TOTALLY AGREE THAT DAVE NEEDS HIS OWN CHANNEL...but the dude is so fuggin busy doing repairs and making gitars remarkable, that that would taper off if his mojo hit a speed bump like feeling pressure to create content. I'll take any/all "guest spots" available where this guitar Jedi shares his secrets, though...just sayin.
@@TeleCathster I feel you- I run a global financial intelligence and cybercrime investigations group with offices all over the world. I used to be able to hop on a plane to Singapore or London or Tokyo and work with my teams now I do it all via Google Hangouts and it has added many hours to what was a long day anything. That said, I am thankful that I still am working and that I have 150 cool people working for me that help make this all easier- thankfully travel will start up again soon.
Funny how from 93 when I first started playing until early this year, I never could set my guitars up good. No one wanted to teach or show you back then. Got into learning on UA-cam from the pandemic, spent $200 on tools etc., and now thanks to y’alls vids I can do it now! It’s fun too!! And my guitars are now exactly how I like them👍🏻
As a player who's maintained my own instruments for decades, I think Dave's advise is solid, and I was especially happy to hear his take on setting pickup height. Many sources state measurements that admittedly give a "ballpark" idea, but the best way I've found is to set height while listening with headphones (with clean and dirty tones) until pickups and/or pole pieces reach an obvious sweet spot. ...Great content 'round here.
At about 8.57 Dave was going into more detail on cutting the Nut Slots low and something about "an easy fix " balancing height of strings on frets or such, as he walks over to work bench on left - then recording is cut - jumps to Rhett asking Dave what tools are needed ... Sure wish we could have seen the rest of what Dave was about to say ... Grateful to see this, just looks like there is so much more to hear from Dave , that's all ! Be great if Dave had his own Channel ?
Dave's the man,out of all the fix your axe guys on yt, he's the easiest to understand,always innovative and fun to watch, loved the velcro tip,saving all videos with Dave in them for quick reference,thanks for another great video Rhett. 😊👍
man I have so much appreciation for guys like Dave, people who know how to take care of instruments and actually explain in details, learned a lot about maintaining and operating guitars from guys like him, it's really cool. Would be a killer to see his rendition of installing a soldered pickup system like Dimarzios and such... if ever haha Anyways keep it up guys, really enjoy your vids!
I gave up trying to sight down the neck to check bow/relief years ago. The string under tension will be straight. So just put a capo on the first fret, and hold the string down at about the 15th fret for an acoustic, and check how much space there is between the string and the neck at about the 9th fret. Lots of space = too much relief = tighten the truss rod. No space = back bow = loosen the truss rod. But before mucking with the truss rod, test both the low and high E strings. Sometimes necks twist a bit. As far as intonation testing goes, I find I get better results comparing 7th fret harmonic with 7th fret fretted on acoustic or 19th fret harmonic with 19th fret fretted on electric.
Great video for all guitar players. I also have a Dave Tech whom I bring my gig guitars to every 6 months for full adjustments and/or repairs as I play every day practising, then rehearse, then gig, all for fun. I change strings every month, so I clean fretboard but thats about it. I also keep a dryer cloth handy and wipe every 2weeks or so on pickups/pick guard to eliminate any static. 👍🎸🎵🎶🎼😃
BIG plus on the Velcro straps!! My buddy’s vintage Fender tube amp literally had a short with something in the circuitry as a string got snarled within the amp while he was re-stringing his guitar! It cost almost as much as a change of tubes. THANKS FOR SHARING!!
Good stuff. It is much easier, and more accurate to use the strings on the guitar to check neck relief (bow) rather than trying to eyeball it. With all strings tuned to pitch, put a capo on the first fret, then fret the string at various points along the fretboard. It is 98% as good as a regular straight edge. The velcro trick is great. Much better than using tape.
DAVE IS THE GURU!!! Rhett, of course you kick ass, too, bruddah...no shade at all intended! This "toot" really makes alotta' sense-regardless of your repair expertise or confidence level. THANK YOU BOTH!
The acoustic guitar bridge pin thing is actually unnecessary, to my knowledge. If you push the ball-end of the string towards the interior of the guitar (i.e. pushing the end of the string that the pin is holding towards the inside of the guitar), the pin is no longer tensioned and you'll need absolutelly no force to take them off. I don't know if anyone already mentioned it or not. Nice work, Rhett and David!
What a great tip on the pin puller. I've always used the notch on the string winder to pull the pins up, but it can be kind of dicey, as Rhett mentioned. I've ordered one of these and will probably end up getting one to keep in each of my steel string acoustic cases so that I have ready access whenever needed.
Do the video you were talking about making, take a reasonably priced guitar and upgrade it to make it a real gigging guitar, changing the pots etc. Great video again chaps, always a pleasure to see your work.
Since you ended with a Floyd Rose tremolo guitar, maybe show tips & tricks you've learned for setting them up (unless you already have). I have 3 guitars with the locking tremolo and once you get them set up properly they work great. I think a lot of people get frustrated easily with them. Love this series by the way!
Great channel. Thanks. As far as ideas for another set-up video, I'd love to see Dave start from scratch with changing a nut, but most importantly the process he uses to get the nut slots all cut to the proper depth for a real low action setup. I've cut two nuts and both times I cut one of the slots just barely too deep and had to use the super glue/baking soda trick to fix my mistake.
I usually buy nuts that are pre-slotted... they're usually a little too tall, so I just sand off the bottom side of the nut rather than working the top side down, it saves time, but I'm not gonna lie, changing a nut and getting it right takes some time and definitely some patience. I don't remove the strings from the tuners when I change a nut, I just loosen them and put them off the sides of the neck, taping them down with painter's tape if need be, to keep them out of the way, but I've got to say, Dave's velcro strip trick would be really handy in this situation to keep them out of the way, too, I think.
This is great Rhett ( and Dave ). I've been Learning to do-my-own maintenance on my guitars = Always comes out Better. Stay Safe guys and Thanks for sharing.
Rhett, how about maintenance on tube amps. Are some tubes interchangeable? How and why to adjust bias, if so. How to know tubes are bad or going? Does the clean channel on a hot rod DeVille always distort? Do certain guitars have more distortion than others. Discuss amp hum and noisy power in buildings and what to do about it. Do tube or solid state have more noise? Do you ever find low voltage in buildings? Does it affect your sound? What to do. What about outside gigs with generators. Are they safe on solid state and tube? How do you get your tubes tested? What do you do about noisy jacks on guitars and amps? Do you leave your pedals constantly connected or do you break down your pedal board after gigs or tours? What are common problems with tube amps and what to do? Are tube varieties interchangeable, which ones and why. Does an el84 replace a 6L6? What about preamp tubes? Can they be swapped out to find a desirable sound? Are Sovtek better than Groove Tubes or any other brand better than another? What are your favorite guitar pick ups and why? Who builds best or least best pickups? Why would you ever change out your pickups and what do you look for in a pickup? What about Hot Rails? Are they good or bad. What about acoustic pickups? Do you ever change them out, why? Do you like pietzo pickups or blenders? What to look for when buying an acoustic electric? Chambered vs non chambered electrics, sound, feedback, what to look out for. Are high ouput pickups more desirable than low output or medium output pickups? What about splitting a humbucker or parallel windings vs non-parallel winding setups? What position would you want them in, what to expect in sound performance. The difference in the tell bridge, humbucker or single with the ashtray bridge vs LES Paul and Strat? Does the neck length between LP, telephone and Strat make a difference? Does the wire quality in a guitar cord or pedal board cable make a difference in the sound? I enjoy your shows. Thanks.
Simple tip to keep from cross threading: spin in reverse until you see or feel a "click", then tighten a turn or so forward and check to make sure the screw is still at 90 degrees, then continue.
dave is awesome; also my friend is in a ramones style punk band, and all his guitars are trashed and equipped with multiple pick reloaders on the the front and back of head stock and body, and he loves to frisbee pix over the crowd.
yeah....my neighbor uses his rack tuner to intonate his f-100 Yamaha he got at GC w a gift certificate..... lol I had to call Dave out on that...love the channel Rhett.
About a year ago i got some bettee tools and really dove into setups. Someone gave me their fresh from China custom made "frankenTele", which had crazy high action. I brought everything to a good spot but couldn't for the life of me get the guitar in tune with itself. Open chords=perfect, halfway up the neck barres were way off. Other way around same thing. Intonation seemed great, perfect relief in the neck... finally i was like "well the only thing on this guitar i didnt look at is the nut..." and when i looked it was clear as day the nut was WAY too high. Find out the factory-fresh axes, especially a cheap one like this not made by a major manufacturer, have very high cut nuts bc they expect the player to bring them down to what they want. So now if theres an issue on a guitar and its not an obvious bow/saddle problem, i go right to capo the 1st or 3rd fret and check the play. If the nut is that bad you'll know just with the eye test. Live and learn!
Another great video Rhett. I contacted Dave about a month ago he replied promptly and was very helpful. I would highly recommend him I ended up not needing him otherwise I would’ve traveled a distance to have him work on my guitars.
5.44 glad to hear someone say its impossible to get a guitar perfectly in tune being a stringed instrument. First time I've heard anyone and especially a professional say this.
If you put a tiny drop of loctite on that nut on the humbucker screw, you can make sure that the nut that is keeping the humbucker from falling in from falling it itself.
Also, this sort of tips are perfect when you buy inexpensive guitars. It can make the difference between feeling you wasted money on garbage and actually enjoying the guitar.
Intonation on a Standard Strat with single pickups, along with setting string height on a Floyd Rose Strat like an Ibanez with dual humbuckers..And installing two Tone pots on a Telecaster with dual P-90's.
Also, I'm glad Dave touched on nut height, that's something often overlooked. Lots of budget guitars have nuts that are a little too high when new. I swapped the plastic nut on my Epiphone LP for a bone one and after getting it adjusted to my liking, it's got more sustain and sounds SO much better on open strings.
I don't know about guitar action, but I play 6-string bass and I use graduated 12th fret action: B at 2.75 mm, E at 2.5 mm, A at 2.25 mm, and the rest at 2 mm. That gives me more even fretted string tension across the neck and I don't have to worry about the bass side strings rattling. With the neck flat, it plays like butter.
You 2 are awesome. I have seen you on Rick's channel. The love of music and guitars is very obvious. I appreciate you taking the time to give us guitarist your experiences and great info about these Fabulous instruments.
I'd love to see you actually do some of these things.. walk through the process.. especially interested in the moving of the pickups and poles to really explore the tonal possibilities of your axe with an amp. Ie: move around a few different pickups (hot, med, light) bridge pickups.. vs neck.. I personally have a Les Paul with a jazz neck pick up and a hot bridge pick up. I love the jazz pick up tone that was set up (by others) but I really can't stand how they set up the bridge (hot) pick up because it sounds really muddy to me and so I usually blend the tone with the neck in order to try to get some of that mud out .. basically I feel that the bridge pick up alone just isn't set up right to get a nice sound out of it.. but I'm no tech guy and I'm only going by what I hear out of the amps I have when I play the bridge position on my guitar. Anyway.. love the videos. Please keep at it. Learning lots! *RESPECT*
Informative video. Two suggestions for the future: 1) Explain to new players conceptually what intonation is and why it's important and 2) when to adjust string height at the bridge vs truss/relief adjustment for a low, buzz free action.
Perfect video however can you do a video on Floyd Rose electrics like EVH Wolfgang or Ibanez? How to set up and change strings properly because Dave knows his stuff.
On pickup height I agree. All pickups are not the same. I usually start with the neck flush with the ring. Then I try to balance each string by adjusting the pole screws. When that's done I adjust the height by listening to a balance between a weak and too strong sound and try to hear each note "bloom" or change if possible. I always keep track of how many 360 degree or 180 degree turns I make with the screw on each side. After that it's the same with the bridge pickup and then check the balance of the bridge pickup to the neck. I might have the bridge a little "hotter". I always error on the side of the pickup not being close to the strings. Anyway, that's what I do.
A capo is even easier for holding strings in place. Also, keep your bridge pins sorted, or only pull out one at a time, as sometimes these are cut to fit or just worn in and will fit that slot correctly. Good info, thanks for posting!
THANK YOU !! currently building my first kit guitar and its coming along well, just hoping i didnt mess anything up. In process of setting action and pickup heights now, thisvideo was amazing ! Thanks again !!
Cool video, and some cool gear. I especially like the string retainer. Ive Never seen one like that..i will say, You might be able to see major problems with the truss rod by looking down the neck but to truly get it where it needs to be that is not the method.. it also doesn't do much good to check string height from the fretboard considering the string rests on the Fret and fret height changes with each guitar...
Using the correct order for a set up is critical. Tune to pitch, then Measure neck relief with feeler gauge with capo at first fret, using manufacturer's spec or your personal preference. (i.e. .0012 @ 7th fret pressing 17th fret on my Tele). If you can't get close to that number, there is a neck bow or unleveled frets to address. You'll have buzzing for sure. Once neck relief is good, measure string action at 12th fret (no capo). My Tele is good at .060 or 4/64th's across the fret board. Now use the saddle screws to adjust the height of each string. These should parallel on 6 saddle bridges with two screws. When you have string action right, the radius will be correct along with the saddles. No point in adjusting saddles with the radius tool first because it doesn't consider the action height. Set the pickup height next. I like 1/8th on bass side and 5/32 on the treble. Now, you should have optimized your playbility, time for intonation. Once all that is good look at your 1st fret action. If nut is good you'll be in the vicinity of .0018-.0022 and not be working so hard on open string and cowboy chords. Nut adjustment? Nut work is tricky, if you have to adjust, study up or get luthier help. It is probably the most important variable in a top notch set up.
A video of a fret wire guitar build! I’m considering getting a bass from there to build my own Fender style P bass. Dave would probably have awesome tips in a process like that
Thanks for this series guys. Really cool! I'd love to see Dave talk about soldering. I'll see irons labeled with watts and then also some that have temperature adjustment. What temp should I be soldering guitar controls at etc.
I know you didnt ask me but I solder alot. Temp wise it depends on what your soldering. Small components on a board or connections to a pot etc. larger items will absorb more heat etc. for me its about time it takes to heat the joint. You want a quick reaction so you set the temp accordingly. Average start point when your unsure about 700F. Go up or down from there. A great tip I learned is to use a bit of solder on the tip , this helps transfer the heat quickly and gets you a fast reaction. Make sure it flows well and thats it. There are more tips to good soldering but thats too much typing
Another good tool -- wire cutter for the strings. :) Obvious, but I was putting together a tool kit for my daughter as she heads off to college. And I nearly forgot that one.
Good video and I’ll try some of these but to be honest due to my lack of skill the best lesson from this video for me is now I know when to bring my guitar to an expert!
This was super useful. Packed full of very useful tips. The nut height trick was one, I was missing in my library - and it might just solve an issue I have with a LP Jr. I upgraded the nut on. So thanks!
Dude I took a screenshot of that “Sharp - Lengthen the String” part. I’m bad about letting my action and intonation wander, and with all the guitars I’ve accumulated I hate paying $30-50/guitar to get them set up twice a year
My first video course, The Tone Course, is now available. Check it out here!
flatfiv.co/collections/rhett-shull/products/the-tone-course
Guys could you please someday talk about guitars with bigsbys and propers set ups for staying in tune playing it???
You didn’t mention that dude with the drill driver using it on the axe!😭
Dave needs his own channel. Time for an intervention, Rhett!
GDK Opinionator look at Dave’s world of stuff. That’s exactly what you are looking for
Or a weekly, by weekly, or monthly guitar setup like videos.
I agree ! 100 percent!
@@vausemike lmao that’s not even him 😂 another guitar Dave
TOTALLY AGREE THAT DAVE NEEDS HIS OWN CHANNEL...but the dude is so fuggin busy doing repairs and making gitars remarkable, that that would taper off if his mojo hit a speed bump like feeling pressure to create content. I'll take any/all "guest spots" available where this guitar Jedi shares his secrets, though...just sayin.
I've been spending my quarantine time trying to setup my guitars (because why not) so this couldn't have come at a better time haha
Mike Hilbun wish I could send you 30 of mine to do!
I’m a key worker so working 60hours per week! Stay safe Mike!
Quarantune
Catherine Faulkner I’m still doing some teaching so I wish I had a bit more time but send them on over! Haha you stay safe out there too! 🤘🏻
Then you better watch some other videos like from 'Dave's World of Fun Stuff'. All his videos are on Setups & repairs. Info's A LOT better imho.
@@TeleCathster I feel you- I run a global financial intelligence and cybercrime investigations group with offices all over the world. I used to be able to hop on a plane to Singapore or London or Tokyo and work with my teams now I do it all via Google Hangouts and it has added many hours to what was a long day anything. That said, I am thankful that I still am working and that I have 150 cool people working for me that help make this all easier- thankfully travel will start up again soon.
Funny how from 93 when I first started playing until early this year, I never could set my guitars up good. No one wanted to teach or show you back then. Got into learning on UA-cam from the pandemic, spent $200 on tools etc., and now thanks to y’alls vids I can do it now! It’s fun too!! And my guitars are now exactly how I like them👍🏻
Please do more videos with Dave Onorato.
Dave Onorato sure knows his stuff. Not only that, he explains it well. Thanks, Rhett, for having Dave on your channel.
As a player who's maintained my own instruments for decades, I think Dave's advise is solid, and I was especially happy to hear his take on setting pickup height. Many sources state measurements that admittedly give a "ballpark" idea, but the best way I've found is to set height while listening with headphones (with clean and dirty tones) until pickups and/or pole pieces reach an obvious sweet spot. ...Great content 'round here.
I just want a Dave repair channel. Between that and Dave's World of Fun, the two Dave's could corner the guitar repair UA-cam market.
At about 8.57 Dave was going into more detail on cutting the Nut Slots low and something about "an easy fix " balancing height of strings on frets or such, as he walks over to work bench on left - then recording is cut - jumps to Rhett asking Dave what tools are needed ... Sure wish we could have seen the rest of what Dave was about to say ... Grateful to see this, just looks like there is so much more to hear from Dave , that's all ! Be great if Dave had his own Channel ?
It’s insane how similar guitar and bicycle tuning and tools are.
A full setup tutorial with dave going through the process of balancing the trussroads and the string height would be SO AWESOME!!
Dave's the man,out of all the fix your axe guys on yt, he's the easiest to understand,always innovative and fun to watch, loved the velcro tip,saving all videos with Dave in them for quick reference,thanks for another great video Rhett. 😊👍
This is great! Im the worst with guitar maintenance, this put the much needed guilt on how important it is to maintain my guitar.
Wow, that camera shot looking down the neck is very impressive. Ive never seen someone pull off that focus effect so perfectly.
man I have so much appreciation for guys like Dave, people who know how to take care of instruments and actually explain in details, learned a lot about maintaining and operating guitars from guys like him, it's really cool.
Would be a killer to see his rendition of installing a soldered pickup system like Dimarzios and such... if ever haha
Anyways keep it up guys, really enjoy your vids!
I gave up trying to sight down the neck to check bow/relief years ago. The string under tension will be straight. So just put a capo on the first fret, and hold the string down at about the 15th fret for an acoustic, and check how much space there is between the string and the neck at about the 9th fret. Lots of space = too much relief = tighten the truss rod. No space = back bow = loosen the truss rod. But before mucking with the truss rod, test both the low and high E strings. Sometimes necks twist a bit. As far as intonation testing goes, I find I get better results comparing 7th fret harmonic with 7th fret fretted on acoustic or 19th fret harmonic with 19th fret fretted on electric.
Please get Dave to host his own UA-cam channel! He seems cool as hell. I'd watch him guitar-tech'ing all day long.
Great video for all guitar players. I also have a Dave Tech whom I bring my gig guitars to every 6 months for full adjustments and/or repairs as I play every day practising, then rehearse, then gig, all for fun. I change strings every month, so I clean fretboard but thats about it. I also keep a dryer cloth handy and wipe every 2weeks or so on pickups/pick guard to eliminate any static. 👍🎸🎵🎶🎼😃
Cool static tip.
BIG plus on the Velcro straps!! My buddy’s vintage Fender tube amp literally had a short with something in the circuitry as a string got snarled within the amp while he was re-stringing his guitar! It cost almost as much as a change of tubes. THANKS FOR SHARING!!
I set up my guitars all the time. I finally got those radius gauge and wow what a difference!
I love the good, cheap, fast poster on his wall. So true in every way!
Good stuff.
It is much easier, and more accurate to use the strings on the guitar to check neck relief (bow) rather than trying to eyeball it. With all strings tuned to pitch, put a capo on the first fret, then fret the string at various points along the fretboard. It is 98% as good as a regular straight edge.
The velcro trick is great. Much better than using tape.
DAVE IS THE GURU!!! Rhett, of course you kick ass, too, bruddah...no shade at all intended! This "toot" really makes alotta' sense-regardless of your repair expertise or confidence level. THANK YOU BOTH!
The acoustic guitar bridge pin thing is actually unnecessary, to my knowledge. If you push the ball-end of the string towards the interior of the guitar (i.e. pushing the end of the string that the pin is holding towards the inside of the guitar), the pin is no longer tensioned and you'll need absolutelly no force to take them off. I don't know if anyone already mentioned it or not. Nice work, Rhett and David!
I would love to see the three amigos get back together! A really important video for anyone trying to make the guitar process more convenient and fun!
What a great tip on the pin puller. I've always used the notch on the string winder to pull the pins up, but it can be kind of dicey, as Rhett mentioned. I've ordered one of these and will probably end up getting one to keep in each of my steel string acoustic cases so that I have ready access whenever needed.
Do the video you were talking about making, take a reasonably priced guitar and upgrade it to make it a real gigging guitar, changing the pots etc. Great video again chaps, always a pleasure to see your work.
A plastic fuse puller works to remove the pins if your in a bind too. great video guys, thanks.
When I had to remove stubborn string pegs I reached inside the sound hole and pushed on the tip of peg with a quarter or a thick pick
Using a capo to hold the strings in place works as well as an alternative to the Velcro method. Good video!
Since you ended with a Floyd Rose tremolo guitar, maybe show tips & tricks you've learned for setting them up (unless you already have). I have 3 guitars with the locking tremolo and once you get them set up properly they work great. I think a lot of people get frustrated easily with them. Love this series by the way!
The velcro sandwich,to keep the strings aligned and together is zen perfect logic.
I have never seen that before.
Excellent, Dave.
Your cab sims are soo good, tbh you saved me with them
I agree, Dave needs a channel for sure.
Number 2 & 3 Is something I never realized that was my problem good thing this video is here, it helped me a lot
Great channel. Thanks. As far as ideas for another set-up video, I'd love to see Dave start from scratch with changing a nut, but most importantly the process he uses to get the nut slots all cut to the proper depth for a real low action setup. I've cut two nuts and both times I cut one of the slots just barely too deep and had to use the super glue/baking soda trick to fix my mistake.
I usually buy nuts that are pre-slotted... they're usually a little too tall, so I just sand off the bottom side of the nut rather than working the top side down, it saves time, but I'm not gonna lie, changing a nut and getting it right takes some time and definitely some patience. I don't remove the strings from the tuners when I change a nut, I just loosen them and put them off the sides of the neck, taping them down with painter's tape if need be, to keep them out of the way, but I've got to say, Dave's velcro strip trick would be really handy in this situation to keep them out of the way, too, I think.
This is great Rhett ( and Dave ). I've been Learning to do-my-own maintenance on my guitars = Always comes out Better. Stay Safe guys and Thanks for sharing.
Thanks guys for this one. Good to know I'm not too far off. Be safe and have a great week!!
Rhett, how about maintenance on tube amps. Are some tubes interchangeable? How and why to adjust bias, if so. How to know tubes are bad or going? Does the clean channel on a hot rod DeVille always distort? Do certain guitars have more distortion than others. Discuss amp hum and noisy power in buildings and what to do about it. Do tube or solid state have more noise? Do you ever find low voltage in buildings? Does it affect your sound? What to do. What about outside gigs with generators. Are they safe on solid state and tube? How do you get your tubes tested? What do you do about noisy jacks on guitars and amps? Do you leave your pedals constantly connected or do you break down your pedal board after gigs or tours?
What are common problems with tube amps and what to do? Are tube varieties interchangeable, which ones and why. Does an el84 replace a 6L6? What about preamp tubes? Can they be swapped out to find a desirable sound? Are Sovtek better than Groove Tubes or any other brand better than another?
What are your favorite guitar pick ups and why? Who builds best or least best pickups? Why would you ever change out your pickups and what do you look for in a pickup? What about Hot Rails? Are they good or bad.
What about acoustic pickups? Do you ever change them out, why? Do you like pietzo pickups or blenders? What to look for when buying an acoustic electric? Chambered vs non chambered electrics, sound, feedback, what to look out for.
Are high ouput pickups more desirable than low output or medium output pickups?
What about splitting a humbucker or parallel windings vs non-parallel winding setups? What position would you want them in, what to expect in sound performance.
The difference in the tell bridge, humbucker or single with the ashtray bridge vs LES Paul and Strat?
Does the neck length between LP, telephone and Strat make a difference?
Does the wire quality in a guitar cord or pedal board cable make a difference in the sound?
I enjoy your shows. Thanks.
Simple tip to keep from cross threading: spin in reverse until you see or feel a "click", then tighten a turn or so forward and check to make sure the screw is still at 90 degrees, then continue.
GOLD 🥇in a 20 minute video!
dave is awesome; also my friend is in a ramones style punk band, and all his guitars are trashed and equipped with multiple pick reloaders on the the front and back of head stock and body, and he loves to frisbee pix over the crowd.
yeah....my neighbor uses his rack tuner to intonate his f-100 Yamaha he got at GC w a gift certificate..... lol
I had to call Dave out on that...love the channel Rhett.
Gents- thanks for providing and sharing great info to the community- Very cool and generous.
About a year ago i got some bettee tools and really dove into setups. Someone gave me their fresh from China custom made "frankenTele", which had crazy high action. I brought everything to a good spot but couldn't for the life of me get the guitar in tune with itself. Open chords=perfect, halfway up the neck barres were way off. Other way around same thing. Intonation seemed great, perfect relief in the neck... finally i was like "well the only thing on this guitar i didnt look at is the nut..." and when i looked it was clear as day the nut was WAY too high. Find out the factory-fresh axes, especially a cheap one like this not made by a major manufacturer, have very high cut nuts bc they expect the player to bring them down to what they want. So now if theres an issue on a guitar and its not an obvious bow/saddle problem, i go right to capo the 1st or 3rd fret and check the play. If the nut is that bad you'll know just with the eye test. Live and learn!
Another great video Rhett. I contacted Dave about a month ago he replied promptly and was very helpful. I would highly recommend him I ended up not needing him otherwise I would’ve traveled a distance to have him work on my guitars.
Oh yeah Rhett,
Thanks a lot man for putting this one together.
preciate it.
Good show.
Ideia for the next one. Fret work, how do repair a ding in a fret? When to level frets. And nut work: how do you file a nut?
5.44 glad to hear someone say its impossible to get a guitar perfectly in tune being a stringed instrument. First time I've heard anyone and especially a professional say this.
If you put a tiny drop of loctite on that nut on the humbucker screw, you can make sure that the nut that is keeping the humbucker from falling in from falling it itself.
Please keep these coming while we all sit inside!
Also, this sort of tips are perfect when you buy inexpensive guitars. It can make the difference between feeling you wasted money on garbage and actually enjoying the guitar.
Intonation on a Standard Strat with single pickups, along with setting string height on a Floyd Rose Strat like an Ibanez with dual humbuckers..And installing two Tone pots on a Telecaster with dual P-90's.
Also, I'm glad Dave touched on nut height, that's something often overlooked. Lots of budget guitars have nuts that are a little too high when new. I swapped the plastic nut on my Epiphone LP for a bone one and after getting it adjusted to my liking, it's got more sustain and sounds SO much better on open strings.
A full guitar setup would be awesome
I don't know about guitar action, but I play 6-string bass and I use graduated 12th fret action: B at 2.75 mm, E at 2.5 mm, A at 2.25 mm, and the rest at 2 mm. That gives me more even fretted string tension across the neck and I don't have to worry about the bass side strings rattling. With the neck flat, it plays like butter.
You 2 are awesome. I have seen you on Rick's channel. The love of music and guitars is very obvious. I appreciate you taking the time to give us guitarist your experiences and great info about these Fabulous instruments.
I'd love to see you actually do some of these things.. walk through the process.. especially interested in the moving of the pickups and poles to really explore the tonal possibilities of your axe with an amp. Ie: move around a few different pickups (hot, med, light) bridge pickups.. vs neck..
I personally have a Les Paul with a jazz neck pick up and a hot bridge pick up. I love the jazz pick up tone that was set up (by others) but I really can't stand how they set up the bridge (hot) pick up because it sounds really muddy to me and so I usually blend the tone with the neck in order to try to get some of that mud out .. basically I feel that the bridge pick up alone just isn't set up right to get a nice sound out of it.. but I'm no tech guy and I'm only going by what I hear out of the amps I have when I play the bridge position on my guitar.
Anyway.. love the videos. Please keep at it. Learning lots! *RESPECT*
I lowered my hot bridge pickup to retain the tone of my guitar.
Dave is literally the Mr Wizard of guitars. Great video.
Informative video. Two suggestions for the future: 1) Explain to new players conceptually what intonation is and why it's important and 2) when to adjust string height at the bridge vs truss/relief adjustment for a low, buzz free action.
Perfect video however can you do a video on Floyd Rose electrics like EVH Wolfgang or Ibanez?
How to set up and change strings properly because Dave knows his stuff.
In terms of intonation, Mick Taylor of TPS said a little something to remember it by: Flat fret forward
more of this plz. very informative. bring this guy back on the regular !
Dave is the best!
Great info! I would definitely be bringing my guitars to Dave if I lived there.
Thanks for the great tips, I usually reach into the soundhole to loosen bridge pins from the bottom after the strings are out of the way.
I've been playing guitar (on and off) for 25 years. There's still too much too learn! Thank you gents!
Great tips! Instead of the Velcro you could also use a capo to make sure the strings don’t get tangled when taking them out the tuners or bridge pins.
Thanks guys..great info on this one! Radius gauge ( had just got a set ), velcro hack, pin puller, nut hack, all new ideas for me.
On pickup height I agree. All pickups are not the same. I usually start with the neck flush with the ring. Then I try to balance each string by adjusting the pole screws. When that's done I adjust the height by listening to a balance between a weak and too strong sound and try to hear each note "bloom" or change if possible. I always keep track of how many 360 degree or 180 degree turns I make with the screw on each side. After that it's the same with the bridge pickup and then check the balance of the bridge pickup to the neck. I might have the bridge a little "hotter". I always error on the side of the pickup not being close to the strings. Anyway, that's what I do.
A capo is even easier for holding strings in place. Also, keep your bridge pins sorted, or only pull out one at a time, as sometimes these are cut to fit or just worn in and will fit that slot correctly. Good info, thanks for posting!
The velcro trick is a great one. Thanks.
THANK YOU !! currently building my first kit guitar and its coming along well, just hoping i didnt mess anything up. In process of setting action and pickup heights now, thisvideo was amazing ! Thanks again !!
Cool video, and some cool gear. I especially like the string retainer. Ive Never seen one like that..i will say, You might be able to see major problems with the truss rod by looking down the neck but to truly get it where it needs to be that is not the method.. it also doesn't do much good to check string height from the fretboard considering the string rests on the Fret and fret height changes with each guitar...
Great content thanks. Even after 50 years of playing I learned a hack or two today. Keep it up!
Using the correct order for a set up is critical.
Tune to pitch, then Measure neck relief with feeler gauge with capo at first fret, using manufacturer's spec or your personal preference. (i.e. .0012 @ 7th fret pressing 17th fret on my Tele). If you can't get close to that number, there is a neck bow or unleveled frets to address. You'll have buzzing for sure.
Once neck relief is good, measure string action at 12th fret (no capo). My Tele is good at .060 or 4/64th's across the fret board. Now use the saddle screws to adjust the height of each string. These should parallel on 6 saddle bridges with two screws. When you have string action right, the radius will be correct along with the saddles. No point in adjusting saddles with the radius tool first because it doesn't consider the action height. Set the pickup height next. I like 1/8th on bass side and 5/32 on the treble. Now, you should have optimized your playbility, time for intonation.
Once all that is good look at your 1st fret action. If nut is good you'll be in the vicinity of .0018-.0022 and not be working so hard on open string and cowboy chords. Nut adjustment? Nut work is tricky, if you have to adjust, study up or get luthier help. It is probably the most important variable in a top notch set up.
A video of a fret wire guitar build! I’m considering getting a bass from there to build my own Fender style P bass. Dave would probably have awesome tips in a process like that
Thanks for this series guys. Really cool! I'd love to see Dave talk about soldering. I'll see irons labeled with watts and then also some that have temperature adjustment. What temp should I be soldering guitar controls at etc.
I know you didnt ask me but I solder alot. Temp wise it depends on what your soldering. Small components on a board or connections to a pot etc. larger items will absorb more heat etc. for me its about time it takes to heat the joint. You want a quick reaction so you set the temp accordingly. Average start point when your unsure about 700F. Go up or down from there. A great tip I learned is to use a bit of solder on the tip , this helps transfer the heat quickly and gets you a fast reaction. Make sure it flows well and thats it. There are more tips to good soldering but thats too much typing
I'm using the Dunlop 65 system. with all the candy it going well so far.
A+ video. Dave makes this kind of thing so simple
I appreciate this video...I learned stuff. Rhett does a great job.
Thank you to both of you for this very informative guitar maintenance video.
Love Dave! Love Rhett! We are so lucky. Thanks guys.
Dave should do a video on how he sets up a guitar when it comes into his shop
This one and the 10 Guitar Hacks vid are SO awesome; Great job, guys!!! Sparks in Daytona
Man, that's one of the prettiest Les Pauls I've ever seen. Some good tips too.
I'd like to see you and Dave do a pre-tour gear check on ALL your gear, see what he would look for in checking over guitars, amps, board, etc.
Thanks guys. These videos are always helpful and entertaining. Do you have specific tips for bassists?
I don't know if it's just me, but, I would like to see a video explaining your live stream set up. Just a content idea. Great channel!
Another good tool -- wire cutter for the strings. :) Obvious, but I was putting together a tool kit for my daughter as she heads off to college. And I nearly forgot that one.
Nice video and thanks from Brazil!
Good video and I’ll try some of these but to be honest due to my lack of skill the best lesson from this video for me is now I know when to bring my guitar to an expert!
Bridge tuning adjustment memory trick = "A SHARP guy moves away from the NUT job"
Genius - thank you!
@@chrisf6216 Thanks, it works for me, thought it might work for others.
Or you can remember that to raise the pitch you need to short the length of the string and vice-versa.
Flat goes forward. F-F
Genius!
That SG is gorgeous.
Very helpful. Thank you so much. Straight facts and no real wasted time.
Thanks DAVE and Rhett!!!!
I really need to do this. Thanks. I.moved to an area where we use swamp coolers in the summer. My action came way down and was buzzing.
Dave is the man!
OMG the velcro hack is awesome. I always used tape. this is MUCH better!
This was super useful. Packed full of very useful tips. The nut height trick was one, I was missing in my library - and it might just solve an issue I have with a LP Jr. I upgraded the nut on. So thanks!
Dude I took a screenshot of that “Sharp - Lengthen the String” part. I’m bad about letting my action and intonation wander, and with all the guitars I’ve accumulated I hate paying $30-50/guitar to get them set up twice a year
@@dbjsdhbh Same here.