I have died and gone to heaven watching this gentleman make a saddle fron an antler! This is probably one of the finest acoustic guitar set up videos I have seen. Thank you for making this video!!
*Every* video I've seen labeled "How to make a nut/saddle" actually shows only how to cut slots in a pre-shaped piece. This is the first to really show the process from beginning to end. Thank you!
The reason you have so many followers and business is because of your desire to do things right. Once you compromise that integrity you become just somebody else. Speaking for your followers don't change.
Loved this video. I Learned so much. I didn’t know how a guitar intonation was set. Very interesting. I had a local luthier in my town repair my 1958 Gibson J 45. Was in its case for 35 years. Broken bridge, broken tuner peg, 3 broken top braces, 2 large cracks in the top, 2 loose braces on the back. All from my high school best friend passing out and hitting his head on the bridge. Of coarse me letting my guitar lay on the Desert floor next to a campfire wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Young and dumb. My step father sold me the Gibson for 100$. I replaced her in 1994 with a Taylor 812 C. Spending the money to get her repaired was definitely worthwhile. I always told my wife when the house is paid off I was getting it restored. Words can not explain the emotional ride I took when I played it again after all those years. Wow the tone is so good. Wrote my first song on her and boy am I glad I never tossed her in a dumpster. The luthier said he was too. Your talent and those like you are greatly appreciated thanks for the videos.
I wish I could have afforded to send you mine back before you retired. There’s just something about the confidence gained by watching your videos and seeing your careful dedication to excellence. Enjoy your retirement sir! God bless!
As a wood worker hobbyist approaching retirement, I collected a huge amount of Sapele and Mahogany scraps from a mill work company near work. A couple of those "scraps" are 3" thick by a foot wide and over 2 feet long. Some real beautiful wood. Learning enough from your videos to give making my own guitar a try. You are the craftsman's craftsman. Thank you for explaining why you do what you do. Your videos are a great source of knowledge.
I think my favorite part of these videos is at the end when I'm introduced to these great older songs that I would have never heard otherwise. That was Marty Robbins "Count Me Out" for the rest of us noobs. I wish you posted more videos of performances--even if it was just you and your buddies on the front porch!
Love watching you working on these old flat tops and different chores around the farm. You remind me of my mandolin pickin Father Clifford Lovette that I use to play music with so many years ago. He was a master craftsman just like you. I miss him.
Boy am I impressed! I came for a video on how to tune up a car and saw how an engine is built :) Great job! If you customer isn't impressed with his new saddle, send him a link to this video.
I used your method with black marker and calipers for getting the correct height of the saddle the other day. It worked out perfectly. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing these tips with us amateurs. My guitar plays like a dream now. 🙂
Hi Jerry, I am new to your channel. I have subscribed as I think wish to follow you and learn how to do acoustic guitar repair and restoration. Keep going and God bless you. Sincerely, Peter Wong Esq.
Great advice, and I really like the presentation style. Always been a huge fan of watching people who are great at what they do; even more so when they're generous with their knowledge. The beauty part is, even when you are that kind to share, for the uninitiated it quickly becomes apparent the thousands of hours of skill it takes to make a process look "easy" Thank you for sharing.
God bless you Jerry Rosa, and thanks so much for the detailed setup demonstration! Particularly for showing how you made that antler saddle, that was a real treat. For the D-28 and its owner too, I can imagine.
Things I've learned from Jerry [ non-technical stuff ]: After all is said and done, it's still essentially WOOD. There is a way---look hard, consider, and you will find it. Don't give up--anything can be fixed, regardless of whether it should be fixed or not. No matter how many clamps you have, you don't have enough. Titebond is NOT permanent, if you don't want it to be. Don't grieve over your mistakes---correct them, learn something, and move on. Learn how to make your own tools and useful gizmos--it's fun, and very useful. Don't try to be a copy of Jerry--the mold was broken when he was made. Be your unique self. Finally, when you say prayers for folks, throw one in for Jerry Rosa. He deserves it.
I completely agree, Sir. I'm a beginner at this as well & I just stumbled onto these incredible videos. IMMEDIATELY SUBSCRIBED! Thank you for sharing these with us, Jerry. Love & Light To You All out there in RUclips Land and Beyond! 🍀 💜 🎶
"It ain't easy being me" is a very good Chris Knight song. Just thought of it when I saw your T-shirt. And now I'm gonna lower the action on my guitar by making use of the knowlegde you so generously share. Thank you VERY much.
I have been working on my own D-35 (Copy) for 40 years and I have never seen anything like this before. You are an amazing technician. If only we could have had You Tube back then. I use 10-47 extra light strings too for fingerstyle guitar. I like the way you do things, nice and slow. Thanks again for this great lesson. Btw, I never knew how to check my intonation. I used your method with my Korg and I am sharp by about 8 cents, yup the B string. I would rather be sharp than flat :)
There's something so great about watching a true craftsman work. You took no shortcuts, diagnosed and fixed small issues with precision, and a little humor to boot. Great video and channel. Subscribed!
Did I just watch a genius at work ? I believe I did 👍🏻. Has to be the best video I’ve seen on setting up an acoustic guitar. Love the picking, been practicing for four years although it feels like forty !! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 from the U.K.
Absolutely LOVED the song you did. Count me out is going into my song book. Transcribing it now. Need to learn that little walk up you did there. As always EXCELLENT WORK! You're the best. Big Thumbs up!
Nice job!!!!!!! Achieving low action can be very challenging without knowing the owner's playing habits. Light strings with an owner that plays aggressively is an almost impossible feat. The owner doesn't play hard, but if he did, he should expect some buzzing. I prefer very low action & I use medium strings. The medium strings give me enough volume & the low action gives me much more control with the left hand. Since learning this, I have learned to play lighter & worry about getting good tone over more volume. After all, good tone is one of the things that attracts us to listen to our favorite musicians. A good player will learn to adapt their playing habits to get tone & volume on low action. Great video & keep up the good work!!!!!!!
Mr Rosa's advice in the first 3 minutes of this video is all you need if you have the skills, what we don't realise is that does not make a good YT video we can't show the waiting and all the time we spend making it perfect, its the modern curse of the perfectionist. for those who don't understand what Mr Rosa is saying the vibration pattern is the figure of eight movement of a vibrating string, if that "pattern" or movement interferes with any frets in the playing psition then we have to adjust it just to the point , were as to the string just misses the fret on said pattern. So we have to restring and test our adjustments many times, and most of the times due to cost to the customer we are forced not to charge for this time. Not all "luthiers" willl partake to this method due to financial constraints but Mr Rosa tries to work around this and aims for Quality over quantity, IMO the only way to get perfection, we would love to give you perfection for nothing but the world that we live will not allow this . I am so happy we can learn from people like MR Rosa
I loved watching this Jerry, thanks for taking all the effort to record it. You have a great personality for teaching, and I look forward to learning more!
I admire how this gentleman luthier says no shimmering for me, either do it right or start again. Some years ago I asked my luthier to lower the action on my Ibanez Hummingbird dreadnought, he was hesitant but it turned out perfect, ie who wants to use excessive force, muscle to fret the instrument, unless you're Arnie Schwartznegger? And as Leo Kottke explained yonks ago, guitars don't like being tuned to concert pitch because everything is straining, so tuning down a half step or a full step (Lonnie Mack) works wonders. Great job again Rosa Strings,✌️
Hmmm... Boy, I sure GET the point at the beginning. Once you go too far, then it is game over. Hmmm... gotta love it. One of the most straight forward, authentic personalities out there. I think he means whatever he says, and that is worth paying for. Just my take. JR
Good video, and I know you understand the fact that Martin D-28 Guitars are made for tension. They have a lot of volume with light to medium strings. The construction of theses guitars also makes them resistant to change from humidity and temperature (in my opinion). I have a Martin D28 and sometimes i think about lowering the action, but the I think the best thing to do is to just play and practice. Build up the strength in your fingers and enjoy the wonderful loud tone of these guitars. There are other guitars that will have lower action and are plenty loud for playing around the house. I am not saying don't lower the action, but like you say it can be tricky.
How cool is the "post-it-notes" taping off idea! Love it !!! @ - 31:52 - Very informative video. Thank you for sharing this with us! Great work & nice attention to detail... Love & Light To You All out there in RUclips Land and Beyond ! 🎶 🍀💜 🎶
Great video. As a Martin owner, I know that they are very sensitive to changes in string gauge. If you are trying to get a very low action, do your setup with extra light strings. If it buzzes, put in strings which are a little heavier, this often gets rid of the buzz. If you do your setup with heavier strings, you are likely to get some buzz if you put in lighter strings. But if your action is too high and you are using heavier strings, you can often get it noticeably lower by installing lighter strings.
Thank you for making these videos Jerry. Great to watch an in-depth setup from start to finish of an acoustic. Unintentional funny, after adjusting the bridge saddle for the B string, “that should B good”, oh well, it made me chuckle. Looking forward to seeing your next video. 👍🏻
Outstanding video, please continue to make more, im 62 and just recently learning the trade, ,after hhaving played most of my life I really regret not having know all of this a long time ago,, God bless
I've enjoyed every one of your videos that I've been able to watch. I wish I had learned some of your skills when I was young but I had other things to tend to back then. Now I just enjoy watching others work and maybe in another life I'll take up another skill. Thank you for the education and entertainment.
Hey Jerry just wanted to say thanks for making these videos, they’re such a great resource! I’ve been taking on my first neck reset and various other repairs on a friends guitar, I’ve built guitars before but repairing is a whole different art, I had a pretty good idea about how to go about it but so great to reference a bunch of your repairs and see how someone with your experience tackles them!
In the electric guitar world we use adjustable bridges... makes it easy. Nuts are nuts regardless, so they are just as un-adjustable... and just as rough to get 'as low as possible' Sometimes we see a 'zero fret' and the nut behind it just spaces the strings, the fret setting the height. I have often wondered how it would be to use a fully adjustable bridge on an acoustic.. just imagine, perfect intonation on every string. Beautiful work as usual Jerry, again a very educational, skill building, video.
BONE just like in your knee bone on bone gives the best sound. No, wait, that's a different subject. A bone nut and saddle on an acoustic brings out the MAX sound and tone on a wooden box, metal would never do. Look at the adjustable bridges they put on acoustic archtops even with just the screws being metal volume and tone are affected.
@BreatheScotland My guitar came with Tusq saddle and nut, which is way better than plastic to be sure but bone just made it even louder and more rich. And pins, bone pins help a lot as well.
The analogy I think of is blindfolding yourself around 20 metres from the edge of a cliff and walk toward the cliff edge and know when to stop before stepping over
Its great to have artisan maestros like you sir.Im from Croatia,where there is non.So,if I had a troubles with my guitars they finish on the wall,or maybe i can find you some day!!!🙂God bless!!!
I’ve never even thought of using antler as a nut or saddle but I must say it’s brilliant. I’ve given these things to my Rottweiler to chew on and even he has a tough time going through the damn thing ahah! I’m willing to bet these maybe even better than normal bone for for sound and vibration transfer too. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
What a beauty guitar, thank you so much for your time to show us some fine tuning, I now have wrapped my brain around 'intonation', as a newbie to guitars it was a bit of a struggle, but now I feel confident enough to muck with my old cheapie should it need it, without much trepidation, I've carved abalone for years so am comfortable with fine filing, this was a super lesson you gave. I really love your general demeanor in explaining things, thanks again! Cheers from the PNW Canada!
hey buddy thank you for the mention! always appreciated! I feel the frets on acoustic don't need to be such a mirror image as the players usually don't play up the neck or bend strings like electric players do. great work on this as always! cheers!
Good to see the customer was pleased, and I agree with the previous post, your wife needs a channel with the grinding on a horse trailer and grading the drive, both sound like serious work.
Your dial indicator measurement device is the most accurate, foolproof way to measure the string height at the nut. Nice to see someone being precise. Every machinist has at least 1.
@@daveanderson5680 What about my Ibanez Hummingbird model? Sounds pretty darn good to me,👌 Actually for clarification it's the Cherry Sunburst Jamboree 680 model Nagoya Japan with the Hummingbird Gibson pick guard, which umm, presently has fallen off. It's a bit over 50 years old, 52 to be exact, plays and sounds great. Interesting too the bridge saddle is metal with simply a height adjustment screw at each end. The saddle is dead straight, sits 90 degrees to the strings, no fancy compensation for the low strings compared to the high strings, yet the intonation seems fine. Hmm, gonna have to glue that pick guard back on,🤔
@@joefairweatherblues8511 - I have 2 Ibanez acoustic guitars, and love them both. They don’t sound quite as good as my Martin in my opinion, but there’re still great guitars. I have 2 Ibanez electric guitars also, and love them to!!!
@@melvinlewiswellsjr.2619 - Try an X Series. They’re made in Mexico, but have solid spruce tops. My $600 X series 12 string sounds better than a $4,000 Taylor in my opinion. This thing barks!!!
Excellent job on that beautiful Martin! It was rather entertaining to watch you work! I always wondered how an acoustic setup was actually performed. If I lived nearby, you would be doing ALL my axes!
Great video. I have an old Martin that I only use light silk and steels on. The action could be a little lower up high I suppose, but I'm used to it so I just it be.
I do this kind of work for people and it's just so rewarding when you make someone happy with their guitar! It's a little work and effort for us but, to them, it's like magic! I love it! Great video here!
A good guitar luthier is hard to find these days like a good Jedi... great learning video, thank you for taking the time to make and post this video..♪♫♪
Martin recommends Medium strings on their D28 model, not sure why anyone would put on lights or Extra lights, missing out on so much sound! Its always good to check the tension rod as the first measurement, then the settle, then the nut.
On my Martin D-18V I use lights when recording with guitar/mandolin only and mediums in a full bluegrass band. I don’t agree with the deer antler material. Cow leg bone is the best.
Actually Martin says "medium or lighter", that is medium set is the maximum, not the reccomanded one. I play a Martin HD28V that I own since the late '90s (previously I had a D35), and I think that lights (0.12) sound better on it. I also think that Neil Young uses lights on his Dreadnought guitars
Great job! Acoustic final setups are my thing too! I picked up a couple of tricks and tips from this vid, even though I have 25 yrs experience! Thanks!
Rosa String Works Loved your saddle making! As a Canuck, I’m using mammoth tusk - they can just be p/u laying out on the tundra in the north of the country. Great material for nuts and saddles. And of course I’m haunted by the same requests - “as low as the action can be without buzzing” Peace - love the channel!
I have been doing guitar. Stuff for 40 years and you can never stop learning and pass it on. The biggest problem I see is humidity issues. Depending on where you live you should always keep a humidifier in your guitar or case during the dry season?I have seen guitars where the frets stick out n the sides because the fingerboard has dried out. You don’t poor oil on it because it will soak up to much. Just a little and give the guitar time to pull in some humidity.You can file the sides of the fret s when you get the humidity up.A dry guitar can creat an environment where wood moves at a different speed then the finish.This can cause cracks and finish checking.In the summer when the humidity is higher and you may not need the humidifier .Your action will change with the seasons but remember your guitar loves attention so take good care of it. Thanks for the great vedio
I thought my 11-52 gauge sold as "custom light" was pretty slinky for an acoustic but the strings on this Martin, if they were any lighter would be non-existent. I would not have strings that light on a Telecaster! Mind you, if that is what the owner wants, then Jerry had done him proud.
The first time I did this was on an old Yamaha I bought at a Pawn Shop. I worked with an emory board and gradually brought it down to perfection. I've got a half dozen guitars, that's my Son's favorite.
I posted a question about this very problem only a couple weeks ago, and kindly got a reply so thank you. I now have a much better understanding of how to bring my string action down...and i also now know that it doesn't involve messin with the truss rod...Nice song by the way...Respect and peace to ya.
Gee, I wish he were my luthier. But boy was that informative. I can see now that my guitar Is high on the high strings. With all that knowledge, I think I’ll tune that action up to Rosa String Works standards. It’d be real nice to fret those bar chords more easily. Look out Locomotive Breath!
Really a great lesson, especially that stuff about the light strings. My experience with alternate tunings and drop tunings is that the string tension is what governs the amount of over-travel of the strings. I actually have a different saddle for playing DADGAD tuning on my 12 string to stop the buzz.
Yet again, you nailed the central issue, Jerry - the lighter the gauge, the the more potential for buzzing at a given height. Really, these are close to electric gauge strings at close to electric heights. No buzzing, but the guy certainly wasn't digging in. D28s are graded for 13s, although most people I know use 12s, but it's horses for courses again. D28s don't get many outings for gentle fingerpicking, although they are actually good for that (step forward Paul Simon), and flatpickers are more concerned with volume and projection which demands a lot of attack. Also don't agree with one of the comments about plugging in. A plugged in acoustic with lots of gain sounds completely different from an accoustic (or a plugged acoustic with less gain). If you want that sound, fine, but you are never going to get classic bluegrass sounds with light strings, a low action and a cranked up amp -too much resonance, and the resulting tone is too wishy washy (technical term). If the customer is happy, good for him. His guitar - his rules.
I have a Godin with extra light 10-47 with 4.5 thou at the 12th fret on the low E with a truss rodded straight neck. It plays so well with the D'darrio EJ-15! Nuff said!
I have died and gone to heaven watching this gentleman make a saddle fron an antler! This is probably one of the finest acoustic guitar set up videos I have seen. Thank you for making this video!!
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This is more about making a nut than setting up an acoustic guitar.
*Every* video I've seen labeled "How to make a nut/saddle" actually shows only how to cut slots in a pre-shaped piece. This is the first to really show the process from beginning to end. Thank you!
What a pleasure to watch a video of a Master craftsman and artisan at work.
I'm a 39 year old metalhead who strictly plays drop tuned electric guitars and this is one of my favorite RUclips channels.
Broaden your horizons. Being a one trick pony ain't a flex. So much music out there.
That kind of music ain't a flex at all
The reason you have so many followers and business is because of your desire to do things right. Once you compromise that integrity you become just somebody else. Speaking for your followers don't change.
I love it when Mr. Jerry sings! And I learn so much watching him at work.
Loved this video. I Learned so much. I didn’t know how a guitar intonation was set. Very interesting. I had a local luthier in my town repair my 1958 Gibson J 45. Was in its case for 35 years. Broken bridge, broken tuner peg, 3 broken top braces, 2 large cracks in the top, 2 loose braces on the back. All from my high school best friend passing out and hitting his head on the bridge. Of coarse me letting my guitar lay on the Desert floor next to a campfire wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Young and dumb. My step father sold me the Gibson for 100$. I replaced her in 1994 with a Taylor 812 C. Spending the money to get her repaired was definitely worthwhile. I always told my wife when the house is paid off I was getting it restored. Words can not explain the emotional ride I took when I played it again after all those years. Wow the tone is so good. Wrote my first song on her and boy am I glad I never tossed her in a dumpster. The luthier said he was too. Your talent and those like you are greatly appreciated thanks for the videos.
I wish I could have afforded to send you mine back before you retired. There’s just something about the confidence gained by watching your videos and seeing your careful dedication to excellence. Enjoy your retirement sir! God bless!
As a wood worker hobbyist approaching retirement, I collected a huge amount of Sapele and Mahogany scraps from a mill work company near work. A couple of those "scraps" are 3" thick by a foot wide and over 2 feet long. Some real beautiful wood. Learning enough from your videos to give making my own guitar a try. You are the craftsman's craftsman. Thank you for explaining why you do what you do. Your videos are a great source of knowledge.
.
I like low action,but I`ve never seen one set as low as that...ever.Thanks for sharing
I think my favorite part of these videos is at the end when I'm introduced to these great older songs that I would have never heard otherwise. That was Marty Robbins "Count Me Out" for the rest of us noobs. I wish you posted more videos of performances--even if it was just you and your buddies on the front porch!
Love watching you working on these old flat tops and different chores around the farm. You remind me of my mandolin pickin Father Clifford Lovette that I use to play music with so many years ago. He was a master craftsman just like you. I miss him.
You're a modern day Bob Ross!!
Everything is good when there's a Rosa String Works video on.
This was a really special treat to watch both an expert and an artist at work.
What a interesting video, thanks for sharing your craftsmanship with all of us. I just love to watch a craftsman in action. 👍
Boy am I impressed! I came for a video on how to tune up a car and saw how an engine is built :) Great job! If you customer isn't impressed with his new saddle, send him a link to this video.
Nice set up. I never get tired of watching your videos.
I used your method with black marker and calipers for getting the correct height of the saddle the other day. It worked out perfectly. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing these tips with us amateurs. My guitar plays like a dream now. 🙂
Hi Jerry, I am new to your channel. I have subscribed as I think wish to follow you and learn how to do acoustic guitar repair and restoration. Keep going and God bless you. Sincerely, Peter Wong Esq.
Great advice, and I really like the presentation style. Always been a huge fan of watching people who are great at what they do; even more so when they're generous with their knowledge.
The beauty part is, even when you are that kind to share, for the uninitiated it quickly becomes apparent the thousands of hours of skill it takes to make a process look "easy"
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you very much
An absolute pleasure to watch you work. I really envy your skill and experience, thanks for posting.
Ibrahim uhh
@@lmounger
You've lost me there friend.
God bless you Jerry Rosa, and thanks so much for the detailed setup demonstration!
Particularly for showing how you made that antler saddle, that was a real treat. For the D-28 and its owner too, I can imagine.
Excellent work, and even a heartfelt song for the finishing touch. Well done champ! 😊 👏
Things I've learned from Jerry [ non-technical stuff ]:
After all is said and done, it's still essentially WOOD.
There is a way---look hard, consider, and you will find it.
Don't give up--anything can be fixed, regardless of whether it should be fixed or not.
No matter how many clamps you have, you don't have enough.
Titebond is NOT permanent, if you don't want it to be.
Don't grieve over your mistakes---correct them, learn something, and move on.
Learn how to make your own tools and useful gizmos--it's fun, and very useful.
Don't try to be a copy of Jerry--the mold was broken when he was made. Be your unique self.
Finally, when you say prayers for folks, throw one in for Jerry Rosa. He deserves it.
Thank you very kindly my friend.
@@RosaStringWorks So much negative stuff on RUclips...good to be instructed, inspired, and relaxed, all at once!
The best program I have watched in years, very interesting and eye opening.
Another great video, Jerry. As a rookie of guitar repair I sure appreciate all the in-depth information.
I completely agree, Sir. I'm a beginner at this as well & I just stumbled onto these incredible videos. IMMEDIATELY SUBSCRIBED! Thank you for sharing these with us, Jerry. Love & Light To You All out there in RUclips Land and Beyond! 🍀 💜 🎶
Best acoustic guitar setup that I have seen so far on youtube, thanks!
I love to watch you work Jerry! and I have learned so much from watching your videos, essential viewing!!! Cheers from Scotland.
The song alone at the end was worth the whole video! Nice work!
"It ain't easy being me" is a very good Chris Knight song.
Just thought of it when I saw your T-shirt.
And now I'm gonna lower the action on my guitar by making use of the knowlegde you so generously share.
Thank you VERY much.
I like that you rub graphite in the grooves on the nut. You'd be surprised how many people don't know to do that. Great video!
use pencil lead graphite !! :o) Airborne Johnny 101
I have been working on my own D-35 (Copy) for 40 years and I have never seen anything like this before. You are an amazing technician. If only we could have had You Tube back then. I use 10-47 extra light strings too for fingerstyle guitar. I like the way you do things, nice and slow. Thanks again for this great lesson. Btw, I never knew how to check my intonation. I used your method with my Korg and I am sharp by about 8 cents, yup the B string. I would rather be sharp than flat :)
There's something so great about watching a true craftsman work. You took no shortcuts, diagnosed and fixed small issues with precision, and a little humor to boot. Great video and channel. Subscribed!
Did I just watch a genius at work ? I believe I did 👍🏻. Has to be the best video I’ve seen on setting up an acoustic guitar. Love the picking, been practicing for four years although it feels like forty !!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 from the U.K.
Absolutely LOVED the song you did. Count me out is going into my song book. Transcribing it now. Need to learn that little walk up you did there. As always EXCELLENT WORK! You're the best. Big Thumbs up!
You should make a tshirt that just says "well I forgot to turn the camera on."
Love your videos!!
steadfast principles are joy to uphold, bless you and your wisdom. love to watch you at work, and hear the ear candy along the way
Nice job!!!!!!! Achieving low action can be very challenging without knowing the owner's playing habits. Light strings with an owner that plays aggressively is an almost impossible feat. The owner doesn't play hard, but if he did, he should expect some buzzing. I prefer very low action & I use medium strings. The medium strings give me enough volume & the low action gives me much more control with the left hand. Since learning this, I have learned to play lighter & worry about getting good tone over more volume. After all, good tone is one of the things that attracts us to listen to our favorite musicians. A good player will learn to adapt their playing habits to get tone & volume on low action. Great video & keep up the good work!!!!!!!
Well said. I couldn't agree more!!!
@@jonathancollins9057 Thank you kindly, friend & obvious brother in string!!!!!!!
Mr Rosa's advice in the first 3 minutes of this video is all you need if you have the skills, what we don't realise is that does not make a good YT video we can't show the waiting and all the time we spend making it perfect, its the modern curse of the perfectionist. for those who don't understand what Mr Rosa is saying the vibration pattern is the figure of eight movement of a vibrating string, if that "pattern" or movement interferes with any frets in the playing psition then we have to adjust it just to the point , were as to the string just misses the fret on said pattern. So we have to restring and test our adjustments many times, and most of the times due to cost to the customer we are forced not to charge for this time. Not all "luthiers" willl partake to this method due to financial constraints but Mr Rosa tries to work around this and aims for Quality over quantity, IMO the only way to get perfection, we would love to give you perfection for nothing but the world that we live will not allow this . I am so happy we can learn from people like MR Rosa
I loved watching this Jerry, thanks for taking all the effort to record it. You have a great personality for teaching, and I look forward to learning more!
I admire how this gentleman luthier says no shimmering for me, either do it right or start again.
Some years ago I asked my luthier to lower the action on my Ibanez Hummingbird dreadnought, he was hesitant but it turned out perfect, ie who wants to use excessive force, muscle to fret the instrument, unless you're Arnie Schwartznegger? And as Leo Kottke explained yonks ago, guitars don't like being tuned to concert pitch because everything is straining, so tuning down a half step or a full step (Lonnie Mack) works wonders.
Great job again Rosa Strings,✌️
from start to finish, no skipping, very entertaining video!! keep up the good work sir..
Just a true professional. A pleasure to listen to and watch.
The bare fingers is a bit to be desired
Beautiful job. I pray for your fingers.
Hmmm... Boy, I sure GET the point at the beginning. Once you go too far, then it is game over. Hmmm... gotta love it. One of the most straight forward, authentic personalities out there. I think he means whatever he says, and that is worth paying for. Just my take. JR
Good video, and I know you understand the fact that Martin D-28 Guitars are made for tension. They have a lot of volume with light to medium strings. The construction of theses guitars also makes them resistant to change from humidity and temperature (in my opinion). I have a Martin D28 and sometimes i think about lowering the action, but the I think the best thing to do is to just play and practice. Build up the strength in your fingers and enjoy the wonderful loud tone of these guitars. There are other guitars that will have lower action and are plenty loud for playing around the house. I am not saying don't lower the action, but like you say it can be tricky.
How cool is the "post-it-notes" taping off idea! Love it !!! @ - 31:52 - Very informative video. Thank you for sharing this with us! Great work & nice attention to detail... Love & Light To You All out there in RUclips Land and Beyond !
🎶 🍀💜 🎶
Jerry, a particularly nice ending with the customer’s reaction and comments. Nice job!
Pł
Great video. As a Martin owner, I know that they are very sensitive to changes in string gauge. If you are trying to get a very low action, do your setup with extra light strings. If it buzzes, put in strings which are a little heavier, this often gets rid of the buzz. If you do your setup with heavier strings, you are likely to get some buzz if you put in lighter strings. But if your action is too high and you are using heavier strings, you can often get it noticeably lower by installing lighter strings.
Thank you for making these videos Jerry. Great to watch an in-depth setup from start to finish of an acoustic.
Unintentional funny, after adjusting the bridge saddle for the B string, “that should B good”, oh well, it made me chuckle.
Looking forward to seeing your next video. 👍🏻
Outstanding video, please continue to make more, im 62 and just recently learning the trade, ,after hhaving played most of my life I really regret not having know all of this a long time ago,, God bless
I've enjoyed every one of your videos that I've been able to watch. I wish I had learned some of your skills when I was young but I had other things to tend to back then. Now I just enjoy watching others work and maybe in another life I'll take up another skill. Thank you for the education and entertainment.
This one answered so many of my questions, I just had to watch it twice! THANKS AS ALWAYS!
Another happy customer! Nice work Jerry, that guitar sounds great!
Jerry, I really appreciate the way you think. You've been my teacher now for a while.
Hey Jerry just wanted to say thanks for making these videos, they’re such a great resource! I’ve been taking on my first neck reset and various other repairs on a friends guitar, I’ve built guitars before but repairing is a whole different art, I had a pretty good idea about how to go about it but so great to reference a bunch of your repairs and see how someone with your experience tackles them!
Mr Rosa..You do Great,Skilled Artistry...Thank You....
I could listen to you all day, with a beer of course. Very educational and a great help. Thank you from Rugby England.
In the electric guitar world we use adjustable bridges... makes it easy. Nuts are nuts regardless, so they are just as un-adjustable... and just as rough to get 'as low as possible' Sometimes we see a 'zero fret' and the nut behind it just spaces the strings, the fret setting the height. I have often wondered how it would be to use a fully adjustable bridge on an acoustic.. just imagine, perfect intonation on every string. Beautiful work as usual Jerry, again a very educational, skill building, video.
BONE just like in your knee bone on bone gives the best sound. No, wait, that's a different subject.
A bone nut and saddle on an acoustic brings out the MAX sound and tone on a wooden box, metal
would never do. Look at the adjustable bridges they put on acoustic archtops even with just the screws
being metal volume and tone are affected.
@BreatheScotland My guitar came with Tusq saddle and nut, which is way better than plastic to be sure
but bone just made it even louder and more rich.
And pins, bone pins help a lot as well.
The singing was the best part. Young man i wish there was more of it
The analogy I think of is blindfolding yourself around 20 metres from the edge of a cliff and walk toward the cliff edge and know when to stop before stepping over
Its great to have artisan maestros like you sir.Im from Croatia,where there is non.So,if I had a troubles with my guitars they finish on the wall,or maybe i can find you some day!!!🙂God bless!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this setup. Thanks for explaining everything, putting it all together, and posting.
I’ve never even thought of using antler as a nut or saddle but I must say it’s brilliant. I’ve given these things to my Rottweiler to chew on and even he has a tough time going through the damn thing ahah!
I’m willing to bet these maybe even better than normal bone for for sound and vibration transfer too.
Thanks for sharing your expertise.
What a beauty guitar, thank you so much for your time to show us some fine tuning, I now have wrapped my brain around 'intonation', as a newbie to guitars it was a bit of a struggle, but now I feel confident enough to muck with my old cheapie should it need it, without much trepidation, I've carved abalone for years so am comfortable with fine filing, this was a super lesson you gave. I really love your general demeanor in explaining things, thanks again! Cheers from the PNW Canada!
"Intonation must be spot on." Very true!
Very good Job.
hey buddy thank you for the mention! always appreciated! I feel the frets on acoustic don't need to be such a mirror image as the players usually don't play up the neck or bend strings like electric players do. great work on this as always! cheers!
I think it makes a world of difference in quality of sound. But yes, especially when you're bending a lot.
Hi Randy!
Good to see the customer was pleased, and I agree with the previous post, your wife needs a channel with the grinding on a horse trailer and grading the drive, both sound like serious work.
Your dial indicator measurement device is the most accurate, foolproof way to measure the string height at the nut. Nice to see someone being precise. Every machinist has at least 1.
This is amazing. I bet that Buck never thought his antlers would wind up on a guitar.
Wonderful job. Nothing sounds better than a Martin. That’s why the D-28 is considered THE bluegrass guitar!!!
except it’s the D-18 usually considered “the” bluegrass guitar
@@daveanderson5680 What about my Ibanez Hummingbird model? Sounds pretty darn good to me,👌 Actually for clarification it's the Cherry Sunburst Jamboree 680 model Nagoya Japan with the Hummingbird Gibson pick guard, which umm, presently has fallen off. It's a bit over 50 years old, 52 to be exact, plays and sounds great. Interesting too the bridge saddle is metal with simply a height adjustment screw at each end. The saddle is dead straight, sits 90 degrees to the strings, no fancy compensation for the low strings compared to the high strings, yet the intonation seems fine. Hmm, gonna have to glue that pick guard back on,🤔
Martin is great for those who can afford one
@@joefairweatherblues8511 - I have 2 Ibanez acoustic guitars, and love them both. They don’t sound quite as good as my Martin in my opinion, but there’re still great guitars. I have 2 Ibanez electric guitars also, and love them to!!!
@@melvinlewiswellsjr.2619 - Try an X Series. They’re made in Mexico, but have solid spruce tops. My $600 X series 12 string sounds better than a $4,000 Taylor in my opinion. This thing barks!!!
I enjoy watching your skilled workmanship. I also enjoyed your customer's test drive, he can pick.
Thank you. This 72 year old fat bald headed guy appreciates any positive comments.
Excellent job on that beautiful Martin! It was rather entertaining to watch you work! I always wondered how an acoustic setup was actually performed. If I lived nearby, you would be doing ALL my axes!
I don't know why the man would want extra lights on a Rosewood Martin ? I would put lights on it and no more .
I love your videos you are a smart man.
Great video. I have an old Martin that I only use light silk and steels on. The action could be a little lower up high I suppose, but I'm used to it so I just it be.
can sit and watch this guy for hours, great content.
Great job Jerry you’re an excellent craftsman!
I do this kind of work for people and it's just so rewarding when you make someone happy with their guitar! It's a little work and effort for us but, to them, it's like magic! I love it! Great video here!
16:07 I love this notion. My old boss said the exact same thing to me in almost the exact same wording. Play on, Jerry!
Thanks!
A good guitar luthier is hard to find these days like a good Jedi... great learning video, thank you for taking the time to make and post this video..♪♫♪
As usual you have done it again and the customer is very happy with it. Thanks for sharing.
Martin recommends Medium strings on their D28 model, not sure why anyone would put on lights or Extra lights, missing out on so much sound! Its always good to check the tension rod as the first measurement, then the settle, then the nut.
Sounded pretty good to me
On my Martin D-18V I use lights when recording with guitar/mandolin only and mediums in a full bluegrass band. I don’t agree with the deer antler material. Cow leg bone is the best.
Actually Martin says "medium or lighter", that is medium set is the maximum, not the reccomanded one.
I play a Martin HD28V that I own since the late '90s (previously I had a D35), and I think that lights (0.12) sound better on it.
I also think that Neil Young uses lights on his Dreadnought guitars
Cause they want it as easy to play, is the only reason why you'd put extra light strings on a guitar.
Incredible attention to detail! Micro-fine!
Great job! Acoustic final setups are my thing too! I picked up a couple of tricks and tips from this vid, even though I have 25 yrs experience!
Thanks!
Thank you my friend.
Rosa String Works Loved your saddle making! As a Canuck, I’m using mammoth tusk - they can just be p/u laying out on the tundra in the north of the country. Great material for nuts and saddles. And of course I’m haunted by the same requests - “as low as the action can be without buzzing”
Peace - love the channel!
I have been doing guitar. Stuff for 40 years and you can never stop learning and pass it on. The biggest problem I see is humidity issues. Depending on where you live you should always keep a humidifier in your guitar or case during the dry season?I have seen guitars where the frets stick out n the sides because the fingerboard has dried out. You don’t poor oil on it because it will soak up to much. Just a little and give the guitar time to pull in some humidity.You can file the sides of the fret s when you get the humidity up.A dry guitar can creat an environment where wood moves at a different speed then the finish.This can cause cracks and finish checking.In the summer when the humidity is higher and you may not need the humidifier .Your action will change with the seasons but remember your guitar loves attention so take good care of it. Thanks for the great vedio
I thought my 11-52 gauge sold as "custom light" was pretty slinky for an acoustic but the strings on this Martin, if they were any lighter would be non-existent. I would not have strings that light on a Telecaster! Mind you, if that is what the owner wants, then Jerry had done him proud.
Nice description of the string heights and also the light string motion. Thanks
Nice job. The only person who counts really likes it. That's what matters.
The first time I did this was on an old Yamaha I bought at a Pawn Shop.
I worked with an emory board and gradually brought it down to perfection.
I've got a half dozen guitars, that's my Son's favorite.
Nice job, I was a little surprised you didn't mention if the truss rod needed or didn't need any adjustment.
Me too. There were no surprises about adjusting and checking the intonation. But the fret height info was useful.
I posted a question about this very problem only a couple weeks ago, and kindly got a reply so thank you. I now have a much better understanding of how to bring my string action down...and i also now know that it doesn't involve messin with the truss rod...Nice song by the way...Respect and peace to ya.
Gee, I wish he were my luthier. But boy was that informative. I can see now that my guitar Is high on the high strings. With all that knowledge, I think I’ll tune that action up to Rosa String Works standards. It’d be real nice to fret those bar chords more easily. Look out Locomotive Breath!
Again Jerry another great video. I really appreciate you showing the detail in saddle making, as well the rest of the work. Thank you
I agree
That was the best video I’ve ever watched & all the way thru. My Martin need the same TLC.
Looks like Gary is happy! Great video filled with craftsmanship, knowledge and entertainment. How can you beat that?
Really a great lesson, especially that stuff about the light strings.
My experience with alternate tunings and drop tunings is that the string tension is what governs the amount of over-travel of the strings. I actually have a different saddle for playing DADGAD tuning on my 12 string to stop the buzz.
I heeded your caution.I played it over time and shaved off a little at a time.Let it settle. Came out great.Thanks.
Yet again, you nailed the central issue, Jerry - the lighter the gauge, the the more potential for buzzing at a given height. Really, these are close to electric gauge strings at close to electric heights. No buzzing, but the guy certainly wasn't digging in. D28s are graded for 13s, although most people I know use 12s, but it's horses for courses again. D28s don't get many outings for gentle fingerpicking, although they are actually good for that (step forward Paul Simon), and flatpickers are more concerned with volume and projection which demands a lot of attack. Also don't agree with one of the comments about plugging in. A plugged in acoustic with lots of gain sounds completely different from an accoustic (or a plugged acoustic with less gain). If you want that sound, fine, but you are never going to get classic bluegrass sounds with light strings, a low action and a cranked up amp -too much resonance, and the resulting tone is too wishy washy (technical term). If the customer is happy, good for him. His guitar - his rules.
Enjoyed that very much. Thanks for the share.
Always enjoy watching your work and playin!
I have a Godin with extra light 10-47 with 4.5 thou at the 12th fret on the low E with a truss rodded straight neck. It plays so well with the D'darrio EJ-15! Nuff said!
Remarkable Job, You really put a lot of time to making perfection. Thanks for sharing with us. Now we see that it's no easy job.