Fender MIM Player Telecaster set up

[@mrofnocnon]

Great video thanks. You would not think such a guitar for the price would need so much of your expert attention.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

It's all relative: if you're cool with a medium action, then you can mostly just plug in and play. If you prefer a lower action then you have to do some work - and this seems to be true of most, if not all Fender instruments. I can count the number of guitars (of all brands) that came out of the factory with ultra-low actions perfect and ready to play on one or two hands... i.e. very few. Mayones was one. Emerald carbon fiber was another.. some Prestige Ibanez's were others...

[@mrofnocnon]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitarsAgreed Sam, it just seemed having to replace the nut was excessive to achieve a good setup.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@@mrofnocnon Well, it's like this: people send their guitars for 'the Reloved Set up' which (almost) always includes changing the nut from plastic, bone or corian to Tusq unless to do so would be an undesirable outcome. So it's a tiny bit better (in my experience) but the improvements I offer range from astonishing when the set up was average to a-little-bit-better in the less common event of the set up being nearly perfect to begin with. The combined effect of precision fret levelling, slightly better nut, better tuning stability and perfect 1st and last fret actions can be huge even while the measurements (and the individual improvements) are themselves tiny. If you get what I mean.

[@mrofnocnon]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitarsYou are the man Sam.

[@jamespower9208]

Very informative.Great job of teaching what is done in set up. Thanks

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Cheers James - it's what I do in a set up and my prices are twice what the kid down the road charges for a 'set up'. When you see 'Set up £40' you can be sure that the frets are not being levelled and your nut is not being replaced and perfectly set for tuning stability and ideal 1st fret action. For that kind of money you're getting the guitar looked at, cleaned up, saddles & relief tweaked and maybe new strings... but the thing that restricts your playing action - the uneven frets - remain the same. As a result, you can't get back any different action than you probably gave it to the tech with. I've never done that kind of set up because my take was 'what's the point giving you back the same guitar, same playing action you came in with?' So for me it's been the full treatment as standard from the beginning - which is why, in early 2023 I charge £135 + postage for the work I do. End result is super-low, buzz- and choke-free action and rock solid tuning stability.

[@MrShowman92]

First of all great video. I really enjoyd. May I ask you a few questions? 1. Are you crowning the frets after the leveliing. If yes, do you do it with the strings on? 2. Did you cave the nut slots deeper? On the second part of the video they look deeper.. Thanks in advance! Regards Chris

[@7387470]

Do you know what the String sacing is for the MIM standard Telecaster??

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Sorry for the late reply. I don't know for sure - even though I had one in the workshop only a couple of days ago. I think they're 54mm spacing e-to-e which makes the saddles 10.8mm wide. For a Far East guitar the spacing tends to be 52.5mm (10.5mm saddle width). Some old strats (USA?) had a 56mm spacing...

[@neilmcleanmusic]

Great video thanks! What height are you looking for the action on the tele and are you measuring at the last fret? Thanks very much 🙏

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi Neil - you're welcome. My normal target action is a gradient between 1.5mm low E last fret across to 1.2mm high E last fret. This is the lowest I like to go and with fret levelling can be achieved for fretboards with radii of 9.5" and above. Below that the last fret actions just have to be a tiny bit higher because the tight radius imposes geometric limitations that no amount of fret levelling can overcome. I measure at the last fret... er... because I always have and it makes more sense to me. I'm not trying to be difficult; there was a rational reason for it which I can't remember :D

[@neilmcleanmusic]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thanks Sam sounds good! I’ve been experimenting with setting at the 12th, 17th or last and recently got a factory spec for my recently acquired revstar that gives measurements at the last fret. But quite a bit higher at 2.4mm and 1.9mm. I’ll think I’ll try my player tele at your spec but like the one in your video it will have all three phenomena for sure! It def needs fretwork and has slightly sharp fret ends too 🙏

[@73donniebaker]

Sam you mentioned the hairline cracks in the neck pocket during the initial inspection. I have an Epi SG with almost matching cracks in the finish and was wondering if I should do something to reinforce the wood perhaps with some glue in the neck pocket crack(s) since it may also (most likely) be cracked too. My apologies if you talked about it in this video... I haven't listened to every bit of the video yet but saw you didn't have to remove the neck.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi 73donniebaker... In short, leave them unless when pressing on the neck you see the gaps opening up and 'yawning'. If it opens then it's probably cracks in the wood and finish and maybe you want to squeeze some Titebond glue in and lightly clamp if possible. But if it doesn't move then treat it as a finish crack i.e. leave well alone :) Realistically, the only way to convincingly repair finish cracks is to refinish the whole thing (unless you can perfectly match the colour and the impact of any aging...). The majority of the time such cracks will have no noticeable effect on the guitar's function or longevity.

[@73donniebaker]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thank you Sam for the words of wisdom and tutelage. Not only here but also in your other content. Great Stuff.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@@73donniebaker You're welcome :)

[@JVBCanberra]

The colour looks the same as my recent Player Plus tele. It's called Opal Spark

[@artshahumyan]

Thank you! I've got the same Tele, the colour name is tidepool

[@Dropsix]

Or is it lake placid blue? I also have the same one

[@artshahumyan]

@@Dropsix the player series are only in tidepool, maybe the elder ones are placid blue

[@ranman58635]

Sometimes that high E breaks due to the bridge. It seems to cut at the break angle at the body. Of course you know this.

[@ghfdt368]

thats a very pretty tele and im sure that Graeme is going to love how much better its going to play. Intonation is a strange and fickle thing, you can often as a player try and chase perfection but its just impossible. Funny enough when i listen to some players in the past like Eddie Van Halen, Rory Gallagher and even Andy Summers you can tell on recordings and even some live recordings that the intonation is definately off on their guitar in some places. But it makes sense when you imagine how many hours they would play on their respective guitars and im sure there was times they just didn't have time to do a set up before a live show, were pumped up on adrenaline, maybe nervous so pressed down harder or even tuned up to eachothers instruments and left it at that,Its a facinating topic though.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

The complete subjective-ness of intonation (no two people are likely to fret with the same pressure; heck, I probably don't even fret with the same pressure twice in a row!) so what works for me may quite likely not work for a customer. All I can do is to set it for what I imagine an 'average' pressure is. That's about as scientific as it gets :-) I suppose the ideal playing style for true notes would be as light as possible to avoid any pitch increase due to pressure. But like you pointed out, we're all imperfect and never more so than when pumped up with adrenaline before a live gig etc.

[@Gameovermam]

Colour looks like Lake Placid Blue, such a beautiful colour. It’s even better in the flesh.

[@i-witness3624]

Hi Sam ‘ how can I get my guitar to you ‘ for an upgrade!!!

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@@i-witness3624 Hi - email me at [e-mail] thanks!

[@mrofnocnon]

Nothing on pick up heights Sam?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Never have much to say on pickup height as it is very subjective. One guiding principle: the closer the string to the pickup pole the greater the output but the lesser the ‘tonal dynamic’ and vice versa. The best advice is to try to find what works best for your playing and your set up.

[@christopherfidler3019]

All you need to do is hold down the last Fret and slide a 3mm hex/allen key under the bass side then a 2mm hex/allen key under the treble side between the string and pole piece. if it clears, you're good. You can use a straight edge ruler or machinist ruler as well. the rest is personal preference. when in doubt consult the Fender manual.

[@ericcrawford9827]

Nothing goes through time without physical damage. I'm a relic, I've got scars and internal damage. Cosmetically, I couldn't care less, despite the option of a surgical set-up. Psychologically, damage done. It's blue.

[@markthain9659]

That is the maddest nut removal method I've ever seen. Simply tap each end to free it

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Gosh! That never occurred to me. . . . . . . . . (sarcasm)

[@ranman58635]

It's not that unusual. It's a very practical way. Most don't even know that this can even be done. If one wants to practice, get a old walmart guitar. He didn't start out this way. I chipped my last fretboard because I forgot to do the cut. Did the simple tap qnd lost real-estate.

[@GoIdenApple]

OK, now who doesn't want to see the giant this guitar is being built for? 1:43:08

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

The truth is I've never met him - we've spoken on Zoom though and he didn't look anything like Shrek. If he's no longer in a position to buy the guitar it will be interesting putting it up for sale on a world-wide trawl for very, very large-handed players. A small market for sure - but a definite market despite that :-)

[@Jeremya74]

He gonna let himself off because he cant find the string trees because the place is untidy 😅

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

True. At my age you leave 10p coins on the ground at the store or in the street because it's too much effort to bend down and pick them up :D

[@TheFissionchips]

I'd advise any guitar player to have their instruments refretted with very hard steel. That way one wears the strings out not the other way around. I've never understood using soft metal frets against steel strings.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

True… but stainless is much more expensive than copper-nickel so no doubt it was originally about cost reduction. And stainless steel wears your tools out a lot quicker / demand more expensive tools to withstand the wear. But yes, it makes sense to have frets that last 30+ years instead of 10…

[@TheFissionchips]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars No doubt it was originally an economic decision rather than a technical one. As far as battering the tools - I know, Sam; My old luthier always groaned when I called about a bout a fret job. lol

[@ranman58635]

Some frets seem much softer than others. I've had some wear very quickly and I'm a soft player.