Will reply with multiple comments. Too long to post in a single comment! Here goes: PART 1 I recorded a video back in February showing how to deal with this, but haven't uploaded it yet. It was extremely complicated (to get it perfect). One method people use is to load nails into the neck heel holes, then press the neck into the pocket. And there's your set marks. That *can* work. But the way I did it had to account for additional variables. In my case, if I had used that nail method, the neck plate would have looked really screwed up -- it would have mounted *way too far* to the left side, rather than being centered. This is because it was an aftermarket body and was not routed to standard Fender dimensions. Things were a bit off. How did I do it? In a very complicated way! Check this out for reference: www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/learn-about-building-instruments-and-kits/bolt-on-necks/?srsltid=AfmBOoopnHgPF6RMQZpZSpD-2mJJmdUfjVhO5WkSzuUt62bO86s7kPMJ Basically, as long as the neck pocket is routed to standard dimensions, you can use that diagram to measure and mark everything out in the neck pocket. For guitar, that would mean making a mark 5/8" from the bottom of the pocket. Draw a horizontal line across that mark. That's the centerline of where the center of your bottom two neck heel holes will line up. Then from *that* centerline, make a mark 2" above that. Mark a horizontal line across there as well. That will give you your centerline for the center of your *top two neck heel holes.* The horizontal lines are made most easily with a 4" double square, assuming your neck pocket is Fender style. Fender style neck pockets are flat across on top, which means you can put a double square against it. Extend the ruler of the double square out until you reach that initial mark you made, then trace along the ruler to make your horizontal mark. Keeping the double square against that neck pocket edge will keep that horizontal line parallel. ------------------------------- For the next part, I used a neck plate. I lined it up so those centerlines were right in the middle of the neck plate holes, and got the edges of the neck plate an even distance from the edges of either side of the neck pocket. I did this by eye, then traced around the neck plate, *and* traced circles inside the neck plate holes. Then I measured where the lines were to verify that they were even. There may be a more accurate way to do this, but that worked for me. Additionally, because neck plates are so thin, and tracing circles around the inside of the holes and then marking the *centers of those holes* is a real PITA, I made a 1/2" MDF neck plate template. It makes doing this job easier IMO. You can just line up that template, then use a transfer punch to make the set marks rather than doing a bunch of gymnastics with a pencil and ruler. Neck pockets are tapered, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, which can make measurements difficult. If they were a perfect square, then measuring where to mark the holes would be a lot easier. *ALTERNATIVELY* I didn't think of this until now, but you could also measure the distance between the inside edges of the bottom of the neck pocket -- right where the bottom centerline mark you made would be. Neck pockets taper, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. So I'd just be sure to measure as close to the middle of that centerline as possible, as the neck pocket width changes along its length. Remember how the center-to-center neck heel hole spacing is 1-1/2" on the horizontal plane. So whatever edge-to-edge measurement you get inside the neck pocket -- edge-to-edge, measured horizontally along the centerline that's 5/8" up from the bottom on a guitar, or 1-5/16" up from the bottom on bass -- -- take that number, and subtract 1.5. Then divide by two. So edge-to-edge measurement of the inside of the neck pocket, subtract 1.5, then divide by 2. That will give you *the distance from the edge* for the center-set marks for each of the two bottom neck pocket holes. You can use a machinist ruler, a string action gauge, or digital calipers to measure from the *edge of the neck pocket on either side.* And you measure along that initial centerline you made, indicating the horizontal centerline for your botton two neck pocket holes. Now you make those marks, and you'll have the set marks for your bottom two neck heel holes. Line up a ruler straight up from those holes -- I would use a mini square. The Woodpecker Mini Square is miraculous for guitar work. Put a pencil on the mark you made for one of the bottom two holes. Hold it in place. Now line up your square so the vertical part of the square is touching the pencil. Then line up your square so the horizontal part of the square is perfectly parallel with the *centerline you made indicating the horizontal centerline for the top two neck screw holes.* Then trace along the vertical part of the square. At the end of that vertical line, it'll touch the horizontal centerline for the top two holes, and there's your set mark. Repeat on the other hole, and now you'll have a square drawn with pencil lines that looks like that Stewmac diagram, but without the holes drilled. The center of those marks is where you'll drill your holes.

PART 2 Now, if you're like me, you'll want to drill from the *back* of the neck pocket (the finished side) with a brad point bit. As drilling through the unfinished part of the pocket might cause the finish to chip out on the other side. This is a further complication, and you can probably bypass this by simply putting a good backer under the finished side of the neck pocket. Hold it firmly while you drill and it should be OK....but on this job, it was critical, so I didn't risk it. I decided to use a brad point bit to drill the holes through the finished side of the neck pocket as I needed it to come out perfect. So: If you have a Fender style neck pocket, you can use a double square to help with this. Basically, line up the double square with the top centerline, and lock it in place. You can now simply flip the guitar over, put the double square against the neck pocket edge, and use an ultra fine tip Sharpie to trace a horizontal line along the finish. If it's polyurethane, you can wipe off the Sharpie with rubbing alcohol immediately and easily. It can damage nitrocellulose so you wouldn't want to use this method for nitro finishes. A pencil or China marker might be more appropriate there. Now you can repeat this with the distance from the *edge* of the neck pocket to the *center mark for the holes.* It being the leftmost or rightmost side depends on how you're looking at it. This also requires a Fender style neck pocket, where the top and edge of the neck pocket are, in general, *supposed to be completely flat and square.* Set your double square so the edge of the ruler is perfectly lined up with *that* set mark, then flip the guitar over and mark it. You'll be left with an "L" shaped mark. That "L" is all you need to line up your neck plate, or preferably, 1/2" thick neck plate template. You simply place the edges of the neck plate so they're right against the edges of that "L" mark, clamp it in place (or hold it tightly in place), and make your set marks. With the the 1/2" template, it's much easier. I actually clamped it in place and then used a transfer punch to mark the holes. With a neck plate you'll have to draw circles and find the center of the circles, as they're so thin you can't use a centerpunch or a transfer punch with them. If you hit me up at [email protected] I'd be happy to make you a neck pocket template for a small fee. I don't have any spare transfer punches so you'd have to get your own, but you can also use a Brad point drill bit instead of a transfer punch. Anyway, once you've made the set marks, either after drawing circles and marking center, or using a transfer punch / brad point bit -- -- then you have your set marks, and can use a brad point bit to drill through the finished side of the neck pocket cleanly. I'd recommend putting a backer inside the neck pocket so you don't chip it out. Though the unfinished inside of the neck pocket is a lot less important cosmetically. Whereas on the back, if it chips off a huge piece of finish, it could possibly chip *beyond* the bounds of the neck plate and look really ugly. The inside of the pocket -- I've used wood filler for minor mishaps and it works fine. I don't think it makes any difference. But you always want to work as cleanly as possible and using a backer is standard practice when drilling holes in any flat surface. --------------------------------------- Hope this helps! Tried my best to explain everything. I haven't seen any videos on this and the available methods all seem to be imprecise. I forgot to mention, you'll probably want to fill the neck heel holes when using this method. If the neck goes on fine, then you're done. But if you're having issues mounting it, you may need to plug the neck heel holes, flush cut, then re-mark the holes using your new neck pocket holes as a guide. And then re-drill the neck heel so it's a perfect match for your new neck pocket holes. I think that about covers it. I actually figured some more stuff out while thinking about this and writing this comment and the video I recorded may already be obsolete. Might be time to re-shoot in the future to make this a video. It would be an important one. It took me forever to figure this out because there was nothing online talking about it. Best I could find was people putting nails in the heel of the neck, putting it into the pocket and pressing it down to make set marks. Would not have worked in my case as the neck plate would have looked totally screwed up, and way closer to one edge than the other. So you always have to keep these things in mind. With the method I laid out here you get a much more standardized and professional result, IMO.

Thanks so much! I'm working on an updated abridged version, which will start at the instructional part. Just me being obsessive as usual, but I did have some corrections I wanted to make, and things I wanted to emphasize. I'm including corrections to a couple of the video clips and diagrams, as well as an important note on checking the spacing of each string gap *before* cutting the next gap. That way, you can be accurate within .001"-.002". Almost CNC levels of accuracy and completely by hand. The key is testing each gap before doing the next one. When you make a shallow initial slot, you have room to angle the file left or right and move the spacing a bit to get it perfect. I did mention this in this video already, but didn't emphasize it enough, and I didn't mention "compounding errors" -- if you're off by .002" 5 times, by the 5th time you'll be off by .010". I've had the problem using this method in the past of getting to the B - High E string gap and having a *majorly* bigger gap than on the prior strings. The solution is simply checking as you go and verifying that the spacing is perfect. I've gotten insane levels of accuracy, like +- .001", doing it this way, and it's all by hand. My friend and mentor Steve K., who I also told about this method, and has seen the video -- has also told me he's come up with an even better measurement. Still uses my caliper jaws as a fence technique, and the double square. But he noticed that with the equidistant gaps, the Low E and A strings look a bit far apart, even though the gap between them is identical to the rest. I'll have to pick his brain sometime about it. He couldn't remember exactly how he did it but it sounds similar to the Stewmac String Spacing Rule, in that they compensate for the greater width of the lower strings. All that being said, using the caliper jaws as a fence is key. That way, no matter what you calculate, you can get it perfect using the caliper jaws. I think the real gem here is the idea to use the caliper jaws as a fence, and then the method I came up with using feeler gauges to space the string pairs on 12 strings, then treat them as single strings. So I'm not offended if someone doesn't like equidistant spacing, or finds a better layout. I didn't come up with the equidistant formula, just the method for executing it, after years of trial and error. Anyway! That's the Cliff Notes. The updated video will simply be a handier and quicker reference with some minor updates and revisions. I might upload the 12 string part separately as well, for the sake of the algorithm. Excited to get more videos out to everyone. People like you really are what keeps me motivated to keep making videos and putting in so much effort to them. Thanks so much for the support!

Always open to learning more. The saddle and the nut are both similar contact points, and with the nut, there is a "takeoff" -- or a "ramping" to the slot, when cut properly, so the string is not contacting the entirety of the nut slot. There's also compensated nuts, which in addition to fixing intonation, effectively reduce the width of the contact point of the string. I think there's definitely a sweet spot. However, I also address "dead strings" in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWTGdnmIi86haLssi=gTL3osZdgHgGCnkN The narrower saddle, or "re-pointing" the saddle, may or may not be the best solution for this problem, but it does work. It's rare, but I have seen it multiple times, and had great success with this fix. So, no conclusions on my part. I do err on the side of thinking a wider contact point *with proper ramping* may be beneficial, and I understand the claims of greater mass, great vibration transfer and all that, AKA mechanical impedance -- -- but I'm coming at this from a repair standpoint, as in, a guitar that sounded fine, and then suddenly the strings are sounding dead, and the only thing that's changed is the strings wearing deep grooves into the saddles -- -- "re-pointing" the saddles seems to work very well in those cases. No definitive conclusions beyond that on my end. And also, it's possible that re-ramping the slots instead of making them narrower would also work. Appreciate the comment. And always up for learning new things. Next time I see one of these guitars with a dead string due to the saddle, I might try simply re-ramping the slot with one of my diamond nut files and see if that fixes it.

@@guitar_md Thanks for your reply, I was not trying to allege anything, I am a hobbyist luthier and try to absorb as much as possible. I recently saw that one of the top boutique LP bridge manufacturers showed a video with original LP burst saddles which had wide flat tops, and is charging a bunch of money (if you can get on the list) to make a supposed 50's replica bridge. People also allege the original ABR-1 which was threaded directly into the maple top are supposed to sound much better than the ones with threaded metal inserts. IDK, I just posted because what you were saying is contrary to what the guy at Stephens Design Pickups and Five Uncles bridges alleges FYI. Perhaps he is wrong IDK, I just posted because the info in your video stated the opposite. Could be yours is the better way, not sure.

@@skullheadwater9839 Yes. No problem at all on my end -- I'm grateful you shared this information. I have no dog in the fight, and all I care about is what's true. They could very well be right! And I could very well be wrong. My only concern is to 100% understand exactly why, in either case, more so than who's wrong or right. I actually have almost taken this video down multiple times, as I've questioned this information many times. But it's corrected the problem of dull sounding strings every time I've tried it, so I've chosen to leave it up, even if it's not the best way, or even the right way. I'm really not sure what's true in this case! Here's an interesting article I found: www.luteria.ufpr.br/portal/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/mechanical.pdf "Mechanical Vibrations of Electric Guitars" by Helmut Fleischer and Tillman Zwicker, from 1998. Anyway, no worries. No offense taken about anything. My only concern is what's true. And I'm not offended when I'm wrong about something, just always curious to know the exact reasons why -- the truth about things. A lot of the reasoning for these things go way over my head, as I myself am not an engineer, or anything close. Just a guy who loves guitars and tools and is obsessed with both!

Thank you so much! This made my entire day. I have a *lot* of great videos on the way as well. Looking to post some major videos I've been really excited about in 2025, and onwards and upwards to bigger and better things. I also want to get to making a video going over my in-depth process for setups and precision understring fret leveling. Those go hand in hand. Anyway. Huge backlog to catch up on. So enthused that you watched so many of my videos! Would never have expected in a million years to hear anyone say that. So again - thank you! I'm very hard at work on tons of new content and can't wait to get more videos out. Thanks *so much* for the support! Appreciate it more than I can say!

@davestephens8033 Yes, but once the enamel is scraped off, it can be tinned. I like to tin Formvar and PE wire as well for the extra stability it adds at the eyelets. It'll be electrically exposed, so tinning isn't necessary, but it bulletproofs the eyelet tie, where breaks often happen from mishandling. I either scrape the enamel off carefully with a razor, or use a folded piece of 400 grit sandpaper. The sandpaper is definitely easier and has become my main preference when using PE or Formvar. For all my custom pickups except a Hendrix set, I use poly as it's much easier to work with. Wish I included a clip of Formvar and PE in this video and mentioned them as well, in any case!

Thanks! I'd love to make an updated video about this, and how freshly mixed shellac is my favorite finish. It's incredible. And so easy to do. Don't even need anything fancy -- I've even done it with plain paper towels. Lint free cloth is ideal, but plain paper towels will work fine as well. It's my absolute favorite finish for both guitar bodies and necks because it's non toxic, and dries lightning fast. Thanks so much for the support!!

So glad to hear this! That's awesome. Fixing up the neck pocket to be flat, and with clearance holes, is one of the most overlooked techniques in taking bolt-on neck guitars to greatness. So glad it worked for you. Thanks for the support and for letting me know!

Always happy to make them. Thanks so much for the support!

Yes. Equidistant spaces between the strings

Interesting! That's a great idea. I've seen some guitars come with two separate saddle slots, for intonation purposes -- but never thought to use a similar idea to adjust action more accurately. On electric guitars, I always set the action *individually* for each string. My general method is set to .000" relief, then capo the 1st fret and set the action at the 17th fret to around .030" GBE, and .034" D, .039" A, .046" E. Then I'll remove the capo and either fill and re-cut, or cut down the nut slots, until I get around .018" EAD, and .010" GBE at the 1st fret. Then I perform an understring leveling using the RM Lite tool. Jack the strings up, re-tune to pitch after jacking them up, then level. Test, then remove the strings, recrown and polish. Tune it back up, and *then* adjust for the final action from there. For me, I like the action as low as it can get, but for customers, many times people want at least a couple thousandths of relief, and might want the action closer to something like .062" on the High E string, and .080" on the Low E string, with the rest of the strings following a natural slope between those two measurements. The 1st fret action is always the same unless people want to use the guitar for slide, in which case I'll deliberately leave more breathing room. Anyway! Long tangent there. But point being: individually adjusting the action for each string is critical to me. With acoustics this is much more difficult and involves a lot of filing/sanding. Your method sure sounds like it would save a ton of work. I'll have to consider that. Brilliant!

Thanks. I haven't gotten around to fret leveling yet but I'll have to pretty soon. The guy who used to do it for me was Denny Rauen, the first documented person to do a compound radius. He's retiring. I'm gonna copy and save your reply because it looks useful. I'm also planning to fret level with strings on. Thanks.

Let me know how it goes! Just did a classical setup, understring level, recrown and polish recently, and used this technique. I also recorded that job and have an understring leveling tutorial in the works. Fortunately, this was a Cordoba with a truss rod. That makes everything much easier when working on classicals. Really excited to get that video up. And so glad this helped!

Why not just order a saddle blank and make your own?

@@lordofthemound3890 I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes to the tone, but I really like the saddle I currently have - it feels good, looks good, and the guitar sounds good. Also, I had read that a good deal of the tone can actually come from the saddle contact as well... It might not be true, but I don't really have the experience (or equipment) to test the theory at the moment. It makes some sense to me though: there's the material of the string itself, but also the end points of contact being the fret and the saddle, so the material of the fret (e.g. steel vs nickel) and the saddle (bone vs. plastic vs. artifical substance) could have an impact. Then there's the guitar body and the wood which obviously are a big factor. Also I did ask the company who made my guitar (Admira) if they could send me some replacement saddles for it, and the ones they sent me were to narrow for the width of the saddle hole cutaway haha! It seemed easier to just work with the one I have for the time being.

Thank you so much! That's my goal for this channel. I have so much more scheduled to upload, and so much more in the works -- I aim to get better with every video, in every way possible. Thanks again for the support!

Yep! Clearance holes will work together with threaded neck inserts as well. *No* neck screws, no matter the type, should thread into the body, *ever* -- threaded inserts included. I also am redoing my bolt-on neck installation video *and* my EZ LOK threaded insert installation video. Really excited to get those up. Thanks for the support and keep a lookout for those new videos!

The bevels are for intonation -- basically, it changes where on the saddle the string contacts the saddle. This changes the vibrating length of the string by a small amount, which affects the intonation. I've actually done the same thing by using nut files to make notches, instead of bevels. This is particularly useful on 12 strings. Check out my Imgur post here on my Guitar MD Imgur page: imgur.com/gallery/notch-compensated-12-string-saddle-instead-of-contoured-JTsaRRF Hopefully this clarifies things. The bevel is merely to change where each string is contacting the saddle. Some strings need to be farther back or farther forward. The general way to test intonation is to use a strobe tuner and compare the pitch of the harmonic 12th fret note to the *fretted* 12th fret note of each string, as well as the fretted 5th note vs. the fretted 17th note. If the fretted 12th note is *sharper* than the harmonic, the string needs to move *farther back -- towards the bottom of the body.* If the fretted 12th note is *flatter* than the harmonic, the string contact point needs to move *farther foward -- toward the fingerboard/nut.* Same goes for 17th fret vs. 5th. if the 17th is sharper, the string needs to move back toward the bottom of the guitar, and if the fretted 17th note is flatter than the fretted 5th note, the contact point of the string needs to move forward toward the fingerboard direction. In that pic I shared, you can see I actually routed out the saddle slot for a wider saddle, and made a 1/4" saddle for that guitar. This allows more room to set the intonation for each string. And in that picture you can see the "notches" I used, instead of the bevel. The notches I think are actually more accurate, and make more sense. They're not as "pretty" as a bevel, but they accomplish the goal of changing where the string is contacting the saddle *much more accurately* and precisely than using a bevel. However, the bevel certainly looks more aesthetic. This is why I mostly only use my "notching" technique on 12 strings, where you *have* to use that technique to get accurate intonation. Or at least, beveling the saddle would be much more complicated. Hopefully you can see what I mean by looking at the picture I linked to. Notice how the two Low E strings are contacting the saddle in different positions. The thicker string is contacting farther back toward the bridge pins, and the thinner string is contacting closer to the front of the bridge. This is to make sure both strings intonate well, as both strings need to be different vibrating lengths to intonate properly. Let me know if this clears anything up!

Absolutely! Here's the link: rectifymaster.com/ His name is Davide Bissoli. The tool I use most frequently is the RM Lite - Guitar length. The direct link to that product is here: rectifymaster.com/lite To place an order, simply fill out the contact form here: rectifymaster.com/contact

@PEPPER1369 Thanks! I just rounded it and smoothed it with a file and some sandpaper. Refinishing it is 100% an option, and the epoxy putty filling of the hole will resist sinking. So it would be a perfect candidate for a refinish. However, I chose to leave it. The feeling of bare wood there is phenomenal. Rounding and smoothing with a file and some sandpaper did the trick and it's a real delight to play. For refinishing I'd hit it with Zinsser Bullseye shellac primer, which is white, then spray Olympic white nitrocellulose over that until the color matched. I'd use an airbrush for that. Then after drying for a few weeks I'd wet sand and buff. Though the original color for this is "Arctic white." You'd think arctic white would be stark, bright white. Very confusing!

@@guitar_md Thanks brother I'll be doing one for a customer this week on a Fender custom shop, I'm a little nervous as I don't have a spindle sander, so I will be doing it by hand. The color is black so I will see how it looks before I decide to finish or not, the customer said do whatever, lol

Thank you so much! Made my day. Appreciate you!

Thanks so much for the support! I'm unsure of what the mainstream manufacturers do but I assume it would be similar to this process. In my opinion, understring fret leveling is the best way to go to get the best playability. Though I have no experience with PLEK machines and I'm sure a seasoned PLEK expert could get the best results with that setup. How low the action can go will be limited by the radius of the frets, then the fretwork, at least if you intend to bend strings. String bending makes everything dependent on the radius of the frets. I prefer an action of around .030" on the GBE strings open at the 12th, and around .046", .040," .035" EAD open at the 12th, about .000" - .002" relief at the 7th fret, and around .018" EAD and .010" GBE at the 1st fret. However, I use an extremely light touch, and I've accepted that without a much flatter radius, string bending with no issues with an action that low is not possible. I bend strings a *lot,* and have added a fair amount of fallaway and a "pseudo compound radius" to help with this. I'll be experimenting soon to see how flat the radius really needs to be to get the action where I want it. But I'm suspecting a starting radius of 14" or 16" will suit my needs better. I love the feel of a curvier board but there are always trade offs with all these decisions. However, my guitar plays great, and that action is stupidly low. Generally I've found what I consider to be low action is *much* lower than what other people consider. And I'm always trying to get it even lower. Though around .025" - .030" open at the 12th on the plain strings, with zero relief, seems to be the limit. I have a disability in my fretting hand (hypoplastic thumb) that requires me to use lower action to play comfortably. So it's been a major motivator in my journey to master all things guitar-wise -- especially playability!

Thanks so much. Glad to have you on board! I'm also actually in the process of redoing this video, as well as my threaded insert installation video. My new process is much more accurate and I think you'll find it much more helpful. I'm doing my best to get it ready to publish by December 14th. The threaded insert video is done and ready but I just started re-editing this one. Same concept, and I used the method I laid out in this video for years, but the new process is simply a bit more accurate. For wood screws it isn't anywhere near as important to be so precise, as it is with threaded inserts, but still -- excited to get it up and running soon. Thanks again so much for the support!!

Thanks! Definitely has a "dead" sound to it. But with a little post-processing, can sound decent! I used this Keith Urban Wal-Mart guitar on my instrumental cover song here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnfdhGywr7uXh80si=TaGGzDZjG9mbtHyk

I'd love to experiment with both of those. Never tried either. I've heard very good things about the ZeroGlide fret system. Would love to try it myself and see the ins and outs of how it works and how to install it. Would also open new avenues for fingerpicking. I've only had them strung the opposite way. Huge Leo Kottke fan for 20 years and counting so far and never even entertained the fingerpicking possibilities for the Rickenbacker style stringing. Harley Benton makes a Rick style 12 string that looks very cool. Might have to indulge myself in that sometime soon and make a whole new video about it. I do have a Cozart 12 string video scheduled to upload that I'm excited to release too. Also gives me an excuse to buy another guitar. Of course everyone needs one 12 string strung one way, and one the other. And why not acoustic and electric versions for both too....so four total. Sounds reasonable to me ;)