A very informative and maintenance lesson in making your guitar music to your ear n friendly to your finger...definitely one of the best video in RU-vid 🎉
Just wanted to say thank you for your excellent tutorials. I have just set the action and swapped out the plastic nut and saddle for bone replacements on my 20 year old "cheapy" Westfield acoustic I've had since I was 15. The difference in playability and tone is nothing short of remarkable. Those who are thinking of doing this to their instruments I say have a go! Be methodical, take your time and study GCH Academy's videos closely you won't go wrong! Thank you again for your hard work in creating these fantastic videos.
@@guitar-academy I'm currently awaiting on the arrival of my new PRS electro acoustic so thought in the meantime I'll have a play around with the old Westfield. It's now got Grover machine heads too, worth more than the entire guitar but got them at a great price! The results of the bone nut and saddle have transformed it the tone is so much brighter and now the action is where it needs to be plays like a guitar 10 times its value! All thanks to your brilliant videos!
Great video, very detailed, which is great. I will say, that I saw a neat trick from a Gibson tech video on this subject for acoustic steel string guitars. He only detuned the strings, then pulled the pegs up (with a peg puller), and left the strings in place on the head, but just coiled up the strings towards the head/nut. When repegging after modifying the saddle, it was much easier and faster, not having to deal with re-threading the eyes of the keys
Thank you so much, I am a beginner. These tips and explanations will give me the knowledge that I didn't have before, so purchasing a guitar now gives me things I can ask and look for before spending money and time unnecessarily. I am deeply in your debt. I appreciate the time and effort you have shown me kind sir. A follower for life. Bravo
Great video, yes I'm just an old guy and these videos are very informative, so that's what I do just because I can, got the tools, and the difference it makes is quite incredible
This is super helpful. Thanks. The thoroughness and clarity of this video are supported by the excellent lighting and camera work. Question: what happens to the intonation when lowering the saddle? Can intonation be maintained?
Most of the time the intonation remains the same. But if you're changing the strings, try to keep the gauge the same as Changing the gauge of strings can effect the intonation 🤔
Thank you for this very detailed video. From the limited time working on guitars and basic info I know about this type work on acoustics I’d say you don’t miss a thing in the process. I’m retired from the military and your video reminds me of military instruction where (...most times anyway) nothing is missed in teaching a maintenance process. I’ll check your site further to see if you have an acoustic nut height adjustment video and intonation video too as that could be very helpful to me too. I’ll also see what you have on electric guitar set up and other videos. Your videos I’ve seen in past are always very detailed, you give options such as with tools to use and your videos are easy to follow. Much appreciated! Cheers 💥💥💥⚡️🎸
Fantastic videos; simple to follow and bullet-proof because the methods are so logical. I watched a ton of YTs that went into absolute measurements at different frets, with no explanation of what we're trying to achieve - 'monkey-see monkey-do', and "if that doesn't work you might wanna try adjusting your truss rod to get your string to the right height". I've done 2 entry-level acoustics now, a $400 Yamaha and latterly a $100 Fender which I bought as a cheap travel guitar; the fender sounds gorgeous, better than the Yamaha. I made my mistakes on the Yamaha, primarily not sanding the new saddle and nut carefully enough - I did them by eye and later I used a solid stainless engineer's square to examine them, both were off. I'm in the process of replacing again, hence watching the video again. So for the Fender I sanded by holding the saddle/nut against the square and went VERY slowly over a large, dead flat, piece of 120 wet/dry I pinned to my work-bench. Probably took me an extra couple of hours but the result was magnificent; the sound from the Fender is wonderful to my ear and is a joy to play, low action and no buzz. My F-barre chord has gone from unplayable to easy-peasy.
Old interesting and very informative Vid, Some info, I bought a Chinese navy blue, Electro acoustic Cutaway guitar, off UK bay. Sold under the Tiger brand. Bought on the19.12.23. £55 posted. I was very surprised at the quality. The action was high, I went through the exact same steps. Neck relief sorted, I had to take 3mm off. the saddle, Just in case I made a mistake. I bought a pair of bone saddles of UK amazon £6 posted, next day delivery 21.12.2023, . I didn't remove the strings at the headstock I loosened them just enough to remove the pins. But before removing pins I put a capo on the 1st fret.. Then wound the strings out of the way. I used a very thin marker pen, to mark off 3mm. Then I used a Multi tool, with the sander attachment, rough grit, finishing off with wet and dry. To finish off, I used the same method you did, but a lot quicker, Final result, Just over 1.5mm. Bottom E, and just over 1mm top, and no buzzing frets
@@guitar-academy It was brand new, sold as a package, by DJM Music an actual English retailer, Padded gig bag spare set of strings. There's still a couple on the bay at £59 posted. There normally £110-£129, I think there old stock that need to be sold to make way for new, Gear4Musice sell the exact same guitar with a slightly different shaped head stock BTW, You're vid was reassurance I'd set my guitar up correctly 👍😊
Top class channel wat information unbelievable people are paying a fortune for subscription that are not as half as informative as this channel thank you much appreciated
Thank you very much . . the tune in the middle is 'I love you by sad fantasy'. Here it isru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X-_wAccH8AE.htmlsi=x89Bpu8COxPECYOS
Great video! Beginner here. May I ask why the capo is used to take the nut action out of the equation? What if the nut is influencing the action more than the saddle. For a beginner, I spend most of my time on the frets closer to the nut….shouldn’t I verify how “off” the nut is before moving to the saddle adjustment. Again, awesome video.
Thank you . . good question. The nut adjustment is far harder that a saddle adjustment and to do it properly requires expensive tools, so I don't cover that yet. With RU-vid reaching all sorts of people I don't want to risk someone ruining there guitar by attempting something beyond their capabilities. 😊😀
@@guitar-academy I definitely understand. The nut adjustment is not something I would want to tackle. I am trying to determine if a person checks the relief on the saddle end and determines the saddle needs lowered….but checking the nut relief end tells a person that I am never going to get there without a nut adjustment only…..at that time the guitar is headed toward a tech. I am trying to predict the impact on the nut end by lowering the saddle. I am assuming this would be negligible. I need to do more thinking on this.
Thanks for all your great videos. Very helpful and well done. I lowered the saddle height by 1mm per your video, but when I removed the capo, the action height increased by half of what I removed. What does that mean? Do I need to deepen the nut slots and if so, have you got a video?😅
I haven't done a nut adjustment video yet because to adjust the nut you have to be very precise it is easy to get it wrong. Also the tools to do this (properly) can cost more than cheap guitar 🤔
I ended up leaving the nut alone since the string height towards the neck seemed ok. I just kept sanding the saddle down little by little on my belt sander, and it was quick work. I used your remove 2x the desired change at saddle technique, but for some reason, it removed less than what I wanted. Better too little than too much, and it was good practice.
Thanks, very informative. I have a similar cheap "western" guitar with the strings on the lower part of the neck way to high compared to my Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul (yes, I put some money in these ones ;-). But it seems that the saddle of my guitar is already very low, it seems to me that it has not much room for taking of some more. So I would have to lower the whole bridge, and that would be a totally other project.
Yes, that sounds like a pain in the neck. It is a big job removing the bridge, lowering it and resetting it in place. You can improve the guitar by taking the saddle down as low as it'll go, make sure the nut isn't too high and make sure the neck relief is good, but this might not be enough. In some cases you can groove the bridge under the strings, but I need to do a video on this because I couldn't explain it here. 🤔
@@guitar-academy Hi, thanks for your answer! It seems to me that these types of guitars are meant to be played based solely on the notes at the top of the neck. And I often see that in practice. My guitar is of reasonable quality, but the manufacturer has not paid attention to string adjustment at all (in my opinion). But looking at the standard height measurements your are mentioning in your video, these are basically higher then what we see with electric guitars. I don't know if I can expect to play these acoustic guitars like the electric ones.
@@johanwithag2432 I agree, electric and acoustic guitars are very different animals. You also find that generally the strings are thicker on acoustic guitars. This also makes them more difficult to play. 🤔
Thank you very much for your videos they are priceless for me, I'm restoring my father old guitar for his birthday, he got it when he was 13th he is 60 now its an holiday, apparently a cheap one so improvement like this will make a huge difference I have a question though whats your recommended heigh (14:48) for a classical guitar ?? wondefurl videos best D
A true classical guitar doesn't have a truss rod so you're at the mercy of the guitar but some of that age have a truss rod and they called it 'a steel reinforced neck'. If you do have a truss rod and you can get the neck relief good you should be able to get about 3mm on the thick string and 4mm on the thick string. A nylon strung guitar has an action at least 1mm higher than steel strung guitars. 😊
It's an Allegro and it's somewhere in the fingerpicking course but I'm not sure where. Here's the fingerpicking course ru-vid.com/group/PLIQJcXCYbgO2q9hDUBT0E5z1JZDk3bowI
I've been fitting these since before the internet and that's how we pronounced it back then before mass media made and the internet made things so much easier. I flick between the 2 pronunciations. 😊
If after you replace strings and find you need to lower the bridge or address a fret. Leave the capo on the first fret , Loosen the strings, pull the pegs, sand the bridge or file the fret, return the strings and pegs, check height.
leant allot from here . however , what about this distance of the stings at the nut ? Also I found stings play and resonate better when sat on the groove/ slot of the nut then in it as you still may get a buss on the B and E string .
I haven't covered the nut yet because to do it properly takes special tools that are expensive and for most people it would be a waste of money, It sound to me like you guitar needs a new nut . . 🤔
An excellent, extremely detailed video .... thanks Gareth. Have the best Christmas possible, let's hope the New Year gets better (it cannot get any worse ... could it??).
Thanks, you too! Yes, it's getting old now and I haven't been able to teach any of my private students since April. When it all unlocks I'll have to start again from scratch . . Have a really great Christmas and New Year Phil . . ✨✨✨
Thank you very much! I was just wondering, though, how to assess the truss rod with the second method starting at 8:30 (pushing down the strings on the first fret and on the sound hole ...). I did not understand what the criteria for a good distance was in this case ... is it under 1 mm like in the first method?
@@guitar-academy Thank you! Middle of the neck is about the 6th or 7th fret, I assume? (so the whole of the neck being the part till it meets the body of the guitar ...)
I have to do a video about classical guitar because they are awkward. You have to be very careful with the action on them because they don't have truss rods (most of the time) and this means the neck relief can't be easily adjusted. I tend to have keep a higher action on classical guitar, but a lot depends on the guitar. If it's your own guitar I would lower it a bit and then play it for a while and then lower it a bit more etc. until you reach a comfortable but buzz free action.
@@guitar-academy Haha I watched another video and was listening carefully and yes it was very close but there was some tiny differences between you and him. I only bring this up because I feel you two have very good voices for these videos. Thanks again for making these!
The only consideration I can think of is to make absolutely sure the bottom of the saddle is flat if you sand it to lower the action. If the saddle is uneven on the bottom you'll have loader and quieter strings as a result . . 😊
If your saddle has a compensating string slot, that is usually the 'B' or ''G' string and should be on the thin string end. If the saddle is slightly tapered you want the side that makes the strings longer on the bass side and the side that makes the strings shorter on the top 'E' side. I hope this helps
If the guitar pegs don’t go in all the way in on the bridge because of their size does that affect the playability of the guitar and how would I fix that problem?
Good question. It depends on how far the pegs go in and why they don't fit. If they're new then you might need to sand them slightly, if they did fit then they might be out of order try changing the order. As long as they don't stick out too far the guitar should play OK . . I hope this helps 😊😀
What fret do you measure the string height? I notice on low E you measured between 2nd and 3rd Fret from the body and high E you measured just past the 3rd fret (from the body).
Without capo on 1st fret my guitar action on low e seems quite high, around 2.9-3mm. With capo though the number is much better, around 2.1-2.2mm. I have my neck adjusted to the point where it doesn't buzz at the fifth fret. Now I am confused about few things. Should i still worry about my guitar action being quite high without capo? If yes what should i look into adjusting? My confusion comes from watching a lot of videos where they recommend height distance under 2.5mm but they dont measure while capoing the first fret. Sorry if i am overthinking it but i am really new to this. 😅
No you're not overthinking it. There's a lot of people doing tutorials who don't know what they're doing so it's good to question. Really the action can be what YOU want, not what somebody else says. I know people who like higher action that you have and play really, really well and my flamenco guitar that was hand made by a master luthier has an action close to 5 mm. To know for sure if there is a problem with your guitar I would really need to see the guitar and hold it. Another thing you can check is the height of the nut, but I haven't done a video on this yet because the tools needed are expensive and the adjustments are very small, so it's easy to get wrong. I'll speed up getting that video done 🤔
@@guitar-academy If i am remembering it right, in one of your videos you held third fret with a thumb and clicked on the first fret to check action at first fret and nut height, my strings at first fret seems to be touching the fret when i hold it at third fret.Not sure if that is a problem or not..Thanks for these videos though, don't really have any good luthiers in my city so these help a lot.
@@onewingedhawk6134 Yes that's right, or you can put a capo in fret 3 and look at the height of the string above the 1st fret. If it's nearly touching fret 1 then that's correct. Everything sounds OK on your guitar, but as I said previously it's so hard to know for sure without seeing it. 🤔🤔
YEAH another good video, never thought about these things.... happier intro and back track wouldn't be bad either. KEEP THESE VIDEOS GOIN! we need more :) Also you could push some more ads between to earn that good youtube adrevenue lol :D I wouldn't mind lol Can you also please but link Amazon for example of what you are using on your video.
No you don't. . . Watch 12:50 again where I explain that I have taken the nut out of the equation by putting a capo in the first fret. I don't adjust the nut in this video because it's a beginners lesson and the nut is far more difficult to adjust and if you need to recut the slots for example it can cost you over £100 just for the tools.
You can buy a special tool to grip onto a worm or damaged nut, sadly I don't know what it's called but it's the soft of thing you buy from car tool shops and online stores. Hopefully someone will see your comment and know what it's called . . 😊
Pro tip...keep the bone dust in a small glass jar. It'll come in handy if you need to fill a nut slot or void in the saddle. Jus a drop of CA glue and you're good
..that B.G music is VERY distracting........Classical....or Fernando Sor. would be more appropriate.,.,.... but you videos are MAGNIFICENT. !! VERYT useful. many thanks for a very fine job. !!
@GCH Have you had an opportunity to progress on a video for fret adjustment? I have found an appreciation for your method of presentation. New sub. Thank you.
@@guitar-academy Thank you. I put together a list of tools required to do the work and, with your guidance and my past experience I'm confident I can do the job. I purchased a new "Seagull S-6" and the action is very high. I don't have ready access to a luthier so, look's like I'm on my own... It does have some good woods and I can hear the tones that want to come forward, just needs TLC.
@@donhammer186 even the best or most expensive guitars need a little love or personalization. Once you've done one successfully you'll be a guitar setup ninja . . 😊😊
12:54 why nut should not have an effect in considering the action height at 12th fret?..many videos shows the action at 12 the fret without keeping a capo at 1st fret?
Sorry to be blunt but the other videos are wrong . . too many people on RU-vid are making videos and they're not trained luthiers. You have to have one fixed point in order to make any accurate adjustment and the nut is not a good fixed point because that might need adjusting as well. If you don't use a capo and the nut is too high, when you lower the saddle the guitar will never play properly because the stings will be at the wrong angle. If you lower the saddle and get the action correct and then take the capo off and the action goes up, then you know that the nut needs adjusting as well.
@@guitar-academy ohh thanks a lot for making me understand,well suppose if I have a brand new guitar just bought and wanna check the action of the guitar..and also in the beginning don't wanna make any adjustments is it necessary for me to fret the first fret and then check the action or do I directly check the actual height at the 12th fret without fretting the first fret?
@@guitar-academy thank you so much for your help, your tutorial is the best in entire RU-vid ,easy to understand and easy to follow too.. If something is understandable than only the question arises. I'll check my action without fretting first as I have brand new guitar and it has a Tusq nut and saddle...they are quite expensive here in our guitar store in India...so I'll play the guitar for few days and if I feel the action needs adjustment I'll definitely follow your instructions in the video...and if some questions arises I'll be commenting here... Thanks a lot again.....
Better than taking the strings completely off is to loosen the strings and simply pull the bridge pins thus letting loose the strings without removing them from the head stock.
Well probably the only thing not being clear is what to do if you measure the action on the 6th string - let's say 3mm, then the 1st string 1.75mm. If my goal is to reach 2.50mm on the 6th string then the action on the 1st string will be below the suggested height. And this is what happened with me, I've got a lovely 2.5mm on the low E string, but my high E became 1mm.
You have to sand very carefully . . or you can get a special tool to get the correct angle on the bottom of the saddle but it is very expensive, so it would be cheaper to take the guitar to a luthier. At least a replacement saddle is very cheap, so it's not the end of the world.
@@petere7810 To be clear I could do with illustrating this visually, but what I mean is . . you can sand the saddle evenly but at an angle. I hope this helps . . 😊
16:43 I broke my new high E shortly before he said that you should adjust with your old ones. I guess I'm keeping my old string... shoot. Edit: broke the old one too...
Great video. Quick question, most videos and forums suggest to measure the string height at the 12th Fret without a Capo. I see you use one. I’m confused, which is the right way to get the most accurate measurement?
if you know your nut is the correct height then you can do the adjustment without the capo, but if the capo is un adjusted then use a capo. Don't get too carried away with the measurements. it's how the guitar feels and plays that's important.
