StewMac Guitar setup

[EL34]

This StewMac setup video is pretty good
No nonsense and some practical stuff here.
I redid my Jazz-O-Caster and got a much better sound.

My neck was already flat because I have a notched straight edge.
My bridge saddles radius was already correct because I have radius tools
My nut depth was already good.
So I did not have to mess with the above things.

I had the strings too low.
I set the height at the 13th fret like they show in the video.
I raised the low E string to 2mm and 1.5mm on the high E.
I checked the intonation again and had to adjust just a couple strings.
I lowered the low E side of the pickups just a bit which took some of the muddiness out.
I got a much clearer sound by doing that.

I got all the tools from Ali Express and Amazon.
I'll post links down below.

i=YeJRF7l71Jox6qXb

[EL34]

Tool links on Ali Express and Amazon.

The notched straight edge below has two scales lengths

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805447667241.html

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805393713413.html

https://a.co/d/a57m8gY

[rake]

For tools and supplies on a budget you can try Philadelphia Luthier. I've had good luck with them.

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/

They ship promptly and seem to maintain their stock well.

[acheld]

They ship promptly and seem to maintain their stock well.

I've had good luck with them also.  And they seem to stock good quality items.

[EL34]

It's hard to beat that notched straight edge for $1.69 + $8.00 shipping.

Plus, it's stainless steel which I found out when I tried to stick it on a tool magnet strip.
The only thing I did to mine was fine sand the edges to take away some of the sharp edges.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805447667241.html?

[EL34]

I just did the same setup routine on my Les Paul Jr.
I  had to adjust the truss rod and raised the strings up to 2mm and 1.5mm
It makes bending easier because you get get your finger under the string more and a lower string

[EL34]

I just saw this tool set on Amazon for $28Has most of the setup tools you would use.

https://a.co/d/9p1Mm2C

[Willabe]

Nice if the gauge of steel their made out of is thick enough and the finish/plating is good.

[EL34]

Looks like the same stuff I bought on Amazon in piecesAll my stuff is stainless steel

[bmccowan]

I had the strings too low.

I used to think that this was not critical. And then I started to work on setting up my strat that had never sounded great.
Oh man, what a dope. The strings were too low and the pickups were too high. Getting it right made a HUGE difference.
Good video.

[EL34]

I noticed the notes were clearer and as Tomo said in the video, "The Guitar Sings more"
I am setting my stuff up with 2mm and 1.5mm at the 12 th fret

[acheld]

The strings were too low and the pickups were too high. Getting it right made a HUGE difference.

I made the same mistake for a long time.  I thought I needed low action in order to play well (and maybe I did!), but over the years I realized that low grade string buzzing just robbed the guitar of tone.  And possibly my playing got a little better so that I did not need the low action.  Also heavier gauge strings -- 11s, nothing real fancy.

[EL34]

Also, you can get your finger tips under the strings better and that is way better for bending.

[rake]

The larger the string's diameter the larger it's vibrating envelope. (just physics)
Super low action requires super thin strings along with a proper neck / fret setup.
Most guitars do not come from the factory with a great setup. In the late 80's - early 90's
I was the guitar repair guy at good sized independent "guitar" store. The owner paid me to go thru
every new guitar we got in before they hit the showroom floor. Why? Because properly setup guitars
will sell themselves! Many a time we sold a guitar because it played so much better than the ones at the other store!

[EL34]

The other thing I did was add a roller string tree for the B and E
I noticed those two strings were not coming back into tune using the trem bar.

I don't do dive bombing, just the small stuff that I do was an issue.
I have a Graphite nut that was sized originally for 11-48 strings
But now I use 10-46 and the nut is sized better IMO

The roller has worked out better on the Jazz-O-Caster
There was no string tree in the build below but I added a solid one later.

https://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=19570.0

[rake]

One thing that gets overlooked is the nut's trailing edge. (edge closest to the tuners)
Cut your trailing edge in an arc so there's no hard edge for the strings to catch on
when coming out of that infamous solo ending dive bomb!