I'm a professional drummer and just getting started learning guitar,I'm finding it fascinating with all the different aspects I never knew. I've always watched my guitarists play during rehearsals and on stage with bands I've been in over 50+ years.This is so cool to learn!! Thank you for such valuable information,yes, I did subscribe to your channel! "IronWolf". Drummer for "SunCat & the IronWolf".
I raise the bridge until there is no buzzing, fretting out or dead notes from the 12 fret up. Then I straighten the neck until the strings below the 12th fret start to fret out or buzz anywhere, then just turn the key back a quarter turn for the right relief for that guitar. This usually gives about 2mm string height above the 12th fret, you may get lower if you guitar has really level fret work or has a flatter radius. You won't know that until you try it. Easy peasey, not measurements needed.
Pal told me my action was too high for what I was doing and was like, what?This helps more than you think, it was clear u, actually showed everything, and how u change everything. Great content man. Also sick snakebite, I saw that!
I think the illustration, the drawing showing neutral position vs forward bow and backward bow has an error. To correct forward bow (to reduce the relief) you need to tighten the truss rod by turning the adjuster clockwise not counter clockwise. To correct or reduce backward bow or to increase the relief, turn the adjuster nut counter clockwise.
on all my guitars I have slight relief, as an example, under tension (tuned to how you plan to play), with the 1st and 17th fret pressed, measure from top of fret to bottom of string (gap) = 0.006" [0.15mm]. also, NUT height is important so that strings don't produce sharp note as you press them near the nut, the gap at the 1st fret with the third pressed = 0.004" [0.10mm]. once Neck and Nut are set, bridge or string height. if I go below, gap = 0.050" [1.27mm] Low E @ 12th fret and 0.040" [1.0mm] High E, then I have to play too soft as to not get buzz. I think if you can get Low E 0.060" [1.5mm]/High E 0.050" [1.27mm] gap your guitar is playing well! But if I can throw anything out there to new bloods, check that neck relief 1st, the nut will be high if you just purchased the guitar or haven't had a setup done. Set the string gap to 2.0mm on the low E and 1.75mm then play and adjust by feel and how much buzz you can live with remembering that most of that buzz is acoustic and will not be heard when playing at volume as well as, all electric guitars have a little buzz or fret noise. (I only say all of this cuz I was driving myself crazy chasing low action, the internet had me convinced if I couldn't get a 1mm string gap with no buzz something was wrong with my guitar! That's BS! by the way ) Good luck!
You need to take in account the size of fret wire' for instance' tall frets and jumbo frets with a high action will cause the guitar to play sharp when fretting if you're heavy handed.
Its because youve got more room due to the fret being high its almost like a scalloped fretboard pressing to hard will increase tension therefore a sharp note.
I was always told to wait a couple days for the neck to settle after truss rod adjustments. It takes more time but the end resyis worth it. Make your adjustment,tune it back up and let it set. (Or o guess you could play it) Point being check it again a vouole of days later.
i like to have the right bow so that the strings have the space they need to vibrate, confort is a thing but not if it compromises the tone or sustain or even tuning cuz when you press a note, you bend the string a little to
I agree with your approach on flattening the neck first. Everything starts there. You do need to check action at the top of the neck as well as down towards the body - 1st fret and 12th fret, preferably. You may need to adjust the nut slots or the actual height of the nut (sand it down or shim it up) and certainly the saddles or bridge height to get the action where you need it after you have the neck where it needs to be. Of course, you should also check the frets themselves as you may have some high frets that are causing buzz and need to be leveled and recrowned. People balk at the cost of a setup sometimes, but if the tech is thorough and adjusts everything that needs to be adjusted, you have a much better playing guitar. It is worth the effort or cost if you have someone else do it.
@@EricRobillard-b4j "The real way" is to have a neck adjusted with no fret buzz. How you get there is partly personal preference but if the neck I am working on doesn't need relief, then there is no need to add any. You start straight and add relief as necessary, but if you don't need it then why add it?
@@DanielBobke i dont know any string that doesn’t create a bow when it vibrates so if the point is to have the strings closer to the neck as possible the neck should have a light bow unless you like some fretbuzz or higher strings. i mean, that is my way of doing it but i think i understand the physics behind neck adjustment.
@@EricRobillard-b4jExactly, on a 22 fret guitar playing on the 10th fret would produce the biggest amplitude right on the last fret, that’s the measure of how low it can be without buzzing. Fretting lower makes for a longer string with bigger amplitude that now falls over the frets, so it needs a bow to keep that low action, a perfectly straight neck will need to raise the bridge to make room for lower notes not to buzz
I prefer to get the proper string height at the nut first. Also, check neck relief with the guitar in playing position with the tuning and string set the player will be using. I know you said general setup but you really need a notched straight edge and a fret rocker. The frets have to be level to get seriously low action.
You sure need to measure neck relief with the strings tuned to pitch to really know the pressure the neck is under. If you remove it you'll have to compensate when it inevitably bows when back in tune. And of course you need to do ALL this in playing position because gravity. Personally I think strings need to vibrate as unencumbered as possible to let them sing with real tone and sustain, not cater to lazyness and poor technique. So I set all my guitars at 5/64 E and 4/64 e
Every guitar is different, even the same models will have variances. Start with the nut and get the action at the first fret as low as possible while making sure to leave some meat on the nut for normal wear. Lower the bridge or saddles to your preference and then adjust the trussrod to leave the slightest bow at the 12th fret. Go over everything again to fine tune it if nessessary. Enjoy.
ALWAYS start with the truss rod adjustments if necessary. Neck relief is independent of the nut or the saddles or the strings. I like to start with a straight as possible neck - no or very little relief. The nut adjustments and bridge adjustments all come after you have the neck where it should be. I like to use a notched straightedge to measure the relief as I have found it more reliable than the string fretting method or feeler gauges.
Hey, if you believe cranking on the trussrod first, before getting the nut and bridge/saddles all at the preferred height works best? Rock on. Like you said, they're independent from each other. Obviously, if the neck relief is way off? You should start there. But if everything's already within spec, and your trying to fine tune the action so it's as low as possible without string buzz. I personally feel the trussrod will need some amount of fine tuning at more than one point in an optimally set up guitar. On a side note, zero neck relief is NOT optimum. I've found the opposite to be true. I can get the action lower all along the neck more consistently, with "some" amount of relief. Every guitar will need its own "tweaks" to get them as good as possible.
@@andrewbecker3700 Never said "crank on the truss rod first" - I said check the relief first. You only "crank on it" if you need to adjust. I don't agree on needing some relief in the neck. A minor amount is hard to get out but I start as straight as possible. Everything else being correct, the frets should all be the same distance from the strings. However, you do you!
Eric, I'm no stranger to setups, and I watched this vid just to get your take on the subject. I'm no more an expert on than I am a stranger to the subject, so I try to learn from other perspectives. One thing I noted is that your approach to the straightness of the neck is about the same as mine. Like you, I flatten the neck entirely, then investigate what happens when I go for just NATURAL relief -- the relief produced by the string tension when the guitar is tuned the way it's going to be played. I also believe that you know that one can change the TONE of a guitar without disrupting its feel with mechanical adjustments like these. In short, I think I've learned enough from this one video that you have earned the "like and subscribe" I just did.
I want my action as low as possible, it's a HUGE difference going from my ibanez jbm100 to any of my other guitars. that guitar can handle super low action and it's just so easy to play
I make my necks perfectly straight with no strings. Then when I string them up with 10s they get slight bow. Still nearly straight. The straighter the neck the lower you can put the action. Where I live the guitars swell in summer and some of them need the rod loosen a fraction, then back tight in winter.
Yup, exactly. In a way you can get the neck as straight as possible, or with a back bow, then let the strings pull it to the desired realm of bow / straightness.
thank god, when you first showed the action on the guitar i was like wtf that is super high, then you were like yeah we're gonna get this low and im like yeah im down for that
I am no expert but I am obsessive about how the neck feels. I tweak the neck on my main guitar (Anderson Lil Angel) kind of regularly. There are factors that I have observed; a cold neck vs a warm neck (one played or not played) actually is a "thing". I can pull the guitar out of the case and it feels kind of "high" but then once I start playing, it feels better. I'm not a scientist but there is something to this. Anyway, once adjustments are made, it changes slightly overnight. Again, I use feel probably more than anything but I also check how straight the neck is with a Notched straight edge and see if there is a space or wiggle etc. But ultimately I pretty much set it up to feel. Plays like butter too! Good video. Thanks for sharing my friend!
Lowest is not necessarily best, having the strings slightly higher than lowest make it easier to bend, and improves the tone. Some excellent players like their strings practically touching the frets, others like it higher, it depends on how you play. I'm not a shredder and bending is part of my blues style, plus I like playing with a slide too, so for me a slightly higher action is best, but it's still around 1/16" - which is where I usually start when setting-up a new guitar.
For sure! Higher action will sound better recorded since you can dig in more. But as I said, if this is your daily driver and you want to be inspired by a guitar that plays effortlessly, then low action may be for you.
bends are easier with low action. no the oppisite. why the heck would it be harder? also pull offs and everything else get easy. try it. go super low ;) even Tim Pierce loves it.
Also high action can make fast hammer ons and pull offs nearly impossible because the string will mute coming up before you can take your finger off the string. Having a slightly higher action can help with tone but it should be somewhat low or else you lock yourself out of a lot of legato options
Absolutely, strings are looser with high action because geometry, thus are easier to bend and because of that they're more responsive lo hammer ons and pull offs where the string is already fretted so what's the issue. Only barre chords are easier with low action
My tuning is in c#, lowest action on jumbo frets and light string is too much vibration resulting to the string flopping around more than it should. So ai use 11's and a slightly higher action.
Yeah it’s more of a preference of sorts. But what’s most important. A lot of people suck at setting up a guitar. Finding a legit luthier isn’t even a for sure thing. I have a guy. His work is magic. His clientele says it all and if every player could try that they wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth not being cheap if you really don’t know in and out to do. It’s not hard to get a guitar somewhat alright but it’s a whole different thing having one that plays like you can’t put it down.
For sure it's all personal preference. If you want to learn, find someone skilled in the city you live in. If that's not an option be prepared to commute or learn on your own! Practice builds skill.
My1994 Fender Stratocastor (USA made) has an overhigh action even with the string saddles lowered as fully as possible and a straight neck. And when my string saddles are lowered I get buzz and dead notes after the 12th fret. I'm considering an angled wood shim in the neck pocket may help by changing the angle and bringing the neck up higher.
Thanks for a reply, Eric. Setting my action higher by adjusting up the strings saddles fixes the dead notes problem, but it is an uncomfortably high action. So I will be ordering a set of angled wooden neck pocket shims, hoping they may help. By changing the angle of the neck.
i think your neck relief adjustment is backwards, I thought you turn the truss rod clockwise to give it a backbow and counterclock wise to give it more relief?
Check the STRING HEIGHT AT THE NUT. If cowboy chords feel hard to play, it's probably the strings too high in the nut slots. This is a problem I've often seen in inexpensive ($200 or so) guitars, whether new or used, because they've never been through a good setup. The nut slots are higher than they need to be to guarantee no buzz when it's first put together, and that's "good enough" for cheap guitars. It's "too much" to do it on the assembly line, it takes (too much) time for a guitar tech at a retail store to do it, so it doesn't get done. I can understand hesitation to show this in a video, it needs special tools with a different width for each slot (or even each string gauge) and experience with not making the slot too low, but it has to be done to make a really good-playing guitar. A few comments mentioned this, but I want to emphasize that the right nut slot depth is essential for a good-playing guitar.
I set the height with super heavy strings as low as possible, then I changed the strings to super stinkiest. It wss the perfect height between the string thickness difference
can you make a video with a guitar that has individual saddles at the bridge for each string? for example im trying to adjust the string height on an ibanez RG8 string and the bridge doesnt move all as one piece like the guitar in this video
@@maxwellholmes594 you would have to adjust each saddle individually with a hex key/Allen wrench and get each string to the desired height. It'll take longer to setup than a tune-o-matic
Nice video and very usefull informtaion, i m new to guitar and bought a used Harley Benton. The problem with my 3rd string at fret 13 if i press the string buzz, what is your advice, thank you.
As soon as I'm trying to get a low action I get string buzz if I fret the 12th fret and higher. It gets better when I give the truss rod and neck some relief. Maybe this is how it's supposed to be?
The only guitar i own that has medium height is the acoustic,you can try lowering the action on them but if you use thick strings you will get fret buzz so get a medium set say 11 52,not too thick but not thin either,i use 9 to 46 on my ibanez and 10 46 on my les paul copy,its really a personal preference
Hey bro, loved your video guide I just wanna know if the small amount of fret buzz is fine or not as long as you dont hear it through the amp, also the small amount of fret buzz is still audible in clean channel what shwld I do?
A lot will depend on the guitar and the playing style. Zero relief and very low action can result in fret buzz. Fretboard radius will affect the ability to bend. A fairly rounded radius like a 9.5" or the 7.25" on vintage Fenders may require a slightly higher action to avoid strings choking when bending than say a 12" or flatter radius. There's definitely no 'right' way when it comes to setting your action.
@@EricMorettin Agreed. Checking that the nut slots are just above the fret plane is a good additional step when setting action as low as possible. Viewers should probably also be reminded that zero action may not work for shorter scale lengths, heavier gauge strings, and/or drop tunings. Sometimes the strings need a little more room to flop around. Like you, I set my necks flat as a pancake, but I put 8's on everything, and almost all my builds are Fender scale length. I install locknuts with the slots just above the fret plane, set the neck flat, set the action to 1.4mm at the 24th and call it a day.
Hey man I need some help. I have a squire Strat and the strings are fairly high and no matter what I do. NOTHING will get the strings lower. I’ve watched dozens and videos. Any tips?
Look at the neck relief to see if it is bowing or not. Make sure you adjust the individual string saddles lower as well. Worst case is that you might have to shim the neck to bring the neck closer to the strings
Are you sure? You show that to counter a neck with a lot of relief you turn the truss rod counter clockwise? I would turn it clockwise. Am I missing something?
Great video man! Thank you for demistifying action setting...I just adjusted my Strat (thanks to you) and man what a difference! Lower action, straight and no string bussing! Loooove it!
Yngwie malmsteen plays with a high action not low but he plays in Eb its ok to have a bit of high action sometime as long as its comfortable see theres a balance and feel some people get used to the guitar they play
If you don't get your frets levelled this is all pretty redundant info, a zero fret is the only way to guarantee a low consistent action throughout the board, checkout the Latitude Cardinal guitar. 0.75 at the LOW E at the 12th fret. Insanely low action without fretting out.
Yup for sure. If we're talking about factory fresh guitars, or a stock guitar that's been sitting for a while, this video should cover your basic setup needs
@@EricMorettin For most people indeed this video will suffice. If you're looking for the textbook treatment, usually it's the other way around. Many brands have excessive heights so that you can file it down to your preference. Hence, I hightly recommend a full setup from the get go to sort out the nut. Your video is perfect for maintainence from then on.
@@DazLeong yeah and the manufacturer doesn't know how the person buying the guitar is going to set it up or play it after. Best to have more material than less to work with!
@@EricMorettin Well, if I tighten the truss to flatten out the neck it does drop the string height a bit but then I run into the problem of not enough relief. I just don’t get it 🤷🏼♂️
Honestly no, since I set up guitars by feel, relative amount of fretboard buzz, and ease of playing. If I had to put a number on it, it would be around 1mm give or take depending on the tuning, string gauge, and neck relief.
@@CastIronRestore you're welcome! You can go down the rabbit hole on chasing numbers but at the end of the day you have to enjoy how the guitar is setup, and other guitars will sound or play better with different setups based on so many factors. So play around with setting up your guitar and see what you like best!
Lower or higher, I am having some difficulty, so not perhaps a little lower but not to the lowest point. Let's see how that works out for me. I will give it a solid 5 of 7 on the educational value.
I've always tried to find a comprise between nice low action , but also being able to getcha pull on the whammy , without the strings hitting any frets. ( Eg: that last Dimebomb on Gates ) It is a requirement that my guitars pass the Gates test 😄 . Cool vid brother 🤟
That's a tough balance for sure. A lot of it comes down to feel at that point, the right action at around the 2nd-5th fret, and having a good amount of gain helps.
and how is that? if you up the tailpiece ya the string will have less tention but then you will have to turn your tuners to retune the string lol so your then back to the same tension. ;) crazy but true lol
@@troyskinnard1393 in the beginning of the video where he held the first fret down, look at the bottom of the nut. There is a gap. It could sit better in my opinion
I totally agree. It's not seated correctly. There should be no gap under the nut, the fitment is super important for sound transfer. Sloppy construction, he should pop the nut loose and file the bottom of it flat or fix the spot on the neck where it sits so that its flat.
Is that guitar supposed to be AFTER you lowered the action? Because it still looks really high, and your nut is terrible high too, at least on the low E string when you preseed fret 1. For a video title (supposedly) telling people how to get the LOWEST action the video is quite poor. You should have shown before and after adjustments, played it to show fret buzz, covered fret levelling and fall away etc. I know it's mean to criticise small youtubers and I really do hope your channel grows, but please be careful with your titles, and your content was sketchy.
A low action will never have the same tone as a hich action guitar will, you sound cleaner and your bends are better with a high action, you feel like you have more room when your changing chords and it makes the guitar louder, so yea, do what this guy tell you, jaja not me
How did I miss the actual point of this video which was action measurement and adjustment?! Not gonna watcha second time, it sounds like an omission. 😡
i can never get mine low i put the neck straight and i have to have the bridge extremely high just for the first frets to ring out..i hate this help me💔 my action is to the moon!
I always setup trus rod and everything after in playing position. But strings gauge is really matters also. For example i noticed it is heavy to adjust fat strings with skinny frets without buzzing. It is possible but only with higher action. Anyway it is better for me guitars where i can adjust each string height, also easier to intonate guitar. Also all depends on a guitar. Even same models you cant sometimes adjust same way. For example i have two same Gios and i like to play in that Bolt Thrower C sharp standard tune and works fine but it was hard to adjust it. Also on E first string i must to cut springs on the sadlles and make it shorter because it was impossible to intonate it cuz there was no space to move saddle back to make string longer. Thats a " chasing a tuner needle " part Same model i tried do that all and it simple doesnt work and i noticed why. Different piece of wood was used during a producing of guitar and wood wont to cooperate and thats all. So i tried other strings gauge and it now works perfectly on D standard tune. Point is to do with guitar what she let you to do. Otherwise you can win it but you must change nut first of all. I made it from bones and important thing is how strings.seats on a nut. It is much better when you made it strings to seats little bit out of gaps on nut. More then a half of string gauge to be out from nut. After that on cheap guitars you can also remove neck and put pieces of furnier in neck pocket, thats a way you can use straight neck with lower action wihout buzzing. I mean you can change angle of neck in neck pocket if it is bolted model. Sorry for bad english but thats a way i do it.
I'm a professional drummer and just getting started learning guitar,I'm finding it fascinating with all the different aspects I never knew. I've always watched my guitarists play during rehearsals and on stage with bands I've been in over 50+ years.This is so cool to learn!! Thank you for such valuable information,yes, I did subscribe to your channel! "IronWolf". Drummer for "SunCat & the IronWolf".
I raise the bridge until there is no buzzing, fretting out or dead notes from the 12 fret up. Then I straighten the neck until the strings below the 12th fret start to fret out or buzz anywhere, then just turn the key back a quarter turn for the right relief for that guitar. This usually gives about 2mm string height above the 12th fret, you may get lower if you guitar has really level fret work or has a flatter radius. You won't know that until you try it. Easy peasey, not measurements needed.
Pal told me my action was too high for what I was doing and was like, what?This helps more than you think, it was clear u, actually showed everything, and how u change everything. Great content man. Also sick snakebite, I saw that!
Thanks! Glad you got some new information from this!
I think the illustration, the drawing showing neutral position vs forward bow and backward bow has an error. To correct forward bow (to reduce the relief) you need to tighten the truss rod by turning the adjuster clockwise not counter clockwise. To correct or reduce backward bow or to increase the relief, turn the adjuster nut counter clockwise.
on all my guitars I have slight relief, as an example, under tension (tuned to how you plan to play), with the 1st and 17th fret pressed, measure from top of fret to bottom of string (gap) = 0.006" [0.15mm]. also, NUT height is important so that strings don't produce sharp note as you press them near the nut, the gap at the 1st fret with the third pressed = 0.004" [0.10mm]. once Neck and Nut are set, bridge or string height. if I go below, gap = 0.050" [1.27mm] Low E @ 12th fret and 0.040" [1.0mm] High E, then I have to play too soft as to not get buzz. I think if you can get Low E 0.060" [1.5mm]/High E 0.050" [1.27mm] gap your guitar is playing well! But if I can throw anything out there to new bloods, check that neck relief 1st, the nut will be high if you just purchased the guitar or haven't had a setup done. Set the string gap to 2.0mm on the low E and 1.75mm then play and adjust by feel and how much buzz you can live with remembering that most of that buzz is acoustic and will not be heard when playing at volume as well as, all electric guitars have a little buzz or fret noise. (I only say all of this cuz I was driving myself crazy chasing low action, the internet had me convinced if I couldn't get a 1mm string gap with no buzz something was wrong with my guitar! That's BS! by the way ) Good luck!
You need to take in account the size of fret wire' for instance' tall frets and jumbo frets with a high action will cause the guitar to play sharp when fretting if you're heavy handed.
Its because youve got more room due to the fret being high its almost like a scalloped fretboard pressing to hard will increase tension therefore a sharp note.
I was always told to wait a couple days for the neck to settle after truss rod adjustments. It takes more time but the end resyis worth it. Make your adjustment,tune it back up and let it set. (Or o guess you could play it)
Point being check it again a vouole of days later.
i like to have the right bow so that the strings have the space they need to vibrate, confort is a thing but not if it compromises the tone or sustain or even tuning cuz when you press a note, you bend the string a little to
I agree with your approach on flattening the neck first. Everything starts there. You do need to check action at the top of the neck as well as down towards the body - 1st fret and 12th fret, preferably. You may need to adjust the nut slots or the actual height of the nut (sand it down or shim it up) and certainly the saddles or bridge height to get the action where you need it after you have the neck where it needs to be. Of course, you should also check the frets themselves as you may have some high frets that are causing buzz and need to be leveled and recrowned. People balk at the cost of a setup sometimes, but if the tech is thorough and adjusts everything that needs to be adjusted, you have a much better playing guitar. It is worth the effort or cost if you have someone else do it.
a straight neck is not well adjusted to me, i mean the real way is to have a bow in it
@@EricRobillard-b4j "The real way" is to have a neck adjusted with no fret buzz. How you get there is partly personal preference but if the neck I am working on doesn't need relief, then there is no need to add any. You start straight and add relief as necessary, but if you don't need it then why add it?
@@DanielBobke i dont know any string that doesn’t create a bow when it vibrates so if the point is to have the strings closer to the neck as possible the neck should have a light bow unless you like some fretbuzz or higher strings. i mean, that is my way of doing it but i think i understand the physics behind neck adjustment.
@@EricRobillard-b4j Most of the necks on my guitars are almost completely flat to very very slight relief. Very low action, no buzz.
@@EricRobillard-b4jExactly, on a 22 fret guitar playing on the 10th fret would produce the biggest amplitude right on the last fret, that’s the measure of how low it can be without buzzing. Fretting lower makes for a longer string with bigger amplitude that now falls over the frets, so it needs a bow to keep that low action, a perfectly straight neck will need to raise the bridge to make room for lower notes not to buzz
I prefer to get the proper string height at the nut first.
Also, check neck relief with the guitar in playing position with the tuning and string set the player will be using.
I know you said general setup but you really need a notched straight edge and a fret rocker.
The frets have to be level to get seriously low action.
You sure need to measure neck relief with the strings tuned to pitch to really know the pressure the neck is under. If you remove it you'll have to compensate when it inevitably bows when back in tune. And of course you need to do ALL this in playing position because gravity. Personally I think strings need to vibrate as unencumbered as possible to let them sing with real tone and sustain, not cater to lazyness and poor technique. So I set all my guitars at 5/64 E and 4/64 e
Every guitar is different, even the same models will have variances. Start with the nut and get the action at the first fret as low as possible while making sure to leave some meat on the nut for normal wear. Lower the bridge or saddles to your preference and then adjust the trussrod to leave the slightest bow at the 12th fret. Go over everything again to fine tune it if nessessary. Enjoy.
Wise words, this is true.Nut slot height can be the culprit most poeple don't aware of.
ALWAYS start with the truss rod adjustments if necessary. Neck relief is independent of the nut or the saddles or the strings. I like to start with a straight as possible neck - no or very little relief. The nut adjustments and bridge adjustments all come after you have the neck where it should be. I like to use a notched straightedge to measure the relief as I have found it more reliable than the string fretting method or feeler gauges.
Hey, if you believe cranking on the trussrod first, before getting the nut and bridge/saddles all at the preferred height works best? Rock on. Like you said, they're independent from each other. Obviously, if the neck relief is way off? You should start there. But if everything's already within spec, and your trying to fine tune the action so it's as low as possible without string buzz. I personally feel the trussrod will need some amount of fine tuning at more than one point in an optimally set up guitar. On a side note, zero neck relief is NOT optimum. I've found the opposite to be true. I can get the action lower all along the neck more consistently, with "some" amount of relief. Every guitar will need its own "tweaks" to get them as good as possible.
@@andrewbecker3700 Never said "crank on the truss rod first" - I said check the relief first. You only "crank on it" if you need to adjust. I don't agree on needing some relief in the neck. A minor amount is hard to get out but I start as straight as possible. Everything else being correct, the frets should all be the same distance from the strings. However, you do you!
Eric, I'm no stranger to setups, and I watched this vid just to get your take on the subject. I'm no more an expert on than I am a stranger to the subject, so I try to learn from other perspectives. One thing I noted is that your approach to the straightness of the neck is about the same as mine. Like you, I flatten the neck entirely, then investigate what happens when I go for just NATURAL relief -- the relief produced by the string tension when the guitar is tuned the way it's going to be played. I also believe that you know that one can change the TONE of a guitar without disrupting its feel with mechanical adjustments like these. In short, I think I've learned enough from this one video that you have earned the "like and subscribe" I just did.
Great information and it was a lot of information in a short amount of time.....thank you.
@@Metabo1950 you're welcome!
I want my action as low as possible, it's a HUGE difference going from my ibanez jbm100 to any of my other guitars. that guitar can handle super low action and it's just so easy to play
This is why is set my actions super low! Guitar should be easy and fun to play, not a chore!
❤that guitar. Takes me back to 1986, Metallica
@@bakerbrown6 🤘
adjusting my action now. I realized that I actually end up getting fret buzz not from low action but from not pressing hard enough
I make my necks perfectly straight with no strings. Then when I string them up with 10s they get slight bow. Still nearly straight. The straighter the neck the lower you can put the action.
Where I live the guitars swell in summer and some of them need the rod loosen a fraction, then back tight in winter.
Yup, exactly. In a way you can get the neck as straight as possible, or with a back bow, then let the strings pull it to the desired realm of bow / straightness.
thank god, when you first showed the action on the guitar i was like wtf that is super high, then you were like yeah we're gonna get this low and im like yeah im down for that
I am no expert but I am obsessive about how the neck feels. I tweak the neck on my main guitar (Anderson Lil Angel) kind of regularly. There are factors that I have observed; a cold neck vs a warm neck (one played or not played) actually is a "thing". I can pull the guitar out of the case and it feels kind of "high" but then once I start playing, it feels better. I'm not a scientist but there is something to this. Anyway, once adjustments are made, it changes slightly overnight. Again, I use feel probably more than anything but I also check how straight the neck is with a Notched straight edge and see if there is a space or wiggle etc. But ultimately I pretty much set it up to feel. Plays like butter too! Good video. Thanks for sharing my friend!
I set mine with a FR to 1mm at the 12th using one of those metal card gauges. Don't think I'd ever go lower but it makes playing so much easier...
I wish I could get 0.75mm, but 1mm is good enough
Lowest is not necessarily best, having the strings slightly higher than lowest make it easier to bend, and improves the tone. Some excellent players like their strings practically touching the frets, others like it higher, it depends on how you play. I'm not a shredder and bending is part of my blues style, plus I like playing with a slide too, so for me a slightly higher action is best, but it's still around 1/16" - which is where I usually start when setting-up a new guitar.
For sure! Higher action will sound better recorded since you can dig in more. But as I said, if this is your daily driver and you want to be inspired by a guitar that plays effortlessly, then low action may be for you.
bends are easier with low action. no the oppisite. why the heck would it be harder? also pull offs and everything else get easy. try it. go super low ;) even Tim Pierce loves it.
Bends are easier with low action not high action lol you’re huffing some copium brother
Also high action can make fast hammer ons and pull offs nearly impossible because the string will mute coming up before you can take your finger off the string. Having a slightly higher action can help with tone but it should be somewhat low or else you lock yourself out of a lot of legato options
Absolutely, strings are looser with high action because geometry, thus are easier to bend and because of that they're more responsive lo hammer ons and pull offs where the string is already fretted so what's the issue. Only barre chords are easier with low action
Low action with tall frets is amazing for fast legato 👌
My tuning is in c#, lowest action on jumbo frets and light string is too much vibration resulting to the string flopping around more than it should. So ai use 11's and a slightly higher action.
Yeah it’s more of a preference of sorts. But what’s most important. A lot of people suck at setting up a guitar. Finding a legit luthier isn’t even a for sure thing. I have a guy. His work is magic. His clientele says it all and if every player could try that they wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth not being cheap if you really don’t know in and out to do. It’s not hard to get a guitar somewhat alright but it’s a whole different thing having one that plays like you can’t put it down.
For sure it's all personal preference. If you want to learn, find someone skilled in the city you live in. If that's not an option be prepared to commute or learn on your own! Practice builds skill.
My1994 Fender Stratocastor (USA made) has an overhigh action even with the string saddles lowered as fully as possible and a straight neck. And when my string saddles are lowered I get buzz and dead notes after the 12th fret. I'm considering an angled wood shim in the neck pocket may help by changing the angle and bringing the neck up higher.
@@emilloffler1216 You might have to shim the neck in that case or take the action up And set it up following the neck radius
Thanks for a reply, Eric. Setting my action higher by adjusting up the strings saddles fixes the dead notes problem, but it is an uncomfortably high action. So I will be ordering a set of angled wooden neck pocket shims, hoping they may help. By changing the angle of the neck.
i think your neck relief adjustment is backwards, I thought you turn the truss rod clockwise to give it a backbow and counterclock wise to give it more relief?
Dude that Snakebite is SICK
It's a cool guitar that's for sure! EMG Het Set is sweet as well.
Great video! Currently dropping my action to minimize pitch shifts when fretting. 🤘
Thank you!
Thank you bro love it keep the tech stuff coming please
You're welcome!
Check the STRING HEIGHT AT THE NUT. If cowboy chords feel hard to play, it's probably the strings too high in the nut slots. This is a problem I've often seen in inexpensive ($200 or so) guitars, whether new or used, because they've never been through a good setup. The nut slots are higher than they need to be to guarantee no buzz when it's first put together, and that's "good enough" for cheap guitars. It's "too much" to do it on the assembly line, it takes (too much) time for a guitar tech at a retail store to do it, so it doesn't get done. I can understand hesitation to show this in a video, it needs special tools with a different width for each slot (or even each string gauge) and experience with not making the slot too low, but it has to be done to make a really good-playing guitar.
A few comments mentioned this, but I want to emphasize that the right nut slot depth is essential for a good-playing guitar.
I set the height with super heavy strings as low as possible, then I changed the strings to super stinkiest. It wss the perfect height between the string thickness difference
can you make a video with a guitar that has individual saddles at the bridge for each string? for example im trying to adjust the string height on an ibanez RG8 string and the bridge doesnt move all as one piece like the guitar in this video
@@maxwellholmes594 you would have to adjust each saddle individually with a hex key/Allen wrench and get each string to the desired height. It'll take longer to setup than a tune-o-matic
Nice video and very usefull informtaion, i m new to guitar and bought a used Harley Benton. The problem with my 3rd string at fret 13 if i press the string buzz, what is your advice, thank you.
Might have to adjust the neck or you may have a tall fret
@@EricMorettin Thank you
Vigier Shawn Lane model...factory action is 0.7mm on high E and 1.0mm on low E
As soon as I'm trying to get a low action I get string buzz if I fret the 12th fret and higher. It gets better when I give the truss rod and neck some relief. Maybe this is how it's supposed to be?
The only guitar i own that has medium height is the acoustic,you can try lowering the action on them but if you use thick strings you will get fret buzz so get a medium set say 11 52,not too thick but not thin either,i use 9 to 46 on my ibanez and 10 46 on my les paul copy,its really a personal preference
Awesome work Eric
Thanks Randy
Eric what kind/brand of guitar is that in this video? I couldn't quite see the headstock but that axe looks sweet as hell!
LTD James Hetfield Snakebite, thanks!
Hey bro, loved your video guide I just wanna know if the small amount of fret buzz is fine or not as long as you dont hear it through the amp, also the small amount of fret buzz is still audible in clean channel what shwld I do?
I'm wandering what to do if you don't have a trus rod. I have a '93 Squire Bullet Strat. Do I adjust the bridge?
The neck probably adjusts at the heel, and you'll probably have to take the neck off to adjust the trussrod on that guitar
A lot will depend on the guitar and the playing style. Zero relief and very low action can result in fret buzz. Fretboard radius will affect the ability to bend. A fairly rounded radius like a 9.5" or the 7.25" on vintage Fenders may require a slightly higher action to avoid strings choking when bending than say a 12" or flatter radius. There's definitely no 'right' way when it comes to setting your action.
A straight edge is the best way to check relief. Beats the heck out of fretting multiple places at once. Don''t forget nut slot height!
But slot height is also key for better paying and intonation!
@@EricMorettin Agreed. Checking that the nut slots are just above the fret plane is a good additional step when setting action as low as possible. Viewers should probably also be reminded that zero action may not work for shorter scale lengths, heavier gauge strings, and/or drop tunings. Sometimes the strings need a little more room to flop around. Like you, I set my necks flat as a pancake, but I put 8's on everything, and almost all my builds are Fender scale length. I install locknuts with the slots just above the fret plane, set the neck flat, set the action to 1.4mm at the 24th and call it a day.
Can I use bridge at the top lower end to lower strings closer to neck ?
@@LubaLuba1 yes, you can lower the bridge and the strings will get lower.
@@EricMorettin but I need to do top and bottom where can i buy adjustable top bridges?
Please make a video showing how to solder pickups plz!
I've been getting asked that a lot so eventually it'll happen!
@@EricMorettin awesome!!
Wouldn't this cause uneven playing action above the 12th fret?
@@tfejulienewmar not from my experience
Hey man I need some help. I have a squire Strat and the strings are fairly high and no matter what I do. NOTHING will get the strings lower. I’ve watched dozens and videos. Any tips?
Look at the neck relief to see if it is bowing or not. Make sure you adjust the individual string saddles lower as well. Worst case is that you might have to shim the neck to bring the neck closer to the strings
Are you sure? You show that to counter a neck with a lot of relief you turn the truss rod counter clockwise? I would turn it clockwise. Am I missing something?
Good info and things like that......
Great video man! Thank you for demistifying action setting...I just adjusted my Strat (thanks to you) and man what a difference! Lower action, straight and no string bussing! Loooove it!
Yngwie malmsteen plays with a high action not low but he plays in Eb its ok to have a bit of high action sometime as long as its comfortable see theres a balance and feel some people get used to the guitar they play
If you don't get your frets levelled this is all pretty redundant info, a zero fret is the only way to guarantee a low consistent action throughout the board, checkout the Latitude Cardinal guitar. 0.75 at the LOW E at the 12th fret. Insanely low action without fretting out.
Would've been useful to tell us what the action actually is at the end rather than saying low action because that could be any measurement
Good setup overview. Do look into nut height which should be done last
Yup for sure. If we're talking about factory fresh guitars, or a stock guitar that's been sitting for a while, this video should cover your basic setup needs
@@EricMorettin For most people indeed this video will suffice. If you're looking for the textbook treatment, usually it's the other way around. Many brands have excessive heights so that you can file it down to your preference. Hence, I hightly recommend a full setup from the get go to sort out the nut. Your video is perfect for maintainence from then on.
@@DazLeong yeah and the manufacturer doesn't know how the person buying the guitar is going to set it up or play it after. Best to have more material than less to work with!
What gauge string are you using and also what tuning?
10-52 in drop D
I like my action at 0.5 mm :) sweet low action make for super easy playing.
Nice 🤙 I just go by feel but having a measurement works too!
That's really low
Thanks
Question!!!🙋♂️
What do I do when my bridge is as tight to the body as it will get but yet my string height is still too high
Help
Probably needs a trussrod adjustment
@@EricMorettin Well, if I tighten the truss to flatten out the neck it does drop the string height a bit but then I run into the problem of not enough relief. I just don’t get it 🤷🏼♂️
@@Mike_HuntizWet Hard to say then. If it's a bolt on you could shim the neck
@@EricMorettin And of course it’s not 🤦♂️
It’s a set-neck
@@Mike_HuntizWet Best bet is to take it in and have a tech look at it in person
Yes lowe action equal fret buzz as well
I think you iterated your not a numbers guy, but do you know the string height from the 12th fret or a ball park?
Honestly no, since I set up guitars by feel, relative amount of fretboard buzz, and ease of playing. If I had to put a number on it, it would be around 1mm give or take depending on the tuning, string gauge, and neck relief.
@@EricMorettin thanks for getting back to me 🤘
@@CastIronRestore you're welcome! You can go down the rabbit hole on chasing numbers but at the end of the day you have to enjoy how the guitar is setup, and other guitars will sound or play better with different setups based on so many factors. So play around with setting up your guitar and see what you like best!
@@EricMorettin I totally agree. And that's right where I'm at, just looking around to see what other are at and how they like it.
If you post it, I watch it!!!!!
Thank you 🤘
How do you adjust the dts 400
Lower or higher, I am having some difficulty, so not perhaps a little lower but not to the lowest point. Let's see how that works out for me. I will give it a solid 5 of 7 on the educational value.
Take a shot every time he says "super". 😎 🍻
Cheers to that super idea 😎
I enjoyed the video anyway, but now I'm drunk!
2 birds, 1 stone. ❤️
I've always tried to find a comprise between nice low action , but also being able to getcha pull on the whammy , without the strings hitting any frets. ( Eg: that last Dimebomb on Gates ) It is a requirement that my guitars pass the Gates test 😄 . Cool vid brother 🤟
That's a tough balance for sure. A lot of it comes down to feel at that point, the right action at around the 2nd-5th fret, and having a good amount of gain helps.
@@EricMorettin Absolutely 💯 Not hard once you've done it a couple times. And yeah, definitely wanna be running hot 🔥🔥🔥
@@DJ_MiK you know it 😎
I don't understand the point of losening strings, because you adjust the neck bow to the tension of the strings.
Great video. Adjusting the tailpiece can also make a big difference in string tension and easy bending. Thanx.
and how is that? if you up the tailpiece ya the string will have less tention but then you will have to turn your tuners to retune the string lol so your then back to the same tension. ;) crazy but true lol
So you can't adjust the height of individual strings?
On a tune-o-matic bridge, no. Other bridges like a hipshot with individual saddles, yes.
OK Thanks!
wow, very informative, everything there, quite a bit to unpack in one episode, have to watch that a few times with my sh+t opened up, very good
Thanks! Glad you took lots away from it!
3:13 😂 im sorry, but my ocd kicked in. Those strings. 🤔 Potential to stab or prick, poke an 👁️ out, and tuning instability
The nut doesnt look like it was seated right.
It was sitting just fine with no string slipping.
How do you figure that?
@@troyskinnard1393 in the beginning of the video where he held the first fret down, look at the bottom of the nut. There is a gap. It could sit better in my opinion
@@memq1987I see the gap but I don’t think that means it’s not seated correctly.
I totally agree. It's not seated correctly. There should be no gap under the nut, the fitment is super important for sound transfer. Sloppy construction, he should pop the nut loose and file the bottom of it flat or fix the spot on the neck where it sits so that its flat.
low action is difficult for bending technique
Why? I figured the lower the action the less tension there is on the strings which should make bending the strings easier?
Is that guitar supposed to be AFTER you lowered the action? Because it still looks really high, and your nut is terrible high too, at least on the low E string when you preseed fret 1.
For a video title (supposedly) telling people how to get the LOWEST action the video is quite poor. You should have shown before and after adjustments, played it to show fret buzz, covered fret levelling and fall away etc. I know it's mean to criticise small youtubers and I really do hope your channel grows, but please be careful with your titles, and your content was sketchy.
The bihgest trick is to make it low as possible but with no buzz thats the problem.
If the buzz comes through the amp, that's an issue. If not, then carry on.
A low action will never have the same tone as a hich action guitar will, you sound cleaner and your bends are better with a high action, you feel like you have more room when your changing chords and it makes the guitar louder, so yea, do what this guy tell you, jaja not me
bro is beautiful
How did I miss the actual point of this video which was action measurement and adjustment?!
Not gonna watcha second time, it sounds like an omission. 😡
How to get low action
My face
Why do all you people talk so dam fast. Go step by step slowly
Low action sucks
Thanks for sharing
i can never get mine low i put the neck straight and i have to have the bridge extremely high just for the first frets to ring out..i hate this help me💔 my action is to the moon!
I always setup trus rod and everything after in playing position.
But strings gauge is really matters also.
For example i noticed it is heavy to adjust fat strings with skinny frets without buzzing.
It is possible but only with higher action.
Anyway it is better for me guitars where i can adjust each string height, also easier to intonate guitar.
Also all depends on a guitar.
Even same models you cant sometimes adjust same way.
For example i have two same Gios and i like to play in that Bolt Thrower C sharp standard tune and works fine but it was hard to adjust it.
Also on E first string i must to cut springs on the sadlles and make it shorter because it was impossible to intonate it cuz there was no space to move saddle back to make string longer.
Thats a " chasing a tuner needle " part
Same model i tried do that all and it simple doesnt work and i noticed why.
Different piece of wood was used during a producing of guitar and wood wont to cooperate and thats all.
So i tried other strings gauge and it now works perfectly on D standard tune.
Point is to do with guitar what she let you to do.
Otherwise you can win it but you must change nut first of all.
I made it from bones and important thing is how strings.seats on a nut.
It is much better when you made it strings to seats little bit out of gaps on nut.
More then a half of string gauge to be out from nut.
After that on cheap guitars you can also remove neck and put pieces of furnier in neck pocket, thats a way you can use straight neck with lower action wihout buzzing.
I mean you can change angle of neck in neck pocket if it is bolted model.
Sorry for bad english but thats a way i do it.