The '5-STEP SETUP' every guitarist should know!

*IMPORTANT ADDITION* Always adjust the action after ensuring the neck is setup correctly. I named the action first, because sometimes that is all it takes to take a guitar from good to perfect. On the Novo I did not even touch or measure the neck, because everything feels right. Of course this doesn't apply for acoustics, where you should always do the neck before any adjustment. Cheers!

How to set up a guitar:
Open this video everytime you need to do it.

As a mechanic, and Engineer. My experience is that If you adjust down (loosen) anything, always loosen farther then you need and work your way tighter. Adjustments last longer as you set a torque and tension rather then loosening.
A good rule of thumb for any adjustment.

It always blows my mind how much a setup changes the sound of the guitar. If I ever start feeling uncomfortable or like the guitar isn't feeling right, I pay attention to what is missing, adjust, and we're back in love.

I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years and this is great information. The only tip that I could give if you haven’t covered it already is to stretch your strings after you put them on And play with it for about 20 minutes before you go on stage. It typically won’t go out of ttune or have any slips. I generally just pull the string at the 12th fret about an inch away from the fretboard a few times and then retune

I'm a pro "international system" for measurement units, but the fact you thought to put both metric and imperial units side by side is such a mark of professionalism. Quality of you work is really inspiring!

"The capo is not only for Wonderwall" I Laughed out loud

I use John Suhr’s method of setting intonation. That is I don’t use the open string and 12th fret. I use the third fret as my open reference and the 15th as my octave reference. This sweetens the intonation and makes it a little more accurate

What a fantastic tutorial. I love the calm, steady, quiet and methodical way you approach the subject. I've always been a bit anxious about trying a full set-up on my guitars, but now I'm really keen - confident, but not overly so - to attempt it. Thank you.

Btw for anyone who doesn’t know, lemon oil is different from lemon juice. Lemon juice is corrosive and will literally make you frets and fretboard fall off. Lemon oil is a mix of mineral oils that moisturize the fretboard and make it play better. Lemon oil contains no lemons, it just smells like them

Always do neck relief first, then action, then intonation. Relief affects action, and both can affect intonation.

You are an excellent teacher, Paul. Thanks. I've started your courses and have decided to go back to basics all the way through even though I've played for decades. I missed a lot and avoided things like theory so I will go all the way through with you. You have one of the best teaching approaches and just a natural, calm and precise nature which inspires. The fact you are a stellar player is a bonus.

I've been looking for a simple explanation for this, and this is hands-down the best example I've seen. Thanks for doing this Paul.

There I was, feeling pleased with myself for finally figuring out how to add filters in Final Cut and then a second Paul appears 🙄

You've heard of Les Paul, this video has Mor Paul.

I just found this video and it’s the best I’ve seen on the subject. Thank you for your hard work.

I have always been intimidated by these setup steps but you explained it better than any other video I have watched on this subject and actually make it seem do-able. Trying this on my Jazzmaster which feels like the action is very high for me. Thanks for this vid! Awesome!

It sounds dumb, but this is exactly what I’ve been after.
I’ve always been too worried to touch these things with my guitars out of fear of doing something I can’t come back from, and a lot of other guides always seem to assume some prerequisite knowledge.
This was great, cheers Paul!

Is it just me or does this guy have one of the most soothing voices on the planet?

I havent played guitar in 10-12 years but I'm about to get my first one since and I'm doing all kinds of research to refresh my mind and I love how clear and to the point this video is. Thanks for making this

Been a year or so since i last watched this video, came back to it because i needed some info and man, just watching this video and looking at Paul so much younger, seeing how far hes come in this time is amazing. This is an incredible video; high quality editing, clearly very well planned. Love this content, always will, pretty damn useful as well! Thanks for the tips in all your vids Paul, you started my journey into electric guitar, helped me learn to improvise through your pentatonic scales video and so much more. Can't begin to describe the inspiration you are to me, so really, Thankyou so much for this!

I Stopped bringing my guitars to the: "So-called Experts in NYC" and started doing all my own Set-Ups and Maintenance about 7 years ago = I've Never been Happier with the Playability of my instruments. They look & sound fantastic, and I'm enjoying Playing much-more. ( if you want something done right . . . Do It Yourself ) - Fantastic explanation Paul.

Thank you so much for this detailed video! I'm very thankful on how clear and detailed you are in your explanations! Definitely earned my subscription! I'm 37 and just got back into my guitar but honestly never got serious. My passion has been sparked again and am practicing more consistently! The passion you have for music definitely comes through on your videos! Keep up the great work, and again, thank you for putting up content like this for the masses!
Best Wishes
John

By far the best and most detailed guitar set-up explanation, but at the same time kept it simple in a way that helps understand everything easily. Have been looking for a good video that explains the bridge's saddle intonation so that I could mess with mine properly

You covered ground that it took hours of watching other videos to understand; yet you somehow managed to do it perfectly in under 20 minutes. Amazing!

I'm a beginner and have been looking for good instruction on how to do basic setup. I have big box music stores and they're always backed up and I hear a lot of negative experiences from. This video has to be the best demonstration/explanation out there! Really really great! Thank you Paul!

You are by the the best Guitar Guru on KRplus. I have been playing for over 20 years and still learn something new from your videos. Thanks so much! Keep up the good work!

I taught myself guitar setup not too long ago and radically improved the playability of my Dad's handed down American strat. Local guitar shop did a "setup" last year and didn't even polish the frets or adjust the intonation and relief. There was ALOT of neck relief, whereas I prefer a super straight neck with low action like Allan Holdsworth. I also was able to file down the nuts a bit on my new Charvel tele and Jackson 8 string to get better intonation on the lower frets, soo much better. There's something so great about patiently working on the setup and getting the instrument in a much more playable, intonated and stable state.
To anyone still afraid of adjusting guitar or bass setup, don't !!! take your time and understand what you are doing!

This is the most helpful guitar video I have ever seen in my entire 50 years. Thank you so much!

Out of 4 Stars I give Paul Davis FIVE!
Thank you, Paul. As usual, this detailed and well articulated descriptive and visually supportive video is super helpful and valuable for we guitar lover/players with limited tech exposure. I (we all) greatly appreciate you.
BE WELL, BE JOYFUL, AND BE PROSPEROUS IN ALL WAYS, ALWAYS.
Joseph

What a great, great video. You explained the various aspects of guitar setup in very easy to understand terms. For me just starting out playing guitar, I feel that it isn’t all about notes, chords, scales, modes and so on, it’s also about setup and maintenance of the instrument too! Thanks so much for the upload. I really appreciate what you have taught me today. 😊

100s of confusing videos later Paul to the rescue. You are one of a kind!! Please keep at it Paul, the world needs you!

*Make sure to do all measurements and tests with the guitar in playing position* (especially intonation checks open vs 12th fret). Tune a guitar on it's back or sitting in a neck jack and then recheck in playing position and the tuning will be a long way off target -- Gravity!

Paul, love your videos. They are always so helpful and always make me feel like I left with more knowledge than I had before watching. ✌🏻

I'm here to report that apart from music film making is an amazing art, as such i just watched the beginning part at half speed and that mask is so good it makes it clear to me that Paul is an amazing guitar player and also a terrific film maker that clearly puts a really long time into making his videos. Love you paul.

Classical guitarists: ‘You guys can adjust things?’

I've been taking my guitar to shops all my life and today I said hell with it I'm going to learn this and you sir, are a gift to the community thank you for your time and expertise

Tip: If you want rough measurements for the action, but you don't have any proper around to measure the distance between the fret and the string, you can use the same alan wrench you're using to adjust the bridge. On a strat, this wrench is probably a size 1.5 mm (it is on my Squier Bullet, so I guess this is pretty universal). That's exactly the action I'm aiming for on the low E.
So when you lay the wrench on the fret it should either
* have a gap ( = action is higher than 1.5)
* have no gap while (only just) touching the string, without moving/bending the string ( = the action is about 1.5mm.
* touch the string while also bending it ( = action is lower than 1.5mm.
It's not perfect, but it give a pretty good estimate. Just adjust based on what feels good to you from there on.

Paul Waller from Fender’s custom shop has a cool acronym for setups. It’s T.R.A.I.N. (Tune, relief, action, intonation, noodle) he recommends doing a setup in that order.

I've watched dozens of these set-up tips and it's great to see how useful and important these steps are! When I was younger and knew nothing of string adjustments, pickup heights, action,; I literally would trade away a guitar because it didn't feel right or sound like I wanted(long before tutorials on KRplus). Now, I'm willing to try most adjustments myself. Thanks for posting this!!

Good info. Been setting up my guitars for decades and figured out early on that it really is simple and usually only requires small changes to dramatically change the feel of a guitar. Adjusting pick up height is one that people miss a lot, though.

Best guitar setup video on the Net. You were so right during the first 30 seconds of the video. This is something nobody should be afraid to do. Kudos.

This is super helpful, Paul. I have recently started doing my own setups after years of taking my guitars to a luthier. And your explanations of these adjustments are the clearest that I have seen anywhere. Getting ready to adjust the truss rod and the pickup height on my tele so this is great timing. Thanks!

This is the best guitar setup video I've ever seen, and FINALLY takes the guesswork out of it! I've done many guitar setups in my time, but I've still learned something here.

This is an absolutely AMAZING video! I've played guitar for years but never looked into setting up myself. I just bought a 3/4 Squier Fender Strat and I think it would benefit from a little bit of tweaking, and after watching this video, I feel confident enough to do it myself rather than sending it to a Luthier. Thank you so much! 🙏

The Pickup Hight tip was so helpful. Lowering it made it sound so much more natural and clean.

That´s some sick camerawork Paul! And a beautiful guitar : )

Now im setting Paul Davids content quality as target for my guitar videos.
Not to ignore those camera shots and editing. top notch content

Hey paul for the past 9 months i couldn't get my guitar to play well the strings were too high or too low i even gave it to the luthier but he said that this guitar is cheap and theres no reason for me to pay money and it's better when i learn it myself . I watched your video and tried for 4 hours straight to get the guitar to play like i want to and it helped . Now i am super satisfied how it turned out . Thank you soo much for this tutorial 😁😁😁

Awesome as always. Love you clarity, simplicity to the explanations which really help. Thank you.

Paul, great video. You explain things in a way everyone can understand. Well done sir! I wanted to just mention how a surprising amount of issues can be caused by the nut. You mentioned that but I think it’s one of the most common problems and one of the harder ones to deal with. The height, angle, width, at which the strings enter and exit the nut are SO key to a good setup. Intonation becomes seriously impossible if the strings do not exit onto the fingerboard at the correct height. If you intonate and chords sound out of tune still, this is absolutely the issue. Some players feel comfortable doing filing work on the nut but it is a bit advanced because of how finicky of a process it is and how many variables matter. I would recommend having a guitar tech do that part if you don’t know how or don’t have the correct tools. Don’t try to shortcut it with the wrong tools!

Thank you Paul for this extremely useful guide. Being able to do these things myself has not only improved the playability of my instruments, but has also saved me from the frustration and cost of having to rely on the mercy of my local music store for help. An unexpected result is that I have a more intimate relationship with my guitars. That may sound a bit odd, but as a result, I get more enjoyment out of my practice sessions which means my playing has noticeably improved.
-Thanks again.

This was a pleasure to watch. Thank you for sharing both your skill and your insight. 😊

Thank you so much, I have seen many videos and talked to many people and even though it technically is the same info, your way of explaining and the soothing voice helped me focus and now my guitar is flying!
Thanks!

very helpful for my Squier - I fixed action and intonation in 10 min, also thanks to the toolbox you recommended elsewhere. plus I changed tuners to locking, and now it's a breeze.

Great video Paul. In Spanish we call the truss rod "Alma", which means "Soul", because it's like the fundation of the guitar.

Paul, thank you so much for this video, man. I was always very afraid to touch things in my guitar and now I fixed some major issues with dead notes. Awesome

Thank you for this video. It has helped me a lot. The attention to the little details is what makes your content a go to always.

Important, when setting a guitar up, do adjustments in player position, if adjusted whilst laying flat tuning will change a few points when switched from laying to player position, I learned this from Eddie Van Halen’s tech. He made a tutorial showing this effect. Gravity, physics at their simplest form. I’m not trying to sound like I am more knowledgeable than I am, purely wish to have everyone of us have the best result.

Great video, all very useful tips, essential even. One thing I would add is taking care of a binding nut. Especially on cheap guitars with plastic nuts, wound strings can dig into the plastic and bind to it, leading to unstable tuning that's impossible to dial in just right. You can tell if your guitar is doing this if the wound strings make pinging noises as you tighten them. This can be remedied by taking the string out of the string slot, using an old string of the same thickness, and rubbing it back and forth in the nut slot like a string file. This will smooth out the grooves left by the wound string, and will allow you to tune the guitar more accurately.
For avoiding string binding and ensuring smooth tuning, you can try lubricating the nut slots. For a quick fix you can just use a regular old graphite core pencil or mechanical pencil, just rub the graphite into the string slots generously. But that won't last very long, and what I really suggest to do is grind the graphite to a powder in a separate container, and put in a small dollop of vaseline and mix them together, then use a toothpick to put a little bit of this graphite paste you've just made into the nut slots. In addition to making tuning slicker and more accurate, it will help to prevent the strings from binding again as the graphite-vaseline mixture is filling the texture of the wound strings.

I am a lifelong luthier. I started right here. Setup is the difference between unplayable and good, good and amazing. Good video. Your accent is so cool. Thank you

Always been nervous about the whole intonation thing but this vid makes me want to have a go. Always a joy to watch your videos!

Great content Paul:
A few small corrections/omissions:
- Action: The goal is to measure action about half way along the neck, i.e at the 12th if open. If a capo is on the 1st fret then halfway is around 13th or 14th fret not 17th. Why 17th Paul?
- The goal of intonation is to make the 12th fret tune to an exact octave above the open string but this does not mean that the 12th fret is "exactly half way along the string"; this is why the bridge is angled instead of simply having a fixed bridge perpendicular to the strings at exactly twice the length of the nut-to-12th fret. Intonation compensates for string gauge and subsequent string flex. Scale length is technically, the length from the nut to the centre of the 12th fret multiplied by 2 and used to compare guitars from different manufacturers and choose string gauges accordingly.
- No mention of pole piece height adjustment.
A few "next time" suggestions:
- How to string a guitar at the tuners - people do the weirdest things; double threading, loads of excess string windings, leaving sharp, downward pointing string ends to cut circles in the lacquer, leaving long, messy eye-spikers. I'm interested to know what Paul does.
- How to set-up a guitar with a tremolo - always a lot of fun.
- String gauges - influence of scale length, use of tunings, ease of play

On guitars with bolt-on necks, always ensure that the screws are snug: DO NOT over tighten, however! Loose neck screws can cause a whole host of issues.

Thank you so much for your clear instructions, and teaching us WHY and HOW to do things, instead of only the steps to do them. God bless you! ✝️🎸❤️😊

Perfect. Thanks! I usually take my guitars in to the shop for adjustments but now a days with three week queues it’s high time I learned to do this myself.

You've dropped this video right when I was about to walk off doing setup on LP
I'll be back after a walk

My guitar now plays like a dream. You're the best, Paul; be well my friend.

Love it! Yesterday I bought my first electrical guitar and I was wondering how to setup it. I've got 5 acoustic guitars, but 0 electrical this video closed the gaps. Now, just wait for the new guitar arrival. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

this was like butter on a warm pan so smooth. and super great teaching, easy to follow great instructions awesome work.

This is really important. Especially if you order from online, usually things are quite messed up because of transportation. Playing chords was super hard for me (been playing couple weeks for now). My problem was that action was really super high (around 5mm). I lowered it and suddenly playing chords became so much easier. I don't need to push strings so lot anymore which helps me to make chords play more clearly.

I can highly recommend the order of setup by Fender Master Builder Ron Thorn: T-R-A-I-N
1. Tune
2. Relief
3. Action
4. Intonation
5. Noodle (or nut if you like)

out of all the guitar videos I've watched this is potentially the single most helpful one I've watched so far! thanks so much man. just got a new guitar and all of the adjustments were a mystery to me. I have a cheapie acoustic as well that could probably use some of this kind of love. fantastic. I was getting buzzing and flat notes all over the place and playing felt like strain. just a little adjustment on the action and its like a whole new instrument.

Heel duidelijke uitleg, waar zelfs een beginner mee aan het werk kan.
Respect, man.
Je kan duidelijk zien hoeveel liefde je hebt voor dit instrument in het algemeen en je eigen gitaren in het bijzonder. (Al was die kus op het rond misschien wat erover)

This community, 'closing in on nearly 2 million'. That's f-in amazing, Paul. I've watched, periodically, for the last few years or so. I thought you had some good videos, but never imagined it would grow as it has. You have 3000 likes already on the day you release the vid, ffs. I can only put it down to your open, honest and friendly nature, without all the click bait and typical YT hype. Well done

As a guitar n00b, this video was so helpful. Thanks a million, Paul! :)

Of course, a luthier is most qualified with the knowledge and ability for the finest adjustments/modifications with all of the proper (and quite expensive) tools, however, these tips can get most people in the ballpark with minimal knowledge and tools. This is golden information. Thank you, Paul!

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? In just 18 mins I've learn more than I have known. Thanks and keep up the good work...

As I’ve just completed a guitar kit, and need to set it up, this is the best tutorial I’ve seen on how it all works and how to adjust it.

or if you like to SIT 'N' SPIN, it will be easy to remember this guitar setup acronym!
Stretch strings until
In tune;
Truss rod relief;
Nut slot depths;
Saddle heights & action;
Pickup heights;
Intonation;
Noodle.

Someone said this guy is like the Bob Ross of guitars and that’s one of the best analogies I’ve heard all year

Thank you so much for this video. I really needed this. I have been struggling with one of my guitars and this video helped me get it right. Thanks.

Thank you for this amazing video! I am about to set up an old guitar that has been in storage for 10 years or more! It's needs new pickups, bridge, and probably more, and I'm sure the neck could use some adjustment too. This guide will help me out a lot! Love your videos!

After years of trawling through KRplus guitar tutors and experts, finally I’ve found the ‘go-to guy’. And if all Dutch spoke English as smooth as him ... :-)

Great video, with one additional point about intonation: if you have a guitar with a floating tremolo, don't check the intonation with the guitar laying on the workbench. You need to check the intonation in playing position, because picking up the guitar and turning it sideways causes the bridge to shift slightly.

Thanks. Knew most of this, but it's so great to find it all in one place. The pickup height demo was really good!

I’m just learning how to nicely set up my guitars and I appreciate the generalization in this vid.
Great info, thank you.

When Paul said he likes the action LOW, I knew: he's a true man of culture.

Bro we need more chord progression videos bro it just makes our playing very much interesting
It just lets out the emotion man

THis is a wonderful summary for setting up a guitar in less than 20mins. Thank you so much!

This is great. I constantly work on my guitars and have for years. I have been having some minor issues with fret buzz and had to put some relief in the neck. The SG example seemed so extreme compared to my issues. It made me feel better about the kind of changes we mere mortals are capable of at home with truss rod adjustments. Also, the change of pickup height makes a huge difference and that was a perfect example! I used to just sell a set of pickups if I didn’t like the way they sounded, but they probably just needed some height adjustments. This is great stuff as usual, Paul.

important to note that after adjusting a neck, it will need to settle in to its new home. wood is organic and will give and take a little on its own after initial adjustment. hence why anyone who is decent and doing a setup for you will give you at least a few days window. general setups take 5-15 minutes, but they need to rest and settle afterwards and then be rechecked again.

Man that 18 mins was definitely worth it! Thanks!!

You were very thorough and jumped into what I was looking for right away! Thank you!

Wow! After a lifetime of bad advice, trial and mostly errors in my DIY guitar setups, THIS VIDEO taught me how to do it right. Just got a perfect low string setup in my Frankenstrat build. You videos are awesome and an inspiration. Thank you!

One thing I like to add when you set the string height is that you also bend as many steps as you normally do, because the radius of the neck can kill the tone if the action is to low even if it sounds perfect without the bending. Great video! :)

From my experience, sanding a saddle back and forth can cause it to form a curved bottom. It's best to push sand it in one direction only and keep constant pressure.

This guy helped just me a lot ..all my doubts been cleared ...as a person just starting on electric guitar this video is the perfect for me and to all those out there . Thanks a lot.

Being inside nowadays, I think learning to be more creative and more skills is a really great thing, especially learning how to improve a guitar. Cheers!

after 26 years playing, finally i understand. thank you, thank you, thank you.