Couple of notes from my experience with a truss rod. 1) make small adjustments and tune the guitar. You also should let the guitar sit for a few hours after adjusting the truss rod. It takes time for the neck to fully adjust to the rod. Adding tension is also best (whether recreating back bow or relief) helps with truss rod movement. 2) A newer guitar or one that has been stored with care should have a truss rod that turns easily. If you have a truss rod that will not turn, be careful. It could be a rusty nut or it could be a bad neck. I posted a video of me cranking a rusty truss rod. Fortunately, i didn't break it. 3) if your frets are in good condition, you should be able to have a relatively flat neck with little to no string buzz. Aside from uneven frets and poor action, I would say the number 1 culprit of string buzz is poor playing. 4)) I have bought and played many used guitars. Number one issue I have seen is crappy set up. I'm with Ola, when I pick up a guitar and the strings are half an inch off the fretboard (talking to you music go round), that guitar goes right back on the rack 5) finally, clip your string tips after you put in new strings. You people that leave your strings unclipped after anstring change are inhumane.
@eniatsuM evaD You must not care about how clean your sound is, they always wiggle and make noise... Also, I had a friend who sat down at his desk, reached down to turn his amp on, and jammed his eye on one of the uncut strings. I used to always leave mine uncut and keep one set of old strings (in case I broke a string, I could restring an old one easier in a pinch)...theni started doing studio work and a friend almost lost an eye. Don't be stubborn for no reason.
How is fret buzz poor playing when I don't even need to play anything to hear fret buzz? If I fret a note it's doesn't sustain because it's so close to the frets that the string can't vibrate it obviously has nothing to do with poor playing.
Ola, if I may be so bold. I was once taught by a very experienced luthier that you should only set your intonation, string height and tuning if your guitar is in the playing position. It's kind of hard to believe, but when your guitar is lying flat, the effect of gravity on the neck, combined with string and truss rod tensions, is enough to very slightly alter the intonation and tuning, very slightly of course, but when you're aiming for perfection, it kinda makes sense. If you use a super accurate tuner, you will see this effect yourself. Secondly, when adjusting your truss rod, ideally you should do no more than 1/4 of a turn before leaving it for a day or two for the neck to re-settle, before checking it again for the final time and tweaking again if necessary. I love your channel, thanks for the awesome videos!
mezsh Totally true! I always setup and especially tune my guitars in playing position. If not, the tuning (and lots of other things) won't be the same. Thanks for putting this up for everyone. I was going to but I don't have the time because I already commented about how some people are probably going to break their necks due to improper explanation. And my phone's about to die. Have a good one!
@@rfdc Yep! It had a waay bigger effect than I could've guessed when setting up a friend's Ibanez Edge (original) guitar. It could be +20 cents when flat, in tune when in playing position and -20 cents when upside down!
I did an action adjustment on my Les Paul Classic recently. The tunomatic bridge made it pretty easy. I think action makes a big impact on ability to play fast leads - particularly on the high frets. I lowered my action quite a bit. No noticeable adverse effects and now I can play a bit more effortlessly.
I believe if you setup your guitar while it's lying on its back (or on it's hand and body like in the video), the weight of the guitar itself will bend the guitar neck and not reflect how it's going to be when you get it to normal playing position. I always try to setup my guitar when I have it on my lap as if I was playing, it's a bit harder but it gives you the final result you are looking for.
i think it's the magnetism but i'm sure weight is a factor too and i wonder if having a whammy bar especially a floating trem would make a bigger difference
I like it as low as possible. I don't mind a tiny bit of buzz actually. The main down side of keeping the action so low is that you are constantly fiddling with things to find the sweet spot. Temperature, humidity etc all have an impact when you have the action super close. Doesn't take much to go from a tiny taste of buzz to total loss of half your fretboard.... takes practice just like anything else.
"This is how I prefer my guitars being set up, it might not apply to you"...probably the best advice that can be given but virtually never is in most tutorials. Great job man! As a later edit...I cannot play without 1.2mm both sides lol.
So simple, so helpful. I’m brand new to guitar, and I had a problem with my high E string, and none of the other videos I found could help, but I kept searching, and then found this, and it was exactly what I needed to know to fix it. Thank you.
Very important: if you raise or lower the saddles you also need to intonate them again. In other words: correcting the distance between the nut and the saddle. You can do this by checking whether the note on the 12th fret is perfectly in tune and the exact same note as the open string (not flat or sharp for instance), followed by moving the saddle forward or backward if it needs to be corrected; this is usually done with a small hex key or Phillips-head screwdriver. Forward (towards the nut) is higher, backward (towards the bridge) is lower. Ofcourse each time you've changed a saddle (higher, lower, forward, backward) you need to retune your open string first before checking.
You shouldnt just raise each saddle until theres no dead notes or your saddle radius will not match the radius of the fretboard. If you have a dead note and your truss rod has adequate relief then you have to raise each saddle equally to keep the radius matching. And then intonate!
The tress rod is very simple to adjust, just make sure you do everything in small adjustments. I start off like with a completely straight neck. Once the neck is dead straight I will give it a 1/4 turn of relief tops. This give' just enough room for the strings to do there thing and not buzz. Some acoustic buzz from the string's is completely normal for low action, but you will not hear it through the amp if set up correctly. Also keeping your neck clean, dust free and conditioned will ensure the fret's don't pop up and create dead spots up and down the neck. Measurements at the first fret for most guitars like a Gibson go like this: On the Bass E string: 2/64" (.030") on the A string : 2/64" on the D string : 1- 1/128" (.022") on the G string : 1-1/128" on the B string : 1-64" (.015") On the treble E string : 1/64"
Hi John Dick, The measurement's i posted are when measuring at the first fret. At the 12 fret you want (Gibson Pecs) 5/64 bass and 3/64 treble. I like my bass string at 4/64 for a quicker attack.
Thanks Ola, I was going to sell my old Ibanez Gio that I’ve had for almost six years and I never knew how to set up the action/string height. Thanks for the video, it helped a lot.
I had an ibanez s series...i dont remember the exact model but anyways..i brought it to a tech and he set it up and i still had fret buzz on the higher frets. Turns out the neck had a warp in it. So that could always be a factor as well...sucks so bad when that happens lol. I hope that isnt the case for you though!
My Ibanez Gio always had fret buzz somewhere around 5-7 fret on D string. Only way to counteract this was adjusting to a very high action. Change the nut and relieved the neck some what, wasn't straight at all. Now I just use high action on all guitars.
That's up to preference. I like high gain but a clear clean tone. So I set the bridge pick-up as close as it sounds clear when I pick hard. Then set the neck pick-up to match volume.
Usually when you change string height or adjust the truss rod, the intonation has to be fixed, even on a fixed bridge. It's because both affect the string length.
I use to be able to do pinch harmonics but for some reason I can't anymore. I wonder if that has something to do with my intonation or action. 🤔 I've been playing for years but I'm new to such things as I've never really taken my music seriously until now. After years of being in shitty bands that just want to smoke pot (the drummer) or party, I'm taking a step forward to doing some solo stuff. I'm happy to have come across this video. 6 years out so I doubt he'll read this but I would like to thank you for all you do for us beginners Ola. You're the man.
Ola, thank you so much, I became a follower of you because of your recording tips, the fact that you're sharing tips again makes me very happy, it would be great if you share more tips and advices! :D
Adjusting the saddle height and neck relief are great, but you will get so much more out of having the nut slots cut to the correct depth, lower action with no dead notes and better intonation across the whole fret board!!!
I get fret buzz on my High E&B strings after a cranked my truss clockwise as far as she could go. And lifted my sadle a bit on the high side. Still too high and buzzy. Are you saying start shaving the High E side of the nut by the headstock? Seems like it would lower it. But without the fret buzz? IDK? Sounds like it would buzz up top now. And then you;re F'ed for life. But idk
I prefer medium action apparently. I thought I preferred low, but after meeting a guitarist who played with low action, he showed me mine was medium because his grazed the top of the frets.
Listen to the clean part on “Spark” by The Haunted. IMO the metallic buzz of the strings on the frets due to low action make that whole riff even better & it’s something I always listen for every time I jam that track!!!
Also, nut slots need to be proper width and depth according to string gauge. If you change string gauges, the slots could pinch the strings if too narrow. If too wide, the strings could flop around in the nut slot and cause string buzz. Special files are used to adjust nuts. If you fuck up, the whole nut must be replaced and filed again. That’s why I measure the shit out of my guitar setups, unlike Ola. Lastly, nut sauce (lube) can temporarily fix buzzing until saddle height and nut slots are adjusted.
I'm 48, just started playing guitar, and don't have a hope in hell of getting 1/100th as good as Ola, but I still like watching this cagey bastard do his thing!
I've been playing guitar the majority of my life (40y); I successfully used this video today. 😅 🤷♂️ Thanks, Ola!👌 String height adjustment for a dead note on 14th fret.🤦♂️
also I recommend doing this set up with your guitar in the playing position, because the neck can bend a lot in the table and when you play you have a completely different experience.
Interesting... I like a slight neck curve with low-mid action on my Ibanez Jem. This gives me the best sustain, still comfortable to play and I don't get any buzz when wacking the whammy bar sharp which is a common issue with floatin trems. On the other hand, I like non floating trem guitars with an almost straight neck but not all the way, and lower action. Strats are another different story. Slightly curved neck with mid-high string action give me that SPANK I love about strats.
that's gigantic action! I have 1.25 mm for low B/1.00 mm for high E on my 7 string and 1.20 mm on Low E / 1.00 mm on high E and I feel I would prefer to go even lower
Your tone must sound like shit . Low action is nice for playing faster but too low action kind of chokes out the strings regardless of how level your frets are . Slightly higher action sounds cleaner and fuller up to 2mm on the low B is totally fine some people go even higher .
That action is low enough. Take it from someone trained in this field. I like the action as low as possible with 1mm at lowest/1.5-2mm at highest. It really depends on how the frets react to the adjustments and unfortunately the truss rod won't always compensate
All adjustments should be done in playing positions bc the neck moves due to the weight of the body when you have it on the bench. Also, you should always have an amp on clean when you set up action because you're not looking for acoustic buzz you're looking for audible buzz. All electric guitars buzz a little acoustically but it's important that it doesn't come through the amp. Some guitars can get really low without losing sustain and no buzz coming through the amp but acoustically it might buzz a lot.
I get some fret buzz on my low e string when I downtune (which is always) and I've tried raising the action but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It's not a big deal and it's not affecting the sound too much, but it's quite annoying to me. I'm wondering if I put on thicker strings if the buzz would be worse, better, or the same. Thanks
Ola! Big fan here! I bought a used IB RGA8. Decent guitar. Intonation and action is off. Somebody messed with it pretty hard. Is there a "starting spot" I can put the adjusters to before I set intonation? I've looked for paint Marks left from the bolt but it's been moved a few times. Thanks
I play my 6-string bass with a straight neck and graduated action measured at the 12th fret: 2.75 mm B string, 2.5 mm E string, 2.25 mm A string, and 2 mm for the rest.
I find it hard to lower the string height when the saddles only allow two adjustment points on the sides. I think I need to shave off the frets so eliminate buzz in some strings, becauseI can't get the strings to go low enough.
its all about sting buzz and how hard you pick. If you are an ultra light picker, you can use a sweet low easy to play action. If you do metal chugging, you are going to need to raise it. I use a little bow in my neck because none of my guitars have been professionally fret leveled... so with it straight you get dead notes and buzz
I remember trying an Ibanez Jem at a guitar center and being completely dissapointed cause the action was too low, impossible to play low. But then I learned it could be fixed, but I havent been able to get my hands on another Jem
It's about personal taste, someone would prefer to feel the string tension working against your hand's pression, which gives more like a feeling that the string "is there". Personally, when the action is too low, I feel like I'm playing a keyboard, doesn't push me to play harder. For many others, the low action pushes them to play faster. It's not a metal thing, though, there are many fusion guitarists with very easy to play guitars, and blues guitarists that look like chopping wood at every pick :)
ChristianIce Yes, I got it...I just had to play my first guitar which was a classical guitar with huge high action...chords were nightmares, but honestly it made my hand stronger but it was not fun at all to practice.
AMB AHMED A little higher action can add more definition, clarity, and string response on the higher frets. Think tapping and sweeps. It can also help with note accuracy and coordination since you have to push down harder on the strings. Think of typing on a modern slim style keyboard opposed to typing on an old school typewriter. However, the higher the action, the farther the string has to travel to touch the fret and produce the note. Too high of an action and you’re just working unnecessarily hard to produce the note. Too low of an action and you get almost zero response and fret buzz is anticipated but since you don’t have to work as hard to produce the note, it can help increase speed. Finding a nice common ground between the two is ideal. Or, if you wanted to use a slide for any reason, a higher action would help a lot.
I can make the sound cut through a bit more and wider bends are easier (for soloing and stuff). I suppose if you're doing a lot of natural harmonics, it might make that a bit easier as well. I generally try to set my action as low as I can before it has dead frets or chokes out bends, usually get a happy medium from doing that.
The horizontal wood holding the nut of my acoustic guitar's truss rod has a crack. How will this affect my guitar? Is it fixable? Btw, the nut of my guitar's truss rod is inside the soundhole.
Hi Ola, great and very useful video, thumbs up! I wanted to ask you, what is the better (safer) way for setting up the truss rod, with strings in tune or we need to loose them first? How do you prefer to do it? Most clips I watched, they say we have to loose strings first. In my case, truss rod is not the same when I loose the strings (it looks pure flat) and when the strings are in tune (I see little curve). Thanks!
The people at Jackson need to watch this video. I bought a King V & an RR24 both from the factory in the $700 to $800 range each & the strings on both were a mile high. They're metal guitars & I don't know any metal players that like high action. Since that's been fixed I love both guitars.
For riffing n rhythm playing, i dont think the string height matters much, n i would prefer a high action for riffing. But, for soloing, specially for bendy blues licks i need a low action
for a long time you've always been the guy with sick groovy rhythm playing. lately you started to be a sick shredder too (imo). What exercises did you do to achieve that?
I would say your action is on the high side to each their own that's about where I set my acoustics my electrics are lower recently sold a Gibson that couldn't get much lower than that but that's why action is catered to the player just myself I prefer very low action
So I've tried to straighten out my neck and I've turned the Allen key to the point that it's completely stiff. I'm not happy with the result but I don't want to force it out of fear of totalling my guitar... Help?
An easy way of adjusting the Truss Rod is...sit down..with your guitar in playin position...if you push the Allenwrench away from you (downwards)..the headstock will move away from you - less tension...if you pull the Allenwrench towards yourself (upwards) the Headstock moves toward you - higher tension
I've never seen a guitar at Guitar Center with the low action I've seen the "pros " use . Even the guitars that cost thousands have shitty action What gives ?? If I'm paying over a grand for a guitar , that sucker better play like butter . But they wanna sell you a new guitar and then charge you for a setup!! F that . Anyways I'm gonna shut up and go play!!
@@itcantrainallthetime9886 interesting. My local Long and McQuade wont do a set up at all, not even for money. They just refer customers to a local independent guitar tech
How about setting the string height without a truss rod on a guitar with a neck-through design, or bolted on design. Is just fiddling with the string height at the bridge going to be enough? What else is involved/do you do, to set up your guitars?
3:37 oh yeah that's exactly why i'm here. lots of dead notes on my guitar. and the seller said it came adjusted from the store. huge lie. i'm afraid to touch the thing and screw up even more though.
I LOVE low action on the neck. So I ranked my Truss Clockwise as far as it would go. So then I had dead notes On the High E string 12 and down. So then I lifted the Saddle knobs w a flat head. The dead note went away....but it made my action too high on the high Es ect. Now what? Schector C-1 HR. Do those little mini screws attached to the saddle do anything for highth? ty
Buyed Solar. Change unacceptable high string action and than get fret buzz AF from twelve fret. Than I take it back to the shop. Unsatisfied with the guitar a lot but it was probably possible to repair by luthier by changing fret high.
I need help! I'm trying to lower the action on my 8 string evertune. whenever it gets even a little bit low, ALL the sustain is lost and if I bend the note disappears mid bend. I really cant play this guitar with the current problem. for it to resolve the action has to be much higher than I'd like. Its a solar 1.8AAN.
Hi Ola. I'm playing left handed guitars, can you please tell me if the truss rod adjustment directions you refer to on your right handed guitars are the same way round for lefties or do you turn the opposite way? Dumb question I know, but... Cheers from the UK. Excellent channel btw!
Any tricks on setting up tension on springs such that tremolo bar is optimized tension? I have new Ibanez have height perfect, try now to dial in tension on rear tremolo springs such that strings return slightly by minute amount to high side of tuner setpoint. Any tips?
I have a custom Ibanez with a fixed back loading bridge. My action is plenty high from frets 4-24 but on the 1-3 I'm getting some rattle. Say I play an E sharp on the low E. The next fret gives a little rattle. What can I do? Maybe the bridge is fine and I can get a higher nut?
I have a feeling that lots of people are going to be breaking their necks from adjusting their truss rod improperly. When messing with the truss rod, you should only turn it 1/4 of an inch at most at a time (or at least until you know the guitar well and what you are doing). Let it sit and naturally adjust for a minute or two and play a little just to let the neck settle. If it's not set to your liking, rinse and repeat. Just remember that it's wood (the neck and most likely the body) and keep in mind how tension and weather can and will affect it. You can adjust the truss rod and have the neck feel great but the next day it could be very different. I usually let it sit for the night if I'm setting up a new (or horribly setup) guitar to let it settle and acclimate to whatever environment it is in. Keep that in mind as well. Lots of things to take into account like breaking in the strings during a setup and knowing that the guitar will most likely not be the way you had it setup the next day due to basic physics and weather. Even if you only adjust the truss rod, the neck will probably need very fine adjustments the next day. Another thing is don't just fret every string to see if there are dead frets. It could be fine until you bend a string and notice it will fret out at a certain point. So make sure you bend at all frets after you check each one for dead spots. The ones that seem to be snuffed out are usually higher up the fretboard but it can happen anywhere. Good luck and keep on chuggin!!
Okay! Im sitting here and fool around.. Ive played my guitar with insane height for years now, wich have made it hard to keep some chords in tune. This because when adjusting To where I feel its perfect, when playing the lower tones I get this small buzz one second after, and thought this was bad, but when I hear you play now, where I can hear your actual guitar, I can hear your strings slap the neck the same way a eastern father is parenting his son. If you play the wounded strings normally do YOU still hear them buzz for a second?
how could you set up the guitar like that,if you have that constant pressure on the neck(have the guitar layed down like that)? why not adjusting the guitar on its normal condition.the condition we play?
So when you have string height, how does that effect the pickups if you stand near the amps with your back facing feedback of your pizza and wings? How can this be remedied? Blue cheese?
Jiji Sound Project fix your tremolo in stable position, Tune everything, then unfix (exist this Word in english?) tremolo And Tune your feders. I think....... :-D Ibanez Guy say hello to another Ibanez Guy , your guitar rocks!!!!!
Couple of notes from my experience with a truss rod.
1) make small adjustments and tune the guitar. You also should let the guitar sit for a few hours after adjusting the truss rod. It takes time for the neck to fully adjust to the rod. Adding tension is also best (whether recreating back bow or relief) helps with truss rod movement.
2) A newer guitar or one that has been stored with care should have a truss rod that turns easily. If you have a truss rod that will not turn, be careful. It could be a rusty nut or it could be a bad neck. I posted a video of me cranking a rusty truss rod. Fortunately, i didn't break it.
3) if your frets are in good condition, you should be able to have a relatively flat neck with little to no string buzz. Aside from uneven frets and poor action, I would say the number 1 culprit of string buzz is poor playing.
4)) I have bought and played many used guitars. Number one issue I have seen is crappy set up. I'm with Ola, when I pick up a guitar and the strings are half an inch off the fretboard (talking to you music go round), that guitar goes right back on the rack
5) finally, clip your string tips after you put in new strings. You people that leave your strings unclipped after anstring change are inhumane.
@ognilouD driB but do you leave them just because or do you have a reason?
@eniatsuM evaD You must not care about how clean your sound is, they always wiggle and make noise... Also, I had a friend who sat down at his desk, reached down to turn his amp on, and jammed his eye on one of the uncut strings. I used to always leave mine uncut and keep one set of old strings (in case I broke a string, I could restring an old one easier in a pinch)...theni started doing studio work and a friend almost lost an eye. Don't be stubborn for no reason.
@eniatsuM evaD Just like no one gives a fuck about your personal preference. Or that one blind eye you got from it.
Also always tune your guitar to the target tuning after each adjustment of the trus rod.
How is fret buzz poor playing when I don't even need to play anything to hear fret buzz? If I fret a note it's doesn't sustain because it's so close to the frets that the string can't vibrate it obviously has nothing to do with poor playing.
There's low action. There's high action. Then there's no action. Like what I get.
I hear ya
Oof
Hahaaa
It be like that 😔
At least you don't have to bend your neck...
Ola, if I may be so bold. I was once taught by a very experienced luthier that you should only set your intonation, string height and tuning if your guitar is in the playing position. It's kind of hard to believe, but when your guitar is lying flat, the effect of gravity on the neck, combined with string and truss rod tensions, is enough to very slightly alter the intonation and tuning, very slightly of course, but when you're aiming for perfection, it kinda makes sense. If you use a super accurate tuner, you will see this effect yourself. Secondly, when adjusting your truss rod, ideally you should do no more than 1/4 of a turn before leaving it for a day or two for the neck to re-settle, before checking it again for the final time and tweaking again if necessary. I love your channel, thanks for the awesome videos!
mezsh Totally true! I always setup and especially tune my guitars in playing position. If not, the tuning (and lots of other things) won't be the same. Thanks for putting this up for everyone. I was going to but I don't have the time because I already commented about how some people are probably going to break their necks due to improper explanation. And my phone's about to die. Have a good one!
I just removed the truss rod in my guitar
I've found that to be the case, especially on super low end crappy guitars
Mine has a floyd rose bridge and what you describe is completely true.
@@rfdc Yep! It had a waay bigger effect than I could've guessed when setting up a friend's Ibanez Edge (original) guitar. It could be +20 cents when flat, in tune when in playing position and -20 cents when upside down!
I did an action adjustment on my Les Paul Classic recently. The tunomatic bridge made it pretty easy.
I think action makes a big impact on ability to play fast leads - particularly on the high frets. I lowered my action quite a bit. No noticeable adverse effects and now I can play a bit more effortlessly.
I'm new to Les Paul's, but I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Thank you for your advice!
I agree, just got my first Les Paul and WOW that bridge made it easy.....I'm used to shredder guitars and what a pain in the ass.
I believe if you setup your guitar while it's lying on its back (or on it's hand and body like in the video), the weight of the guitar itself will bend the guitar neck and not reflect how it's going to be when you get it to normal playing position. I always try to setup my guitar when I have it on my lap as if I was playing, it's a bit harder but it gives you the final result you are looking for.
Dude! You have a heavy guitar!
@@HarrellEngineDyno my guitar is bad about this. Of course, it's an mkh les paul custom lmao. Weighs about 10.5lbs lol
SETTING INTONATION,, YEP
i think it's the magnetism but i'm sure weight is a factor too and i wonder if having a whammy bar especially a floating trem would make a bigger difference
I like it as low as possible. I don't mind a tiny bit of buzz actually. The main down side of keeping the action so low is that you are constantly fiddling with things to find the sweet spot. Temperature, humidity etc all have an impact when you have the action super close. Doesn't take much to go from a tiny taste of buzz to total loss of half your fretboard.... takes practice just like anything else.
That's the beauty of it. I like high action and cannot deal with fret buzz. No dead notes and intonation is always the priority.
"This is how I prefer my guitars being set up, it might not apply to you"...probably the best advice that can be given but virtually never is in most tutorials. Great job man! As a later edit...I cannot play without 1.2mm both sides lol.
So simple, so helpful. I’m brand new to guitar, and I had a problem with my high E string, and none of the other videos I found could help, but I kept searching, and then found this, and it was exactly what I needed to know to fix it. Thank you.
Very important: if you raise or lower the saddles you also need to intonate them again.
In other words: correcting the distance between the nut and the saddle. You can do this by checking whether the note on the 12th fret is perfectly in tune and the exact same note as the open string (not flat or sharp for instance), followed by moving the saddle forward or backward if it needs to be corrected; this is usually done with a small hex key or Phillips-head screwdriver. Forward (towards the nut) is higher, backward (towards the bridge) is lower. Ofcourse each time you've changed a saddle (higher, lower, forward, backward) you need to retune your open string first before checking.
Best advice here.
You shouldnt just raise each saddle until theres no dead notes or your saddle radius will not match the radius of the fretboard. If you have a dead note and your truss rod has adequate relief then you have to raise each saddle equally to keep the radius matching. And then intonate!
Its feels weird watching ola's old videos.
Ola seems to very serious about it lmao
The tress rod is very simple to adjust, just make sure you do everything in small adjustments. I start off like with a completely straight neck. Once the neck is dead straight I will give it a 1/4 turn of relief tops. This give' just enough room for the strings to do there thing and not buzz. Some acoustic buzz from the string's is completely normal for low action, but you will not hear it through the amp if set up correctly. Also keeping your neck clean, dust free and conditioned will ensure the fret's don't pop up and create dead spots up and down the neck.
Measurements at the first fret for most guitars like a Gibson go like this:
On the Bass E string: 2/64" (.030")
on the A string : 2/64"
on the D string : 1- 1/128" (.022")
on the G string : 1-1/128"
on the B string : 1-64" (.015")
On the treble E string : 1/64"
SuperJiggawhat
Damm that's low. The Gibson's I've seen have had: bass-4/64
treble-3/64
Hi John Dick,
The measurement's i posted are when measuring at the first fret. At the 12 fret you want (Gibson Pecs) 5/64 bass and 3/64 treble. I like my bass string at 4/64 for a quicker attack.
Thanks Ola, I was going to sell my old Ibanez Gio that I’ve had for almost six years and I never knew how to set up the action/string height. Thanks for the video, it helped a lot.
Ghost 幽霊 I also had problems with my gio. The high e string was always dead after the 14th fret so soloing sucked
Gibsoad Studios Well this was my first year playing and I was too scared to travel anywhere past the 6th fret lol.
I had an ibanez s series...i dont remember the exact model but anyways..i brought it to a tech and he set it up and i still had fret buzz on the higher frets. Turns out the neck had a warp in it. So that could always be a factor as well...sucks so bad when that happens lol. I hope that isnt the case for you though!
iGoober Yeah my Ibanez had 1st and 2nd fret buzzing
My Ibanez Gio always had fret buzz somewhere around 5-7 fret on D string. Only way to counteract this was adjusting to a very high action. Change the nut and relieved the neck some what, wasn't straight at all. Now I just use high action on all guitars.
A very straightforward and no nonsense explanation.
Thx, I appreciate it.
next quick tip on how to setup the height of pickups?
Fret the last fret and measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pickup screw. Bass side: 4/32. Treble side 3/32.
John Dick in mm?
That's up to preference. I like high gain but a clear clean tone. So I set the bridge pick-up as close as it sounds clear when I pick hard. Then set the neck pick-up to match volume.
Thanks M. Dick!
TwohornedPuppet i take the same approach!
What about intonation? Could you make a video on changing string gauges and the process involved?
You only want to fix intonation when changing string gauge on a floating trem systems
No, you have to do it on all guitars, I have a Les Paul and it was strung with 10s, I put 12s on and had to change the intonation.
Dr. D wait I mixed up string gauge and tuning down. Touche
Usually when you change string height or adjust the truss rod, the intonation has to be fixed, even on a fixed bridge. It's because both affect the string length.
@@Sturzfaktor2 How do you fix the intonation? Is it those little mini screws on the sadle? wu
I use to be able to do pinch harmonics but for some reason I can't anymore. I wonder if that has something to do with my intonation or action. 🤔 I've been playing for years but I'm new to such things as I've never really taken my music seriously until now. After years of being in shitty bands that just want to smoke pot (the drummer) or party, I'm taking a step forward to doing some solo stuff. I'm happy to have come across this video. 6 years out so I doubt he'll read this but I would like to thank you for all you do for us beginners Ola. You're the man.
Ola, thank you so much, I became a follower of you because of your recording tips, the fact that you're sharing tips again makes me very happy, it would be great if you share more tips and advices! :D
This video is still useful and still viable... the Ola... bought a matt red G series.. Amazing
Adjusting the saddle height and neck relief are great, but you will get so much more out of having the nut slots cut to the correct depth, lower action with no dead notes and better intonation across the whole fret board!!!
I get fret buzz on my High E&B strings after a cranked my truss clockwise as far as she could go. And lifted my sadle a bit on the high side. Still too high and buzzy. Are you saying start shaving the High E side of the nut by the headstock? Seems like it would lower it. But without the fret buzz? IDK? Sounds like it would buzz up top now. And then you;re F'ed for life. But idk
If you’re scared to touch the truss rod I’d recommend therapy.
Kevin White if you're scared go to church
@@JcastroCFH *truss
If you touch it too much, you'll go blind
That's what she said!
But what if I snap my neck :c
I just setup my 7 string with your help, thanks Ola!
I prefer medium action apparently. I thought I preferred low, but after meeting a guitarist who played with low action, he showed me mine was medium because his grazed the top of the frets.
Listen to the clean part on “Spark” by The Haunted. IMO the metallic buzz of the strings on the frets due to low action make that whole riff even better & it’s something I always listen for every time I jam that track!!!
if you put lot of bass in the amp usually the buzz won't be noticeable..... Agree, a little bit of buzz is ok!!!
Also, nut slots need to be proper width and depth according to string gauge. If you change string gauges, the slots could pinch the strings if too narrow. If too wide, the strings could flop around in the nut slot and cause string buzz. Special files are used to adjust nuts. If you fuck up, the whole nut must be replaced and filed again. That’s why I measure the shit out of my guitar setups, unlike Ola. Lastly, nut sauce (lube) can temporarily fix buzzing until saddle height and nut slots are adjusted.
I'm 48, just started playing guitar, and don't have a hope in hell of getting 1/100th as good as Ola, but I still like watching this cagey bastard do his thing!
All the best sir.
Awesome show again. Great riffs in the beginning. Chug project pre-ordered🔥
Good tip bro going to try it tonight after work. Cause I set the action by using a card an rubber band an still get a buzz dead note .
Glad to see you again Ola
I've been playing guitar the majority of my life (40y); I successfully used this video today.
😅 🤷♂️
Thanks, Ola!👌
String height adjustment for a dead note on 14th fret.🤦♂️
Check intonation after doing these adjustments! It will usually be thrown off after making big changes to action, neck bow, and string gauge.
also I recommend doing this set up with your guitar in the playing position, because the neck can bend a lot in the table and when you play you have a completely different experience.
Interesting...
I like a slight neck curve with low-mid action on my Ibanez Jem.
This gives me the best sustain, still comfortable to play and I don't get any buzz when wacking the whammy bar sharp which is a common issue with floatin trems.
On the other hand, I like non floating trem guitars with an almost straight neck but not all the way, and lower action.
Strats are another different story. Slightly curved neck with mid-high string action give me that SPANK I love about strats.
I have a tip that involves Thomann mic stands and Gaff Tape.
Ok, ok, that's going to be the last one, I promise, no more mic stand's jokes :)
"DELETE THIS" - Thomann
Pls explain?
Mark yes pls
Very handy information! Thanks for your time in sharing. I will be saving this for future reference. Thanking you Robbbert from Melbourne Australia.
How on earth do you string bend when your strings are 1.8-2.0mm, when i bend the other strings get caught over or in front of my fingers
that's gigantic action! I have 1.25 mm for low B/1.00 mm for high E on my 7 string and 1.20 mm on Low E / 1.00 mm on high E and I feel I would prefer to go even lower
Your tone must sound like shit . Low action is nice for playing faster but too low action kind of chokes out the strings regardless of how level your frets are . Slightly higher action sounds cleaner and fuller up to 2mm on the low B is totally fine some people go even higher .
That action is low enough. Take it from someone trained in this field. I like the action as low as possible with 1mm at lowest/1.5-2mm at highest. It really depends on how the frets react to the adjustments and unfortunately the truss rod won't always compensate
I like the neck nearly straight but very little curve. I adjust the height of the strings until every note evenly buzz a little bit when played hard
Vigier Shawn Lane model...factory action is 0.7mm on high E and 1.0mm on low E
All adjustments should be done in playing positions bc the neck moves due to the weight of the body when you have it on the bench. Also, you should always have an amp on clean when you set up action because you're not looking for acoustic buzz you're looking for audible buzz. All electric guitars buzz a little acoustically but it's important that it doesn't come through the amp. Some guitars can get really low without losing sustain and no buzz coming through the amp but acoustically it might buzz a lot.
Great! Thanks for a solid, precise, and concise tutorial!
Now floyd rose setup on a G.2, lets go Ola the setuperer!!!
How about set up on a Kramer trem hahaha
Thank you for the basics and straight to the point. I love you
Wish you do some more of these instructional videos, good teaching!
I get some fret buzz on my low e string when I downtune (which is always) and I've tried raising the action but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It's not a big deal and it's not affecting the sound too much, but it's quite annoying to me. I'm wondering if I put on thicker strings if the buzz would be worse, better, or the same. Thanks
Ola! Big fan here! I bought a used IB RGA8. Decent guitar. Intonation and action is off. Somebody messed with it pretty hard.
Is there a "starting spot" I can put the adjusters to before I set intonation? I've looked for paint Marks left from the bolt but it's been moved a few times. Thanks
Good stuff Ola. It's nice to see guitar tech how -o on something other than a Fender playing soft rock.
I play my 6-string bass with a straight neck and graduated action measured at the 12th fret: 2.75 mm B string, 2.5 mm E string, 2.25 mm A string, and 2 mm for the rest.
I find it hard to lower the string height when the saddles only allow two adjustment points on the sides. I think I need to shave off the frets so eliminate buzz in some strings, becauseI can't get the strings to go low enough.
its all about sting buzz and how hard you pick. If you are an ultra light picker, you can use a sweet low easy to play action. If you do metal chugging, you are going to need to raise it. I use a little bow in my neck because none of my guitars have been professionally fret leveled... so with it straight you get dead notes and buzz
dude your so right about just getting turned off by how the strings are i just got a new guitar and i was so confused why i hated it thank you sm🖤
I remember trying an Ibanez Jem at a guitar center and being completely dissapointed cause the action was too low, impossible to play low. But then I learned it could be fixed, but I havent been able to get my hands on another Jem
Can anyone tell me one reason to have high action (talking about METAL of course)?!
It's about personal taste, someone would prefer to feel the string tension working against your hand's pression, which gives more like a feeling that the string "is there".
Personally, when the action is too low, I feel like I'm playing a keyboard, doesn't push me to play harder.
For many others, the low action pushes them to play faster.
It's not a metal thing, though, there are many fusion guitarists with very easy to play guitars, and blues guitarists that look like chopping wood at every pick :)
ChristianIce Yes, I got it...I just had to play my first guitar which was a classical guitar with huge high action...chords were nightmares, but honestly it made my hand stronger but it was not fun at all to practice.
AMB AHMED
A little higher action can add more definition, clarity, and string response on the higher frets. Think tapping and sweeps. It can also help with note accuracy and coordination since you have to push down harder on the strings. Think of typing on a modern slim style keyboard opposed to typing on an old school typewriter.
However, the higher the action, the farther the string has to travel to touch the fret and produce the note. Too high of an action and you’re just working unnecessarily hard to produce the note. Too low of an action and you get almost zero response and fret buzz is anticipated but since you don’t have to work as hard to produce the note, it can help increase speed.
Finding a nice common ground between the two is ideal.
Or, if you wanted to use a slide for any reason, a higher action would help a lot.
Maybe it's easier to slide guitar? Doesn't sound metal, but you can be creative and slide metal, which is pretty rare
I can make the sound cut through a bit more and wider bends are easier (for soloing and stuff). I suppose if you're doing a lot of natural harmonics, it might make that a bit easier as well. I generally try to set my action as low as I can before it has dead frets or chokes out bends, usually get a happy medium from doing that.
Should I tune the guitar prior to making these adjustments?
The horizontal wood holding the nut of my acoustic guitar's truss rod has a crack. How will this affect my guitar? Is it fixable? Btw, the nut of my guitar's truss rod is inside the soundhole.
I thought you would actually prefer a lower string height. Maybe you could explain why in your next Q&A? Thanks!
High action for riffs. Low action for soloist. Medium action for balance.
Short and to the point. Thanks, Ola!
Hi Ola, great and very useful video, thumbs up! I wanted to ask you, what is the better (safer) way for setting up the truss rod, with strings in tune or we need to loose them first? How do you prefer to do it? Most clips I watched, they say we have to loose strings first. In my case, truss rod is not the same when I loose the strings (it looks pure flat) and when the strings are in tune (I see little curve). Thanks!
The people at Jackson need to watch this video. I bought a King V & an RR24 both from the factory in the $700 to $800 range each & the strings on both were a mile high. They're metal guitars & I don't know any metal players that like high action. Since that's been fixed I love both guitars.
For riffing n rhythm playing, i dont think the string height matters much, n i would prefer a high action for riffing. But, for soloing, specially for bendy blues licks i need a low action
for a long time you've always been the guy with sick groovy rhythm playing. lately you started to be a sick shredder too (imo). What exercises did you do to achieve that?
Timo Oertel he fought a swedish cave troll with an axe.
best answer ever.
I would say your action is on the high side to each their own that's about where I set my acoustics my electrics are lower recently sold a Gibson that couldn't get much lower than that but that's why action is catered to the player just myself I prefer very low action
So I've tried to straighten out my neck and I've turned the Allen key to the point that it's completely stiff. I'm not happy with the result but I don't want to force it out of fear of totalling my guitar... Help?
An easy way of adjusting the Truss Rod is...sit down..with your guitar in playin position...if you push the Allenwrench away from you (downwards)..the headstock will move away from you - less tension...if you pull the Allenwrench towards yourself (upwards) the Headstock moves toward you - higher tension
Hi Ola... do you remeber the times we wrote in the Andy Sneap forum ? I enjoy your vids and I wish you the all the best 😉
Of course I do man!
Thanks man! Im amateur guitarist and these tips are golden for me. Also youre funny guy, love to watch your chanel!
Great video! Would love one about how to check intonation....
Thanks OLA for tips. I never known how do they check it to make it good.
my action is like 3mm at 12th fret, but if i lower the saddle down, I start getting fret buzz above the 12th fret... What can I do to solve this?
I've never seen a guitar at Guitar Center with the low action I've seen the "pros " use .
Even the guitars that cost thousands have shitty action
What gives ?? If I'm paying over a grand for a guitar , that sucker better play like butter .
But they wanna sell you a new guitar and then charge you for a setup!! F that . Anyways I'm gonna shut up and go play!!
Mark Juszko every store I‘ve ever been to set the guitar I bought up in the tuning I wanted with the strings I wanted - for free. 😳
Here in Vancouver, BC, we have Long & Mcquade. They offer a free set up for up to a year after your purchase 🇨🇦
@@itcantrainallthetime9886 interesting. My local Long and McQuade wont do a set up at all, not even for money. They just refer customers to a local independent guitar tech
@@Telesko which one?
Your playing is awesome
What’s the name of the song he play on most of his videos? (4:40)
How about setting the string height without a truss rod on a guitar with a neck-through design, or bolted on design. Is just fiddling with the string height at the bridge going to be enough?
What else is involved/do you do, to set up your guitars?
My strings feel really high, idk that's just how it came so I'm gonna try change it
3:37 oh yeah that's exactly why i'm here. lots of dead notes on my guitar. and the seller said it came adjusted from the store. huge lie.
i'm afraid to touch the thing and screw up even more though.
I LOVE low action on the neck. So I ranked my Truss Clockwise as far as it would go. So then I had dead notes On the High E string 12 and down. So then I lifted the Saddle knobs w a flat head. The dead note went away....but it made my action too high on the high Es ect. Now what? Schector C-1 HR. Do those little mini screws attached to the saddle do anything for highth? ty
Buyed Solar. Change unacceptable high string action and than get fret buzz AF from twelve fret. Than I take it back to the shop. Unsatisfied with the guitar a lot but it was probably possible to repair by luthier by changing fret high.
More videos like this please! Guitar setups and adjustment are always necessary.
Hi, my electric guitars first fret gives bad sounds, the strings touch to the 2nd fret when i press the strings on first fret. What should i do?
I need help! I'm trying to lower the action on my 8 string evertune. whenever it gets even a little bit low, ALL the sustain is lost and if I bend the note disappears mid bend. I really cant play this guitar with the current problem. for it to resolve the action has to be much higher than I'd like. Its a solar 1.8AAN.
I am planning on buying one of those Vs in the very near future
Hi Ola. I'm playing left handed guitars, can you please tell me if the truss rod adjustment directions you refer to on your right handed guitars are the same way round for lefties or do you turn the opposite way? Dumb question I know, but... Cheers from the UK. Excellent channel btw!
Too bad I get awful fret buzz on all frets if I go to anything below 2.5 mm, and I have some relief on top of that
are the measurements he gives at 4:19 low or high by the communities standards?
Please tips for adjust saddle distance every strings on evertune bridge.
Any tricks on setting up tension on springs such that tremolo bar is optimized tension? I have new Ibanez have height perfect, try now to dial in tension on rear tremolo springs such that strings return slightly by minute amount to high side of tuner setpoint. Any tips?
I have a custom Ibanez with a fixed back loading bridge. My action is plenty high from frets 4-24 but on the 1-3 I'm getting some rattle. Say I play an E sharp on the low E. The next fret gives a little rattle. What can I do? Maybe the bridge is fine and I can get a higher nut?
That’s a wicked screen saver on your computer. What is it?
I have a feeling that lots of people are going to be breaking their necks from adjusting their truss rod improperly. When messing with the truss rod, you should only turn it 1/4 of an inch at most at a time (or at least until you know the guitar well and what you are doing). Let it sit and naturally adjust for a minute or two and play a little just to let the neck settle. If it's not set to your liking, rinse and repeat. Just remember that it's wood (the neck and most likely the body) and keep in mind how tension and weather can and will affect it. You can adjust the truss rod and have the neck feel great but the next day it could be very different. I usually let it sit for the night if I'm setting up a new (or horribly setup) guitar to let it settle and acclimate to whatever environment it is in. Keep that in mind as well. Lots of things to take into account like breaking in the strings during a setup and knowing that the guitar will most likely not be the way you had it setup the next day due to basic physics and weather. Even if you only adjust the truss rod, the neck will probably need very fine adjustments the next day. Another thing is don't just fret every string to see if there are dead frets. It could be fine until you bend a string and notice it will fret out at a certain point. So make sure you bend at all frets after you check each one for dead spots. The ones that seem to be snuffed out are usually higher up the fretboard but it can happen anywhere. Good luck and keep on chuggin!!
Okay! Im sitting here and fool around.. Ive played my guitar with insane height for years now, wich have made it hard to keep some chords in tune. This because when adjusting To where I feel its perfect, when playing the lower tones I get this small buzz one second after, and thought this was bad, but when I hear you play now, where I can hear your actual guitar, I can hear your strings slap the neck the same way a eastern father is parenting his son. If you play the wounded strings normally do YOU still hear them buzz for a second?
Not complaining I adjust the action and tuning on my guitars but why nothing on intonation at 12 fret that is important part of set up too !
how could you set up the guitar like that,if you have that constant pressure on the neck(have the guitar layed down like that)? why not adjusting the guitar on its normal condition.the condition we play?
How do I fix brand spanking new strings lying on the metal frets? 😞😭 I’m in a wheelchair and can’t go out every day
So when you have string height, how does that effect the pickups if you stand near the amps with your back facing feedback of your pizza and wings? How can this be remedied? Blue cheese?
If I have a Jackson js32 Kelly the b string is the only one that sitting aloha how would I hire just one specific string on a floating bridge
Ola, I love your channel.
Love you Ola
nice tip can you do a quick tip for Floyd Rose user??
(eventhough i'm ibanez guy)
Jiji Sound Project fix your tremolo in stable position, Tune everything, then unfix (exist this Word in english?) tremolo And Tune your feders. I think....... :-D
Ibanez Guy say hello to another Ibanez Guy , your guitar rocks!!!!!
Regardless of it being a Floyd or Edge trem, the adjustment principles are the same
Absolutely ... tips on this video you can use on floyd rose guitar
I’m absolutely terrible at these kind of adjustments. Thank you for sharing.
This helped me so much. Thank You!