Adjusting Saddle Height | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [4/10] with Charlie Chandler

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Learn how to adjust the saddle height to lower your action and will probably make your guitar much easier to play!
In this ten part series we look at all the steps you need to take to setup your electric guitar with Master Guitar Technician, Charlie Chandler. In this first video we look at doing a basic condition report and assessing what might be done. We use 'the cheapest electric guitar on amazon' and we end up with something pretty cool!
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[@juanreynoso9653]

This is like watching my grandfather tell a story oh boy

[@mydogslikeboiledeggs7094]

Then maybe it's meandering & long-winded enough for me to keep up and learn something.

[@chriskay8740]

I can't help but wonder who's remote controlling Justin through that wire out the back of his head.

[@tomrudd1118]

Norm McDonald.

[@binilgn5941]

That’s right, Frank Stallone

[@NoahfromEarth]

The real justin. That is but his clone.

[@santiagosarmiento1413]

I think it's Nitsuj

[@stevenpatterson3972]

Charlie Chandler, what a legend.

[@jaythedizzle]

Justin your tutorials are so excellent! You seem like a super nice person in real life as well. Keep up to great work!

[@Ray-gz4ut]

Thank you for this series Justin. I don't have an electric guitar but rather enjoy seeing the setup. I look forward to the acoustic guitar setup that I presume will run shortly after this one?

[@adrianwarren9137]

He's doing my head in

[@subliutenant]

Hey Justin! Not sure if you'll see this. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, that I was struggling with my acoustic guitar. I managed to sell that and buy an LA electric guitar kit from Gear4Music for £119.99, in Sunburst. When the new one came a couple of days ago, I unboxed it, tuned it and set about having a strum. Arrrrggghh... It was as bad as the acoustic! I thought, 'What have I done'! I'll never be able to play this! Then I watched you with old Charlie and realised from what he said, that these cheap guitars are assembled but not set up. I copied a fret radius tool of an American guy and went about following your series. I picked up on you saying that you always screw your spring plates right home and this pulled the saddle plate right down to the guitar body and that was the only way I could get the desired clearance at the pick up end. I lowered the saddle string mounts right down and then adjusted them up using the radius gauge that I'd made from a 4 swg manganese arc welding rod. Once the saddle end was set, I moved onto the nut and used welding nozzle tip cleaners to file out the grooves to get the desired clearance at the nut end. It took me best part of a day up the shed but it was well worth it! I am truly amazed at how easy and softly i can get clean chords! All I have to do now is, get used to not having to press so hard! Brilliant! That series gives a complete guide into doing a set up yourself. If folk just take things carefully and slowly, one's own set up should be trouble free! I think the Gear4music guitars are an improved version of the one you bought a couple of years ago, which you demonstrated. The quality of the finish has improved and it is a really nice piece of kit. I can now get on with some serious practice sessions!

[@renecastillo5453]

So good

[@arieswaters]

I like these two guys well enough especially Justin. But my God they could have done this in half the time

[@edhubble]

Aries Waters - I get the feeling Justin could have done it himself. He played the role of pupil, but you can tell he knew exactly what was going on the whole time.

[@therootb]

All respect, I think you should re-do all of these guitar set-up videos. This guy I'm sure is a master technician, but he makes the videos about 300% longer than they need to (should) be.

[@OverlandOne]

Thanks Justin, this series has been very helpful to me.

[@johnmilner7603]

I use the 64th scale for the string and pickup heights.

[@ejayallgood376]

Sorry, but did not help me, I have a hardtail bridge on a mustang and it needs adjusting, it would be nice to get a closer look at it and get some specific string heights and how to adjust horizontally as well.

[@nclark2718]

This video sucks

[@ricardoa5626]

learn to go straight to the point, and not only height, also saddle spring long, every single element involved

[@realdaneben6512]

i was always wondering about the additional length of that hex screws in the saddles of the bridge until i decided to increase the height achieving the following effects: Nice sound, good playability Note: If you increase the height of the saddles to a significant value, you might have to change the angle of the neck too, otherwise the string action will be incorrect.

[@hasanazimov4332]

what are the string heights individually?

[@Angel-fz8dr]

Height should be equal to all strings, to match the neck radius.

[@hasanazimov4332]

@@Angel-fz8dr thank you

[@Angel-fz8dr]

@@hasanazimov4332 you are welcome.But it's 3 years after you asked the question, I hope you were able to setup your guitar long time ago.

[@hasanazimov4332]

@@Angel-fz8dr sure I did(I guess)

[@mayfieldgage]

This, the trust rod, bridge setup and intonation adjustment in what order do you do everything so you aren’t going backwards

[@frankchavarria7652]

Good question I find myself going in circles but I’m guessing you want to start with saddles get them as low as you want them towards the bridge then tune up.. See how it feels.. then adjust if action is to high in middle of the neck you adjust the truss. Then tune back up and finally once everything feels right you intonate but this is just a guess 🤷🏽 would be nice if someone explained this.

[@scrogginproggins]

@@frankchavarria7652 Neck relief is the first adjustment (truss rod), then bridge setup, then intonation

[@krl1607]

I thought the string tension should be released before screwing. Otherwise the bridge plate might get scratched.

[@Case_]

Definitely loosen the string at least a bit when raising the saddle, because especially on cheaper guitars/bridges, you can fairly easily strip the screws (since you're already under tension and you're further increasing it as the saddle rises). When you're lowering them, it's not as important, because you're relieving tension as is.

[@bigkeezo]

Looking for a video like this. I have Squier model ☝🏾

[@leemp337]

are you supposed to measure action with the cappo still on the guitar?

[@solpichardo]

No

[@Case_]

There are many ways to measure action. Different luthiers use different ways. If you leave the capo on the first fret and your nut slots are cut correctly, the difference in measurement will be negligible - the nut slots should be very close to the height of the first fret anyway. And the measurement is always just to get you to a rough ballpark or for reference - the final adjustments should always be done based on how the specific guitar plays/sounds. (I would probably raise the action a little on this one on the low strings still, there seems to be a fair amount of buzz.)

[@add-123]

That was a top bit of content good sir just sat and watched while setting up my new ibanez rg and got action sweet as a pea nice rapid ibanez action on it now thank you kindly like and subbed and rang the bell🎸🤘👍

[@rubenbarahona]

THE WAY IN WHICH THE HEXAGONAL WRENCH IN THE SADDLE IS NOT CORRECT

[@vajraloka1]

I got all kinds of allen wrench but none to fit my strat saddles..super small !

[@nicholasheide688]

Same the smallest was too small but the next one up was too big

[@chaps5980]

Hey I have a question, i just took out my fender strat (red just like this one hehe) after a 6 months trip away. And i just realised my bridge is suuuuper lifted/sticking out and I have no idea what that means or why, first I thought it was because I was fooling around with my tremolo arm but screwing it in or out doesn't seem to make any difference. I am a noob in guitar technicals could someone help me and is this a problem?

[@PTRK490]

I have the exact same saddles on my Squier bullet strat HT. And they are horrible. When lowering the action, the screws in the saddle starts to rattle when plucking the string. Especially the low E and A string. Had to use nail polish on the screw treads to make it stop rattleling. I will get the highwood saddles soon. Also the saddles starts to drift away from each other. Fkn weird...

[@Angel-fz8dr]

Get those highwoods man, i put them on my strat few days ago and it is unbelievable. Of course they are much more comfortable, but the sound improved drastically as well, guitar is much more open. Cannot recommend them enough!

[@agr7879]

Thanks Justin. Wish this guy could come round and sort my guitar out cos I’ve got fret buzz! How do I get rid of it? Without having the action too high??

[@donharrold1375]

Try adding some relief to the neck. Watch the earlier video 2/10 which shows you how to do it. The golden rule is go slowly. If that doesn’t work you’ll need to get a tech to look at the frets which might need to be levelled.

[@agr7879]

Don Harrold Cheers, ta for that. I use light strings, 8s. Would using heavier gauge strings help reduce buzz?

[@donharrold1375]

agr78 Heavier strings would increase the string tension and therefore the pull on the headstock. In theory that would increase the relief on the neck which could cure your fret buzz problem. It really comes down to the source of the problem. Fret buzz happens because the strings are too close to the frets (I’m stating the obvious). That can occur for a number of reasons: 1) the neck doesn’t have enough relief (it’s too flat); 2) the action is too low because the bridge saddles or the nut are too low; 3) Some frets are sitting too high and need to be filed down. If you have a guitar that’s been relatively carefully manufactured, which is more likely than not these days, it’s most likely that there is insufficient neck relief or a poor setup of the saddles. It is relatively easy to check the neck relief. Place a capo on the first fret so that the strings touch the first fret. Press down at the 14th fret and then check that you have a small gap between the strings and the 7th fret. If there’s no gap, the neck is too flat and you need to add relief. Additional relief is provided by loosening the truss rod to reduce the tension it applies to the neck. These videos show you how to do that. The key is to go slowly, adjusting the truss rod a quarter turn, tuning back to concert pitch, and then re-checking the relief. This process is repeated until you get the required relief. If the neck looks like it has adequate relief, check the action at the 12th fret by measuring the gap between the top of the fret and the bottom of the high and low E strings using an action gauge or a steel ruler. You should be aiming for an action of around 2mm at the low E and 1.5 mm at the high E. If the action is a lot lower than these numbers it is likely that you will have to increase the height of your saddles. If the action at the 12th fret is ok then most likely the issue is a poor fret job and you will have to take the guitar to a luthier and get a fret level done. You should be able to adjust the neck relief and saddles to get a good setup to accommodate 8 gauge strings.

[@agr7879]

Don Harrold That’s SO much for that advice Don, most helpful.

[@1lifeonearth]

I had earnie ball 10s and they sounded beautiful with no buzz. I just switched to earnie ball 9s and they buzz. Worth it because I'm learning to bend. But if you dont want the buzz, switch back to 10s. 8s will be buzz city

[@andrewjohnstuart6227]

Hi Justin. The trem springs need to be parallel! You’ll probably be able to pull the middle one off quite easily because the outer ones are doing all the work!! And believe it or not quite a few top guitarists guitar technicians do it like that! It’s well wrong. P. S. Ya do some cracking vids mate. 👍🏻😉

[@SOH131]

I'm hoping he's more gentle with vintage and expensive guitars ;) GOOD SERIES!

[@justinguitar]

quite probably!

[@kremitsuicide3265]

Can I tighten with an Allen wrench before putting strings on

[@justinguitar]

yes but you won't be able to see how high the strings will come; that's why you should do it when the strings are on. | More about guitar setup: www.justinguitar.com/modules/set-up-your-electric-guitar | LievenDV | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Community Moderator

[@ronj5485]

The hex key ... ; .5 mm / Wrong doode

[@JoshuaSamuel23]

What's the Allen key/ Hex key size?? 1.5mm??

[@Arpit.J]

yes

[@orionasgardzero7793]

Watch the videos of the master Galeazzo Frudua for the best tips for setting everything on a stratocaster..best on the planet

[@resnarut0]

Oii Justin, nice Chanel. Hi from Indonesia

[@justinguitar]

Thanks!

[@BadBoy-mv8lz]

Hello, my new American standard Stratocaster 2015 with two pivot screws bridge seems to have the bridge no parallel to the body..the shop put 10 high E gauge string and before it was 9. Now the treble side seems to be lower and in fact the sound of e b g is not beautiful( I had also a little G buzz solved with loosing truss-rod and getting higher saddle). IM scared; till now my classic vibe 50 squier Stratocaster sounds and plays better with more sparkle in 2 e 4 positions , and here in Italy costs 400 euro instead of American standard is 1600 euro. The American strat has the fat hot 50 pickup and they are very hot and powerful and the fender specs of pick up height should be change for them( not 2.4 mm bass and 2mm treble..but it needs to definitely lower the height ).this being said , according to you , should I work on the 2 lateral pivot screws to put the bridge parallel and should I raise a bit the bridge screw or should I work with springs opening the back of the guitar? Thanks

[@mihirmoharil479]

The strings feel too tight than they should be. What should I do? Lower the action or raise it?

[@n.h.moreno]

That is what I am here to find out. When, I fret notes, it seems like I have to press quite hard, even though it is intonated. And the saddles are almost ALL pulled so back towards the frame of the saddle holder (term?) That there is zero play on the springs holding the saddles.

[@josefk5659]

You’re both probably looking for lighter gauge strings. If it’s in tune, the tension will be he same regardless of the height

[@wuanjing]

I see a lazy j there at the back. Ive got one too. A j20 i assume?

[@konanarcher]

does anybody know the brand and model of the tuner he is using?

[@bigkeezo]

If my eyes deceive me it looks like a Snark 2

[@gnatiu]

Why does Fender make this still that way? The saddle screws are usually popping out, they are sharp! This is bad design.

[@dr.richardjurica8029]

At least your name doesn't spell out any sort of agenda......

[@Jockeylotforfun]

@@dr.richardjurica8029 that's funny! Thanks for a nice unexpected chuckle 😄

[@dr.richardjurica8029]

@@Jockeylotforfun you're welcome..

[@jacksonc4297]

What the size of that allen key?

[@justinguitar]

Guitars may require different sizes depending on where they are manufactured and which company makes them. If yours did not come with any tools hen you need to try for size. Cheers 😊 | close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide [ www.justinguitar.com/ ] & Moderator on JustinGuitar Forum

[@harrywilson7980]

why didn't you pitch the neck atall for this guitar or is it something that will happen later

[@justinguitar]

? pitch the neck?

[@harrywilson7980]

@@justinguitar I'm not sure what you would call it but put something in the neck pocket that altera the angle the neck sits at

[@harrywilson7980]

@@justinguitar also you must get so frustrated when people don't even listen to what they are getting told

[@roccoa5039]

@@harrywilson7980 I think the common term for what you're talking about is "shim". Generally you'll only want to shim a neck if you really need to, most modern guitars, even cheap ones, are so well built they shouldn't need to be shimmed

[@AmitKumar-by7pz]

How much gap should be there between string and fret for better playing?

[@justinguitar]

See the last lesson in the series!

[@IceNein763]

Justin, why do people leave the back plate off on strats? I saw that Eric Johnson does this, and you mentioned that not many people leave it on. I don't get what the advantage to having it off is. Ease of string replacement? I just don't see any benefit to keeping it off, but obviously I must be missing something.

[@garygratzer9670]

I’m interested in Justin’s thought on this as well. Some have said they hear a sonic improvement which is difficult for me to swallow. And hey I come from an audiophile background and “believe” that cables all sound different. I gotta think for most it just makes sense for speed of string change. Particularly for pros.

[@terrorent]

😵‍💫

[@miles_ani]

I just can't get the height below 3mm at the 12th fret without buzzing...

[@tv82832]

マイルス - that could be a sign that your trussrod needs to be adjusted. And 3 mm is quite high, maybe let someone take a look at it who has more experience. It could also be a sign that your nut is abnormally high.

[@miles_ani]

@@tv82832 Thanks for the advice. I really should take it to someone.. I don't trust the local music store though. That guy once suggested me (as a young beginner) an SG which is really hard to play due to its neck dive issue. And he's said some other things which made me doubt his skill and knowledge.. So I have to travel a bit to find someone I can trust with my guitar :/

[@keithpetersen9196]

@@miles_ani there's no reason an SG is not a good beginner guitar lol

[@miles_ani]

@@keithpetersen9196 There is. The neck dive will cause the adoption of bad habits.

[@keithpetersen9196]

@@miles_ani Only the practice of bad habits will cause bad habits. you can adopt bad habits on any guitar. SG's are not only easy to play, but easy to set up and maintain as well as light weight, which is probably why it was recommended. I've never heard of "neck dive" being an issue with beginning players(who are usually sitting down), especially not a big enough issue where as anyone recommending said guitar would be deemed a giver of bad advice and not to be trusted by a complete beginner.. I would have no qualms about recommending an SG to a beginner.

[@Cole.Claeson]

Pretty hard to follow along this video. 5/10

[@TBT1073]

Winded for sure. Looking for meat and potatoes.

[@mrcurtis73]

How high should the saddles be?

[@realdaneben6512]

That's a good question, because it's a matter of personal preference, and it's not only the string action over the neck but also the distance of the strings to the top of the guitars body.

[@johnnystrat]

Charlie may know what he's doing but this video is very difficult to follow.

[@teslaedison6236]

Norm MacDonald

[@IGarrettI]

Hey Justin. Why is it that when they teach guitar scales, the minor one is pentatonic, and major is a full, harmonic ? or is it just me

[@RandySchartiger]

10.40 hey Justin your springs are on wrong bro they should be parallel ||| instead of the way you have them /|\ trust me on this :)

[@pallecla]

Well, since it is locked flat, it doesn't matter. Trust me on this..

[@RandySchartiger]

@@pallecla you are right.

[@thuhreb]

I don't know who is right. I don't know who is wrong. Trust me on this.

[@justinguitar]

believe me. my springs are the best springs that there ever were and no guitar teacher in history has put springs on better than me.

[@pallecla]

@@justinguitar I believe you 😉

[@jeffsmith9384]

He seems like a great technician and a really bad teacher... I can't understand what he's trying to get across

[@adrianwarren9137]

So why don't you then telling other people to do it

[@dr.richardjurica8029]

Is it me, or could the heighth measurements be made a little more clear. I hear like 70, 70, 70, 70,,,,.uh...... ?? 70 what? Otherwise, pretty informative, though I've seen other videos showing things more conforming to the radius.

[@lafemmeparallel]

Yep i dont know what they are talking about either

[@subliutenant]

@@lafemmeparallel Imperial feeler gauge set. Thousanth's of an inch Feeler gauges! From a car accessory shop, then make up 70 thou. from the leaves.

[@allmendoubt4784]

he says thou. That's 2.3 mm low E or 1.6mm high acc to google

[@dr.richardjurica8029]

@@allmendoubt4784 It's pretty amazing that you could hear that. All I, and several others, could hear is some mumbling. But if you say so.

[@SF_Curious]

This is the type of video that should have a BIG DISCLAIMER because it can confuse people into thinking to touching this settings will make a better guitar when in fact this set up should only be performed by a professional luthier not the guitar owner and NOT A BEGINNER. You will destroy your tone if you dare to change anything on a strat at home!!! 👉🏽👎

[@adrianwarren9137]

Is this bloke real does he know what he's doing

[@williamb4652]

Yes.

[@ewin1st]

Why is capo still on the neck when doing string height . That's wrong .

[@pietervheerden]

Not necessarily... The Fender site says to set the string action at the 17th fret with a capo on the 1st fret.

[@shawnmanuel9817]

@@pietervheerden what should the string action be at 17th fret?..I've always went by the 12th fret.

[@briangtat2]

Mark is right. There definitely should not be a capo on the guitar while setting action. Read the fender instructions again. The only time you use a capo is to measure relief

[@justinguitar]

c'mon dudes listen to the man!! That is because we've not cut the nut back yet, and if you set the saddle hight with a high nut then you 'll have to do it again after the nut!!

[@ProbyWaN1337]

@@justinguitar tell em!

[@torigomx]

Learned nothing:/

[@EnigmaticAnamoly]

3:00-4:00 wtf was he saying??? So much stuttering and not competing his sentences lol wtf

[@Case_]

He's explaining (not very well) that on guitars with higher neck radius, you won't really be setting up the string heights so that they follow the radius exactly, because the strings need to be a bit higher on the low side and you can go a bit lower on the high side (since the high strings are thinner). So the curve of the saddles will be a bit skewed compared to simply following the neck radius exactly (flatter on the low strings, sharper on the high strings).

[@EnigmaticAnamoly]

How was this video at all helpful?? Helpful for what??

[@justinguitar]

This video is part of the "setting up your electric guitar" classes. www.justinguitar.com/modules/set-up-your-electric-guitar | You need to adjust your saddle height if you want the strings to follow the curvature of your fretboard; it is a "radius" expressed in inches. Of course you need to make sure the string isn't too low or too high. Optimal height will improve playability drastically. | LievenDV | JustinGuitar Official Assistant

[@DavidM-zm5gz]

Talk too much just show how to do it

[@ewin1st]

You can buy radius trees on eBay for cheap . that can help with string height across the frets , look up Dave world of fun about guitar set up . You'll learn more than his guy .

[@cryptotharg7400]

The geezah doing this gives off a "Hard-drug survivor" vibe, and many synapses appear to be mis-firing. LOL!

[@justinguitar]

@@cryptotharg7400 Charlie is one of the best techs around, and a really nice to guy too - very well respected in the industry!

[@garygratzer9670]

Wow Ewing! I bet your eggs are never done right either.

[@johnstudiob2481]

Charlie Chandler's one of the best, wouldn't hesitate to let him loose on a £3000 guitar of mine

[@adrianwarren9137]

@@johnstudiob2481 is it john brown or joe brown 90 percent is rubbish setting up guitars on here

[@RudyG210]

Smh. I can't follow this guy. Tries to be really technical.

[@dudehenchman]

If you listen to anyone on KZbin other than *Dan* *Erlewine* (from stewmac) for guitar setup tips your wrong lol.

[@justinguitar]

Yeah because there is only one way to do anything! :)

[@johnstudiob2481]

Charlie Chandler is the Uk guitar wizard and well, Dan Erlewine is in the States