Agree completely. It's also nice to be able to fix minor issues without having to find someone that knows what they're doing, have to part with the guitar for a period of time, and pay someone to do it. I'm considering buying a cheap wreck of a guitar and buying a few tools and learning how to replace frets. I do a lot of vibrato but seem to only wear a handful of frets in certain places. It'd be nice to change the worn ones one at a time as issues arise.
@@bobroberts1530 I'm probably middle of the road on frets - don't destroy them too fast, don't baby them either. The idea of having my Novo refretted at some point keeps me up at night.
You want to install a capo on the first fret also when measuring neck relief. Then fret and hold at the fret where the body joins the neck. This forms a straight line between the first fret and the body joint fret area. Now measure the neck relief (the distance between the tip of the 7th fret and low E string) using a feeler gage at the 7th fret. Adjust per manufacture specs or to your preference. I set my Fenders at 0.008 to 0.011. Gibsons a bit less. All the measuring is done in the playing position and with the guitar tuned well before all measurements! Also, don't forget to check the condition of the fretboard for dryness on wood that requires moisture (rosewood for instance) after cleaning. Keeping the wood with proper hydration is key a long-life fretboard. I use heavily filtered Linseed oil or Music Nomad F-One Oil is really good also. Maple necks with clear coat over them do not require oil.
The best way I've found is to put your staight edge down the center of the neck and measure the relief at the 7th fret with a feeler gauge. A capo isn't necessary with this. Using a cap and measuring under the top string is a hit and miss as it can be hard to see if the string is moving because of the clearance or because you have the feeler gauge slightly cocked. Using the straight edge removes all doubt as the feeler gauge will pass under the straight edge or it won't. If you don't have a straight edge then maybe you should be paying someone else to do your setups....
@@robertakerman3570 You want the guitar to be perfectly in tune both when you strum it open and when you fret the 12th fret. If they aren't both in tune, that means all of your frets on that string are out of alignment by a small amount, making the tuning of each fret a little bit sharp or flat. When each string has varying intonation, that makes strumming chords sound like ass because each note is either a little bit sharp or flat. You want the 12th fret to be perfectly in the middle of the string when you fret it down, so adjusting the saddle of a string lets you move the center of the string up or down the neck.
I had a great experience with Music Nomad when I got my full set of nut files I wanted one of the smaller metal containers to keep my most used files in and I contacted Music Nomad and they just asked for proof of purchase and happily shipped me the smaller gold container they use for the smaller file sets... no charge. Good Folks!
The way I've checked my intonation since the 70's has been to play a harmonic on the 12th fret and then play the note at the 12th fret and they should be the same. If the fretted note is sharper you need to lengthen the string and if it's flat then you shorten the string length. (shorter strings create sharper notes)
The way I remember to adjust saddles for intonation is if you touch something sharp with your finger your reaction is to pull it back. So if the string is sharp, pull the saddle back. I forget where I heard this but I’ve remembered it since. Big fan of your channel!
think of it like a tire, if your tire is flat you'd push/move the air (forward) into the tire. if there is something sharp in the tire you'd pull it out, thats how my middle school band teacher taught us
A useful tip for remembering which way the saddle needs to move when intonating is you need to move the saddle in the direction of your tuner needle. i.e. if the note is sharp and the needle is to the right of centre then the saddle needs to be moved in that direction, to the right. If the note is flat and the needle is to the left of centre then move your saddle to the left.
Hi thanks for the tip but I'm very confused. 1} looking at the saddle from the body end of the guitar. wouldn't the term be move up or down as there's no sideways movement to call it left of right.? 2) If looking down the guitar while in playing position the left and right positions of the saddle would be different from looking from the bottom of the guitar. Meaning left would be right and right would be left. Could you please clarify from what direction you are looking at the bridge. At the moment I see 3 (plausible directional options). Thanks David
This honestly was some much needed knowledge for someone who’s been playing guitar for 10+ years and never done a set up myself. Tons of great advice and it’s much appreciated!
Well there was a lot of bad advice in this. Never use a guitar pick under the first fret when checking if the truss rod needs adjusting. Use a capo instead. Also 0.600 feeler gauge is way too slim. He should have been using an 0.010 or 0.110 feeler gauge. This stuff is the basics and he made a video with epic errors.
I love this. I do Repairs at Guitar Center, and this is something everyone should know. It’s all personal preference and everyone doing setups do them a little different. To get a guitar the way you like/need it’s good to know how to fix problems that arise. Also, I wanted to give a trick on polishing frets easier. 0000 steel wool is amazing. Use the same blocker so it doesn’t hit the board, but it seems to work faster and better than the compounds. Plus if your doing a darker wood that isn’t covered with clear coat, you can polish the board with the same steel wool and oil when finished. Literally my favorite process to do to a guitar. And the before and after are super drastic. A fretboard is the first thing that you feel on a guitar and to have it not crusted up with dead skin and dried sweat is a lovely feeling.
1) String Change 2:41 2) Truss Rod Adjustment 6:00 3) String Action 9:14 (no title card for this step) 4) Set Bridge Radius 11:18 5) Set Intonation 12:58
22 seconds into this video and I love it!!! I have more guitars than I wish to confess, but the change in location/seasons, makes it a requirement to keep them happy! Your video is excellent!!! I have been setting-up my own collection for the past 30 years and you did an excellent job of summing-up the process.
I just bought a Fender Squier Contemporary Telecaster this week. The string gage was too big for me and quite honestly that guitar needed some love. So I took it to the guitar shop for a good setup. Having said that, it is my intention to broaden my knowledge of guitar maintenance so I can learn to do these adjustments on my own. Regards from Ottawa, Canada.
thanks so much. im stilling learning myself. figured out to just put regular home style oil down in truss rod and after 2 times it started to move. lots of corrosion from living by the beach. that usually works. saved me probably 100 bucks.
Yes, please make a separate vid for setting up the different bridge styles. I know there are plenty of vids out there but the way you just went through this made it SUPER easy to follow. I've been playing nearly 35 years and I like you have outsourced my setups and realize it's time to do it myself. Thanks for all you do and all you share, brother!
a good acronym I learned to remember the order is T.R.A.I.N. - Tune, Relief, Action, Intonation, Nut/Noodle. it's helped me dial in setups really well, better than I used to achieve
I like to put some tape on each side of my fret guard things so that it's a little wider on each side. Helps keep polish off the fretboard and keeps tools from scratching anything depending on what you're doing.
Two years ago I lived in a hot humid environment with a good tech nearby. Now I live in a cooler dryer environment, no tech for 2 hundred kms. My guitars took 18 months to adapt to my new location. I bought the tools and did the research to do almost the required work.
I’ve watched many of these set up videos. This is the first one I’ve seen that made me feel like I can do it well. There’s a difference between a tech instructing on this and a player. Players lean more on common sense.
The gauge set alone is great and you can do a lot of the rest with household tools and a string winder/cutter tool. Using the gauges was how I learned that my acoustic needed pro attention and now it plays like a dream
Its great to see this Aussie company being used around the globe, iI ove my music nomad products :D I am ocd about my setups, the only step im yet to tackle is installing a new nut.
This is the kind of thing I've been needing to learn more about thank you Rhett. All the comments are making everything confusing but I'll figure it out when the time comes
Im a mechanical engineer. I didnt know just how badly I was neglecting my guitars. Thank you so much for this video. Caring for your guitars is fun, technical and feels great. You've changed my life lol.
My first ~15 years in a working band I had a guitar tech come to my house on Mondays and check/adjust/restring the guitars I was using. In the mid-80's, as my guitar collection grew past 30, I decided to learn and do it myself. Now I don't gig much, and I have a small shop at my home and do work for others. A lot of the setup is subjective. I would recommend getting a book on setups by Dan Erlewine. He has a shop in Ohio and consults for StewMac, you can get the book there. His methods and advice is very good, and the book includes pictures/charts etc. It's a good resource in addition to watching YT videos. JMHO Peace --gary
When I get new or used guitar, I often roughly setup the action using current / old strings. This is when I adjust the truss rod straight, file or change the nut and adjust saddles height. After that I remove the strings, clean and oil up the fretboard and pots. With the new strings I setup the intonation and sometimes the truss rod little bit more. The stratocaster is satisfying to setup and makes you wanna play more often and longer.
Clark Dolan Thanks for your setup info. I set up compensated Tele saddles by setting one to pitch and the other sharp. I’ve found I can file the sharp side to pitch, checking with the tuner. It takes some time but it’s worth it.
Great vid Rhett. One comment: the action will change a bit when you change the string length for setting intonation. I always go back and forth: adjust action, then adjust strength length for intonation, then double check the action again to fine tune it, then double check intonation again. It's kind of dance, but you get there eventually.
After seeing Rhett's wonderful guitar tech set up in his very dark basement has inspired me to stop waiting for a proper man cave. I will find a corner in my very dark basement and set up myself a guitar tech spot that I have been dreaming of for about 2 years now.
The Music Nomad nut file kit is a Patented design that makes tackling this sometimes tricky job much easier. Dollar Store nail files may get you by in a pinch, but if your serious about getting it right the first time it's $80 bucks well spent. Some tools are on a different level. This is one such tool. You'll never want to do it any other way, once you've used them.
As far as adjusting intonation is concerned, it is a good practice to let some of the tension off the string before you adjust it...also, checking the 5th and 17th frets as well as the open and 12th fret can provide a little more accuracy...
I recommend a quality straight edge and a notched straight edge for checking neck straightness and relief. I also agree with Mr.Greg Davis as far as setting neck relief. It's quick, easy and accurate. The straight edge will verify the accuracy of those adjustments. Most manufactures have set up specs on their web sites, these are average specs. I would recommend adjusting those to personal preference (ie; higher or lower, etc.). Most adjustments should be made to ones playing style (relief, action, pickup height, etc.) except intonation. As far as tools check StewMac, Philadelphia Luthier, AllParts, Luthiers Mercantile and Solo Guitars (In Canada), just to name a few. I have gotten tools from all of them over the years with no regrets.
I learned to do basic setups when I first started playing guitar, and have refined my process over the years. I suggest every to learn how to do it, as you can adjust your guitar over time to get the very best results. On all my guitars with truss rods, adjusting them affects the tone - Something that is rarely mentioned. I was adjusting the truss rod on an Acoustic Electric last night, and though I can adjust the string height to nearly flat, the guitar really sings and plays better when the action is rather high, so that's where it's set. On my Strat, I could never get the truss rod to balance the relief between the treble and bass string - If one side was good, the other side wasn't. Then one day I decided to just flatten the neck so there was no relief without the strings on. After that, I've been able to get a balanced relief across all the strings.
Two notes: 1. When checking the action/string height, it's not necessary to fret the string at the 1st fret. Just measure the height of the open string, and 2. It's best to loosen the string before raising the saddles, tightening the truss rod or adjusting intonation.
Fretting the strings at the first fret when checking action is a good practice because it takes the nut out of the equation and gives you a more consistent reading. It isn’t strictly necessary, but it is absolutely not a harmful practice. It’s also 100% unnecessary to loosen the strings to make the adjustments you mentioned. Just simply does not matter and is just a waste of time and effort. The only exception being if you are trying to raise the bridge on a Tune O Matic style bridge; it can sometimes be helpful (or even necessary) to loosen the strings before raising the action. Other than that it does not matter.
@@vitreous_luster You are right about checking the action, if the nut is cut right. Most of the time you are fretting an open string, so string height of the open string is of utmost importance for playability. Loosening the string when adjusting the height of the saddle or intonation is also important. It helps prevent stripping the set screws when raising the saddle and allows the set screws to slide easier when intonating. I agree about during truss rod adjustment, unless the truss rod is hard to tighten to begin with.
A tremolo video would be GREAT! It’s never a bad idea to see it done right again, as I can always see or find ‘something’ in another method that I hadn’t caught before. Thx
If you can find someone who cuts custom bottle necks, they can probably cut you a slide with a built-in radius that will make a better match for that 7.25r neck than what you're using. I have cut myself a couple of wine bottle pinky slides with a curve that fits those old Fender necks better than what's on the market. I use a '63 Duo Sonic for my dedicated open G slide guitar and having the right curve helps keep your contact with the strings light and consistant. Also, sanding the glass can make a better surface interface with the strings for uniform contact and sustain.
Great video. I have always wanted to do my own set ups but felt so daunted by the process and did not want to completely mess up my guitar to the point of now being even worse off than when I started.
I love the Music Nomad products. I own about 8 of their items, and I've been very-pleased with each-of-them. Great info presented here. oNe LovE from NYC
Love this style content. Something every musician needs to learn. How to care for your instrument and keep it playing properly. Makes playing so much more enjoyable. Much love Rhett
Great idea for a video. Rhett I’ve had my Tele setup for slide playing for years. What I’ve done lately is run baritone strings on it and play it in Open C/F, although lately I’ve been using more Open G/D with these strings as it is for me a better compromise between slide and fretted playing. And as more of an acoustic finger style player it feels more natural under my right hand.
I've never seen that fret polishing tool before nor have I polished my frets. Will definitely have to do this from now on. Great video Rhett, thank you.
Learning to setup and repair my guitars allowed me to parlay it into a side gig. With the froth of guitars during the pandemic I actually had to file the income on my taxes I did so many setups and repairs.
Thanks to the pandemic I got pretty decent at setting up my own guitars. Some hits and misses, but when I'm in the zone I can really dial in the action and vibe like how my favorite guitar tech does it. The only thing I really need practice with is fret levelling which still scares me, but hey I'll get there too lol. It's a very fulfilling process and helpful down the line because who doesn't wanna perfect the feel of their own guitars?
A little tip to help remember where the saddle needs to go when setting intonation: if the fretted note on the 12th fret is sharp, you need to move the saddle towards the bridge, the bridge is sharp (you can cut your hand on a sharp surface), if the note is flat, move the saddle towards the headstock which is flat itself. Always helps me to remember in an instant :) Good video dude! Doing your own setups might seem scary at first, once you learn it though you wonder why'd you pay someone else to do it instead :')
Your video was great. I am very new to setting up guitars and actually have an old Yamaha I am going to practice on. I got to get some money because the tools are not cheap but your instructions were great. I have to learn how to setup that tremolo first I think though. The guitar was taken apart and painted for me so it is completely resetting up everything.
The way I've always remembered intonation adjustment is in relation to intonation, deeper notes go with longer scale length while higher notes go with shorter scale length.
If you live in the SF Bay Area, Music Nomad teamed up with SF Guitar Works (Hey Geoff!) to develop their setup method. SF Guitar Works also has a great “Setup” class to teach you all the ins and outs, as well as a being a fantastic repair shop.
Thanks to the pandemic, I had to learn how to do this to some very well neglected guitars that survived several moves and were stored in cases for years at a time. With all of the extra time I began playing again, spending multiple hours each day practicing and learning new things. I decided that I wanted to bring everything up to speed and was able to revive the playability of some guitars that I hadn't used for years!
For the intonation part, if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Peterson strobe tuner you can use a tuner app like Airyware strobe tuner on Android. It is crucial to use a really accurate tuner because if you don't the guitar will sound out of tune the further you go up on the neck.
In case you're wondering, the suggestions to capo the 1st fret when measuring neck relief and adjusting the truss rod is to eliminate differences in nut heights. If your nut is fine, you don't necessarily need to capo, but it is the best practice to capo it for uniformity. Either way just make sure your measurements are relative (don't adjust relief once with a capo and the next time without, or mix them up on different guitars).
I always felt my crapy playing , was due to my guitar setup. Well not really, but knowing how to do this all yourself builds more confidence in one's guitar playing. Great advice.
Those Music Nomad Fret polish guards work very well. I have them, and use them now. Can't speak to the polish. I'm still using some ultra fine abrasion sheets I have. On unfinished fretboards, (rosewood et al), four 0 steel wool starts the polish on the frets as well as cleaning the fretboard. Handy.
@@michaelvarney. Which is why I always tape up my pickups with painters tape before using steel wool. :) I tape the sound holes on acoustics, too. Everything I've ever seen on steel wool teaches that right up front, including the fellow at my local guitar store who taught me how to do it. So i was lucky, and got that advice right from the get-go.
Rhett, just like setting up the truss was done with the guitar in playing position and tuned because of slight pressure on the neck in the bench rest position, after adjusting the action on any string(s), you should check the tuning again (for your chosen "playing pitch") before checking the results of the action height adjustment since adjusting the action up or down will change the tuning and the tuned pitch affects the total pressure pull of the strings. Good stuff, nice video.
I use a comparison between the 12/24 fret, and the 12/24 harmonic. Seems to work fairly well. It’s on a Steinberger-style bridge with the tray and bridge blocks, which is a little trickier than with the horizontal adjusting screws. A lot of “nudging” is involved, but it has tended to remain pretty stable over the years. “Vintage” only because I’ve had it for a long time. 🤣 Love the content these days. Useful and often timely info along with the entertainment.👍🏼
This clip was great, Rhett. Your clarity and confidence inspired me to do my first truss rod adjustment on my own Tele today. Glad to report your guidance is very effective.
For the intonation bit, a good approach is to think... since it's sharp, to lower the note you need to make it more like a bass (longer) and obviously the reverse is true.
Whether to raise or lower the pickups is a handy bit of knowledge, and easy to do. A bridge pin remover on a key ring can be handy. Surprising how many players about to go on stage realise at the last moment that their nails need cutting/filing and have nothing to do that with.
As always, a huge quality content Rhett! Over the last months I've been studying about guitar maintenance, rather than only playing. Maybe a cliché, but doing those setups kinda strengthen the bond with the instrument - the same as working in your car. Music Nomad also helps a lot in the process - F-One conditioner, Polisher and Detailer are now a “must have” in my toolbox!
The radius check is good, but if you have a hybrid (or compound) radius (meaning that the radius isn't the same at both ends of the neck) you might want to check in more than one place.... hybrid (compound) can be tricky to calculate the height at the saddles...
I have been setting up my guitars and basses myself now for about 5 years, I had a guy that did it for me and when he went from $80 to$100 then he went to $125, plus strings, not bad for guitar but basses the strings I get are expensive. My Guild is a little difficult because it has a Kayhler bridge, but I learned. As long as you don't change gauge of strings once you intonation nothing should change.
The only thing I missed is, when I`m tuning new strings for first time I overbend the strings by pulling them with my right hand. After that they need to be tuned up more than one note. This helps a lot to find the right intonation.
Yes, please show a setup for other types, trem, Floyd rose, Les Paul, rosewood and or ebony fretboards, and any and all other guitar setup info I may not be thinking of…
Great set-up overview Rhett. I’ve watched several and you made it simple. In the future it would be great to see a setup on your pickup heights relative to the strings for your different models. TY
I have just done the setup of my guitar some weeks ago. Might need to look into truss rod adjustment a bit more but good to know I've pretty much covered all the steps.
Hey I just wanna thank you for you’re videos. Because of watching you my guitar playing got much better, I learned so much from your videos copied your riffs that you played. This just helped me out with my playing and understand the notes and how to connect everything. I am playing the guitar for 11 years now (I stared with 11 years old) but I didn’t play a lot just go to the lessons and sometimes at home. Now I’m older and it just helps out in my life to get through anything. So I got to thank you to make my guitar playing improve by a lot and to make my life beautiful and amazing. Sorry for my bad grammar ;) Edit: maybe a little of a weird request, would it be possible if I send you a clip of me playing guitar would be a little dream come true.
Appreciate this video very much. I've been playing for 20+ years and been trying to do more and more as far as knowing everything about guitars and just very recently I got access to a cnc router, so I've been trying to learn just everything from building to maintaining etc.
Thanks, Rhett, this was very helpful--learned or was reminded clearly about how to use the tools and follow the process. The mnemonic for intonation I learned is "Flat Fret Forward" (i.e. flat at the fret, move the saddle forward.)
When I started there was no RUclips tutorials or internet. I had to order books in the mail or check local libraries for books on setting up. Now there's no excuse but laziness, or fear of messing something up beyond repair. I've been doing my own wiring and setups for the last 30 years.
Hey Rhett.... Great Video! Yes.... PLEASE do a set up video on setting up a strat, floating and non-floating .... this is very informative and very helpful and very much appreciated!
intonation will also be affected by your action and truss rod settings and the height of the strings at rest from the nut to 1st fret. certain notes across an octave on each string will be slightly sharp or flat, this can be fixed by shifting the crowning on those frets forward or backward from center.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I started doing my own setups about 5 years ago. There's something about setting up your own guitar that just makes it feel even better
There's something awesome in getting your instrument to play the way you envision it in your head.
Some days your ears just pick up a dissonance that you can’t ignore. Just love being able to flatten a “wave”, even if I’m the only one who notices.😇
Agree completely. It's also nice to be able to fix minor issues without having to find someone that knows what they're doing, have to part with the guitar for a period of time, and pay someone to do it. I'm considering buying a cheap wreck of a guitar and buying a few tools and learning how to replace frets. I do a lot of vibrato but seem to only wear a handful of frets in certain places. It'd be nice to change the worn ones one at a time as issues arise.
I started doing it myself 30 years ago because I never got one back the way I want it.
@@bobroberts1530 I'm probably middle of the road on frets - don't destroy them too fast, don't baby them either. The idea of having my Novo refretted at some point keeps me up at night.
You want to install a capo on the first fret also when measuring neck relief. Then fret and hold at the fret where the body joins the neck. This forms a straight line between the first fret and the body joint fret area. Now measure the neck relief (the distance between the tip of the 7th fret and low E string) using a feeler gage at the 7th fret. Adjust per manufacture specs or to your preference. I set my Fenders at 0.008 to 0.011. Gibsons a bit less. All the measuring is done in the playing position and with the guitar tuned well before all measurements! Also, don't forget to check the condition of the fretboard for dryness on wood that requires moisture (rosewood for instance) after cleaning. Keeping the wood with proper hydration is key a long-life fretboard. I use heavily filtered Linseed oil or Music Nomad F-One Oil is really good also. Maple necks with clear coat over them do not require oil.
100% agree I do exactly that with using a feeler gauge !Takes all the guess work out of the equation
@@mcburney74 Sean Hi. I got lost w/intonation. If the machine head is perfectly tuned, not sure what's happening @ the bridge.
Agreed. Evaluate current set-up before the strings come off.
The best way I've found is to put your staight edge down the center of the neck and measure the relief at the 7th fret with a feeler gauge. A capo isn't necessary with this. Using a cap and measuring under the top string is a hit and miss as it can be hard to see if the string is moving because of the clearance or because you have the feeler gauge slightly cocked. Using the straight edge removes all doubt as the feeler gauge will pass under the straight edge or it won't. If you don't have a straight edge then maybe you should be paying someone else to do your setups....
@@robertakerman3570 You want the guitar to be perfectly in tune both when you strum it open and when you fret the 12th fret. If they aren't both in tune, that means all of your frets on that string are out of alignment by a small amount, making the tuning of each fret a little bit sharp or flat. When each string has varying intonation, that makes strumming chords sound like ass because each note is either a little bit sharp or flat. You want the 12th fret to be perfectly in the middle of the string when you fret it down, so adjusting the saddle of a string lets you move the center of the string up or down the neck.
I had a great experience with Music Nomad when I got my full set of nut files I wanted one of the smaller metal containers to keep my most used files in and I contacted Music Nomad and they just asked for proof of purchase and happily shipped me the smaller gold container they use for the smaller file sets... no charge. Good Folks!
The way I've checked my intonation since the 70's has been to play a harmonic on the 12th fret and then play the note at the 12th fret and they should be the same. If the fretted note is sharper you need to lengthen the string and if it's flat then you shorten the string length. (shorter strings create sharper notes)
Got that right!!!
Noob question - how do you play a harmonic?
@@mydearriley Instead of pressing the string against the fingerboard you just touch the string with your fingertip.
The way I remember to adjust saddles for intonation is if you touch something sharp with your finger your reaction is to pull it back. So if the string is sharp, pull the saddle back. I forget where I heard this but I’ve remembered it since. Big fan of your channel!
think of it like a tire, if your tire is flat you'd push/move the air (forward) into the tire. if there is something sharp in the tire you'd pull it out, thats how my middle school band teacher taught us
iF the Fretted note is Flat, move the saddle Forward ;)
If it’s flat, force it forward. If it’s sharp, shove it back. My instructor at Epiphone quality inspection taught me that one.
A useful tip for remembering which way the saddle needs to move when intonating is you need to move the saddle in the direction of your tuner needle. i.e. if the note is sharp and the needle is to the right of centre then the saddle needs to be moved in that direction, to the right. If the note is flat and the needle is to the left of centre then move your saddle to the left.
Hi thanks for the tip but I'm very confused. 1} looking at the saddle from the body end of the guitar. wouldn't the term be move up or down as there's no sideways movement to call it left of right.?
2) If looking down the guitar while in playing position the left and right positions of the saddle would be different from looking from the bottom of the guitar. Meaning left would be right and right would be left. Could you please clarify from what direction you are looking at the bridge. At the moment I see 3 (plausible directional options).
Thanks David
@@Kingofrestrrooms666 yes the guitar is in the playing position for this tip to make sense, and from a right handed guitarists perspective.
@@Kingofrestrrooms666 left would shorten scale length, right would lengthen it. Up and down saddle movement would adjust string height.
i mean like yea depending on which way you're facing? lmao
🙄@@kylezo
This honestly was some much needed knowledge for someone who’s been playing guitar for 10+ years and never done a set up myself. Tons of great advice and it’s much appreciated!
Well there was a lot of bad advice in this. Never use a guitar pick under the first fret when checking if the truss rod needs adjusting. Use a capo instead. Also 0.600 feeler gauge is way too slim. He should have been using an 0.010 or 0.110 feeler gauge. This stuff is the basics and he made a video with epic errors.
I love this. I do Repairs at Guitar Center, and this is something everyone should know. It’s all personal preference and everyone doing setups do them a little different. To get a guitar the way you like/need it’s good to know how to fix problems that arise.
Also, I wanted to give a trick on polishing frets easier. 0000 steel wool is amazing. Use the same blocker so it doesn’t hit the board, but it seems to work faster and better than the compounds. Plus if your doing a darker wood that isn’t covered with clear coat, you can polish the board with the same steel wool and oil when finished. Literally my favorite process to do to a guitar. And the before and after are super drastic. A fretboard is the first thing that you feel on a guitar and to have it not crusted up with dead skin and dried sweat is a lovely feeling.
1) String Change 2:41
2) Truss Rod Adjustment 6:00
3) String Action 9:14 (no title card for this step)
4) Set Bridge Radius 11:18
5) Set Intonation 12:58
Thanks I appreciate 🙏
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22 seconds into this video and I love it!!! I have more guitars than I wish to confess, but the change in location/seasons, makes it a requirement to keep them happy! Your video is excellent!!! I have been setting-up my own collection for the past 30 years and you did an excellent job of summing-up the process.
I just bought a Fender Squier Contemporary Telecaster this week. The string gage was too big for me and quite honestly that guitar needed some love. So I took it to the guitar shop for a good setup. Having said that, it is my intention to broaden my knowledge of guitar maintenance so I can learn to do these adjustments on my own. Regards from Ottawa, Canada.
thanks so much. im stilling learning myself. figured out to just put regular home style oil down in truss rod and after 2 times it started to move. lots of corrosion from living by the beach. that usually works. saved me probably 100 bucks.
Yes, please make a separate vid for setting up the different bridge styles. I know there are plenty of vids out there but the way you just went through this made it SUPER easy to follow. I've been playing nearly 35 years and I like you have outsourced my setups and realize it's time to do it myself.
Thanks for all you do and all you share, brother!
I love the set up lessons. It would be great to see it on other types of guitars, including acoustic and tremolo guitars. Thanks!
And basses!
a good acronym I learned to remember the order is T.R.A.I.N. - Tune, Relief, Action, Intonation, Nut/Noodle. it's helped me dial in setups really well, better than I used to achieve
I like to put some tape on each side of my fret guard things so that it's a little wider on each side. Helps keep polish off the fretboard and keeps tools from scratching anything depending on what you're doing.
Chase the needle! (On the tuner) That’s something I was told when learning how you intonate a guitar in regards whether to make I shorter or longer
Did exactly this after switching parts on the guitar. It not only sounds better, it also plays way better due to the action beeing set properly.
Two years ago I lived in a hot humid environment with a good tech nearby. Now I live in a cooler dryer environment, no tech for 2 hundred kms. My guitars took 18 months to adapt to my new location. I bought the tools and did the research to do almost the required work.
I’ve watched many of these set up videos. This is the first one I’ve seen that made me feel like I can do it well. There’s a difference between a tech instructing on this and a player. Players lean more on common sense.
Love to see a floating/locked bridge setup. Great video. Thanx!
The gauge set alone is great and you can do a lot of the rest with household tools and a string winder/cutter tool. Using the gauges was how I learned that my acoustic needed pro attention and now it plays like a dream
Its great to see this Aussie company being used around the globe, iI ove my music nomad products :D
I am ocd about my setups, the only step im yet to tackle is installing a new nut.
This is the kind of thing I've been needing to learn more about thank you Rhett. All the comments are making everything confusing but I'll figure it out when the time comes
Im a mechanical engineer. I didnt know just how badly I was neglecting my guitars. Thank you so much for this video. Caring for your guitars is fun, technical and feels great. You've changed my life lol.
Set up videos by someone who is kinda just getting into it are the best! Rhett, you nailed it with the thorough explanation of the various steps!
My first ~15 years in a working band I had a guitar tech come to my house on Mondays and check/adjust/restring the guitars I was using. In the mid-80's, as my guitar collection grew past 30, I decided to learn and do it myself. Now I don't gig much, and I have a small shop at my home and do work for others. A lot of the setup is subjective. I would recommend getting a book on setups by Dan Erlewine. He has a shop in Ohio and consults for StewMac, you can get the book there. His methods and advice is very good, and the book includes pictures/charts etc. It's a good resource in addition to watching YT videos. JMHO Peace --gary
When I get new or used guitar, I often roughly setup the action using current / old strings. This is when I adjust the truss rod straight, file or change the nut and adjust saddles height. After that I remove the strings, clean and oil up the fretboard and pots. With the new strings I setup the intonation and sometimes the truss rod little bit more. The stratocaster is satisfying to setup and makes you wanna play more often and longer.
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Clark Dolan
Thanks for your setup info.
I set up compensated Tele saddles by setting one to pitch and the other sharp. I’ve found I can file the sharp side to pitch, checking with the tuner.
It takes some time but it’s worth it.
Great vid Rhett. One comment: the action will change a bit when you change the string length for setting intonation. I always go back and forth: adjust action, then adjust strength length for intonation, then double check the action again to fine tune it, then double check intonation again. It's kind of dance, but you get there eventually.
After seeing Rhett's wonderful guitar tech set up in his very dark basement has inspired me to stop waiting for a proper man cave.
I will find a corner in my very dark basement and set up myself a guitar tech spot that I have been dreaming of for about 2 years now.
The Music Nomad nut file kit is a Patented design that makes tackling this sometimes tricky job much easier. Dollar Store nail files may get you by in a pinch, but if your serious about getting it right the first time it's $80 bucks well spent. Some tools are on a different level. This is one such tool. You'll never want to do it any other way, once you've used them.
Great example to demonstrate the compromise sometimes necessary to do a setup that suits your needs!
As far as adjusting intonation is concerned, it is a good practice to let some of the tension off the string before you adjust it...also, checking the 5th and 17th frets as well as the open and 12th fret can provide a little more accuracy...
I had the same problem remembering which way to go for intonation. A simple note taped to my tool board solved that problem. No more looking it up!
I recommend a quality straight edge and a notched straight edge for checking neck straightness and relief. I also agree with Mr.Greg Davis as far as setting neck relief. It's quick, easy and accurate. The straight edge will verify the accuracy of those adjustments. Most manufactures have set up specs on their web sites, these are average specs. I would recommend adjusting those to personal preference (ie; higher or lower, etc.). Most adjustments should be made to ones playing style (relief, action, pickup height, etc.) except intonation. As far as tools check StewMac, Philadelphia Luthier, AllParts, Luthiers Mercantile and Solo Guitars (In Canada), just to name a few. I have gotten tools from all of them over the years with no regrets.
I would definitely like a part 2 with guitar type differences and trems. Thanks for uploading this
I learned to do basic setups when I first started playing guitar, and have refined my process over the years. I suggest every to learn how to do it, as you can adjust your guitar over time to get the very best results. On all my guitars with truss rods, adjusting them affects the tone - Something that is rarely mentioned. I was adjusting the truss rod on an Acoustic Electric last night, and though I can adjust the string height to nearly flat, the guitar really sings and plays better when the action is rather high, so that's where it's set. On my Strat, I could never get the truss rod to balance the relief between the treble and bass string - If one side was good, the other side wasn't. Then one day I decided to just flatten the neck so there was no relief without the strings on. After that, I've been able to get a balanced relief across all the strings.
Two notes: 1. When checking the action/string height, it's not necessary to fret the string at the 1st fret. Just measure the height of the open string, and 2. It's best to loosen the string before raising the saddles, tightening the truss rod or adjusting intonation.
Absolutely agree.
Fretting the strings at the first fret when checking action is a good practice because it takes the nut out of the equation and gives you a more consistent reading. It isn’t strictly necessary, but it is absolutely not a harmful practice.
It’s also 100% unnecessary to loosen the strings to make the adjustments you mentioned. Just simply does not matter and is just a waste of time and effort. The only exception being if you are trying to raise the bridge on a Tune O Matic style bridge; it can sometimes be helpful (or even necessary) to loosen the strings before raising the action. Other than that it does not matter.
@@vitreous_luster You are right about checking the action, if the nut is cut right. Most of the time you are fretting an open string, so string height of the open string is of utmost importance for playability.
Loosening the string when adjusting the height of the saddle or intonation is also important. It helps prevent stripping the set screws when raising the saddle and allows the set screws to slide easier when intonating. I agree about during truss rod adjustment, unless the truss rod is hard to tighten to begin with.
can never have enough "how to do basic setup stuff" videos. Each one reminds me it's been too long since I've spruced up my guitars.
A tremolo video would be GREAT! It’s never a bad idea to see it done right again, as I can always see or find ‘something’ in another method that I hadn’t caught before. Thx
If you can find someone who cuts custom bottle necks, they can probably cut you a slide with a built-in radius that will make a better match for that 7.25r neck than what you're using. I have cut myself a couple of wine bottle pinky slides with a curve that fits those old Fender necks better than what's on the market. I use a '63 Duo Sonic for my dedicated open G slide guitar and having the right curve helps keep your contact with the strings light and consistant. Also, sanding the glass can make a better surface interface with the strings for uniform contact and sustain.
Great video. I have always wanted to do my own set ups but felt so daunted by the process and did not want to completely mess up my guitar to the point of now being even worse off than when I started.
I love the Music Nomad products. I own about 8 of their items, and I've been very-pleased with each-of-them. Great info presented here. oNe LovE from NYC
Knowing the manufacturer model Specs are will help you do set ups to most are available on the Manufacturer's web sight. Good video 👍
Love this style content. Something every musician needs to learn. How to care for your instrument and keep it playing properly. Makes playing so much more enjoyable. Much love Rhett
Great idea for a video.
Rhett I’ve had my Tele setup for slide playing for years. What I’ve done lately is run baritone strings on it and play it in Open C/F, although lately I’ve been using more Open G/D with these strings as it is for me a better compromise between slide and fretted playing. And as more of an acoustic finger style player it feels more natural under my right hand.
I've never seen that fret polishing tool before nor have I polished my frets. Will definitely have to do this from now on. Great video Rhett, thank you.
Learning to setup and repair my guitars allowed me to parlay it into a side gig. With the froth of guitars during the pandemic I actually had to file the income on my taxes I did so many setups and repairs.
Thanks to the pandemic I got pretty decent at setting up my own guitars. Some hits and misses, but when I'm in the zone I can really dial in the action and vibe like how my favorite guitar tech does it. The only thing I really need practice with is fret levelling which still scares me, but hey I'll get there too lol. It's a very fulfilling process and helpful down the line because who doesn't wanna perfect the feel of their own guitars?
Perfect timing. New guitarist and bought a new 50’s Vibe and want to try and set it up myself. Thanks!
A little tip to help remember where the saddle needs to go when setting intonation:
if the fretted note on the 12th fret is sharp, you need to move the saddle towards the bridge, the bridge is sharp (you can cut your hand on a sharp surface), if the note is flat, move the saddle towards the headstock which is flat itself.
Always helps me to remember in an instant :)
Good video dude! Doing your own setups might seem scary at first, once you learn it though you wonder why'd you pay someone else to do it instead :')
What if the saddle is already at its max against the bridge, but still sharp?
use a capo on the first fret when checking the string height ;)
Your video was great. I am very new to setting up guitars and actually have an old Yamaha I am going to practice on. I got to get some money because the tools are not cheap but your instructions were great. I have to learn how to setup that tremolo first I think though. The guitar was taken apart and painted for me so it is completely resetting up everything.
The way I've always remembered intonation adjustment is in relation to intonation, deeper notes go with longer scale length while higher notes go with shorter scale length.
If you live in the SF Bay Area, Music Nomad teamed up with SF Guitar Works (Hey Geoff!) to develop their setup method. SF Guitar Works also has a great “Setup” class to teach you all the ins and outs, as well as a being a fantastic repair shop.
Best tuner for tuning, intonation: Peterson strobostomp HD. Love it
That nomad lube kit is the business! I use it on my acoustic bone parts as well as my ibanez tremelo titanium equipment.
Thanks to the pandemic, I had to learn how to do this to some very well neglected guitars that survived several moves and were stored in cases for years at a time. With all of the extra time I began playing again, spending multiple hours each day practicing and learning new things. I decided that I wanted to bring everything up to speed and was able to revive the playability of some guitars that I hadn't used for years!
Thanks I appreciate 🙏
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For the intonation part, if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Peterson strobe tuner you can use a tuner app like Airyware strobe tuner on Android. It is crucial to use a really accurate tuner because if you don't the guitar will sound out of tune the further you go up on the neck.
In case you're wondering, the suggestions to capo the 1st fret when measuring neck relief and adjusting the truss rod is to eliminate differences in nut heights. If your nut is fine, you don't necessarily need to capo, but it is the best practice to capo it for uniformity. Either way just make sure your measurements are relative (don't adjust relief once with a capo and the next time without, or mix them up on different guitars).
I always felt my crapy playing , was due to my guitar setup. Well not really, but knowing how to do this all yourself builds more confidence in one's guitar playing. Great advice.
I am buying a HB and you posting this. Perfect timing. Time to get that intonation perfect. (Action is amazing already, the guitar plays fantastic)
Music Nomad tools are the best(I've purchased them all!) Took me a couple years to get the perfect flow of a setup. I finally have it down.
Those Music Nomad Fret polish guards work very well. I have them, and use them now. Can't speak to the polish. I'm still using some ultra fine abrasion sheets I have. On unfinished fretboards, (rosewood et al), four 0 steel wool starts the polish on the frets as well as cleaning the fretboard. Handy.
Steel wool kills pups… it will always shed ferrous material…
@@michaelvarney. Which is why I always tape up my pickups with painters tape before using steel wool. :) I tape the sound holes on acoustics, too. Everything I've ever seen on steel wool teaches that right up front, including the fellow at my local guitar store who taught me how to do it. So i was lucky, and got that advice right from the get-go.
Rhett, just like setting up the truss was done with the guitar in playing position and tuned because of slight pressure on the neck in the bench rest position, after adjusting the action on any string(s), you should check the tuning again (for your chosen "playing pitch") before checking the results of the action height adjustment since adjusting the action up or down will change the tuning and the tuned pitch affects the total pressure pull of the strings. Good stuff, nice video.
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Intonation - 'Flat Fret Forward' is the way I remember. Courtesy of Mick from 'That Pedal Show'!
I use a comparison between the 12/24 fret, and the 12/24 harmonic. Seems to work fairly well. It’s on a Steinberger-style bridge with the tray and bridge blocks, which is a little trickier than with the horizontal adjusting screws. A lot of “nudging” is involved, but it has tended to remain pretty stable over the years. “Vintage” only because I’ve had it for a long time. 🤣
Love the content these days. Useful and often timely info along with the entertainment.👍🏼
Im so excited for the second part of the studio builld! Awesome vids Rhett!
This clip was great, Rhett. Your clarity and confidence inspired me to do my first truss rod adjustment on my own Tele today. Glad to report your guidance is very effective.
For the intonation bit, a good approach is to think... since it's sharp, to lower the note you need to make it more like a bass (longer) and obviously the reverse is true.
I always check the string height over the pickups when I do a setup. Changes to the neck and string height change the height over the pickups.
Great help on maintenance issues. I'm not consistent when it comes to treating my guitars well. Thanks for another excellent video, Rhett.
Whether to raise or lower the pickups is a handy bit of knowledge, and easy to do. A bridge pin remover on a key ring can be handy. Surprising how many players about to go on stage realise at the last moment that their nails need cutting/filing and have nothing to do that with.
A lot of people have bought and sold guitars when adjusting the pickup height would have solved the problem
Yes to showing how on both the Tremolo (Fender/PRS) style as well as Gibson Hardtail style….
Love the Music Nomad products. Have a handful of their products and they're all so well thought out.
The Guitar Player Repair Guide is a very helpful book to have.
As always, a huge quality content Rhett!
Over the last months I've been studying about guitar maintenance, rather than only playing. Maybe a cliché, but doing those setups kinda strengthen the bond with the instrument - the same as working in your car.
Music Nomad also helps a lot in the process - F-One conditioner, Polisher and Detailer are now a “must have” in my toolbox!
The radius check is good, but if you have a hybrid (or compound) radius (meaning that the radius isn't the same at both ends of the neck) you might want to check in more than one place.... hybrid (compound) can be tricky to calculate the height at the saddles...
Rhett, please do make a video on setting up tremolos. Also, during your wrap-up, I almost needed some Dramamine! ;)
Yes, please show set-up for tremolo (whanny) bar on Strat, Tele, Les Paul, SG (Bigsby), etc.
I have been setting up my guitars and basses myself now for about 5 years, I had a guy that did it for me and when he went from $80 to$100 then he went to $125, plus strings, not bad for guitar but basses the strings I get are expensive. My Guild is a little difficult because it has a Kayhler bridge, but I learned. As long as you don't change gauge of strings once you intonation nothing should change.
This is EXACTLY what I need to watch. I need to start doing my own also....
Great lesson Rhett! Thanks. Very useful. Please do one for floating a tremolo bridge and the reverse!
The only thing I missed is, when I`m tuning new strings for first time I overbend the strings by pulling them with my right hand. After that they need to be tuned up more than one note. This helps a lot to find the right intonation.
Yes, please show a setup for other types, trem, Floyd rose, Les Paul, rosewood and or ebony fretboards, and any and all other guitar setup info I may not be thinking of…
Brett, thank you for this very well explained set-up procedure. Thanks too to Music Nomad! Yes, please do a video on trem set-up. Cheers.
Great set-up overview Rhett. I’ve watched several and you made it simple. In the future it would be great to see a setup on your pickup heights relative to the strings for your different models. TY
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I have just done the setup of my guitar some weeks ago. Might need to look into truss rod adjustment a bit more but good to know I've pretty much covered all the steps.
Hey I just wanna thank you for you’re videos.
Because of watching you my guitar playing got much better, I learned so much from your videos copied your riffs that you played. This just helped me out with my playing and understand the notes and how to connect everything. I am playing the guitar for 11 years now (I stared with 11 years old) but I didn’t play a lot just go to the lessons and sometimes at home. Now I’m older and it just helps out in my life to get through anything. So I got to thank you to make my guitar playing improve by a lot and to make my life beautiful and amazing.
Sorry for my bad grammar ;)
Edit: maybe a little of a weird request, would it be possible if I send you a clip of me playing guitar would be a little dream come true.
I like to put some tape one the pickups .. when polishing and filing frets
It keep the metal Hebrides out of the pickup
Appreciate this video very much.
I've been playing for 20+ years and been trying to do more and more as far as knowing everything about guitars and just very recently I got access to a cnc router, so I've been trying to learn just everything from building to maintaining etc.
Hi Rhett. I noticed at 8:51 you measured the neck relief at the 4th fret instead of the 6th fret.
Thanks, Rhett, this was very helpful--learned or was reminded clearly about how to use the tools and follow the process. The mnemonic for intonation I learned is "Flat Fret Forward" (i.e. flat at the fret, move the saddle forward.)
When I started there was no RUclips tutorials or internet. I had to order books in the mail or check local libraries for books on setting up. Now there's no excuse but laziness, or fear of messing something up beyond repair. I've been doing my own wiring and setups for the last 30 years.
That black guitar looks beautiful.
I put up a video yesterday on how to tune the microphonics of a tele body, with the pickup.
Hey Rhett.... Great Video! Yes.... PLEASE do a set up video on setting up a strat, floating and non-floating .... this is very informative and very helpful and very much appreciated!
Thanks fan !
I appreciate 🙏"Congrats🥳🎆
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intonation will also be affected by your action and truss rod settings and the height of the strings at rest from the nut to 1st fret. certain notes across an octave on each string will be slightly sharp or flat, this can be fixed by shifting the crowning on those frets forward or backward from center.
6:42 Hell yeah!!! Stones riff!! 👌🙏