STRATOCASTER SETUP TIPS: KEEPING YOUR GUITAR TUNED UP! PICKUP HEIGHT AND STRING STRETCHING
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- Опубликовано: 11 дек 2024
- Hey Hey!
Figured I could post a video with some insight on some things I do with my Strats.
PICKUP HEIGHT RULES:
There are no rules!
Your ears truly have to judge how you want your pick ups set up and how do you want them to stand out, so don’t let a measurement online dictate your tone!
A lot of the fun is searching it out yourself and finding it on your own
Keep in mind, its YOUR guitar that YOU will play, So it doesn’t matter with someone else is doing, it’s all about how you approach it
Thanks for checking this video and there is more cool content coming this week!
Peace and Thanks!
Great video Nik. it's always good to see how others do their setup to pick up tricks of the trade or add something new to your own routine.
I have been a Les Paul guy all my life but recently got a CS Strat at a great price. This video was extremely helpful. Thanks!
Great Video!
I find that starting with the pickups at 4/32nds on the 6th and 3/32nds on the 1st strings then plugging in the Tuner lowering each pickup by quarter turns until the needle is absolutely stable is THE perfect way to get the most out of any pickup by finding each one’s sweet spot.
Great stuff, man. Always a pleasure.
You always give lot of very valuable informations, that’s nice really thank you!
Waiting for You to start a full Italian series of videos ;) !
Ciaociao Alessandro
ma magari ce casca! dijelo Alessà
Great stuff. I've been researching, reading, watching tons of videos and Doing all my own Care & Maintenance on my Acoustic & Electrics. A Great old guitar builder/luthier/tech once told me: "if your electric-guitar doesn't sound & play good acoustically, it will never sound great" - Really Informative. Enjoyed it brother. oNe LovE from NYC.
I really liked your take on stringing up with vintage tuners. I have a newer Squier Strat and I got rid of those new style tuners with the screw on buttons that always have play and replaced them with the Kluson style tuners with the holes in the posts. My first guitar was a Mustang that had the vintage style tuners but I never knew about putting the string down the center hole and so it never stayed in tune. The way you bend the string at the post is exactly how it's done and it really locks in the string. BTW the strings don't really stretch. What is actually happening when you first put the strings on is that the windings at the post are tightening down to the post and moving closer to each other. If you look closely at the tuning post when you have the strings off you'll notice that the post is concave. This causes the strings to want to move to the smallest part of the post which forces them upwards and helps all the wraps come tightly together side by side. When I re-string I bring the guitar up to pitch and then pull up on each string at the middle of the neck to help pull all the slack out of the windings at the post.
Very cool Nik!
The middle and bridge pickup gunk on the pickguard give me anxiety XD
Great video! Lots of great info I’m digging it.
Great video. Great advice.
I've been playing and tinkering with guitars for a long time. I also warm single-coils and move bobbins up or down sometimes to get just what I can't from height adjustment alone. That's just my way of making the pickup sound the way I want them to sound.
You get some killer tones dude and them "mits" can play some killer licks and get that SRV tone no trouble at all. 👍👍
Keep bringing the great content and I'll be here keeping it real and playing them licks as well! 🤘
Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words.
I use #0000 fine steel wool with the grain of the board (tape over pickup pole pieces for protection from filings getting stuck to pickups)
Then guitar honey fret board oil, light coat and wipe it right off.
Then I use Tri flow lube in the nut slots TRY IT NIK!
I put try flow on the saddles where the strings contact it. I do this with strings on. Wipe away excess.
Be sure that you let the strings as you wrap springs around post the wrap goes up post as high as you can this cuts down on angel works on Gibson also help stay in tune
great video! THANKS!
Gorgomyte!! Great stuff.
Not for Satin or Roasted-Maple Neck's though ( right? ) - Just Ebony or Rosewood?
Thank you!
Very helpful - thanks
I've been looking at those highwood saddles. They look nice, I like the slot and the saddle height screws not sticking up.
Or look at the Rockers in the 60's early 70's and their setup I still set up mine like that basically it was like the Strings were on the Frets and the pickups were a playing card thickness away from the strings when fretted at the last fret Old Rocker and A Strat LOL. NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY LIKE YOU SAY ........JUST EXPLORE AND HAVE FUN WITH IT CRANK IT. GREAT VIDEO THANKS
My friends always complain about my string height whenever they hold my guitar. I've always found it hard to play when you bend and the string above goes under your fingers and joins the string you're bending.
Great, helpful vid. Thanks!
Nice how-to, Nik.
Wish this video was around 20 years ago
when you had the strings off and cleaning the neck, why didn't you clean off the pickguard around the pickups?
I worked hard for that stuff
@@theriffwniksevigny5473Great reply!
Good stuff Nik as always! The acoustic tone on that 59 is amazing! Higher action makes it easier to push strings out of the way on those big (single string) bends and so much easier to mute without accidentally fretting unintended strings. When you have big ham handed mitts that dont have as much feeling as b4 the 30 years of construction and motocross abuse every lil bit counts. 😉😂
.120 geeez and Im here trying to dial everything in for .060 to .040 lol
Would love to hear about your tremolo setup? I saw 5 springs? So flat to the deck? But i saw you using the trem?
I do like the Nut Sauce but that pencil trick is a killer little hack.
Dammit, your strat is awesome. One day Im gonna own a real vintage one as well :)
Dang, mate, I'm sure there's some reason behind that, but you could practice bungee jumping from those strings down to the fretboard...
At least using them like a trampoline.
Great Video Nik, where can I get the cloth you use on the fretboard to clean it? I use the fretboard oil and it doesn't seem to really clean it.
Amazon has it!
Thank you Nik!
Hi Nik.. what gauge of strings you use? awesome channel man.. keep it up
56-11/10
The famous Ticonderoga #2, oh wait I gotta take a test,
Is it stretching the string or taking up the slack at the post,
And also mb go over how much wrap that u use on the locking tuners, do the clock positions in the little fender book work right as a starting pt,
An aside, yep u keep crayola crayons play dough and #2 pencils around for the smell and nostalgia, but they don’t help my tone,
Hi Nik, what video is where demostrate how to setup the strat tremolo? thank you
No whammy set up specs?
thanks master
GREAT VID!! Within a couple of weeks, my strings tend to turn dark. Does that mean they need changing or just a polishing up with the cleaning cloth?
Where can I get that string set? I’ve looked on their site I can’t seem to find them? Thanks!
Maybe email them?
Great vids, used some of your tube suggestions on my Princeton, helped big time. I had a question on pickups, I have a strat 54 mij REissue with fender 69s, love it. Then I have a mij 62 ri with fralin blues spec and it’s meh. I wanted the 62 to be my srv strat, Dan Patlasky suggests low output, curious on your thoughts? Should i ask fralin to take winds off, sell or? Cheers!
Hey Nik, epic video man, can I ask do you use any other products for fretboard conditioning purposes? Fret doctor, boiled linseed oil etc? Or exclusively the Gorgomyte? Thanks so much
Sometimes i use a little fretboard oil in between. Just a little bit tho. Nothing crazy
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 Awesome thanks so much man, any particular brand you would recommend?
I've always use regular lemon oil on a rag cleans the strings fretboard and keeps the wood nice I've been doing that for 35 years with no issues the necks love it and a bottle of lemon oil is 3 bucks and lasts about 10 years for my 8 guitars total
Wow that is a seriously high action, I guess whatever you are used to, but Dude you're working way hard at that height, normally Fender would say around 4/64 at the 12th fret
Yes. But Fender doesnt use jumbo frets. And i also have large hands. It helps!
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 I love when people say "but fender would recommend"...... 🤦
GHS Nickel Rockers by René Martinez 011P, 015P, 019P, N28, N38, N58 ? Do you havé try ?
Yessir!
I was always taught to change one string at a time by the old school luthiers...... I'm open to suggestions though so I'm not critical....
You can change all at once it will just take a few hours for the neck to settle again and start staying in tune right.
Let’s abandon radius as a factor awesome
S’matter?
great video ! but 10s in Eb ? wow thats light!
56-36-26-17-13-10. Sometimes an 11 if it feels good.
10's in Eb actually sound great if you are used to them. I used Beefy Slinkys for a long time, but I've changed to skinny top heavy bottoms with a 10 13 17 30 42 52 and I really like them. If you have vice grip hands though, like I used to, the 11's or 12's are good too.
Nik where did you buy those frets and what size are they. Just received a large head stock allparts rosewood neck I was going to try to re fret it my self
just bought the gorgomyte , definitely looks like its worth it
Thanks Nik
JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS that string height is high as hell :P
Jus like Stevie
@@Atomic1710 if you’re doing full step bends you want it higher
No need to level frets.
I use a candle on my nut. Pencil led looks grimy
Yeah I like some relief as well and my action is fairly high Hey what about having a bit of slidage on the E string's What are some different fixes for that ? Thanks Nik good stuff 👍
What pickups would you choose for a an EJ Strat ?
Ej spent alot of time with designing those. They should be great
Playing and fixing guitars for past 40 years !! Pickup height videos will make you go crazy !! Just adjust single coil pickups even with top of their adjustment height screws, and hum buckers even with their mount rings !!! I've never bothered with all these measurement numbers !! Too Funny !!
Nice job bro , beautiful Strat! Did you move the knobs to the side?
???? Not sure what you mean?
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 sorry I mean the volume and tone Controls .
how can you bend that so easily? especially the B and E strings
Just hand strength. Its comfortable for me. May not be the same for other guitars
Ohh I'm just really scared to break those strings haha
Hy, Nik!
Witch Frets do you have on that strat?
Best regards from Austria!!
*wich sorry
@@philipharrauer9103 which?
Ha ha, meticulously cleans the fretboard and frets, but leaves enough fluff surrounding the pickups to knit a man size sweater!
I worked for that!😉
Hilarious great observation great vid and great playing sweeet
Do you have shims on to lift the back of the neck? thanks
No. None needed
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 How strange it looks more raised in that area than mine. Thanks for answering.
Asier Txurdi Maybe it’s because the pick ups are set on the lower side and the strings are quite high ..I try to get the strings up as high as I can so a shim Wouldn’t help that
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 If I already see it, but it is seen at fret 21, it is seen that it has more angle
Asier Txurdi hmm. Maybe just the way the camera picks it up
13:14 Proceeds to play better licks than most using one thumb on fresh strings with the guitar on its back like a spent lover 😂
Wow dude your pups seem really high to me (but you do have high action). I wd be worried about them pulling on the strings. That's just me, I'm sure you know what works for you.
They are low in real life haha
Did I actually just watch you popping a push-pull pot on this here stratocaster?? 😳
Oh at the beginning. Hahaha. The knob is worn. It pulls right off
I don't know man. Gearhead. Couldn't help noticing that.. 😜 🤣🤣🤣
Do you find that having high action help a lot with bending? Is that why you have the high e even higher? To help with those Albert King style bends on the high e? I find that I can't play with really low action for that reason, also I hate fret buzz
You bet. 100%!
Dude, help me.
Do you get some fret buzz all over the guitar ?, I don’t really hear it through the amp but even when I play an open g string I get a bit of a buzz?.
Thanks man
Check the nut slot for wear and check the saddle as well. Take the guitar and have it setup
you know
Please, in the name of God, do clean the dirt/dust on the pickguard/mics!
Nope
Nut sauce? LOL! So that's what that smell was?
Why are you smelling it...?
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NutSauce--big-bends-nut-sauce-in-groove-luber-1.5cc-tuning-lubricant
Awesome thank you
Thank you!