DIY Self-gratifying Guitar & Bass thread

Hi ,
I'm John Lau from PJ . After soooo many months on twiddling around Low yet net , I decided well.. maybe its time I gain up some guts and share some of my
personal knowledge over the years . For some who already know who I am and visited my workshop , thank you . For those who dont , I operate a guitar repair workshop in PJ SS2 , I also conduct several guitar servicing workshop a year in music institutions for the past 4 years , these info are for sharing . Many times people ask "why you sharing? you not cari makan with this meh ? " , My answer is .. Not all work you need to send to a pro , many times , you can do a better job cuz no one knows your playing style better then you do . Every guitar is different , you like it or not.. I dont know if anyone's gonna read this long winded thread , but I guess its an OK attempt .. I'll try update this thread as much as my time may allow . I do have a FB page which constantly have free tutorias , feel free to add me @ JohnLau guitar repair center . For those who would like to share , MOST welcome . I'm still on a constant learning progress , would love to also hear some insights and comments or even ways to improve the DIY services . Please note also , NO SALES PITCH PLEASE This is FREE INFO for sharing . Thanks in advance. For those who have questions or discussions , feel free to contact me @ 012-2666450 or my shop line @ 03-78650722 .. But please be considerate... dun la call me after 11pm...


You CAN do a SUUUPER pro setup yourself ... I mean PRO !!! Thomas Nordegg ( steve vai's tech) , rené martinez (John mayer's tech) ,Mark Synder (John Petrucci's tech) .. Stay Tune .






For the first post i'm sharing ... its setting up a 5 string Sadowsky Bass . View Below Post.

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 10 2011, 02:27 PM

Haha nice. Too many people have been sending guitars for servicing and sometimes, some shops charge way too much for a simple intonation service. Some shop in Seremban wanted to charge me RM120 to intonate my guitar.

Nice post. Thanks for sharing. I might be able to increase my knowledge as a newbie on guitar here.

The most "mythical" work where people get confused and mostly afraid is the " INTONATION"
In my years of doing this work .. Its honestly the MOST simple work anyone could do at home..
all you need is a tuner ( no , you dont need a strobe and all ) , just a tuner which can detect up to 5cent+- ( you can see on the scale)
is good enough for human ears and even antares auto tune ! and a screw driver .This tutorial is shared using a 5 string bass , but its the same for all guitars , bass etc. Thats all. Lets start !



Lets start with the "G" string , I tune it up to "concert pitch" which in layman term.. meaning "standard" tuning . SO as u can see, the tuning is "g" ngam ngam.
Easy? Next step .



Press the 12th fret , look at the tuner . the 12th fret is 12 semitone apart meaning , it SHOULD be a " G" also , but 1 octave higher .



OH NO!!! Its not PERFECT middle ... HOW?? Meaning this string needs intonation . This one is too "Sharp" . Now , take out your screw driver .. look at the bridge bottom.



See the screw , make sure you find a screw driver the EXACT same size , you dont wanna spoil that screw..



Rule is SIMPLE.
If reading on "12th Fret is Flat , you LOOSEN the screw . Or another perspective , you REDUCE the distance of the Nut and the bridge . See the finger direction ? If the reading is "SHarp" then you do the reverse , which is TIGHTEN the Screw .





I'm tightening .. See the direction of my fingers .. thats where you wanna go . Next question might be.. How much to turn?
Simple , Just turn 1/2 a turn everytime if your'e not confident .. Next step . tune the string back to the standard tuning again .
in this case , you might see that the tuning "sharpens" its ok , just tune it back to G. Test Again , press 12th fret .

Repeat process above until you get PERFECT in the middle G . This means , your "G"string is INTONATED !!! Repeat process for all strings .




A few quick tips .
1. Try to do it in normal playing position . try not to let it lie down .
2. Do small increments in the screw adjustments , dont turn too much ..
3. If the screw's are too tight , try loosening the strings , tune up , and intonate .
4. Do same steps if youre doing for Drop C , Drop A etc. most important , Open string = 12th fret .

Hope you guys enjoy this . Gimme a note if you like this , or u could email me @ john@munkeemusic.com for questions .
FOr a more detailed work , you can look here .
Bass intonation

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Added on November 10, 2011, 5:40 pmhahah... u have not heard of a "setup" for RM500 yet bro... got people doing this kinda "level" of job one...

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 10 2011, 06:10 PM

Hi TS, my friend sent his bass to you before i believe. You also said to him intonation can be done at home.

thanks for the infos in this thread. I'll be sure to contact you when i need to service my guitars.

You do service noob level guitars right?

RUSTY Guitar screws?? Wanna make it look new and wont rust again??[COLOR=red]


Here a SUPER simple thing you guys can do , specially for those with sweaty palms or Old rusty guitar .
trust me. its SUPER SIMPLE.

What you need

1. Screwdriver
2.Sand paper - 400 - 600 grit .
3. (optional) black paint and art brush .
4. Oil lubricant spray (anti rust ) WD40 or RP 7








Look at the screws .. Its rusty and lost its dark black gloss ... If you leave it like this still ,the oxidization will EAT into the screws.. when time comes , not only you need to change the screws , it will become IMPOSSIBLE to exstract the screws.. So for people that loves pickup changing etc , BEWARE of screw rusting .

We're gonna make it look like this .



2 simple step .

step 1 .


take the screw out carefully , rub the rusted head on the 400 or 600 grit sandpaper till you see the rust gone and the silver surface showing .
leave it aside and continue on with the other screws .If you dont wan the balck finish we're doing next , just soak the screws into anti rust spray like
RP7 , WD 40 . soak it in the liquid for an hour , rub it clean and screw them back . this is to keep it from rusting , if youre into black screw ,DONT soak it in the solution , just follow the next step .



Take a paint brush , paint the top of the screw head . use thin layers .
some questions would be , what type of paint to use ? Use only OIL paint , or hardware shop , tell them black paint for IRON or METAL .
Leave it dry for a day , and fix it back . SImple ?





Some tips .

1.DONT DO THIS WHEN SCREW IS ON THE GUITAR , take it out !!!
2.Do it one by one if youre worried to mess anything up in the electronics .
3.WD-40 and RP-7 is a working musician's best friend.. Keep it around , i'll have tons more tutorial for its usage .

Hope you guys like it .

Best.
J

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Added on November 10, 2011, 6:48 pmYa lor .. Simple work you guys can do at home .. No need waste money one .
Back in the states , everyone does their own setup .. cuz it cost USD150 for a regular setup. just a quantum check , an american standard 2nd hand strat
goes for USD650-750. thats almost 30% of a strat price.

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Added on November 10, 2011, 6:52 pmAnything you guys curious to learn , just hit me a post . I'll see what I can do .
Cheers !

Dont forget to facebook me

John Lau Guitar Services

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 10 2011, 06:52 PM

RM500?! Crazy man. I can't understand some techs these days, charging so much for simple service.

BTW, can you post a tutorial regarding truss rods, when do you adjust them, how do you do it, why do you do it? I think it'll be great as if you mess up the truss rod badly, you can end up with a broken neck. I've seen some cases where the person doesn't know about that and ended up screwing up his guitar neck.

Re-string a BIGSBY style bridge - The easy way

For many years , I own a nice 62 tele , and yes.. It was an ORIGINAL 62 tele (drool tak?) .. until the previous
owner decided to retrofit the beauty with a BIGSBY!!! .. Hence.. it lost all its vintage value... I bought it , and teared over it for
many years ... The tele never really saw the light of day... I hated Bigsby since... But come to today , Floydrose is soooo out ,
and stop tails are just not versatile enough .. The cool kids uses. BIGSBY!!! Again ... But re-stringing a bigsby can really be a pain in the A**..
Here's how to do it the EASY way .

What you need .

1. Masking tape OR A regular Capo .

thats all .





For those who are already reading this post... YOU FEEL the pain before of doing it doing the regular way, u wished u had another hands helping u right?



The ball end has to get capped on those poles you see here.. and ALWAYS runs and twangs out if you dont give enough tension to it .



The ball end .. (make sure you use ball end.. Fender bullets DONT WORK on bigsby..


Bend it round first using a pen or something similiar .this is to reduce the kick back twang once you"trained" the strings .


Put the strings in.. It should be easy once its bended in . Next step is where the trick comes in. watch closely!



Use a regular low tack masking tape . I use masking tape because they dont hurt the finishing or leave goooey marks on the board.
pull the string behind , and tape the string down around the 5th fret . If youre using a capo . capo the string down the 5th fret . Make sure the string
doenst lose the tention .




You now have 2 HANDS!!!!! to do the winding !! Easy trick right ?

After your'e done , slowly remove the tape and tune up ! no snappy strings !!




Hope you guys liked it .

Add me on FB for more tutorials .


Guitar services Info & DIY !

can u show how to set string height on a guitar?
*tune-o-matic and vintage style tremolo to be exact

and how about adjusting the neck of an electric guitar too

This post has been edited by aneyekay1: Nov 10 2011, 08:21 PM

I've got one on my FB page on neck adjustment . its pretty detailed . Check it out !
Be nice to "like" my page too .. A show of support will give me more "umph" to post up more
awesome stuffs !!

John's Facebook Page !

Setting up any neck is really not hard..
this tutorial will help you to DIY neck adjustments.
Yes, there are people out there that says " if you do wrong, it will break your guitar neck, etc." Unless your truss rod ALREADY has issues , it will take approx 13N of force to break the steel bar inside .. thats equivalent to 130kg of force.. SO dont worry bout it . lets try the step by step .


I'm gonna show you guys how to do it step by step , its the same for ALL truss rods , BASS , Guitar , Acoustic etc. Anything with truss rod.

What you need.
1.Tuner
2. Truss Rod key (should be included with the guitar u bought )
3. A Capo
4. Lots of time.. specially if youre a first timer !


Take off the cover , sometimes the your slot will be on the bottom of the neck , where ever it is , its the same .


Look carefully at the nut , fine the PERFECT fitting key , normally it comes with the guitar , but if not , look for the exact ones . DONT try something that ALMOST fit.. you will screw things up .


Tune the guitar up to pitch ,strap on a capo on the First Fret


Hold the guitar up to playing position and fret down the 13th fret

Look at the 6th fret . the string and the fret should have some clearance.

This guitar is buzzing .. the fret is almost touching the string on the 6th fret.. there is not enough relief .

Normally , a good guideline is the space inbetween the 6th fret and the string can fit PERFECTLY a thick name card. Anyone that has my name card can use it , its EXACTLT 0.063" .hahah . yes , its made for that purpose. Come get a NAME card from me if you need !

Low Action , but if you wanna increase action , you LOOSEN the truss rod ( Anti-clockwise)

High action , But if you wanna lower the action , you TIghten the truss rod ( Clock-wise)
it really depends on your taste . You like it high , you give it relief , you dont life you tension it up !

this is bad ... THis is touching .. so .. no good. it will buzz and kill sustain. You need to Loosen the truss rod.

Nice fitting . Okay , let me teach u how to "give or release relief" its easy . Grab your keys for the truss rod.

Look directly at your adjustment nut like this . look at the direction of the arrow . DO THIS - IF
1. Action is TOO HIGH , painful for fingers to play
2. You like shredding and place playing .
3. You like the "twangy" buzz but need to strum SUUPER hard to get it .

Look at this , Do this direction if
1.Action too low , Buzzing like made from 1st-13th fret .
2. You dont hear the "resonance" coming out of the guitar . Guitar sound dead.
3. Fret touching the strings already on the 6th fret when doing the capo + 13th fret.

I normally let the guitar neck set for bout 15 mins
to let the wood and tension sip in..

ROCK IT OUT !! TEST IT !! feel it , if you like it more higher action , loosen the rod , if you like to shred on it and want lower , tighten it . If you hear unnecessary buzzing even when playing lightly , then increase the action by loosening the rod. simple !


Next question you might ask ,
How much to turn?? Its easy . dont turn more then 45 degree everytime . Turn 45degree , tune , rest 15min ,test .

THis is what I mean by 45 degree , if youre Tightening , its from this side .

to this side . Trust me , if you do these small increament , you WONT GO WRONG. DONT TURN THE ROD like screwdriver ! if it does not react after 3 turns , chances are , truss rod koyak before you even touched it .

Here's wat it look like with my tool . from herer!

to here ! its easy ! Try it !

email me for questions
john@munkeemusic.com
Tell me if you like it !

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Added on November 10, 2011, 11:01 pmApa lagi mau belajar? let me know .
I'll try my best to update this once a week . Just Bump me if you like it .
Share this with as much people as possible .

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 10 2011, 11:01 PM

i love this post.! thanks for sharing bro.!

Anything else you guys wan me to share?

mm how about how to crown the fret hehe?

set string height on tune-o matic bridge?

what about how to do paintjob? Need to know how to do proper clear coating.

Wow awesome thread! Thanks sir for the share.

Hehe also any tips on oiling for those owning unfinished/oiled guitars? Tung oil, gunstock oil etc.

Great Thread!

I remembered ages ago, about a dog's life time ago I was a cheap-skate student who was often short of money to send to technician, because some of their cut-throat service charges.
I learn and became a pretty alright self-service guitar "technician".
Kudos for this thread to enlighten the LY.ners here that everyone can self service their weapon.

Anyways, I remembered I use to bath very rusty guitar parts in vinegar bath, the foul smell of the vinegar will put off some folks.
The rust will be fully removed when the solution is black
But later, I 'advanced' using electrolyte...good times...

Another weird thing, but effective. Can you believe you can clean chrome part with aluminium foil and coke?!
This is crazy, but it works. I think in the show 'Mythbusters' proved it.

any tips for hiding hairline scratches for chromey parts? one of my pups doesn't look that clean

This should be a sticky , and you , should be knighted

Very useful posts! Can someone post on how to set up guitar bridge, string height and pickup height...I'm a newbie and don't want to spend RM120 for inspection and setup at my nearby music shop. Thnx!

Coming up Next

Bridge Height Adjustment !!

As "tune-o-matic" style is the easiest , I'm gonna start with that , after that , its acoustic bridge height !

STay tune !

Be sure to "like" the FB page to get the LATEST DIY and VERY detailed work .

Detailed -DIY Step by STep Guide

HI =D i would like to ask bout wat is the measure for the pickup ? Mine is Ibanez JEM-JR (RM1890 ) d model , i would like to get crazy screaming tone for my bridge pickup and warm tone for my nexk pickup =D

Is there any guide on tuning pegs / machine head maintenance? As in how to disaseemble / oil / service them?

Thanks in advance.

Bridge Setting up . DIY style- Making the Radius Guide

Ok , This is one of the most exciting tutorial so far as it consist of the making of a suuuuper cool tool . I've yet to post this tutorial on Facebook yet.. So i guess I'll call it the
LOWYATNET Exclusive! This tutorial is SURELY PRO level stuff , but its perfectly do-able at home and specially easy .

Ever wondered why an those custom shop fenders , PRS , gibsons , James Tylers , Suhrs plays like butter? 40% of the
butterlikeness are actually contribution of a good setup work . The bridge setup , i stress alot on . Unfortunately , most 99.99%
of the guitars that comes from factories do not come with the right tools for you to do it at home .. They normally need you to bring it to
a local guitar shop or a Professional Luthier for it . Good news is , the tool is "make-able" at home..
All you need is this thing call a radius gauge . looks like this .


This is a pro version made of Aluminium and has 4 sides . You only need 1 side (assuming youre setting up 1 guitar ) .

This tool , is used to !



1. Setup Bridge Radius (Not bridge height ! ) - so that the strings have SAME distance to the fretboard.

2. Setup you pickup !!!! ( I'll cover this in the next session )


Step 1
First thing first .
Identify your fretboard Radius .
How??
Google it lor.. exp . Fender Tele 62 Re on the Website is 7.25" . please note that most american site's measure's in INCH not CM or MM .

See the Word Radius ? Thats your guitar's radius

Step 2 .
Grab a Compass. Not those for direction .. THis!

This Compass is meant to draw a 12" . Thats how you draw a 12" radius ! Easy .


Step 3 .
Draw it on a cardboard , Dont use a paper . Something Harder better. but make sure its "Cutable" Using a blade . (you dont need a full circle , just an Arc will do)


Here's what it looks like after a drawed using the compass.



Carefully cut it out using a scissors , you'll end up with 2 piece , one top , one bottom . As mentioned , we're only gonna use a small section .



Here are the section's i'm using . (make sure the section is longer then your bridge , youre fine ) . The extra's . Be nice , share and give it away to other LYN members !! You can keep them for future setup use too .


Cut it out to its section . and i normally label it . "12""

We're gonna double check if your neck is true to the radius .


Put the radius gauge to the LAST fret , if you see lights coming out of the middle like this .Your radius is not correct .



If no lights come through , we're good to go !!

Here's what the gauge is for... FINALLY

See the strings? ALL of it should be JUST NICE touching the arc . If its too low , take up the allen key and increase the height ! if some are high , some are too low ,
its good to consider lowering the higher strings (normally it reduce's bridge action ) . Get around and experiment with your favourite height!! There's no hard and fast rule of how high it should be . Stay tune ! I'll share with you guys how to do adjustments for the pickups to response well with the radius . KEEP THE BOTTOM CUT !! DONT THROW IT AWAY !!!

Hope you guys like it . Dont forget , keep this tool . i'll be using it for another 3-5 more tutorials .


Best Regards>
John Lau

Questions? Email me
john@munkeemusic.com

Just an addtion ,

Here's a quick Mod you can do to the extra radius gauge that you cut .

You want to make this !


all u need to do is .. use the extra cardboard arc that you cut ..

you need a hole puncher .


Punch 6 holes , about 10mm apart . use the "arc" side ya ...


Whats it use for?? Well , you can use to check the fretboard radius WITHOUT taking out the strings !!!





Hahah . hope you guys liked it. Remember ! Keep this tool . MANY MANY use of it later . Its essential to get a real "PRO"
job . And i mean REAL PRO !!!

Cheers!

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Added on November 13, 2011, 5:57 pmJo , could you share on your electrolysis rust removal?

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 13 2011, 05:57 PM

感谢你们，这个外面绝对学不到 =) 谢谢

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Added on November 13, 2011, 6:54 pmCheck out my FB page for this !

Lubricating & Oiling of tuning machine

its here .

hope it helps .

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Added on November 13, 2011, 7:01 pmAnyone wanna learn this?


Make A head out of any amp !!

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 13 2011, 07:03 PM

delete

This post has been edited by blacksunday: Mar 13 2012, 05:12 PM

dem, getting itchy. gonna try to DIY with the tutorials above soon.

This is very good tutorial.
I don't know how come the guitar tech charge too much for this simple setting.

Btw, if u don't mind, can u share the knowledge on how to change pickups, and setting the height of pickups.
So the person who wants to change their pickup don't have to take out so much money from their wallet anymore.

Thanks!

This post has been edited by firslash88: Nov 15 2011, 09:12 AM

oh yea while we are at it, im planning to install covers for my humbuckers...birdge and neck?...izzit neccessary to solder the cover to the pickups?

Nickel cover serve's as a shielding to EMF and the 60 cycle Hum , Also , if you solder the ground to it , it serves also as a grounding point . other use of the nickel cover is to spread even the magnetism (u might notice slight gain drop , very very very slight ) .
Apart from that , soldering it make sure it doesnt fall off . A good advice is to also wax pot it after you lock it in .
Wax and its parafin blocks microphonic feedbacks .
hope it answers your questions .

john, heres a question on the neck adjustment

what if the website of my guitar doesnt state the fretboard radius? how can i knw the radius

Speaking of which , for those who are changing pickups , here's a nice step by step for pickup potting.
VERY easy to do .

[B]Pickup noisy? -Wax Potting a Pickup STEP by STEP[/B]


What you need :
1. Wax - candle
2.Tin - Milkcan , aluminium one also can
3. A Wok
4. Water .

Costing - Below RM2.00

Step 1:

Arrange the items like this .

Put enough Candles (take out the wig ) around 10 Ikea teacup candles . Put in inside a metal tin .
Take a Big Wok , put water (not too much ) just enough to boil the tin .
Put the Tin into the Wok .


Why I'm I doing this "double" Boil . Plastic Melting point is around 200 degrees . We want the wax to melt , but not the plastic .
So , the boiling point of water is 100 degrees . Hence , if you double boil like this , max temperature will be 100 degree. Your pickup plastic is VERY safe .
*Thanks Cikgu Kimia Form 5 *


Boil the tin , wait till all the wax melts . this could take up to 15-20 mins .
Easy ? Next step .( keep the fire on the stove throughout )



Carefully take the pickups out



Take out whatever cover that comes with it (plastic ) , just make sure it exposes the coils .



Dip the pickup into the tin , take it out , and dip it in again . Like an "Tea Bag " untill the eentire pickup is covered with wax .
Let the wax wrap around the coil windings . Its ok if its a mess now , wax comes off easily clean .

It should look like this


The left if the potted one , right is the non potted .


cover back the plastic parts . And use a cloth to clean up the excess wax . Easy ?



Anything not sure ? Buy this "ah beng" an his favourite drink ! I'll teach u

Email me for questions . john@munkeemusic.com

Hope u guys like it .

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Added on November 15, 2011, 11:55 pmOk , you'll need to do a lil trial & error here then

here's what you do .

See the post i did on the radius guide? make a 10" one . Do the same check I did on the fret board . here's the 2 trial and error logic test.

IF :

You no light coming thru from both center and side - meaning its a perfect 10" radius .

If not:

IF

Light coming from center
meaning :
Your radius guide is too low value , increase it to maybe 12" . try again . continue increase until u see no light coming thru .

If light comes from the side
meaning -
Your radius guide is too high value , decrease it to 10" of so . try and repeat till no lights .
I've got a list of common radius here if your lazy to do it .


Modern Fender Stratocaster American guitar 9.5"
Vintage Fender Stratocaster guitar 7.25"
Gibson Les Paul guitar 12"
Jackson guitars 16"
Warmoth guitars Compound, from 10" (nut) to 16" (heel)[2]
PRS Guitars 10"
PRS Guitars Wide Fat and Wide Thin 1 11/16"
PRS Guitars Custom 22/12 11 1/2"
Most electric guitars with LSR roller nuts 9.5" to 10"
Most electric guitars with Floyd Rose bridge 10"
Traditional Classical guitars flat (no radius)
Martin acoustic guitars 16"
Gibson acoustic guitars 12"

Hope it helps.


This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Nov 15 2011, 11:55 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

ok will give it a try...thanks john...

Anything else ? Sorry guys,can't only update once a week....

Oh mai john. this is really awesome. thanks alot mang

How to play it on Samsung Galaxy S PLUS ??

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Added on November 20, 2011, 10:09 amWhao..

This post has been edited by ShawnMamba: Nov 20 2011, 10:09 AM

wheres the bridge height adjustment tutorial?

yes, need this one... truly important especially for the floating bridge guitar..

love this thread, very informative indeed.. .

keep it up bro...

Thanks for sharing John!!

i wanna learn DIY A HEAD OUT OF A AMP..hahahaa..if u r teaching,i dun mind getting a 2nd microcube to test

Apologies for the uber long reply , the bridge adjustment will be split into
4 installments :
1- Acoustic Bridge
2- "gibson" Tune-no-matic bridge
3- Strat Style tremolo
4- Floyd -rose ( Floating) style

Note that there are many more "names" for bridges out there , but generally these are the few that are different . If your guitar bridges are not listed above , chances are they are a variation from the 4 types of bridges , same concepts are used . Just email me for questions , i'll start posting up some tutorials by tonight ! Thanks for waiting !

Really nice. It's great to see techs sharing their knowledge. I've always been terrified of neck adjustments.

Wow !! Cool Poster collection !! PM me your contact?? Wanna buy a few for the shop !

First INSTALLMENT for bridge height Adjustment - ACOUSTIC GUITAR!!



Today's "victim" is a nice Taylor 615 series !



Reason I choose this was because its the most common one , and its really the simplest !

All you need is

220 Grit Sand Paper , Small steel ruler , and something square


220 grit sand paper , and also something Squarish corner .


SO let start !


First things first , this tutorial is made to LOWER the string action . So , to know if your action is "high " or "low" , here's a guide

measurement is made at the 14th fret:

String Height From 14th fret - Height

Bass Side ( EAD ) strings - 2.5 mm , Treble Side (Gbe) 2 mm

ANything more then this. is HIGH .

So we're gonna lower it !



First step . Remove the stirngs . Then take the bridge out slowly .


Tape a 220 grit sand paper to a flat surface . In my case , my dinning table !



Take something square , and do this . This is to ensure the nut is always 90 degrees .

Keep going , reduce 1mm at a time , and install back , and try again. GENERALLY , every 1mm u reduce , the 14th fret reduces .5mm . So if you need to reduce 2mm on the 14th fret , meaning you probably need to reduce 4 mm on the bridge . THIS IS ONLY A GENERAL RULE . Best results , do 1mm at a time . test , and do again .


SOme cautions to take , specially you are using piezo pickups . If you insert back the bridge , and then realised that some strings are LOUDER or softer then the other .. this is normally the case of UN-even Saddle . Take a straight ruler , and put it on the bed (or bottom) of your saddle . It should be PERFECTLY flat..
but if its not !



It will let some light pass thru . Make sure its always FLAT! Do flatten it , make sure your surface you stick the sand paper to is EVEN and flat !!!
Cont...

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Dec 3 2011, 12:42 AM


Attached thumbnail(s)

continue 2/2




This is what it looks like for a perfect flat one ! No light going thru .

Next step , Fit in the saddles , and string up , tune up .

Here's a Before After -



Before ! WOw... thats high..



Thats more like it !



Nice low Taylor Action DIY style . Hope you guys enjoy it !



Any questions , email me at john@munkeemusic.com , you know i'll love to help!

Best !
J

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Dec 3 2011, 12:46 AM

When I see the Taylor, I forgot about the purpose of the post already.

Subscribed.

Can't wait for the stratocaster tremolo style tutorial.

Up next is the Les Paul - Tune -matic . After that is the strat style .

TUNE-o-MATIC style bridge adjustment

2nd installment of my bridge adjustment tutorial !
Our victim for today - A limited edition Les Paul ROBOT


I'm demostrating this on this guitar because , Its actually the MOST sophiscated guitar now in the market . Check out Youtube- Robot guitar ! Reason being is to prove , that even the most ADVANCE guitars , the setup is still pretty much the same and simple .


The tutorial are step by step here on my facebook . I lazy transfer and re-type 2 rounds . Just click on the red "DIY tutorial" text below this..

DIY tutorial - Tune-matic bridge


Hope you guys like it ! Next installment will the the strat style .



Its easy , anyone can do it !

if you need more info , mail me @ john@munkeemusic.com . I'm happy to share!
It'll be nice if you can "like" my post too !

---

Added on December 27, 2011, 8:02 pmHi LYN'ers ,

We're having a New Year Promo. Trust me.. its the DEAL OF THE CENTURY!!!!
70% off services !!!
Check it out
http://www.facebook.com/guitarservices

here's what we're offering
NEW YEARS PROMO!! 1 Week only !! Send your guitar for a full setup (RM150) and receive - FREE Full-rewiring (worth RM90) , FREE Shielding (RM140) ,FREE Guitar Spa (RM85), FREE Pack of strings (RM22.50) . You Pay only RM150 instead of RM490 !! SUPER SAVINGS!!! Only valid if you send your guitars in from Now till 4th January 2012. *collection day 11th January 2012 . for more info call/sms 012-2666450


This is is CON-POM Rugi business!!! But hey ! Its the season of sharing eh !

Best

J

This post has been edited by johnlauguitars: Dec 27 2011, 08:02 PM

really helpful tered bro..nice
update the bridge adjustment tutorial for floyd rose cepat2 bro.huhu

I'm gonna cover a PRS Wrap-around type also... But need to find time...
LYN's attachment's system not too friendly for high-res ...
; (

wow cant believe i overlook this. Good stuff!

This post has been edited by quarantined: Dec 30 2011, 02:07 PM

nice guide bro.

You're a legend man.....nice guide!!!

nice thread, should be pinned. anyway, cant wait for the tremolo bridge height adjustment

How to determine the scale length for a bass ?

very good thread.MOD please pin this thread.very many info.

mr john.
what is your opinion about scallop neck and can u do that?

bump thread. waiting for more tutorials

i very love this post, thnks bro

I agree that this thread needs to be pinned!
Had trouble finding it just now...

I love this TS coz he's so generous to teach other musicians how to setting up the guitar. Take this as a good lesson, and it'll make u save a lot of money. Get the experience doing it by ur own..

Great post, TS.. Saya disini juga seorg noob.. Sila beri tunjuk ajar..

Pin this topic!

Dude. Can u do guitar distressing? Like make guitar looks seasoned/old?

start gigging regularly. true story

john dude, u make my day! now i can minor servis my guitar la a little bit...

This post has been edited by kombatX: May 18 2012, 03:50 PM

Any tips on classical guitar???

Oh wow! Wonderful trove of information here. Very informative for beginners and aspiring luthiers. Keep it coming bro!

Take off your shirt when you play, wear a big buckle belt, smoke it, macam macam cara ada! The tough part is making it look natural.

I'm scrawny as hell sure i don't wanna take off my shirt. Plus i don't wanna show my tattoos.

Hi John, I have a question. My student's guitar is buzzing on the open E (6th) string. So I adjust the truss rod. No matterbhw I adjust it' clock wise or anti clock wise, 45degrees, I even turn it to the max (both anti and clock wise). I even let it rest. Buzzing still there. It's just a matter of more buzzing or less. Even if it's less buzzing, the buzz is still very loud for a normal guitar. The only way is to strum it lightly to avoid buzzing. Does this mean the truss rod already koyak b4 I even adjust it? What should I do?

u r very great...thanks for sharing

please update TS...love this thread

has anyone engaged John's service before? Good workmanship?

Regarding truss rod adjustment on an acoustic guitar, how many turns normailly would it take, if the guitar has not been setup-ed for a long period of time? Say, 2 years?

And when we restring our guitars, what is the best way to dispose the used strings?

^it should always be adjusted quarter turn at a time (or less)

for a guitar that is long unattended, its best to release all the tension in the truss rod by doing CCW turns all the way, then slowly bring the neck tension back.

Better sent to a tech job if youre unsure..

TS you're really great for posting this thread. So helpful
I wonder if you can help me to install sustainiac.
It need to tebuk here and there.
Kedai sure take cekik darah price.

Thanks!

Just did the setup accordingly, and now my guitar plays like a dream.

Took me one whole day. I turn the truss rod screw CW (to tighten it and bring the neck upward) a quarter turn for every hour then re-tune and test.

Requires patience, but really pays.

Bump into this sound comparisons of various pickups in difference magnet modification. Pretty good example in how magnets can change the overall feel of the pickups:

https://soundcloud.com/oblique63/sets/bridge-pickup-shootout

good thread bro. keep it up

anyone here knows how to make an acoustic guitar sound brighter? Because the Tanglewood one that i bought sounds quite dull....the kind of sound i aim for is something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZLipHmJ4Ok

How old are your strings? New ones can do wonders. If you're using phosphor bronze, try swapping to 80/20 bronze.

I am also interested in playing guitar. I am a student of music but i am learning about vocalist. I want to learn about guitar too.

Hi John, I believe u do electronics for electric guitars as well.

Can u provide tips and tricks during soldering the pickups into the circuit, as well as how to extend short cables, and any related issues?

Many thanks!

Bro,

You are so generous to be sharing your knowledge like this. Difficult to find people in Malaysia like you,

KUDOS to you. You will definitely get business from me in future.

So one small question.

Where can i get a 7mm trust rod adjustment box wrench for my ibanez prestige. It has to be L shape and small enough to fit in. Those in Hardware shops won't do becos they are not L shape or the handle is too bulky to fit in.

TKS Bro
I will recommend you to my friends

my house just got flooded.. waist level.. and my les paul cracked..




still can repair ah?

Sorry to hear that mate......but looks like R.I.P for the LP.
the body is badly damaged looking from the pic.

My condolences.

Still can repair, but the tone would be very different afterwards.