Reminds me of the joke about the musician who gets a call asking for pricing on a six piece band for a wedding, and tells the customer, "Off the top of my head, about $2,000". The caller expresses astonishment. The musician tells him, "Tell you what, you call the plumbers' union hall and tell them you want six journeymen plumbers to work from 6p to midnight on a Saturday. Whatever they quote you, we'll charge half." Expertise is a commodity, and people should expect to pay for it.
@@UncleKennysPlace I had a small leak by my water meter. I called three plumbers. The first guy came out and quoted $8000. It was going to take a crew of 6, it would take all day, and they had to dig up all the pipe from the street to the meter, replace the meter, and replace the pipe from the meter to the point of the leak. The second quoted $2000. He was only going to need a crew of 4 to dig up all the pipe from the meter to 10 feet away where the leak was. It was going to take 6 hours. The third quoted $425. It took him 45 minutes because he had to go to the supply house to get 4 1.5" PVC ells that he didn't carry in the truck. He only had to dig up the foot and a half around the leak to replace the single bad fitting that the previous plumbers (working for the water company) had broken when they installed the new meter. No, I'm not making up those quotes, those were the actual quotes I got. I think I go with the idea that a lot of plumbers are experts in overcharging.
@@nickdryad , Historically, the very first plumbers were engineers from and for the Roman Empire, and Empires exist primarily for the purpose of plundering the helpless. I actually worked for a plumber for a while right out of high school and he was literally a thief, he would steal stuff from customer's homes on occasion. On the other hand, in my youth I have had several neighbours who were plumbers (and other tradesmen), mostly Italian immigrants, and very nice people. I played with their kids and ate dinner in their kitchens. Luckily for me, I can do most of my own electrical and plumbing work and only occasionally have to call a pro for the bigger or more involved/ specialized jobs like HVAC repair, or replacing broken garage door springs....
@@lwilton, my experience as a homeowner has been that the only way to find reasonably priced contractors who know their stuff and do a workmanlike job at an affordable price is by word of mouth. Typically, if I phone 10 local contractors and leave a message, 2 of them don't bother to call me back, 2 will tell me they don't do that type of work, and 2 will say that they're booked solid for the next four months. Four of them will make an appointment to come look at the job but only 3 of them actually show up, and one of those three won't even bother to call or write me back with an estimate or a quote, therefore I end up with just two contractors who are interested enough in doing the job to give me an estimate! The best way to find a contractor is to go to the local *independently owned* lumberyard or plumbing/electrical/HVAC supply store (independently owned, NOT a big-box chain store) and ask the counterpeople who they do a lot of business with or who they'd hire to work on their own homes. This tactic has worked well for me. (Also, I prefer to buy and supply all materials myself even if someone else is doing the labor ---- it's cheaper, and simpler). BTW, my big home-improvement project for last year was to have a rotted wood-timber retaining wall replaced with stone or block and add two brick-paver walkways, with additional of new steps and a small entryway porch. . 4 contractors came and looked at the job, and none gave me a quote! I finally found contractors by word of mouth and was happy with the results. The final labor bill was about $9K US. Incredibly, those other 4 contractors walked away from 9 grand; it must be nice to be able to afford to do that....🤔. (One of the guys who came to look at the job ---- but didn't give me a quote ---- showed up driving a Range Rover, which is never a good sign if you're looking for an affordable contractor ---- sure, you want a contractor who is "successful", but maybe not quite THAT successful! No Mercedes, BMW, or Porsche drivers either, please. Look for the contractor who shows up in a truck that might be a little dirty and have a few dings or scrapes but appears to be well stocked and well organised.)
@@nickdryad Plumbers have prevented more deaths from disease than ANY Doctors or research scientists in recorded history. Without plumbers, we'd have wastewater and issues with pestilence we haven't seen the likes of since the Dark Ages. =[ They are worth every dime we pay them. When you have a water line burst at 2 am in January, you tell me they are extortionists when they come and fix it in an hour's notice.
@@ishgumi44 There is truth the Gibson QC. I've owned 4 of them so far, but I've also owned a dozen Epiphone. I would trade a room full of epi for one Gibson regardless.
@@theRandy712 Agreed. However, over the past decade I have had to justify my living wage to several clients. It gets to the point where those who value your work get the work, and those who don’t will go elsewhere, sometimes trying to do it on their own and discovering the value of your knowledge and skills by comparison to their own. Good clients respect you.
$65 is a great price for a set up especially from someone on your level because you know it will be done right with no problems...for the amount of work you did on this guitar most would charge twice as much..you are a youtube superstar lol...
at my job (electrician) we charge a 2 hour minimum. there's always logistics, communication time etc. that goes into every job, so we need to factor that time in no matter what.
The guitar as an instrument is a whole bunch of compromises and subjectivity. Its many things to many people. That's why we love it. Great video as always.
Its interesting to see how different repair guys use different methods to get the same result. Not wrong ,not right ,just different . All from the experience of working for years with different instruments. You keep us all going . Take care , stay safe
Hi Mr.Woodford I watch this channel and appreciate the skills and insight offered. I'm an old guy now and have spent my whole life as a luthier , building and repairing. I'm going to offer a couple of techniques that take some drudgery away. 1 It is not necessary to tape the entire fretboard when recrowning ( with all the tedious tape sizing required for the upper frets ) Simply tape the board in spaced out groups with regular size tape , recrown and polish the selected frets , then shift the tapes along to the next group. 2. When polishing the frets a shop made wooden stick with a hollow on the edge to match the fret profile works well. Wrap the sandpaper over the stick , fit over the fret and follow the fretboard crown until the small flat in the fret centre left after the recrowning just disappears. I use 600 and 1000 grit carborundum paper. 3 Clean the board and apply some conditioner. I like kerosene then floor wax. Thanks for the excellent and entertaining content.
$100. May be nothing to you but to a senior on fixed income or teenager with limited funds it's not. Working musicians have a problem with expenses and suffer with poor setup instruments, or learn to do it themselves. Not saying it's an unfair charge. Yes it's worth it, but I fall into the senior, do it myself seldom working musician class.
I really enjoy your channel. I do not comment very much but I have made a few comments. As I mentioned before I am retired engineer from IBM and am on my 2nd career. I work with my friend who is like yourself a professional luthier. He has a repair shop in Englewood Florida. Your videos help me learn and ask question with my friend who is the Luthier. Many times we will watch your videos together so I can ask questions of repairs you are working on. Especially the ones that require math, i.e. neck resets on acoustic guitars. I just thought you would like to know your presentations are very much appreciated and very helpful. When we do a setup on an electric guitar we first check all the electronic and clean and lub all pots and switches and tighten the input jack, check for and strings that buzz at any fret lever and address that if needed, then clean, dress, and polish to a mirror finish all frets, clean the entire guitar and polish the entire guitar, check and if needed tighten the tuners, tighten bold on neck screws, clean, scrub, and oil the finger board(no oil if it is a sealed finger board), clean and polish the bridge and saddle(s), install new strings, check the truss rod and adjust if necessary to .012 measured at the 15th fret pressing down at the 8th with a capo on the 1st fret, set the action at the 12th fret typically to .060 and check and set the intonation. Last we again check to make sure no strings buzz. Oops, forgot, check the nut for any aberrations and set the pick-up height. last check to make sure there is no string buzz on any string on any fret, play the guitar, and have another set of eyes give it a once over to make sure we have not missed anything before we release the guitar to the customer. On an acoustic guitar some steps are left out for obvious reasons. The Luthier (my friend who owns the shop) handles the large jobs, like broken heads stocks, etc. I’m at the point where on acoustic guitars I will remove broken bridges and replace or repair them, install bridge doctors, setups, etc. This frees up his time to handle the large jobs that I am still not able to do at this point, like neck resets, broken head stocks, etc. For this we charge $50.00 and strings are included. It the customer wants higher end strings there is an up charge of $10.00. Thank you for your presentations it really makes a difference in my learning !!! Ricky from IBM, Ret in Englewood Florida Now from Uncle Wally’s Guitar Repair in Englewood Florida
Always anxiously looking Saturday afternoon for your vids👍 As a player I believe its my responsibility to know how to set my guitars (electric) myself. I have read and used most the setup steps from Dan Erlewines Guitar Player Repair Guide and have a set of decent StewMac tools for nut and saddles, and fret sprout (incl the ones you used here which were a good investment) I watch these mainly because you do a lot of surgery type work. That's stuff (and fret jobs) i can't do but love to watch and I would seek out a pro for it.
I'm from ukraine. I charge about 6-8 dollars for a simple 1 hour setup. It involves a quick fret polishing, nut and saddle height adjustment, truss rod (if needed), I tighten the nuts on the tuners, cause they're almost never tight and buzz, on electrics I adjust the pickup height, and a quick fretboard oiling. You might say this is a ton of work for 6 bucks, but then I'd tell you that these are side jobs for me, and my daily salary is about 8 bucks total, so for a 1 hour job that I can do in my lunch break I'm more than happy to receive that much. I take 60 bucks for a broken headstock repair
Mid 80s, as soon as I could get an answering machine, I stopped answering the phone for my machining business. To much room for error when the flow gets interrupted. Returned calls midday and at end of day. Worked for me.
Wait for it,... wait,... "Only one customer will be happy with you!" LOL!!! Learned a lot,... thanks! I like your "Upgrade program,... where do I send my Epiphone Les Paul?"
I always learn stuff from you, especially the little tidbits that different manufacturers throw in that could really screw things up if you didn't know to watch for them. Thanks much and thumbs up to crush a troll.
My ears perked up when you mentioned Evan Gluck! How cool that you know him! I've been going to him for well over 10 years now. I don't know how he does it either, other than I can tell you, he's super well organized. Other than that, I couldn't say how he manages! AND I never have to wait a really long time. It's always within a week or two, often just for set ups. The pandemic has been more difficult, but he even figured out a way of dealing with those circumstances too! Cheers, from NYC!
Nice video! Great explanation of exactly what a setup is. Can save a lot of time for an Luthier or Tech, now simply attach a link and say "watch this and it will give a better understanding of what a setup includes and doesn't include. Will also help explain pricing to you". Thanks for this!! Perhaps one day you could do a video to explain what a set-up is and what can be expected when a customer brings in a New Guitar in the mid to less expensive range. Amazed how many folks think a Brand New Guitar ordered "online" will be perfect right out of the box. Usually skipping any extra cost for a proper setup (then after, realizing it is too much money to ship back and forth to have done) etc. Since it's 'new and should be perfect' (LOL). From a few raised frets, poor cut nut, bad intonation, "It's buzzing", high action, sharp fret ends, very dry finger-board, pickup height, cheap strings etc. Sometimes a couple of simple issues to a number of issues. Would be terrific if an explanation in video format could explain a bit of cash spent to fix these issues will make the world of difference in how it plays and feels without breaking the bank. Followed telling how these are common issues due to making the instrument cost effective on the line and what separates a Guitar priced in this range from one in the thousands, where hours of labor has been spent on the small stuff. A great lesson for customers (usually newer players) who don't understand these things are quite normal. Just a thought. Great Video, Thanks
In all honesty your work and commentary are top notch I love your videos. The only thing I actually want more of, is you playing those sweet tunes you play so well.
As someone who has worked for himself, I hear ya. And I would happily pay that for you to set-up my guitars. Different country issues make that impossible, though. Love your vids
Thanks for this Ted! I had the same conversation with a customer today about intonation and Peterson tuners, but you said a few more things that I will include next time. I love your pragmatic approach to repairing guitars.
Robert at the amphole in burbank ca has been doing the maintance on my old marshalls for years when you call he says keep it short whats up and when i go to drop off or pick up an amp he is like im real busy what's youre amp need but he wont let you leave upon picking the amp up unless you play thru it in front of him some people think he is unfriendly but he is just super busy and has no time for bs he's a great guy and no one tuches my ols marshalls but him cheers
Loved the video. It was interesting. I want to encourage you to increase your prices, not only for your future but you are worth it. I would not double it but 20% at least, 25% would be perfect.
Absolute realistic assessment regarding the tuners (Peterson, Korg) and note correctness on the 12th fret. Korg does the job so well. If you want to go beyond Korg-granularity, the guitar simply wouldn't go there. Many players tend to administer too much force when playing at higher positions, sharpening the notes anyways. - - - Great Video, much appreciated, and great setup.
Hey ted,assume its ted?.. being an old and underpaid guitarist for many years, ive affected alot of my own crazy repairs due to lack of funds...watching your videos means i guessed the repairs right! Gotta say ,your tution based talkovers are fantastic, you should get paid for them alone,many thanks for your videos fella. London lee😎
$60 for an hour of your time is a bargain, no matter where you are. I bet a setup is at least 2x that cost here in Austin TX. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise!!
nice video, lot of useful bits of info. as a complement: Ron Thorn from the Fender Custom Shop said he goes by the acronym of T.R.A.I.N when it comes to the order of setting up a guitar. Which stands for Tune (first), then check the Relief, then Action, then Intonation, and finally some Noodling as in playing. You can then repeat these steps until you are happy with your setup. If you change the order, something eventually will be off and it will result in you adjusting things over and over. I assume this guitar was tuned when you were checking the action, just mentioning it for people in the comments.
In the interview, your face was showed. We have seen you before, but this interview gave a real good look at ya. You are a gentle giant! Your hands, what we see most of the time, look big, like mine. I to, am a big guy, you are so manly! With the beard and barrel chest you remind me of a Viking! You do impeccable work, you are well spoken and I enjoy ever video you post! You are young and strong, and I am looking forward to many more enlightening videos! By the way, how did you learn and acquire so much knowledge and experience in such a few short years? Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz
That replacement bridge! Ugh! Chrome over nickle HW on a guitar worth several thousand dollars! As an owner, I would've gone at least nickle and good aftermarket ABR-1 bridge. Only my opinion of course! You managed to get the action lower than factory specs! Nice!
Factory setups are usually just middle of the road because they usually hang in a shop and are done to make sure to hide any buzzes and sell the guitar, so don't be surprised if you can get lower than factory
I had Levi do a full fret level for me. He did good work, frets came back perfect and very well polished. I do my own set ups so don't have too much repair person experience.
I specialize in setups and string changes, minor fretwork and acoustic crack stabilizing. I charge $50 CAD for an electric guitar setup including a basic set of strings. As you said, it takes an hour or less. The chat time, and discussion, is part of what I enjoy about doing this, but the biggest thing impacting expected price hikes for me is insurance.
By the way: I'm glad you mention setting the intonation by the open string vs the note fretted at the 12th fret. I see a lot of guys say "set the intonation by the harmonic at th e12th vs the fretted note at the 12th" and that just seems wrong. At least, it's never been accurate enough for me.
I had a similar experience with a Wilkinson TOM bridge on the SG I recently finished crafting. Didn't have to adjust the intonation at all. I guess I drilled the bridge posts right as well as they ship those bridges very well prepped.
Wow, great tip with the bridge posts. I will occasionally use heat shrink, as we tend to have some of the right diameter in a drawer at the bench. And, in true COG parts fashion, the customer bought a chrome bridge to go with the nickel hardware.
I've got the Epi version and love it. Never played a Gibson ES335 but I would assume it's nicer. Not in my budget though lol. Thanks for another good video!
One thing I've tended to do over time is to "stretch" the intonation of the octaves (1st and 6th, 5th strings), like it does on pianos. That is, the octave (12 fret) of the 6th string is a little more flat than "perfect electronic pitch", and the octave of the 1st string _sometimes also 2nd_ is a little sharp (10, 15 cents). In short, I have ended up doing the octave by ear, especially with guitarists who make chords very high on the fretboard, but with open strings (it was a particular request of someone made: he complained about a strange "vibration" (beats, due to overlapping harmonics, at that time he didn't know) with triads near the cutaway; after searching all over the guitar, muting everything that could vibrate, I thought about touching up the octaves. Happy musician after that. Obviously, it's more meaningful with people who play more chords than solos (jazz, folk) It is also more noticeable with long scales/high tension strings, but especially with high gauge (thicker) strings). With that kind of "stretching", the chords in high positions (especially with 3rds) generates less "weird beats". But as always, a matter of taste
13:40 I have that issue with my acoustic guitar, the high E string is unplayable after the 11th fret it's either fret buzz or the note won't even come out
That more than seems fair to me for a professional setup. You're paying for the expertise and experience of the luthier. I work in a similar business style, you're paying me for the years of experience that gives me the ability to do it right and do it right the first time.
FYI, I've seen that many luthiers will dress just the upper frets for the issue that you have as well as to lessen fretting-out on upper-register bends. They'll tape off all but the last 5 inches or so of a leveling beam and just take short, light strokes.
Couple of intonation questions. 1) Hold the guitar in a playing position, or flat on the bench, or dont' care? My assumption is "playing position" (especially with a trem). 2) I've tried 12th fret vs open (which I don't think is very accurate), 12th fret fretted vs 12 fret harmonic (which seemed to give me better results and I have used this for years) or 7th fret fretted vs 7th fret harmonic (which I have been using more recently and I think gives better results). Thoughts, preferences, pros and cons?
@@___disso--bey___ For example, the 7th fret harmonics on your E strings is the note B. The fretted note on the 7th fret of your E strings is also a B (all be it an octave lower than the harmonic). If you don't understand what a 7th fret harmonic is, just search on YT. There is lots of info
That Gotoh bridge is a Nashville style, which has a 4mm post hole. That’s why it didn’t fit the 6/32 ABR-1 posts. Those short 4” radius blocks are great for the typical “heel ramping” common in short tenon Gibson and Fender style bolt on necks. Setting a radius with the Fillister screws in the humbuckers does make an audible difference. It adds more definition without the flub and warble or “Wolf tones” of setting the entire pickup too close. Thanks for sharing some insight in the repair business. I think you’re right about adding everything up to make it play right. As long as it’s nothing major, like a complete level and recrown. You’re getting paid for that hour!
WHOA--not quite true. In 2009, "Epiphone" did a 500 guitar limited edition "335 Dot." All are tobacco burst and have gold hardware. Strangely, no country of origin appears anywhere on or in the guitar. Same orange label as shown on this Gibson and included is the premium arched HD case. The serial number cannot be found on any website! It is described as a "Custom Shop" guitar. Which custom shop is a mystery. I have not pulled the HB's, but all of the pots are USA with orange caps. Classic top-level wire throughout. It is a "killer" guitar. I put the unique Dusenberg trem on it, but substituted a Bigsby arm on it. I have a gold real Bigsby for it, but I do not want to add screw holes to such a unique guitar. SO, there, my friend.
@@jetobey5656 thank god I'm not that much of a nerd hahah! At least not with Gibson/Epiphone but I'm guilty of knowing a little bit too much about Charvel/Jackson and Kramer :(
@@luisownerbr Ha-Ha--tool I am ancient, 75 years old and first learned to build a good guitar in 1969-70 and many good factory guitars have passed through these old hands. If the guitar I described did not have an Epi headstock, you would bet it is a Gibson. (It does have a very nice atypical real mother of pearl headstock inlay.) The build and component quality are what one expects in an American Gibson. Also, this guitar is known to a few folks to have come through the Gibson "Custom Shop;" Epi does not have a real custom shop, and I have never seen an Epi with the premium USA "guts." It is setup very low, like the 335 that Ted setup. I have had some crazy purchase offers for "her."---No way; I'll die owning that guitar---likely, fairly soon. If you look below, you will note that I do most all of the jobs Ted Woodford does, but I am humble enough not to claim to be his equal.
Re: the cost of a one hour* setup... What some people fail to realize is that they're not only paying for the setup, they're paying for the skill and experience that can do the work in an hour, and do it well.
cool! good words about the nibs i like them and can imagine they're a bit finicky for guys/girls to work on but great work as usual i always enjoy watching you're videos! tc.
Oh hey, I already follow Ian on Instagram, never checked out his RUclips 😁 My level of detail on fretboards when doing a setup depends on who it's for.... A lot of my setups are for people I already know, often paid for via barter. Me personally, if it was for a paying customer I would tend to charge for the levelling on the frets. I actually really like Gotoh hardware, they are typically my preferred manufacturer on tuners, bridges, etc. Great quality and quite reasonable pricing
I never argue with the man that works for me because I don’t know how to build Rome and he does that is why I want him to be my friend and when I paid for my builder to build me a barn I said I want the one made of heavy timber’s and sheet steel siding that’s all I know except it must have. Gambrel truss system to look like a barn right? Well the Polebarn turned out right because when the builder ask me questions about the build I explained you build the barn like it was your very own and he said you got it MR KELLEY!!!
Excellent job , the luthier i take my guitars to charges £35/40 which for his skill and pleasant chat as i drop off and collect i think is a steal , he also includes a light fret dress if required, Shout out to “Howard Smith” of Leicestershire England 🏴. Just one thing With your measurements on settings, what’s the chance you can throw in the Metric measurements along with the imperial please ?? I know i can look it up but would be nice 👍🏻 if you could mate . Cheers Johnny English Great to watch as always mate.
Reminds me of the joke about the musician who gets a call asking for pricing on a six piece band for a wedding, and tells the customer, "Off the top of my head, about $2,000". The caller expresses astonishment. The musician tells him, "Tell you what, you call the plumbers' union hall and tell them you want six journeymen plumbers to work from 6p to midnight on a Saturday. Whatever they quote you, we'll charge half."
Expertise is a commodity, and people should expect to pay for it.
@@nickdryad Not at all. The fact that they get that much indicates they are charging market rates.
@@UncleKennysPlace I had a small leak by my water meter. I called three plumbers. The first guy came out and quoted $8000. It was going to take a crew of 6, it would take all day, and they had to dig up all the pipe from the street to the meter, replace the meter, and replace the pipe from the meter to the point of the leak.
The second quoted $2000. He was only going to need a crew of 4 to dig up all the pipe from the meter to 10 feet away where the leak was. It was going to take 6 hours.
The third quoted $425. It took him 45 minutes because he had to go to the supply house to get 4 1.5" PVC ells that he didn't carry in the truck. He only had to dig up the foot and a half around the leak to replace the single bad fitting that the previous plumbers (working for the water company) had broken when they installed the new meter.
No, I'm not making up those quotes, those were the actual quotes I got.
I think I go with the idea that a lot of plumbers are experts in overcharging.
@@nickdryad , Historically, the very first plumbers were engineers from and for the Roman Empire, and Empires exist primarily for the purpose of plundering the helpless. I actually worked for a plumber for a while right out of high school and he was literally a thief, he would steal stuff from customer's homes on occasion. On the other hand, in my youth I have had several neighbours who were plumbers (and other tradesmen), mostly Italian immigrants, and very nice people. I played with their kids and ate dinner in their kitchens.
Luckily for me, I can do most of my own electrical and plumbing work and only occasionally have to call a pro for the bigger or more involved/ specialized jobs like HVAC repair, or replacing broken garage door springs....
@@lwilton, my experience as a homeowner has been that the only way to find reasonably priced contractors who know their stuff and do a workmanlike job at an affordable price is by word of mouth. Typically, if I phone 10 local contractors and leave a message, 2 of them don't bother to call me back, 2 will tell me they don't do that type of work, and 2 will say that they're booked solid for the next four months. Four of them will make an appointment to come look at the job but only 3 of them actually show up, and one of those three won't even bother to call or write me back with an estimate or a quote, therefore I end up with just two contractors who are interested enough in doing the job to give me an estimate!
The best way to find a contractor is to go to the local *independently owned* lumberyard or plumbing/electrical/HVAC supply store (independently owned, NOT a big-box chain store) and ask the counterpeople who they do a lot of business with or who they'd hire to work on their own homes. This tactic has worked well for me. (Also, I prefer to buy and supply all materials myself even if someone else is doing the labor ---- it's cheaper, and simpler).
BTW, my big home-improvement project for last year was to have a rotted wood-timber retaining wall replaced with stone or block and add two brick-paver walkways, with additional of new steps and a small entryway porch. . 4 contractors came and looked at the job, and none gave me a quote! I finally found contractors by word of mouth and was happy with the results. The final labor bill was about $9K US. Incredibly, those other 4 contractors walked away from 9 grand; it must be nice to be able to afford to do that....🤔. (One of the guys who came to look at the job ---- but didn't give me a quote ---- showed up driving a Range Rover, which is never a good sign if you're looking for an affordable contractor ---- sure, you want a contractor who is "successful", but maybe not quite THAT successful! No Mercedes, BMW, or Porsche drivers either, please. Look for the contractor who shows up in a truck that might be a little dirty and have a few dings or scrapes but appears to be well stocked and well organised.)
@@nickdryad Plumbers have prevented more deaths from disease than ANY Doctors or research scientists in recorded history. Without plumbers, we'd have wastewater and issues with pestilence we haven't seen the likes of since the Dark Ages. =[ They are worth every dime we pay them. When you have a water line burst at 2 am in January, you tell me they are extortionists when they come and fix it in an hour's notice.
"otherwise only one customer will be happy with you" just about killed me
That got a little LOL out of me too :-)
peak comedy
Haha, that one got me too
😂 🤣
"Man my luthier is so good he turned my Epiphone into a Gibson."
It's the other way around, unfortunately. Gibson QC leaves a lot to be desired.
I turned my Epi LP custom into a Gibson as well, lots’ve work but it’s worth it, kept the Epiphone serial number though
@@ishgumi44 There is truth the Gibson QC. I've owned 4 of them so far, but I've also owned a dozen Epiphone. I would trade a room full of epi for one Gibson regardless.
Fantastic thank you
@@ishgumi44 Yup. Buy an Epiphone, upgrade the electronics/pickups/tuners, still come out hundreds of dollars ahead of buying the Gibson.
Totally ❤with you we are paying for your skill set an the thousands of hours of put into the craft 😊
Paying for a lifetime of experience is generally worth it.
Yeah he doesn't need to go overboard justifying charging for expertise
@@theRandy712 Agreed. However, over the past decade I have had to justify my living wage to several clients. It gets to the point where those who value your work get the work, and those who don’t will go elsewhere, sometimes trying to do it on their own and discovering the value of your knowledge and skills by comparison to their own. Good clients respect you.
$65 is a great price for a set up especially from someone on your level because you know it will be done right with no problems...for the amount of work you did on this guitar most would charge twice as much..you are a youtube superstar lol...
I’d gladly pay that or more for this guy.
"A guitar is an imperfect instrument played by imperfect people." And some of us are more imperfect than others! Thank you for all your videos.
I'm definitely imperfect. But it doesn't stop me loving it....
Always good to see a twoodfrd video pop up. 🙂
That last quip: "only 1 customer will be happy"
Gold.
You have to love when buddy shows up with a yard sale guitar." Make it play like new" okay that will be$80. But I only paid $15 for it!
at my job (electrician) we charge a 2 hour minimum. there's always logistics, communication time etc. that goes into every job, so we need to factor that time in no matter what.
The correct response to " why do you charge that much ?" is " why don't you do it ?"
I say not everyone thinks that's a lot, in fact those instruments ahead of yours can't wait to pay up and get back to making music.
8:55 The circumference is 2 x pi x r - what he quoted is the formula for the area.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that caught that. My guess is he misspoke.
I can't believe he said that. And nobody noticed? Teachers are doing a wonderful job.
The guitar as an instrument is a whole bunch of compromises and subjectivity. Its many things to many people. That's why we love it. Great video as always.
Its interesting to see how different repair guys use different methods to get the same result. Not wrong ,not right ,just different . All from the experience of working for years with different instruments. You keep us all going . Take care , stay safe
Hi Mr.Woodford
I watch this channel and appreciate the skills and insight offered. I'm an old guy now and have spent my whole life as a luthier , building and repairing.
I'm going to offer a couple of techniques that take some drudgery away.
1 It is not necessary to tape the entire fretboard when recrowning ( with all the tedious tape sizing required for the upper frets ) Simply tape the board in spaced out groups with regular size tape , recrown and polish the selected frets , then shift the tapes along to the next group.
2. When polishing the frets a shop made wooden stick with a hollow on the edge to match the fret profile works well. Wrap the sandpaper over the stick , fit over the fret and follow the fretboard crown until the small flat in the fret centre left after the recrowning just disappears. I use 600 and 1000 grit carborundum paper.
3 Clean the board and apply some conditioner. I like kerosene then floor wax.
Thanks for the excellent and entertaining content.
$100 is nothing for this rare skillful work.
$100. May be nothing to you but to a senior on fixed income or teenager with limited funds it's not. Working musicians have a problem with expenses and suffer with poor setup instruments, or learn to do it themselves. Not saying it's an unfair charge. Yes it's worth it, but I fall into the senior, do it myself seldom working musician class.
@@larrydering1598 some services are not for everyone. But with the help of his videos you can try to fix it yourself.
It must be 335 season. I just filmed almost the exact same video for my channel on a Dot and said nearly all the same things you did! Great video.
Interesting information both technical and business wise.
Awesome video very educational thanks.
You’re undercharging!!!
A manicure for a guitar...looked like it was at a beauty shop..I thought I saw it smiling.. in the skilled hands of the master craftsman
My old KORG GT-2 tuner is the best, most pleasing tuner I've had for setups, the way the the needle moves, when reading, is so smooth, love it ;-)
I really like the Tone Pros bridge too. Great setup!
I really enjoy your channel. I do not comment very much but I have made a few comments. As I mentioned before I am retired engineer from IBM and am on my 2nd career. I work with my friend who is like yourself a professional luthier. He has a repair shop in Englewood Florida. Your videos help me learn and ask question with my friend who is the Luthier. Many times we will watch your videos together so I can ask questions of repairs you are working on. Especially the ones that require math, i.e. neck resets on acoustic guitars. I just thought you would like to know your presentations are very much appreciated and very helpful.
When we do a setup on an electric guitar we first check all the electronic and clean and lub all pots and switches and tighten the input jack, check for and strings that buzz at any fret lever and address that if needed, then clean, dress, and polish to a mirror finish all frets, clean the entire guitar and polish the entire guitar, check and if needed tighten the tuners, tighten bold on neck screws, clean, scrub, and oil the finger board(no oil if it is a sealed finger board), clean and polish the bridge and saddle(s), install new strings, check the truss rod and adjust if necessary to .012 measured at the 15th fret pressing down at the 8th with a capo on the 1st fret, set the action at the 12th fret typically to .060 and check and set the intonation. Last we again check to make sure no strings buzz. Oops, forgot, check the nut for any aberrations and set the pick-up height.
last check to make sure there is no string buzz on any string on any fret, play the guitar, and have another set of eyes give it a once over to make sure we have not missed anything before we release the guitar to the customer.
On an acoustic guitar some steps are left out for obvious reasons.
The Luthier (my friend who owns the shop) handles the large jobs, like broken heads stocks, etc.
I’m at the point where on acoustic guitars I will remove broken bridges and replace or repair them, install bridge doctors, setups, etc.
This frees up his time to handle the large jobs that I am still not able to do at this point, like neck resets, broken head stocks, etc.
For this we charge $50.00 and strings are included. It the customer wants higher end strings there is an up charge of $10.00.
Thank you for your presentations it really makes a difference in my learning !!!
Ricky from IBM, Ret in Englewood Florida Now from Uncle Wally’s Guitar Repair in Englewood Florida
$62 USA for that set up! You’re the man! Great value! I Love the videos. 👍
Always anxiously looking Saturday afternoon for your vids👍
As a player I believe its my responsibility to know how to set my guitars (electric) myself. I have read and used most the setup steps from Dan Erlewines Guitar Player Repair Guide and have a set of decent StewMac tools for nut and saddles, and fret sprout (incl the ones you used here which were a good investment)
I watch these mainly because you do a lot of surgery type work. That's stuff (and fret jobs) i can't do but love to watch and I would seek out a pro for it.
Great timing! I was waiting for some new content from you!
Same!
That was a beautiful ES335 I love those guitars. Thanks
Loving seeing these weekly videos!
Thank You so much for taking the time to do this, it is so helpful, as I continue to learn from you.
That is the prettiest guitar I have ever seen. Thanks for your lessons.
I'm from ukraine. I charge about 6-8 dollars for a simple 1 hour setup. It involves a quick fret polishing, nut and saddle height adjustment, truss rod (if needed), I tighten the nuts on the tuners, cause they're almost never tight and buzz, on electrics I adjust the pickup height, and a quick fretboard oiling. You might say this is a ton of work for 6 bucks, but then I'd tell you that these are side jobs for me, and my daily salary is about 8 bucks total, so for a 1 hour job that I can do in my lunch break I'm more than happy to receive that much. I take 60 bucks for a broken headstock repair
a lot of great information here. i really love your content!
I watched one of Billy Sheehan’s setup jobs where he lowered the upper frets for a long action. Cool.
Mid 80s, as soon as I could get an answering machine, I stopped answering the phone for my machining business. To much room for error when the flow gets interrupted. Returned calls midday and at end of day. Worked for me.
Wait for it,... wait,... "Only one customer will be happy with you!" LOL!!! Learned a lot,... thanks! I like your "Upgrade program,... where do I send my Epiphone Les Paul?"
I always learn stuff from you, especially the little tidbits that different manufacturers throw in that could really screw things up if you didn't know to watch for them. Thanks much and thumbs up to crush a troll.
My ears perked up when you mentioned Evan Gluck! How cool that you know him! I've been going to him for well over 10 years now. I don't know how he does it either, other than I can tell you, he's super well organized. Other than that, I couldn't say how he manages! AND I never have to wait a really long time. It's always within a week or two, often just for set ups. The pandemic has been more difficult, but he even figured out a way of dealing with those circumstances too! Cheers, from NYC!
This is 1 of the best vids I have seen always learn something from you ,and loved hearing about why setups cost the amount charged thanks
Great as always Ted, thank you.
Nice video!
Great explanation of exactly what a setup is. Can save a lot of time for an Luthier or Tech, now simply attach a link and say "watch this and it will give a better understanding of what a setup includes and doesn't include. Will also help explain pricing to you". Thanks for this!!
Perhaps one day you could do a video to explain what a set-up is and what can be expected when a customer brings in a New Guitar in the mid to less expensive range. Amazed how many folks think a Brand New Guitar ordered "online" will be perfect right out of the box. Usually skipping any extra cost for a proper setup (then after, realizing it is too much money to ship back and forth to have done) etc. Since it's 'new and should be perfect' (LOL). From a few raised frets, poor cut nut, bad intonation, "It's buzzing", high action, sharp fret ends, very dry finger-board, pickup height, cheap strings etc. Sometimes a couple of simple issues to a number of issues. Would be terrific if an explanation in video format could explain a bit of cash spent to fix these issues will make the world of difference in how it plays and feels without breaking the bank. Followed telling how these are common issues due to making the instrument cost effective on the line and what separates a Guitar priced in this range from one in the thousands, where hours of labor has been spent on the small stuff. A great lesson for customers (usually newer players) who don't understand these things are quite normal. Just a thought.
Great Video, Thanks
Another Stellar tutorial! Thank you so much, I learn a lot from your videos.
In all honesty your work and commentary are top notch I love your videos. The only thing I actually want more of, is you playing those sweet tunes you play so well.
I love my gibson fret nibs. I will cry on the day I need to replace frets on my '97 at the cost of my nibs!
It *is* possible to replace them without losing the nibs. It's a pain and you'll pay extra, but it can be done.
This answered sooo many questions for me. Thank you very much for letting us into the thought processes going into a set up.
Great vid as always 👌
Your knowledge is worth whatever you decide to charge for it!!
As someone who has worked for himself, I hear ya. And I would happily pay that for you to set-up my guitars. Different country issues make that impossible, though. Love your vids
Love watching your videos, really interesting and informative. 👍🎸🎶
Thanks for this Ted! I had the same conversation with a customer today about intonation and Peterson tuners, but you said a few more things that I will include next time. I love your pragmatic approach to repairing guitars.
Robert at the amphole in burbank ca has been doing the maintance on my old marshalls for years when you call he says keep it short whats up and when i go to drop off or pick up an amp he is like im real busy what's youre amp need but he wont let you leave upon picking the amp up unless you play thru it in front of him some people think he is unfriendly but he is just super busy and has no time for bs he's a great guy and no one tuches my ols marshalls but him cheers
Good show thanks
Loved the video. It was interesting. I want to encourage you to increase your prices, not only for your future but you are worth it. I would not double it but 20% at least, 25% would be perfect.
Absolute realistic assessment regarding the tuners (Peterson, Korg) and note correctness on the 12th fret. Korg does the job so well. If you want to go beyond Korg-granularity, the guitar simply wouldn't go there. Many players tend to administer too much force when playing at higher positions, sharpening the notes anyways. - - - Great Video, much appreciated, and great setup.
Your small flat file usage is an eye opener for me.
Hey ted,assume its ted?.. being an old and underpaid guitarist for many years, ive affected alot of my own crazy repairs due to lack of funds...watching your videos means i guessed the repairs right! Gotta say ,your tution based talkovers are fantastic, you should get paid for them alone,many thanks for your videos fella. London lee😎
$60 for an hour of your time is a bargain, no matter where you are. I bet a setup is at least 2x that cost here in Austin TX. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise!!
nice video, lot of useful bits of info.
as a complement: Ron Thorn from the Fender Custom Shop said he goes by the acronym of T.R.A.I.N when it comes to the order of setting up a guitar.
Which stands for Tune (first), then check the Relief, then Action, then Intonation, and finally some Noodling as in playing. You can then repeat these steps until you are happy with your setup.
If you change the order, something eventually will be off and it will result in you adjusting things over and over.
I assume this guitar was tuned when you were checking the action, just mentioning it for people in the comments.
ENJOYED!
In the interview, your face was showed. We have seen you before, but this interview gave a real good look at ya. You are a gentle giant! Your hands, what we see most of the time, look big, like mine. I to, am a big guy, you are so manly! With the beard and barrel chest you remind me of a Viking! You do impeccable work, you are well spoken and I enjoy ever video you post! You are young and strong, and I am looking forward to many more enlightening videos! By the way, how did you learn and acquire so much knowledge and experience in such a few short years? Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz
I appreciate that one man ✨🙏✨
Awesome like always 👍👍😁
Nice set-up.....
That replacement bridge! Ugh! Chrome over nickle HW on a guitar worth several thousand dollars! As an owner, I would've gone at least nickle and good aftermarket ABR-1 bridge. Only my opinion of course!
You managed to get the action lower than factory specs! Nice!
Factory setups are usually just middle of the road because they usually hang in a shop and are done to make sure to hide any buzzes and sell the guitar, so don't be surprised if you can get lower than factory
Labyrinth guitars, Goliath guitars, and Gilmore guitars are all great, fairly priced local luthiers in Central Alberta.
I had Levi do a full fret level for me. He did good work, frets came back perfect and very well polished. I do my own set ups so don't have too much repair person experience.
@@thephotoyak yes levi brought some life to my prs
Good quality craftsmanship is always worth paying for. I have seen many guitar store luthiers that only adjust the truss rod for every fret problem
I specialize in setups and string changes, minor fretwork and acoustic crack stabilizing. I charge $50 CAD for an electric guitar setup including a basic set of strings. As you said, it takes an hour or less. The chat time, and discussion, is part of what I enjoy about doing this, but the biggest thing impacting expected price hikes for me is insurance.
I love Gibsons.
By the way: I'm glad you mention setting the intonation by the open string vs the note fretted at the 12th fret. I see a lot of guys say "set the intonation by the harmonic at th e12th vs the fretted note at the 12th" and that just seems wrong. At least, it's never been accurate enough for me.
I had a similar experience with a Wilkinson TOM bridge on the SG I recently finished crafting. Didn't have to adjust the intonation at all. I guess I drilled the bridge posts right as well as they ship those bridges very well prepped.
Wow, great tip with the bridge posts. I will occasionally use heat shrink, as we tend to have some of the right diameter in a drawer at the bench.
And, in true COG parts fashion, the customer bought a chrome bridge to go with the nickel hardware.
Great tutorial but excellent ending.
I've got the Epi version and love it. Never played a Gibson ES335 but I would assume it's nicer. Not in my budget though lol. Thanks for another good video!
These days the Epiphones are often better playing guitars from the factory.
First! Love your videos man!!
One thing I've tended to do over time is to "stretch" the intonation of the octaves (1st and 6th, 5th strings), like it does on pianos. That is, the octave (12 fret) of the 6th string is a little more flat than "perfect electronic pitch", and the octave of the 1st string _sometimes also 2nd_ is a little sharp (10, 15 cents). In short, I have ended up doing the octave by ear, especially with guitarists who make chords very high on the fretboard, but with open strings (it was a particular request of someone made: he complained about a strange "vibration" (beats, due to overlapping harmonics, at that time he didn't know) with triads near the cutaway; after searching all over the guitar, muting everything that could vibrate, I thought about touching up the octaves. Happy musician after that. Obviously, it's more meaningful with people who play more chords than solos (jazz, folk) It is also more noticeable with long scales/high tension strings, but especially with high gauge (thicker) strings).
With that kind of "stretching", the chords in high positions (especially with 3rds) generates less "weird beats". But as always, a matter of taste
Sometimes I use my Korg GA-30, or Cleartune-app on my mobile! I even use a tuning fork (A), but not that much anymore!
The guitar shop in Boise, where I took my Les Paul Junior, charged me $40 for the setup; it's now going to John Bolin to have it done correctly.
For the tool discussion at 18:34 would it make sense to modify a small hand held belt sander?
13:40 I have that issue with my acoustic guitar, the high E string is unplayable after the 11th fret it's either fret buzz or the note won't even come out
That more than seems fair to me for a professional setup. You're paying for the expertise and experience of the luthier. I work in a similar business style, you're paying me for the years of experience that gives me the ability to do it right and do it right the first time.
Thank you!!!
FYI, I've seen that many luthiers will dress just the upper frets for the issue that you have as well as to lessen fretting-out on upper-register bends. They'll tape off all but the last 5 inches or so of a leveling beam and just take short, light strokes.
Couple of intonation questions. 1) Hold the guitar in a playing position, or flat on the bench, or dont' care? My assumption is "playing position" (especially with a trem). 2) I've tried 12th fret vs open (which I don't think is very accurate), 12th fret fretted vs 12 fret harmonic (which seemed to give me better results and I have used this for years) or 7th fret fretted vs 7th fret harmonic (which I have been using more recently and I think gives better results). Thoughts, preferences, pros and cons?
@@___disso--bey___ For example, the 7th fret harmonics on your E strings is the note B. The fretted note on the 7th fret of your E strings is also a B (all be it an octave lower than the harmonic). If you don't understand what a 7th fret harmonic is, just search on YT. There is lots of info
That Gotoh bridge is a Nashville style, which has a 4mm post hole. That’s why it didn’t fit the 6/32 ABR-1 posts.
Those short 4” radius blocks are great for the typical “heel ramping” common in short tenon Gibson and Fender style bolt on necks.
Setting a radius with the Fillister screws in the humbuckers does make an audible difference. It adds more definition without the flub and warble or “Wolf tones” of setting the entire pickup too close.
Thanks for sharing some insight in the repair business. I think you’re right about adding everything up to make it play right. As long as it’s nothing major, like a complete level and recrown. You’re getting paid for that hour!
Lol you gotta be one hell of a luthier to get an epiphone and send back a gibson to your customer haha
WHOA--not quite true. In 2009, "Epiphone" did a 500 guitar limited edition "335 Dot." All are tobacco burst and have gold hardware. Strangely, no country of origin appears anywhere on or in the guitar. Same orange label as shown on this Gibson and included is the premium arched HD case. The serial number cannot be found on any website! It is described as a "Custom Shop" guitar. Which custom shop is a mystery. I have not pulled the HB's, but all of the pots are USA with orange caps. Classic top-level wire throughout. It is a "killer" guitar. I put the unique Dusenberg trem on it, but substituted a Bigsby arm on it. I have a gold real Bigsby for it, but I do not want to add screw holes to such a unique guitar. SO, there, my friend.
@@jetobey5656 thank god I'm not that much of a nerd hahah! At least not with Gibson/Epiphone but I'm guilty of knowing a little bit too much about Charvel/Jackson and Kramer :(
@@luisownerbr Ha-Ha--tool I am ancient, 75 years old and first learned to build a good guitar in 1969-70 and many good factory guitars have passed through these old hands. If the guitar I described did not have an Epi headstock, you would bet it is a Gibson. (It does have a very nice atypical real mother of pearl headstock inlay.) The build and component quality are what one expects in an American Gibson. Also, this guitar is known to a few folks to have come through the Gibson "Custom Shop;" Epi does not have a real custom shop, and I have never seen an Epi with the premium USA "guts." It is setup very low, like the 335 that Ted setup. I have had some crazy purchase offers for "her."---No way; I'll die owning that guitar---likely, fairly soon. If you look below, you will note that I do most all of the jobs Ted Woodford does, but I am humble enough not to claim to be his equal.
Re: the cost of a one hour* setup...
What some people fail to realize is that they're not only paying for the setup, they're paying for the skill and experience that can do the work in an hour, and do it well.
80$ is more than reasonable. Here in Montreal, anything under 120$ CA is a deal. Excellent information. Thank 👍
Are you taking work. Time doesn’t matter but want certain things done. Pleasessse. You work is impeccable.
Love love love this video. You said things I have a hard time quantifying to my customers. Thank you! 🤘🏻
I've had setups that took me 3-4 hrs cuz a fret dress and new nut from a bone blank and then had setups that were an hour if it is an actual setup.
I'd like you to mentor me I'm a Canadian
Haha..subtle Epi dig....🤣🤣
cool! good words about the nibs i like them and can imagine they're a bit finicky for guys/girls to work on but great work as usual i always enjoy watching you're videos! tc.
I saw a video with Dan Earlywine of Stewmac several months ago where he had a prototype electric file like you mentioned. Might be worth a look see.
Thank You Ted!
Oh hey, I already follow Ian on Instagram, never checked out his RUclips 😁 My level of detail on fretboards when doing a setup depends on who it's for.... A lot of my setups are for people I already know, often paid for via barter. Me personally, if it was for a paying customer I would tend to charge for the levelling on the frets.
I actually really like Gotoh hardware, they are typically my preferred manufacturer on tuners, bridges, etc. Great quality and quite reasonable pricing
Thank you!
I never argue with the man that works for me because I don’t know how to build Rome and he does that is why I want him to be my friend and when I paid for my builder to build me a barn I said I want the one made of heavy timber’s and sheet steel siding that’s all I know except it must have. Gambrel truss system to look like a barn right? Well the Polebarn turned out right because when the builder ask me questions about the build I explained you build the barn like it was your very own and he said you got it MR KELLEY!!!
Do fret files cut in both directions?
Excellent job , the luthier i take my guitars to charges £35/40 which for his skill and pleasant chat as i drop off and collect i think is a steal , he also includes a light fret dress if required, Shout out to “Howard Smith” of Leicestershire England 🏴.
Just one thing With your measurements on settings, what’s the chance you can throw in the Metric measurements along with the imperial please ?? I know i can look it up but would be nice 👍🏻 if you could mate .
Cheers Johnny English
Great to watch as always mate.