videos coming. I'll wear it proudly! One request? I recently picked up a super Strat with a Floyd Rose- never been a tremolo guy, so fixing it & setting it up was a slow tedious process. Any chance of a Floyd Rose set-up video in the future? Thanks again, keep rocking!
I've only just discovered this guy and i've already learnt so much, Thanks Phil, keep em coming...!!!
I just subbed a few days ago and I just love how knowledged you are and how good you explain things. Nowadays people tend to hide all these secrets for themselves thinking they are going to loose clients or something like that. I love doing my guitars stuff myself so this is golden. Are you going to make a video on adjusting guitars? That'd be golden.
Thanks for posting this informative video.- I've been playing since 1968 and enjoyed learning subtle aspects of caring for my guitars.
Thanks for posting. I don't have any questions for you. I simply paid attention to what was said.
Catching up and checking off those boxes on the questions I have had for years. Getting my shirt tomorrow sir. I'm sold, and a fan. Thank you for helping me get that bucket list of issues and questions checked off! I appreciate it!
I recently found your videos and greatly appreciate the no-nonsense style and the fact that you give much needed attention to reasonably priced guitar products (there's only so many times I can watch videos about $4,000 Les Pauls that are fun to watch but that I'll never buy). My one complaint is that it seems the volume of your videos seem rather low. Maybe iit's just me but I don't think so.
That nut for quick slide setup in the first part of the video was a pretty good tip, thanks!
I was given an acoustic guitar by a guy who said he hated it! I also bought a metal nut and turned it into a cheap lap steel slide guitar and it works great for learning!
Also there's some good advice on cleaning the nut on my other guitars that I'll be doing from now on.
Thanks for posting these tips!
Hey you wouldnt believe how much of your content I watch. I even have a shirt in large part because I wanted to contribute to your efforts. I have the Runt 20, THR10X, Katana50, Fender BaBr 15 LE, Blackstar FLY 3, NO REGRETS because I did my due diligence. I trust &appreciate your independent Reviews and varied content! You save me time so I can play more. Thanks Phil! Sincerely
Thank you John, that is awesome to hear
Loved the intro music change-up. Clever.
Thank you. I thought it was fun.
reminded me of opening of Alice in Chains song Rotten Apple lol
loop
I'm glad to see a professional who doesn't swear by the over/under method!!!!
Bring up the words, "slot", "lube", and "nut sauce", in any kind of video, and you'll get a half-a-million likes.
Major Danger and “get in there”
@james crowe funny immature idiots
LMAOOOO
@@hwinangkoso I’m
Views
Thank you, Phillip. Most of us are a little lazy (I just raised my hand) regarding easy, regular, specific maintenance on our guitars. You've inspired me to do better.....
Thanks for the video - I loved the very simple comparison of 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze. It would have been great to have also fitted 2 High E strings for the comparison.
Thank you. I love how you took the time to trim and edit for our benefit and keep the flow going. Nice.
Whenever I have to tighten up an output jack, I like to put a drop or two of clear nail polish on the threads. When it dries it helps to keep it from loosening up again, but it's easy enough to take off if you need to layer.
Nice little tip. Before I got lasik, I wore glasses and used to have a lot of trouble with the screws coming lose. My optometrist made that same suggestion and it worked great.
Superglue used in the same method serves the same purpose.
Great video. I've been playing for more years than I like to say and your tips were new and useful. Really cleared up some long standing mysteries.
Very Informative, useful tips done in an engaging manner. Enjoyed learning.
Karl
Thanks Phil, inside nut of the Jack came undone on my Taylor but stayed on the wire,I took a 1/4" wooden dowel puched it into the jack hole, remove the outside nut onto the dowel then puched the jack to thr sound hole and reinstalled the nut to the jack, pulled it back through the jack hole and repaleced the outside nut. I did not remove the strings to do it! I like you solid wire technique too!. Keep on Strumming!
That Grover nut is cool for someone that that wants to quickly switch to slide only. And it's only 4-6 bucks.
I wouldn't use it personally though as I still want to fret when using a slide.
It is a fallacy that you can't play slide with low action. It is more difficult. You have to develop a light and precise touch.
I got one of those nut extensions and its still sitting in my tool bag, I'm sure the guy that suggested it to me didn't hear me say I'm using an electric guitar so when I put it on my action was waaay too high and it overlaps on both ends of the fret board lol
I prefer just a slightly higher nut and slightly more relief in my neck because who wants to just play slide without fretting chords? Only lap steel players I guess
One of the best videos on RUclips about guitar maintenance ! Thank you very much !
Phil your the best man! Still by far my favorite guitar channel.
Hey there mr. McKnight. I just wanted to take the time to say thank you very much for the videos. I stumbled upon your channel the other day, I forget exactly what I was looking up(think it was how to make your diy guitar sound like a 1000 guitar or something along those lines) and straight away I hit subscribe. You are very informative, easy to understand, easy going, talented, you get to the point, and most of all, you make it fun and entertaining to learn. Keep up the great work and I look forward to watching more. Thank you again!
Art&Lutherie! The man knows what's good!
Yeah i have a Blue Stained Cherry model! I've had it for 12-15 yrs now and it's now my son's
Amazing guitars
guitarplayer1994
bull fighting
bull fighting
Thanks for pointing out the Grover Perfect Nut. Changed an old cheap acoustic into a slide guitar. Hadn't had much use for it till now. Feels like I'm learning guitar all over again. Thanks again for the tip!
"It's super easy. Just gonna pull this through" - video cut, right before the jack fell down inside - shows it when already pulled through.
seconds later:
"now the best thing about this, you can feed the washers over and go over all this" -video cut, right before he pushed the jack back in the guitar
Made my evening.
Lots of well delivered info !!! Thanks and just letting you know how much I enjoy the way you deliver it !!!
very well done, easy to understand and keep it simple. many thanks.
Great tip for repairing the input jack -- just when I needed it! Thanks mate.
Pretty sure that was more than 3 tips but good stuff.
Under Promise over deliver. LOL
I've been changing guitar strings for almost 30 years and just learned some new tips. Thanks!
notice how he cut away when he started to pull the jack through the hole? probably failed a bunch, lol, not so easy, but interesting vid. thx
It is actually quite easy. Slide chord into the hole, pull out of sound hole, plug into jack. thread back into guitar and jack hole using chord. easy peasy
It might also be because he had to use both his hands. Right to pull in the wire while the left goes inside and makes sure to let in slide to avoid yanking it out
@@jesseroel8362 No m8, you can clearly see when he tries to slip the washer back over, the tape is too wide & the washer doesn't slide easily over the tape, it gets stuck. Once the vid cuts & comes back, that piece of tape is now narrower. He clearly had issues doing it & edited it out.
Well done Phillip. Converted an old acoustic into a slide guitar with the Grover nut bridge. Very cheap. Love it! Thanks for the tip.
The extended nut is great. Unfortunately it cost a fortune the shipping cost! 49USD!
Def learned stuff about the diff strings! I hardly play acoustic, but I have a few, and have NEVER paid attention to what I bought for restringing, except for gauge. Now, I'll def be paying attention to what I buy in the future! For what it's worth, I measure string slack to the next tuner on 3/3, and to the 2nd tuner on inline 6. Thanks for the video.
Love the way you play!! 😍😍😍 TFP all your tips and tricks!!
Very Friggin' good. That was some great info that I will use on my next guitar maintenance.
Glad to know these tips Phil! The capo trick is ingenious. I have a few old acoustics that I wanted to start using to play around with my kids, and maybe get them interested. Unfortunately though, time and weather have really done a number on the action. Actually I could probably effectively play slide on two of them with no modification at all lol. Is there anything I could do to lower the action? I was thinking maybe sand down the bridge. The action seems most high near the nut though. Could the nut be adjusted in this way? Thanks, great vids.
Please check first if the neck adjustment is right: hold down the string between the first and last fret, then watch the space between the string and the frets in the middle area, like from the 7th to 10th fret. - If it's more than half a millimeter, or 2/10", then the neck needs to be adjusted, and I bet that's the case. If you strung up a classical, or Spanish guitar with steel strings made for Acoustic, Western or electric guitars, you might already have damaged the neck severely, then changing back to low tension nylon strings may save the guitars life. Even on all other models, reducing the tension may be a good idea, especially for beginners, since that also reduces the force needed to press down the strings to play... - If that does not help, the guitars, usually have a socalled truss rod to pull against the string tension. In most cases, you can adjust it by turning a nut on a screw, which can be found either at the headstock, covered with mostly plastic, or at the other end of the neck; turning clockwise will pull the neck back and therefor lower the action, so that's what you'd want. But: a) get the correct tool for the nut or else you damage it; b) tune the guitar first with the strings of choice, and c) make gentle, small changes, very little, then control if it's getting better, and continue until it's perfect. If you turn the truss rod nut too much, the neck may even bent backward! Then things get even worse, and you absolutely don't want that. - Oh, forgot to say, of course check the tuning after each step, because with the truss rod's tension rising, the pitch also goes up, so tune down accurately. In the end, your guitar should be much nicer to play, though then maybe the frets may need care, too - but that should better be done by a luthier, or at least with great care. - Best success, and more power to you! :)
Of course, if the nut, or as I prefer to call it, the saddle is too high, then of course you can do a nut job (yass!) on it. I'd wrap very fine sand paper around the string that runs through the corresponding groove, then “get into the groove” ;) “and move” (right!) the sandpaper with the string, mainly to make it deeper, not wider... Ah, this'll inspire songwriting folks! ;) Seriously, you should frequently use the uncovered string, held from the nut to the last fret to see if you lowered the action enough, but “never too much” (L.Vandross) - i.e. let at least 1 mm distance between the nut's groove an the first fret! Okay, okay, if you “freak out” (Chic) from just hearing that, or are impatient, then leave it to someone who knows what s/he's doing - better safe than sorry (I think that's a song, too, but can't figure by whom). Cheers! :)
A last word of warning, before you may cause trouble: the truss rod is much more sensible than it looks like, and, handled improperly, can be broken. A costly, and therefore better avoided repair - of course by not damaging anything! ;) As a metal craftsman once put it, „Nach fest kommt ab!“, which means a screw is tight eventually, but breaks if you continue tightening. Sure, if you turn back before it's too much, you may get away with it... With the grooves in the nut job I described in my other posting, it's not that easy: if the action is set too low, strings will buzz in the first frets, unless you set the bridge way higher than regular - which is exactly the opposite of what you want...! So first be sure what you want to do, and how - but I guess that's why you asked instead of trying to solve everything with spoon, kitchen knife and hammer! ;) As I wrote before, power and succes to you, “let the force be within you”...?!
+UprightBassist Thanks for the reply. They are all steel string acoustics: Takamine, Washburn, and a Squire. I didn't really want to mess with the truss rod b/c the necks seem fairly straight. Also, after trying your trick it seems that the strings do seem further from the frets toward the bridge, which is weird considering the action is so high near the 1st couple frets. On the one I've been playing most I've been tuning the guitar down a whole step and then putting a capo on the 2nd fret to bypass those 1st 2. I was going to try and sand down the backside of the nut, but I guess trying to deepen each string slot in the nut might be a better idea. Thx again
My 2nd video of you. Once again I’ve been schooled. Thank you. You’re gonna make me a better guitarist. 👍🏾
I have a Tanglewood Memphis semi acoustic and I noticed that the surface of the neck between the frets has dips worn away through use,,,, any ideas about rectifying???/
Good Man! You're taking time to help educate others. And yes, "there is more than one way to skin a cat", and I have a few I'm more comfortable with. But I applaud you and keep up the good work. And to anyone looking for tips and tricks...PAY ATTENTION! He knows what he is doing and you will pick up something of value!
Thanks for this great information Phillip..
I have super wide fingers and I thought it might limit my ability to progress, I noticed your fingers are similar to mine and you are phenomenal. Great inspiration.
My guitar came with phosphor bronze but I put 80/20 on it for the longevity of life.
Thanks Phillip, that grover nut extension looks like what I have been looking for as I try to learn slide.
The guitar version of bob Ross
Bad Wolf 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bad Wolv I agree
Connor Scott nah Marty Swartz’s is
Hi Phil, really enjoy your channel. A trick I use for an acoustic jack is to solder a piece of wire to a 1/4 inch jack. You insert it into the output and use it the same way you use your device.
Please tell me the name of the red acoustic guitar.
its a jasmine
Art& Lutherie, they are amazing Canadian guitars :)
Dear Philip, Really appreciate your humbleness. If I may put my two cents in i use fretboard lemon oil sparingly as i have read on many online forums that fretboard oil damages glue binding fretboard to the neck in the long run.
Sir, i have a problem with my cheap acoustic guitar..
What ever the brand of the string that i use for that guitar, i never never never never can get the E tuning..
Why is that?
bad/crappy tuners and/or bad slot in the nut and needs to be replaced. Take it to your local luthier to have it fixed/setup
I love the 2 finger measurement! I've screwed that up TOO many times!
Big Ben's nut sauce huh
Its a much better product than bubbas nut sauce.
my nut sauce is the best. i know cuz we ran a market test at the local prison. :0
Big bends*
There are a few different brands of lube that are all referred to as nut sauce. I can't remember which brand is the original.
Deez' nuts sauce
thx a lot for the string alloy comparison! I had a different sound on my guitar after changing the strings and thought its just because they are new... but it never got any better. So thx to u i understand my mistake and change them back now :)
My electro-acoustic rattles (because of the wires inside), Do you have any suggestions to stop this?
8un3zz Tape doesn't stick too wood that well, I'm a carpenter, I would know.
8un3zz congratulations.
8un3zz I can always show you my diploma's, you seem like that type of guy.
Find an odd chunk of foam, and cut it into little cubes that you can cut slots into, and glue the foam around the wires with rubber cement. If the wires still flop around too much in the guitar, you can glue these cubes to the kerfing to secure them, try regular white polyvinyl glue such as Elmer's glue.
8un3zz I been a carpenter for 35 years and never had a problem with electrical tape sticking to wood, the foam work well had to do it to my guitar.
Great videos, all, Phillip. Thank you for all the effort you spend on our behalf.
I don't know that I've watched them all but I'm trying to. I'm 76 yo and trying to learn acoustic guitar, for the second time. I tried 50 years ago but didn't have the time or the availability of modern tuners to help train my ear. This video was great for guitar maintenance and restringing. I was unable to see clearly how the new strings wound around the posts. I looked to me like they wound below the hole in a downward direction without any strings crossing. Is that correct?
The metal nut is genius!
I never knew the difference between the two types of acoustic strings. I just bought a new Martin D28 and that sort of stuff will be very important to me now. Another great video sir and I thank you very much.
Dirt doesnt necessarily give more friction, right? If it super clean it can give more friction, right?
Dirt = Friction. Get a slip in slide and put dirt instead of water. Let me know how it goes.
Watch a baseball game. Those guys slide all over the dirt.
No, in this case it needs to slip evenly while you turn the peg. Dirt will make it jerk unreliably as you tune making it harder to tune properly
but if the field was covered with clean plastic or bone and a lubricant
on it they would slide further without much restriction
+Kelly Green they slide to stop without over running the base. that takes friction
Thanks for the video. I've played guitar for 30 years and still learned some things. I always screw up the string length... will try your 2 and 3 finger method.
I bought my new guitar,but the strings are too high from the fret not like in other guitars. Should i go back to the store and let them fix the strings? Thanks.
Thank you, bro. As always, you, it, rocked. I'm sharing your restringing wisdom with everyone!
Properly done, very good job.
Thank you
dont forget to be realistic - you must do some work whatever method you decide on for becoming a guitarist
I have spent months studying playing guitar and discovered a fantastic resource at Guitar Guru Method (google it if you are interested)
Thanks man.I have developed some bad habits when it comes to taking care of something I precious. Simple advice that I've never thought about.great video.
The action of your demo guitar is actually very high in my view.
You are teaching us finely. I have always learned something from your videos. Ty.
nice touch on the intro music ;)
Helpful stuff - thanks, Phil!
My variations: for the fret guard, an old hotel room "credit card" key will do nicely....use a razor/Exacto knife to cut a slit long enough to fit your last fret, close enough to the edge of the card so it fits in between the last 2 frets, and you're good to go with no expense;
Steel Wool - 4 ought (0.0000) rather than three ought;
*Before* oiling the neck, Formby's buildup remover is a great product....apply, rub lightly with the steel wool (Taylor does this, so it's fine for my own Art & Lutherie Cedar) and get down to the clean wood, then I use Formby's lemon oil, or a good Linseed oil on the fretboard and wipe dry;
Didn't see the need to pull the loose strings out of the bridge for the jack tightening....they were loose enough to let us work between without re-kinking the ball end of the string;
Nut lube - have used a light base of petroleum jelly to hold a touch of graphite powder in place.
As you said, no right way, just what works for you.....we appreciate your generous spirit.
i personally use strings with a little bit more metallic sound
For example? I bought an acoustic a while ago and never knew which strings it came with. It sounded very metallic and harsh (but in a good way, great for playing gnarly rock/blues riffs). Now I've put on new strings and it doesn't sound like that anymore.
RCK EMY i am personally using the .11 earnieball for training and some kind of daddario strings for gigs. the earnieballs are softer to the finger whilst the daddario sound better and are 150% of the cost of the earnieball
Isak kerman Thank you for your reply! I will try some daddario 80/20 then, they should be fine
RCK EMY nice
all you can do is to find the right strings through trial and error. i have probably tried at least 20 different strings for acoustic and 10 different for electric guitar.
Isak kerman Well.. I'm about to try some Ernie Balls .11 80/20.. Let's see how it goes
If I lived closer to you, I'd support your business. Very informative video. The time and effort put into your videos is appreciated.
i blew off that left over steel wool on the fretboard when you were done. had to
lol..yep ...I use a jewelry's cloth between cleans on the strings, amazing the tarnish it takes off
Be careful of the steel wool around pickups, it makes a mess when it's attracted by the magnets, and it can find its way into pots & switches. If you have a magnetic pickup and/or electronics, mask them off with paper & tape before you get the steel wool going.
Steel wool is to electronics what ebony dust is to wood finish products: Contamination.
A magnet is handy for removing steel wool fibers, and so is tape. Use both to get a thorough removal.
wooly willy
Phillip - Thank You Very Much - The plug on my Acoustic and my Acoustic electric (Thin Line Tele) both loose and both buzz at the wrong time and were driving me crazzzzzzzzy. Much thanks.Regards,R Mcg
Calming video
Awesome video. Been getting into acoustic guitars after about a year playing the electric. Thanks!
sir i would like to buy a Cort semi acoustic guitar wht do u think should i buy it my buget is 10k i am a begginear
I am sure you grabbed one by now. Get the best guitar for the money... meaning forget about the name or the price. Go with sound and playablity.
Going back in time , I would suggest an electric-acoustic yamaha. Their quality always seems to be consistent. I am a beginner with a Seagull -folk acoustic- very good, but a Yamaha sounds much richer and only a few dollars more. Also, don't spend a lot of money until you improve - by then you will know more about what really excites your skills !
Love my Yamaha guitars.
10k?? Buy a Martin D-45, and you won't have to ever buy another acoustic guitar. It's the best production guitar made. Period!!! Plus it will hold its value if you take care of it, unlike other brands.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I have got to get one of those tuner winding drill bits. Very cool ideas all around.
It's an OUTPUT jack!
I have had to pay techs to fix my jack on my acoustic a few times now. I love that I now know how to do it myself!!
Thanks, man! Love your videos.
I cringe whenever I see the strings so loose. They should never be that loose like I get for repairs and all but nooo
same
Kristus är vår Frälsare, Halleluja I cringe at your homophobia and your spelling
The guitar wasn't built with strings attached, having no strings doesn't damage a guitar. Least not that I have ever seen.
Too much tension or too high a gauge, that does. Changes in humidity, hot cars and poor storage is the killer.
Obviously if you want to store it long term without strings releasing tension on the truss rod is a good idea. I tend to store my acoustics tuned to C.
Great Tips Philip. I am ordering the tools now and will be a guitar tech pro just like you. Thanks! New Subscriber indeed.
Great stuff... if your going to hold a Parker Fly......... Play it for goodness sakes!
Yeah, she's beautiful, isn't she? Don't let her die a virgin!
I Find The Way Brother Phill Goes Into His "Zone " Every Time He Plays His Guitars,Be It Just A Few Notes Or
A Quick Cord, A Look You See All Grate Musicians Make,A Look Of Listening To What You Are Playing! Phill's
Passion For All Things Guitar, I Find A Real Inspiration To Keep Playing As. Much As I Am Able And To Learn Everything I Can About Guitars & Music! As Always, Thank You Phill. 6/17/16
scott grove with get a heart attack if he saw the oil on that fretboard.
i died too
agreed
Scott is one man and has one man's opinion , however being from a word working back ground I can say that mixing water and wood can cause many problems. Natural oils and wood makes wood happy. I have always used linseed oil on my fret boards.another , mans opinion
I've had a D50 guild for 30 years and only oiled the frets once. or twice, VERY lightly.. I think the 'fret bath' in the video is total overkill, and could potentially raise the grain on the neck. BTW: My Martin D28 is 12 years old and the neck is just fine, no oiling required. Keeping them in a case and not on a stand, really helps preserve the instrument....
You're right, any one at a guitar store that would recommend oiling your fret board is just trying to sell you shit, it's totally unnecessary .
This is a great video. So many people would benefit from watching this.
Keep thinking he was gonna play no church in the wild
Thanks for your info, clean and clear, you take the fog out of the aire! I use a micro amount of refined linseed oil, on cloth and ouickly wipe it off, once a year, and let it sit about an hour before restringing. Bo Par ee! It's all magic. PS, thanks for the string sound comparison, God bless.