How to Setup Your GUITAR for Beginners (Strat Edition) 

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*1st thing i need is a strat*

A Strat is easily one of the most iconic guitars to have existed, and everyone knows them! I would like to see these on other guitars models too!

My old friend… it’s been 12 years since my last lesson, and here I am yet again watching your videos for helpful tips. Thank you.

I quit playing about 5 years ago. I started playing again this week after discovering your channel. You’re such a great presenter with great content!

This is more than a beginner's strat setup lesson. It's great to have a guy like Hunter Van Houten who explains it all so plainly understandable. The Strat tremolo bridge is a wierd beast. There are lots of angles and triangles to consider. My advice, don't get in a hurry, and don't do it really late in the day when you are tired and should be sleeping. Setting up a stationary bridge can be a fair sized job let alone the tremolo bridge with it's springs and movement.

Learning how to do your own basic setups not only saves you money but it also allows you to set the guitar up to YOUR preference. I have been doing my own setups for 20 years and I love it. Taking your guitar to a music store tech can be a crap shoot sometimes in a few different respects but what I found when took my guitars to them is that even though you try to explain to them what you are shooting for they still may not hit the mark. They usually have other jobs waiting in line and can't spend the amount time that you would setting things up just the way you like them. Another reason is because setups not only effect how a guitar feels and plays but can and will effect the tone of your guitar and once you have found the right setup for a particular guitar that you like, you can repeat as needed.

Bought a 96’ Mexican Stratocaster in 2014 for 140$ with a first act amplifier . It’s my first electric and I’ve loved it ever since. This video is definitely helpful to players of all calibers. Thanks for making your content Marty.

I’ve been playing for a year and I basically learned all of this from trial/error, glad that I can get an overview on what I’ve been doing right and wrong

I am honestly scared of messing around with my guitar. I'm worried I will mess it up.

Next step... intonation. Ensure you have a good strobe tuner (if possible) and lightly fret each string at the 12th fret. Ensure the note there is the note of the string. Lengthen or shorted the string at the bridge, retune, and retry. That's a pretty important step.

I really want to thank you both for this video. Many years ago (20) I put some very heavy gauge strings on my Strat and really messed up the setup. I tried to fix it but made things worse. About 6 months ago I brought my Strat back out to play it and the string action was too high. Thanks to this video my Start’s as good as new! Thank you again.

Marty I started playing guitar around 3 years ago and I’ve played almost everything that you’ve uploaded, keep up the great work😎

I just put a set of Lollar Special Blondes in my American Series Strat, put 10's on instead of 9's, tuned down to E-flat and now followed this great setup demo. I now can't put the guitar down. Truly transformed!

Love my strat! Actually love all my guitars. Some people buy based on brand or model. Ive learned over the years to buy what clicks with you. Once you find the unicorn in the sea of guitars then get a good setup on it. You cant go wrong and rock on everybody! Have a great 2022!

Perfect I just watched ur les paul vs strat and after choosing the strat I now have this wonderful creation to aid me in my guitar adventures!

I have a Sandberg California and it's been hard to play, so I tried your tips. I adjusted the spring tension and I lowered the saddle pieces, and the result was fantastic!! So thank you!! Great video!

Just bought my first guitar, a Fender Player Strat 🙌🏻 can’t wait to get my hands on it and set it up properly

I feel that accuracy within any instructional medium is essential. Your guy gives a fairly clear presentation, given what it is, but when his actions are 180 degrees of what he is describing then it only serves to confuse the viewer who is attempting to adjust their action at home. Example: When he speaks of removing some of the relief/lowering the action towards the headstock, he is obviously increasing the relief buy removing tension from the truss rod. This would absolutely mess with the heads of any novice guitar DIYer who takes this video as the end-all instruction on how to do a setup. ;)

Thanks I just set my Strat up and it’s spot on. Was always afraid of touching the truss rod but now it’s a pleasure to play.

Just brought home my new ultra in white. Had a buzz on the open e. Scared to try adjusting myself i took it back to the guitar shop for a fix. They did. Got it home, two days later buzz. Watched this video, and a few others. Made a few adjustments and it's awesome. Moral... have a go and take your time. It's worth it. Thanks Marty for all the inspiration!

That was phenomenal. I love doing all my-own maintenance & set-ups. Once you learn, it Easier to get-the-guitar specifically . . . How you want it to: Play, feel-and perform.

I got a brand new Mexican strat yesterday and this has really helped. Its been on one hell of a journey to get to me in the UK so needs a set up. I'll try myself from this. Thanks

Literally sat down to set up my new Fender Player Strat, opened up RU-vid to search for Strat set up videos and before I could even type anything, this video was waiting in my "subscriptions" - posted TODAY!! Great timing, Marty - or maybe Google's still spying on me!

Very clear to explain every second of the detail of the strat, i love it. Thanks idol martin😊

Liked it!! Had my Strat in hand while watching and I didn't do a bad job on setting mine up. I was shocked. I have a Harley Benton Sc so need Les Paul set up next

Hey Marty, and Hunter, thank you for the How to Set Up Your STRAT for Beginners lesson. Appreciated!!

I was having trouble with my Strat bottom E buzzing. Gotta say, I followed along a quarter-turn at a time and it has made a nice difference. Lower action and no buzz! Thanks!

damn it’s been almost 5 years and marty’s been my only teacher since day 1 😂

I love you videos Marty but this one really left more questions than answers. What do you do if things go the other way? Nut is to low? What is a normal string height? What is the setting for the pick-ups that he said to set at the last? What about setting the intonation? Should I go on?

I looked at several videos on this subject and I got to say this is by far the most informative thanks Marty just subscribed

great tip at the beginning with the tremolo thing! one can easily fall into error starting the adjustment from the neck. i noticed that my strat s tremolo is way too high than it is supposed to be and i thought that there is a problem with the neck. so great eye-opener for those who has a strat with a tremolo!! thanks a lot

This was really helpful. The order of adjustment and the details were solid gold.

You don't need the trem parallel to body. Set the trem so that it floats as to when you fret the b string on the 12'th fret and pull up on the trem ( bottom out) it pulls a full step , then lower the saddles to desired string height. You can also use the micro tilt neck adjustment to angle the neck to get string height.

This was insanely informative and very easy to understand, thank you so much!! Awesome vid!

Thank you so much!! This was super helpful in setting up my thrifted Squire Affinity Strat. It's sounding and playing very nicely now. It was so out of whack I can see why someone donated it lol, but now it rocks!

I've had an annoying buzz in the A-string of my player strat that was really bugging me. Followed these step by step instructions and it's all good now. Next step is to tweak the intonation. Kudos for such a helpful video.... I'm off to subscribe to the Van Houten Guitar channel!

I just a strat for my birthday and this video could not have been timed better. I already thought the strat was the best but now it's even better

A MARTY MUSIC STRAT SET UP TUTORIAL!?!? Just what I needed

Overall a good presentation, but remember to face the nut of the truss rod when wrenching it - you were actually turning the nut counter-clockwise and loosening the rod.

Awesome video, tells me exactly what I need to look for and how to make some possible corrections. Thank you!

Thanks man damn near everything I want to do or learn you have a video that helps can't tell you enough how much I appreciate you.

I have a strat. I like to do my strings, etc. I would do my own setup if I knew how, so I never did, but now after watching Hunter do the setup I have a better idea of what to check and how to check and adjust if necessary. Thanks Marty Chuck

Thanks marty! Perfect timing, i just got my first electric. It’s a blue squier Stratocaster. The name is the Sonic LoveCaster. Peace and love to all

I just picked up a strat! This is just what I needed

Thanks for this video. My first time setup didn’t go to plan but watching this video saved my butt!

Thanks for your help and support

Starting to tune with your capo still on has happened to the best of us. 🤣🤘🏼

Dude your videos are always the best way to start my day! Thanks mate

This is what I needed. Just got my first Strat and thought it was deflective only to find it only needed setting up

Just got a strat a few weeks ago. Didn't want to mess with it, but knowing how to set it up is crucial. Just be careful with the screws and you'll be fine!

Amazing info video, great Martin. Thank you so much

Marty your the reason why I am the guitarist that I am your videos inspire me to be better every single day thank you

Great stuff as always and prompted me to order a set of radius gauges as soon as the video ended. My Strat thanks you and Mr. Van Houten!

I watched a video with a custom shop tech a while back, he mentioned a system called TRAIN I’ve used ever since. Tune, Relief, Action, Intonation, Noodle! And repeat until perfect.

Thanks, Marty, & Hunter, too. Great content and very helpful.

My new strat is coming in two days still can’t believe the timing of this vid for me

Hunter knew his stuff! When checking the nut action, how much space should we expect for a good level? Ask her said was' push down at third fret and look at 1st fret.' Gave no indication of what we should expect. I get it can be personal preference, but a guide line would be helpful. Thank you. Definitely going to checkout Hunter's channel.

Great video Marty...Hunter is great on teaching this stuff...really good!

I learned to do all the set up and saved enough money to buy a good quality guitar. Think about that & use it as a motivator to learn set up skills. Thanks gentlemen.

I’ve been planning to get a strat for a while now. Thanks Marty!

Great video. I just got an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and my first guitar is a cheap starter kit frat that I had for 8 years and never adjusted. I'm debating taking the dive. I even have a capo and Allen keys. Knowing my luck, I'll screw something up 😂

Hey Marty, thanks for posting this video. I recently bought my first Strat and this video will assist me to great extent in how I setup and adjust it. Would love to see more video's like this! Keep up the great work!

Thank you Marty you are the first online guitar teacher I knew and you taught me my first guitar song live forever by oasis keep up the good work

This helped me so much. Thanks for this video. So helpful.

I just bought me a strat. I love the clean sound. This is very helpful.

Wait a minute Marty, you and Music is win upload at nearly the same time

hi marty,thank you for the how to video-please continue with do it yourself videos on guitar setups and maintanence-love it

Just to say man...at last "Luthier" mentioned and this subject bought to light. Cheers

Great helpful video, thanks so much Marty.

Thanks gentlemen, that was as good a crash course as I could ask for.

trying to learn guitar during this pandemic made me take out all my DIY E-drum parts to finish building the E-drum kit I started making two summers ago....lol its sooo much easier to do than to learn the guitar!

I was just looking for this! Thanks so much!

Awesome! Greatly helpful video. If possible, can you do a setup video for the Gibson Les Paul? Cheers!🤘

Best setup guide I've seen on RU-vid so far!! Great job guys!

I set up all my guitars using a pick and my eyes. Ive found that works for getting a perfect set-up for me. Maybe not for others.

This video helped me do my first set up. Well done gentleman.

Hunter is a smart dude, thanks for the video.

This was so necessary!!!!! Thanks Marty!

great video, learnt loads!

Very helpful. Thank you!

Oh man, Marty, your timing was slightly off. The other day I needed to swap the factory strings on my first strat. I watched a few tutorials on how to do this for a strat, and enthusiastically went to work. I decided to go with a heavier gauge for a different experience, and...KABLOOEY! Just as your boy said, string gauge variance impacts the bridge. A vicious cycle ensued where I found myself repeatedly tuning one string only to offset another. The next thing I knew the bridge was popping a wheelie right out the body. Cripes! I was reluctant to go messing with the guts of the guitar, because what the heck do I know about that. I really wanted to practice though, so I spent the next hours or so troubleshooting, adjusting springs and strings until it was in tune. Two days ago this would have saved me a lot of heartache, but at least it has provided me with valuable feedback. I like these tutorials. Keep up the great work.

Nice camera work continuously showing the famous countour body of the Stratocaster!

That was really great. I learned a lot. Wish he would have shown how to set intonation, but great video. Thanks Marty

Great video! Very informative!

I know how to do this stuff, but too afraid to actually do it myself on my main guitar. Keep it mind if you’re not comfortable with trust rod adjustments I’d recommend taking it to a local tech.

I love how marty has so many subscribers but he still goes into the comments and likes them

Thanksss This Video Is Very Helpful

great vid! thanks for sharing! and God Bless!

I love stratocasters they are so cool and they were the first guitars used for Jazz

Awesome Vid!!! Thank You!!

I’m planning to buy a strat, thanks for this vids.

Omg haven’t watched yet but this is exactly what I need! N I needed it from Marty! You’d think it’s easy but it’s taken me months of tinkering n I get anywhere from worse higher action to too perfect in the lower frets but too much buzz from either 12th up & sometimes 7th up :(

I learned this the hard way, but I’m glad I did it myself because things change and you can’t go running to a pro every time something isn’t exactly right. I bought a thrift shop Stratocaster, put heavier strings on it, and the bridge bent way up.

That was Great Marty. Thanks

The FIRST THING is new strings.. Great vid though..! Every guitarist should know this stuff..!👍🏼 Thanks Marty.. and Dude..!👍🏼❤️

What if I want to have the bridge fixed? Can I tighten the bolts put on 5 springs and call it a day or is that still going to result in a pitch during bending?

May the Schwartz be with you, Marty.

Wasn't sure what I was gonna' learn from watching this. Turns out, what I've learned is that I _really_ need to go through this on my strat.

awesome video..when i check at the 8 th fret my chords touches the frets all the way..meaning i have to adjust the rod..but which way??thks