Hey guys, and welcome to a quick tip #2
today I'm gonna talk to you about string height.
[glass breaking sound] and show you how I go about adjusting this with my own guitars
String height is for me the most important part of a guitar setup
and having perfect string height makes guitar playing much more fun and effortless
And if it's not set up to my preference, that guitar turns me off completely.
And that has happened to me many times
when I had gone into a music store just to try a random guitar
and if the string height or action is off, that guitar totally turns me off.
Some people like to have a slight bend to their neck
and some like it more straight:
some like low action, some like high action ...
Low action is for a lot of people a bit easier to play,
while high action sounds a bit better
and it's easier to catch a note physically on the fretboard.
Now, finding the sweet spot:
you can either adjust the truss rod or the individual string height on the bridge of the guitar,
but adjusting both in conjunction with each other
is the best way to find that perfect setup.
Now, for a lot of people, adjusting a truss rod might be a no-brainer,
but for some this might be something you've never done before
and if you're scared to even touch the thing,
then I would recommend going to a guitar tech and have him fix this.
But it doesn't actually hurt to know how to adjust the truss rod of your guitar.
And also remember that this is how I prefer my guitar's setup
it might not apply to you,
or you just have shitty taste, I don't know.
Just joking ;)
Now, I like having the truss rod of the guitar set up, so it gives almost a straight of a neck as possible.
This of course might differ a bit, depending on what bridge you're using
and on this guitar I have an evertune bridge.
And this is where you adjust the truss rod,
you use one of these.
This is a tool, truss rod adjusting tool,
hex key basically, and if you bought a Solar Guitar,
this comes with the guitar, okay? It's in the package somewhere.
You just put it in here and then you turn it either clockwise or counterclockwise.
Counterclockwise [duck quacking]
if you want to bend the neck like a banana
and clockwise [duck quacking] if you want to straighten the neck.
This neck is as straight as it can be right now, basically
and if you want a small bend
that would make kind of like a valley underneath the strings,
you turn the hex key counterclockwise, okay?
So, like this.
But for me, like I said, I like to keep the neck pretty straight.
And when it is relatively straight,
I start checking the individual strings for dead spots
and usually it's up by the first fret,
but you can often find somewhere on 12th to the 15th fret as well
This of course can differ, for instance, if you have a levelled fret somewhere.
On this one you can see it's really even, and not a single fret poking up
So, this is me looking for dead notes.
[plucks string on each fret]
And I do this for every string.
[plucks string on each fret]
Let me lower the string even more,
just so you can experience how a dead note sounds like.
So, let's try again.
[plucks string on each fret]
I don't know if you can hear, but here ...
[plucks string]
we now have a dead note.
[plucks string]
So, the note does not ring out ...
[plucks string]
... that clear.
So this is where I would adjust the string height ...
[plucks string as adjusting string height]
... Until I get a clear ringing note.
[plucks string]
Okay?
So, then I do this for every string until I have a comfortable and even string height.
And I don't really go about measuring the action
[punch sound] I just go by feel basically
and when I'm smiling, the you know I hit the perfect string height zone.
Let's try it out.
Alright [gurgles]
[plays guitar]
Okay.
[plays guitar]
That's the smile, it means I'm happy.
See? Doesn't really get anymore complicated than that
and that's the way I do it when I set up my guitars and set up the string height, okay?
Thank you so much for watching, please subscribe if you haven't already
and if you haven't, I'll come find you!