As to your question, I really love this format of video. I've watched you build, surely, dozens of guitars at this point. There's obviously something to be learned from each one, but there are vast stretches of any full build that are going to be very very similar from one build to the next -- fretwork, neck shaping, etc. I like these because it's far easier to give you twenty minutes of my day and learn something new and cool than it is to give you several hours of my time, as much as I'd like to. I kinda miss the highlight videos you guys used to do at the end of a full build that would condense it down into a single-sitting format.
Thought I knew all the british slang, but "earth wire" is a new one on me. Then again, I never spoke to any electricians from the UK. I love the idea of having short tutorial type vids mixed with the longer build episodes. A video about properly resetting necks, measurements for scale length, etc... would be great! And it would also help get my 1955 Silvertone archtop out of the basement, and on to the wall of my dining room. Keep up the great work!
We use this technique on an almost daily basis at the guitar shop where I work. I never realized it wasn't something everyone did. At any rate, this whole series of mods to Jasmine's guitar has been wonderful and has actually inspired me to create a carbon-fiber pickguard for my beloved Jaguar bass. Thanks so much, Ben, for running one of the most informative channels on all of RUclips!
Block the trem at a divebomb so the neck comes off a lot easier. I owned a Charvel that needed seasonal neck adjustments and the truss rod adjustment was at the heel.
So glad to see someone else make my goof. Switchcraft and Puretone jacks are wired essentially backwards if you just go by eyeball. It took my multimeter to show me my goof. Oh, and definitely ring out a Puretone stereo jack.
I saw this somewhere else and might be of use (those neck pockets look so tight and good, i doubt it will do much) when you replace the neck and tune up, release some tension from the upper two bolts and then a quarter turn or so for the lower two bolts and you should hear the neck shift further into the pocket, then re tune. when i learnt this i did it to all bolt on guitars i have. not only it gets great fit but helps sustainability too! Keep up the great work. Love watching and learning from you.
I really enjoyed this project. I'm sorry that Jazzmaster didn't want to be in the video, I was hoping to see her reaction. I hope she was pleased. I loved seeing you finish this project on Monday. Done and dusted just feels good. I like the repair, and other short form videos once in a while, but I really like the full builds.
I've been doing something similar with my floyd guitars: Remove back springs, pop bridge out, fix electronic, pop bridge back in, hook springs up, guitar is immediately in tune and ready to play. Much easier to do with 3 or 4 weaker springs than with 2 mega-strong springs (*glares at Ibanez zero-point spring contraption*).
I like the short videos as well as the long ones. It's good to have a mix as I watch at different times of the day, different circumstances, different devices. Thanks!
I've done that capo on strings trick in the past, but never at full tension, just to keep the strings from moving too much in the tuners. I usually loosen the strings as far as they'll go without removing them, put the capo on, and slide the pickguard *under* them. Then again, I'm only doing that to my own guitars, and I don't care much for how banged up or scratched they get. :)
When I heard the hum when you touched the scratchplate I thought "earth and live connections have been wired wrong on the jack" because I did this on a tele build once. It taught me the value of doing the debugging output jack and backwards rather than pickup/guitar first if that makes any sense
I've done this. Also, with a floyd. Simply pop the springs, then the neck Set it all aside Work on the pickups or whatever. Put neck back on Drop flotd back onto the posts Put springs back on Viola'! It'll still be in tune. Bonus!
The capo trick is o simple, but so effective! And the guitar sounds so much better with the original pole pieces too. I hope the customer's pleased with it.
Absolutely great tip, I've worked on guitars by slackening the strings and dropping the neck off but using a capo is the next level ! Great video (I enjoy them all but single liners works) and thanks for your honesty, we all do schoolboy errors, but owning up takes broad shoulders, well done and keep up the good work.
From Leo: Good use of a capo. I use a couple of pipe cleaners to secure the strings. The ones from the craft supply store are extra long, which I like, A few pipe cleaners are easy to carry in your tech tool kit. I do still loosen the strings about two turns to not risk damage to the neck/body joint. I notice your vintage turn screws, I have only seen those as included tools with classic top end British Safari rifles and Sporting shotguns. Bravo.
Second best use for a capo in my book is for nut height setting. By putting the capo on 2nd or 3rd fret you can easily tap the first fret to see the height you need to achieve. This is good 3rd best though 👍
re the flat screwdriver and ease of use: you can slip a bit of plastic tube over the tip. this will stop the screwdriver from slipping out of the slot.
Ben, thanks for another great video. I like the shorter format. I find it hard to commit the necessary time for the live builds. I usually have to resort to watching the summarized versions of your live builds. BTW, thanks for sharing that you made a mistake with the wiring. When someone with your skills makes a mistake,....it gives people like me some hope!
We call them electric guitars because the magnetic field being disturbed by the movement of the string induces an electric current in the pickup (which is technically an inductor). This very small current and low voltage (nominally 1/10 volt) needs to be amplified (by the amplifier) to be able to drive the speakers (nominally 30v). so the amplifier has to increase the voltage by >100x. THUS the need for shielding: if even a very small voltage gets induced by stray fields (from the 50/60Hz in your walls predominately) then it gets amplified 100s of times and you hear it as noise. Electricity and magnetism are pretty well described as 'joined at the hip' :)
We don't mind any format of videos, the more the better. In fact 24/7 insight of Ben's guitar making and business running life would be great. We would give you few hours off for sleeping 😁😁😁
Sorry Ben, I just miss the end of you stream (the test itself), I had this issue and think about it immediately showing you trying things on grounding !
Oh how your brow drops & the obligatory stare appears as you play guitar😂 my daughter says I'm in a trance when I'm playing & I now know what she means seeing your facial expression change😂❤️👍
Its finally alive! Here's now to Jasmine finding the time and patience to practice and play it. Put the computer games to the side and take this opportunity to gain a skill that is unique and of infinite value. It must be hard having a guitar builder as a Dad though the expectation to be interested in stringed instruments must be immense. But there are so many of us in the queue that wish Ben was our dad make the most of being at the front. Brilliant video series this one Ben and a triumphant result.
Hey Ben, I like the idea of using the capo and removing the neck. Just wondering if the damage on the neck (paint on lower side of joint near the bridge end of the neck) was from before the removal or if it was caused by it?
I'm never sure on jack connections so I always check which lug is which using a multimeter ... Someone once told me that if buzzing gets worse when touching earth points then you've wired something backwards.
You'll have to weigh it again because the pole pieces might be a different weight! Also, where's the squirrels? And yes, 15-20min is the ideal video length for me!
Even easier still, and a lot: check if everything works before you screw it together and put strings on it! Especially when you're not that confident about your knowledge of electronics.
You do realise that the best use of a capo is to permit you to restring a Rickenbacker 12 in a single afternoon. When that R tailpiece falls off you know your day is about to get considerably worse (I change the strings in pairs and still need the capo to keep the strings in place for the slotted section tuners)
With all respect, why would you need to remove the neck ? I changed many strat pickguard with the neck on... keeping the strings on is more tricky for sure but I prefer to be running the risk of ruining my string than my neck !
"Why do we call it an electric guitar when it's magnetic?" The pickup is actually an electromagnet when paired with the strings. You know those emergency flashlights that you shake to charge? They're the same tech. Coils of copper on the outside and barrel magnets on the inside, and the movement between the two creates an electric charge. Difference is instead of outputting that electricity to a battery and then a bulb, the guitar just feeds it directly (more or less) to the audio jack. I realize I might be teaching my granny to suck eggs here, but I think it's neat how magnetism an electricity are just two manifestations of the same force.
This is a technique I use nearly everyday when I need to shim a neck. It's not something you realize is needed until strings are at tension and the neck relief is set. It's only when you try to set string height that you notice the need for a shim. Instead of wasting time removing the strings (and string retainer in the case of 5-string bass) we just down tune and slap a capo on. My butthole puckered a little bit when you said that you were doing this under near full tension tho.. that I would not recommend. Maybe at least a couple full steps down.
Yup for shimming it's a blessing using a capo. Also I was "Nooooooooooo......" when Ben didn't detune before removing the neck. Main reason for me, apart from snapping strings, is to make it easier to wiggle the neck off. Really handy when you have a guitar, like a classic style Strat, with the truss rodd adjustment at the body end of the neck.
"Why do we call them electric guitars when it's based on magnetism?" Magnetism and electricity are the same thing, it's electromagnetism. Electricity is the byproduct of moving through a magnetic field.
NO capo ? use zip ties you probably don't have a whole pack of capos, plus a capo wont work to go around bridge saddles and strings but a zip tie will.🤔👍
Errr why does the neck have to come off????? I’ve had loads of strat type guitars and you can just remove the pickguard. Also just cut the strings off for fuck sake. A new set won’t break the bank.
I wouldn't call it improving your skill. I would say that it's just taught a way to be lazy. Just take off the strings man.. Sometimes you will create more work for yourself trying to be lazy than it is just to take the d*** strings off. Just saying
The thing is, he discovered the electronic problems literally about two minutes after putting on a fresh new set of strings, stretching and tuning them, and clipping off the string ends. They never would have gone back on properly. Taking them off would have meant wasting a brand new set of strings, and even Ben doesn't get those for free. I'd have had a hard time reaching for the clippers too. I also would have sworn a lot more than he did too.
@@tahoemike5828 100% Ive done the same thing before, just without the capo and loosening the strings a little, not going to through away $12 worth of strings when they can be saved at no detriment to the strings or the rest of the world (except for some angry dude on the internet) :D
So with the screws you put in that did not sound clear have you thought about running a magnet over them to magnetize them and see if that helps? Almost all steel is attached to a 🧲
As to your question, I really love this format of video. I've watched you build, surely, dozens of guitars at this point. There's obviously something to be learned from each one, but there are vast stretches of any full build that are going to be very very similar from one build to the next -- fretwork, neck shaping, etc. I like these because it's far easier to give you twenty minutes of my day and learn something new and cool than it is to give you several hours of my time, as much as I'd like to. I kinda miss the highlight videos you guys used to do at the end of a full build that would condense it down into a single-sitting format.
Thought I knew all the british slang, but "earth wire" is a new one on me. Then again, I never spoke to any electricians from the UK.
I love the idea of having short tutorial type vids mixed with the longer build episodes. A video about properly resetting necks, measurements for scale length, etc... would be great! And it would also help get my 1955 Silvertone archtop out of the basement, and on to the wall of my dining room.
Keep up the great work!
Hi Ben! I’m using the same trick with capo but I found out it’s way easier for me to take tremolo out rather the neck :)
Good tip!
We use this technique on an almost daily basis at the guitar shop where I work. I never realized it wasn't something everyone did. At any rate, this whole series of mods to Jasmine's guitar has been wonderful and has actually inspired me to create a carbon-fiber pickguard for my beloved Jaguar bass. Thanks so much, Ben, for running one of the most informative channels on all of RUclips!
Block the trem at a divebomb so the neck comes off a lot easier. I owned a Charvel that needed seasonal neck adjustments and the truss rod adjustment was at the heel.
So glad to see someone else make my goof. Switchcraft and Puretone jacks are wired essentially backwards if you just go by eyeball. It took my multimeter to show me my goof. Oh, and definitely ring out a Puretone stereo jack.
I saw this somewhere else and might be of use (those neck pockets look so tight and good, i doubt it will do much) when you replace the neck and tune up, release some tension from the upper two bolts and then a quarter turn or so for the lower two bolts and you should hear the neck shift further into the pocket, then re tune. when i learnt this i did it to all bolt on guitars i have. not only it gets great fit but helps sustainability too!
Keep up the great work. Love watching and learning from you.
I really enjoyed this project. I'm sorry that Jazzmaster didn't want to be in the video, I was hoping to see her reaction. I hope she was pleased. I loved seeing you finish this project on Monday. Done and dusted just feels good.
I like the repair, and other short form videos once in a while, but I really like the full builds.
Ben, you evil genius! (Actually the fantastic person who suggested this!) Thanks for the tip!
I've been doing something similar with my floyd guitars: Remove back springs, pop bridge out, fix electronic, pop bridge back in, hook springs up, guitar is immediately in tune and ready to play.
Much easier to do with 3 or 4 weaker springs than with 2 mega-strong springs (*glares at Ibanez zero-point spring contraption*).
Great video Ben, short and long video absolutely fine. Cheers Dave
I like the short videos as well as the long ones. It's good to have a mix as I watch at different times of the day, different circumstances, different devices. Thanks!
I've done that capo on strings trick in the past, but never at full tension, just to keep the strings from moving too much in the tuners. I usually loosen the strings as far as they'll go without removing them, put the capo on, and slide the pickguard *under* them. Then again, I'm only doing that to my own guitars, and I don't care much for how banged up or scratched they get. :)
When I heard the hum when you touched the scratchplate I thought "earth and live connections have been wired wrong on the jack" because I did this on a tele build once. It taught me the value of doing the debugging output jack and backwards rather than pickup/guitar first if that makes any sense
I've learned so much from you and videos like yours.
I've done this.
Also, with a floyd.
Simply pop the springs, then the neck
Set it all aside
Work on the pickups or whatever.
Put neck back on
Drop flotd back onto the posts
Put springs back on
Viola'!
It'll still be in tune.
Bonus!
Gotta keep learning ... well done
Ah the dreaded polarity buzz, I alway have black as ground on my wiring, lovely job mate.
2sich did a great sketch on the same subject 😄 very clever.
Great vid as always, love the sound of that ,,,
The capo trick is o simple, but so effective! And the guitar sounds so much better with the original pole pieces too. I hope the customer's pleased with it.
its his daughters guitar she did not like it as it was too heavy for her.
Absolutely great tip, I've worked on guitars by slackening the strings and dropping the neck off but using a capo is the next level !
Great video (I enjoy them all but single liners works) and thanks for your honesty, we all do schoolboy errors, but owning up takes broad shoulders, well done and keep up the good work.
Jasmine has a family heirloom that her children and grandchildren can keep. That is so cool.
I like the short(er) videos in middle of build series
Some nice Boomer Bends there...and a few Kossoff touches...nice.
From Leo: Good use of a capo. I use a couple of pipe cleaners to secure the strings. The ones from the craft supply store are extra long, which I like, A few pipe cleaners are easy to carry in your tech tool kit. I do still loosen the strings about two turns to not risk damage to the neck/body joint. I notice your vintage turn screws, I have only seen those as included tools with classic top end British Safari rifles and Sporting shotguns. Bravo.
In my experience, the adjustable screws on a pickup are referred to as ‘adjustable pole-pieces’’. The fixed pole-pieces are referred to as ‘slugs’.
Second best use for a capo in my book is for nut height setting. By putting the capo on 2nd or 3rd fret you can easily tap the first fret to see the height you need to achieve. This is good 3rd best though 👍
re the flat screwdriver and ease of use: you can slip a bit of plastic tube over the tip. this will stop the screwdriver from slipping out of the slot.
Ben, thanks for another great video. I like the shorter format. I find it hard to commit the necessary time for the live builds. I usually have to resort to watching the summarized versions of your live builds. BTW, thanks for sharing that you made a mistake with the wiring. When someone with your skills makes a mistake,....it gives people like me some hope!
Like the format. How about that custom spring claw. That guitar deserves better than a bit of bent sheet steel.
We call them electric guitars because the magnetic field being disturbed by the movement of the string induces an electric current in the pickup (which is technically an inductor). This very small current and low voltage (nominally 1/10 volt) needs to be amplified (by the amplifier) to be able to drive the speakers (nominally 30v). so the amplifier has to increase the voltage by >100x. THUS the need for shielding: if even a very small voltage gets induced by stray fields (from the 50/60Hz in your walls predominately) then it gets amplified 100s of times and you hear it as noise.
Electricity and magnetism are pretty well described as 'joined at the hip' :)
Had the same problem on my mates Fender bass!
Ben take a look at the INVICTA pro series divers watch. Great watch and value.😊
What about "Jazzmine-Master" as the logo, in the Jazzmaster style of script....
like the format a lot Ben, but also love getting immersed in a full day's build. So basically you're on the money as far as I'm concerned :-)
We don't mind any format of videos, the more the better. In fact 24/7 insight of Ben's guitar making and business running life would be great. We would give you few hours off for sleeping 😁😁😁
With twin post trems I usually find it easier to take the springs off and pull the trem out
Another, even easier option! Nice
And you only really need one bolt, that’s all I use on all my guitars. Cheers Dave
One more masterpiece!!💪😡🤘👏👏
Sorry Ben, I just miss the end of you stream (the test itself), I had this issue and think about it immediately showing you trying things on grounding !
That’s one of the reasons why I only use 21 fret necks on my bolt on neck builds
Oh how your brow drops & the obligatory stare appears as you play guitar😂 my daughter says I'm in a trance when I'm playing & I now know what she means seeing your facial expression change😂❤️👍
Its finally alive! Here's now to Jasmine finding the time and patience to practice and play it. Put the computer games to the side and take this opportunity to gain a skill that is unique and of infinite value. It must be hard having a guitar builder as a Dad though the expectation to be interested in stringed instruments must be immense. But there are so many of us in the queue that wish Ben was our dad make the most of being at the front. Brilliant video series this one Ben and a triumphant result.
12:50 Now you have to build a Magneto themed guitar.
Hey Ben, I like the idea of using the capo and removing the neck. Just wondering if the damage on the neck (paint on lower side of joint near the bridge end of the neck) was from before the removal or if it was caused by it?
Is there going to be a Nebula 3.0 at some point?
Swapped your poles? Yeah, I've done that a few times. File it under "Why things work the way they do," and "Always check your wiring."
I'm never sure on jack connections so I always check which lug is which using a multimeter ... Someone once told me that if buzzing gets worse when touching earth points then you've wired something backwards.
Re the "just take the neck off trick" - Do you need the capo since the guitar has locking tuners?? Don't the locks accomplish the same thing?
9:12 - risking damaging the lacquer to save a set of strings?
You'll have to weigh it again because the pole pieces might be a different weight! Also, where's the squirrels? And yes, 15-20min is the ideal video length for me!
Even easier still, and a lot: check if everything works before you screw it together and put strings on it!
Especially when you're not that confident about your knowledge of electronics.
You are super cool buddy 👍
I am just curious what bridge piece is
Waffle on Ben. We know you're having fun that way :)
You do realise that the best use of a capo is to permit you to restring a Rickenbacker 12 in a single afternoon.
When that R tailpiece falls off you know your day is about to get considerably worse (I change the strings in pairs and still need the capo to keep the strings in place for the slotted section tuners)
With all respect, why would you need to remove the neck ? I changed many strat pickguard with the neck on... keeping the strings on is more tricky for sure but I prefer to be running the risk of ruining my string than my neck !
Why did you "need" to remove the neck? The pickguard can easily come off with the strings still on and up to tension...
MagneTar?
Huh? Since when do you have to remove the neck to get under the scratch plate of a S-type guitar?
"Why do we call it an electric guitar when it's magnetic?" The pickup is actually an electromagnet when paired with the strings. You know those emergency flashlights that you shake to charge? They're the same tech. Coils of copper on the outside and barrel magnets on the inside, and the movement between the two creates an electric charge. Difference is instead of outputting that electricity to a battery and then a bulb, the guitar just feeds it directly (more or less) to the audio jack.
I realize I might be teaching my granny to suck eggs here, but I think it's neat how magnetism an electricity are just two manifestations of the same force.
Carbon is conductive that is why marshalls now have gloves when handling F1 cars
This is a technique I use nearly everyday when I need to shim a neck. It's not something you realize is needed until strings are at tension and the neck relief is set. It's only when you try to set string height that you notice the need for a shim. Instead of wasting time removing the strings (and string retainer in the case of 5-string bass) we just down tune and slap a capo on. My butthole puckered a little bit when you said that you were doing this under near full tension tho.. that I would not recommend. Maybe at least a couple full steps down.
Yup for shimming it's a blessing using a capo. Also I was "Nooooooooooo......" when Ben didn't detune before removing the neck. Main reason for me, apart from snapping strings, is to make it easier to wiggle the neck off. Really handy when you have a guitar, like a classic style Strat, with the truss rodd adjustment at the body end of the neck.
Another Tip:
if whammy activ:
dive bomb it and clamp some thing (hard rubber) between whammyblock and wood.
voila. loose strings
"It's always the G string" - that's what she said!
Not in tune... Ah yes, but was that because the strings stretched or because they needed to bed in again? ;)
I'm no expert but I imagine that once the strings were not under tension they'd lose a little stretch.
"Why do we call them electric guitars when it's based on magnetism?"
Magnetism and electricity are the same thing, it's electromagnetism. Electricity is the byproduct of moving through a magnetic field.
...So you're saying that the best second best use for a capo is for decapotation?
Electromagnetism. James Clarke Maxwell.
Electromagnetic guitar
Looking handsome as usual Crimson
NEXT TIP:
Take out scratch plate screw's before neck screws!
Than it can give way..
Although this is a great use for the capo, we all know the greatest non standard use of a capo is as a smartphone stand.
If Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains can use a single humbucker in a strat style guitar, then so can you. G@L Rampage is single humbucker.
Fuckin' magnetic guitars, how do they work?
2 capos works better
NO capo ? use zip ties you probably don't have a whole pack of capos, plus a capo wont work to go around bridge saddles and strings but a zip tie will.🤔👍
Errr why does the neck have to come off????? I’ve had loads of strat type guitars and you can just remove the pickguard. Also just cut the strings off for fuck sake. A new set won’t break the bank.
Might the extra depth of a humbucker make a difference?
I wouldn't call it improving your skill. I would say that it's just taught a way to be lazy. Just take off the strings man.. Sometimes you will create more work for yourself trying to be lazy than it is just to take the d*** strings off. Just saying
It works for him so what's the issue? There's so much more to be angry about in this world than how a some people take the neck off. You do you
The thing is, he discovered the electronic problems literally about two minutes after putting on a fresh new set of strings, stretching and tuning them, and clipping off the string ends. They never would have gone back on properly. Taking them off would have meant wasting a brand new set of strings, and even Ben doesn't get those for free. I'd have had a hard time reaching for the clippers too. I also would have sworn a lot more than he did too.
@@tahoemike5828 100% Ive done the same thing before, just without the capo and loosening the strings a little, not going to through away $12 worth of strings when they can be saved at no detriment to the strings or the rest of the world (except for some angry dude on the internet) :D
I'm poor as h*** and I would just go buy new strings. It's just 5 bucks man
666 likes lmao
Yeah. Very short 19 minutes video. 🤣
Come on ben. who's your kidding with?
😁😁
So with the screws you put in that did not sound clear have you thought about running a magnet over them to magnetize them and see if that helps? Almost all steel is attached to a 🧲