I`m sorry Dave, I`ve only just discovered this gem of a channel. If it`s any consolation I`m binge watching as I type. I`ve learned more about set ups from here in the last 24 hours than years of supposed YT channel tutorials. Plus, you`re a funny bloke. Cheers.

Ah the old “store setup”. Otherwise known as keep Dave in business.

I would pay any amount to have Dave roast my set ups 😂

Dave's insight is 100%. You have to be able to recognize the box before you can even tell where you are in relationship to it.

Sad to say but the music stores are sadly lacking in service. None ever told me anything about set-up when I got a new guitar. I had to fly by the seat of my pants. With what I’ve learned from you, I could make most of them look ignorant. Thanks Dave. Now I kinda, know what I’m doing. Yep gotta think inside the box before you can think outside. 👍🏼✌🏼🍻

The store gooched it. Dave un-gooched it.

Careful Dave, Stew Mac is watching and will turn yer Zig Zag Luthier gauge into a moneymaker. Bwahahaha Twist (ed) one

“If your gonna be thinking outside the box……. You have to learn to think inside first….!” I’ve been looking for that saying without knowing, all my life. Thanks!

Love that Dave has rolling papers in his tool kit

I can imagine a young, aspiring, guitar tech somewhere in Toronto, is now crying in his coffee :) " I tried so hard to do it like Dave said..."

Dave, I love your Humor, and tell it like it IZ Factor, Most stores hire young punks that play Guitar, But Do Not Know how to work on them, but they let them work on them, a bad move, I bought a new Les Paul Standard in 2004 From Gibson Factory, The Tailpiece was put in to close to the Bridge, The Low E A and D strings Saddles were so far back that it was Imposible to Intonate, So I flipped them over to have some room and intonated it myself, rather than Dealing with Incompetent People at Gibson again, I got it to work just fine, But I will never buy a Guitar From Gibson Again, Keep the great videos coming, Cousin Figel

Dave.....love the "ear digger" hex key.....brutal how the stores screw this up, I'd seiously take a new guitar to you any day

Words of Wisdom: In order to break the rules, you first must know the rules.

Just arrived in Toronto for the first time, headed over from the UK. First thing my phone gives me is Dave!

I haven’t watched the video yet, but I’m going to guess that it was the Gooch store? And I gave her a thumbs up already just because it’s Dave and I know it’ll be great.🤠

I like the idea of using rolling papers to check for clearance!

Dave you are best!

I bought a Reverend online from Cosmo and it arrived perfect. Most that I've bought new, I've had to tweak once I got them home.

Great and informative video. Thanks!

Dave makes me Smile 😀 all the time!

Last week a sandwich artist, this week a guitar tech.

New guitar with those scratches? I'd be kicking some arse if my new Les Paul came back with scratches!

funny. I bought a epiphone les paul and it came out the box perfect. I've owned it for over 10 years and never had the truss rod cover off.

My Martin was Plekked at the factory. When I paid a technician to set up, the nut slots were way too shallow, the action was way too high and there wasn’t enough neck relief. Plekking isn’t nearly enough unless everything else is perfect.

I had a similar setup issue with a new PRS S2. Customer said it was set up as per “sign off” card. Trem O Lo was pinned, pickup screw disengaged and more fun. I just laugh.

I'm using the thinnest piece of paper I can find. I actually spit beer out of my mouth.

Old Zag paper...haha love it!...and those scuff marks were the stores 'attempt at antiquing'??

Those TuneOmatic angles being what they are seem to be a reason people opt for the wrap around. It does lesson the overall tension and string breakage from my observation.

I've used Zig Zags before but never as a feeler gauge . That's it . You got a fan for life , me .

After a long day of drinking I used my heavily spattered welding pliers to make that adjustment.

Love the use of rolling papers Dave wink wink

I’ll be damned if i let a guitar leave the store i work at like that. Lots of my work is doing setups that other stores didn’t do or just botched.

Lmao at the zigzag papers. Whatcha doing, dave?

There are so many guys who believe the stop bar must be all the way to the body. You’ll hear it’s the sustain or tone but it wouldn’t be adjustable if it wasn’t meant to be.

Another Lester plays again! Nice job, Dave. Did I see a dude silkscreening a batch of Tee shirts on FB??? Available soon???

Looks like a Lez Paul Tribute model.

Too bad about the hack job on the finish. Especially on a new ax. My first Les Paul I owned, the strings were cranked down like this and being my first one, I thought the strings were suppose to be like that. Figured it out pretty quick when I kept snapping strings that it was not the right way. Cheers!

Awe man, ive been playing for 25 years and never knew a hex key fits in those bridge holes!!.. the amount of times ive nearly skinned my thumbs trying to turn those ‘thumb screw’ wheels by hand 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️ 😂😂😂

Of course Dave has Zig Zag papers around :)

Job security!

Okay, Dave. WTF are you doing with the Zig Zags??

That’s a nice Studio.

I haven't thought about a rolling paper in a long time. I'm trying to remember the brand name from the 1980's. Zig , J&B, Tops

Great video.

Question. How high should the stop-bar be set? Instinct tells me you should be aiming to have the strings going over the saddles as straight as possible but every Gibson seems to introduce a bend at the saddle.

When you said it's always the G string that gets messed up , were you still talking about guitars ? 🙂

that ZigZag just spiked my cravings

cut corners lol i love it i used to buy those

Yea

🎶Long & McQuade where your wallet gets thin🎵. Bought a Gibson LP Tribute a couple months ago from L&M (aka, the Devil Incarnate). It was still in the box with the factory setup and believe it or not, it was perfect. I guess the “tech” at the Hamilton store didn’t get their fingers in it. 😎🇨🇦🎸

i had a guitar center tech scratch my finish on my lespaul gc said too bad my lawyer said different guitar replaced quite quickly

ZigZag I almost missed that

There’s a Zig-Zag Method for everything

Gooched Wars: Attack of The Store

Some people believe that when the tailpiece is all the way down increases the sustain. So if it hits the back of the bridge overwrap the tailpiece. I have a Les Paul I did that to and works great. Joe Bonamassa has some set up like that and got hints from a video of his guitar tech doing it. Everyone has different ideas.

What do you recommend for a pickup height? This is second vid of urs I’ve come across and you seem to be an advocate for a specific height ,seeing you have one certain device you used for checking height …or at least I think it was the Same for both a tele and a Paul …

Using zig-zags help it resin-ate better.

Yeah those aren't holes to to save weight, but every little bit counts on a LP.

I do tend to deck the stopbar, but then again, like some sort of weirdo, I also topwrap the strings.

We won’t ask why you have a ZigZag rolling paper.

the thinnest piece of paper, and its a rolling paper LOL

Me thinks the previous 'tech' was using zigzags for more than a feeler gauge. 🤪

I always have a problem with the g string. Maybe I should send my guitars to you. I have a few Les Paul's that need some work

Was this a long Mcquade in southern Ontario? Bought my first les Paul there last month, and it was a fret buzz nightmare!

"The store" must use dei hires lol Just wait until you get one of these guys working on your teeth!

Hi Dave, I hope your health continues to improve. Has anyone ever figured out why the G string is such a MOFO to tune and intonate?

What is the outro song? I love that bass line and I always scroll through the comments to see if someone mentions it, but no one does.

Huh a zigzag rolling paper wonder what that’s for 🥴😂

What are you going to do with that paper, Dave?

Nothing says my kind of channel like a Zigzag feeler gauge. Excellent my friend. Peace ✌️

Dude, I know a brand new ZIG ZAG when I see it. Onion.

What ever would you need rollin paper for? 😜

You don't have to think outside the box if you just make the box bigger..... but yah....

I have a mark of shame on my LP studio from when I was trying to adjust the bridge with pliers cause I didn’t know what I was doing. Not sure what to do about it except spill a bunch of beer on it

Dave, my guess is that the store Could have been that Miserable Guitar Center, that i read is Going out of Business IDK, Cousin Figel

Hehe, when i raised my stopbar up from the body it transformed my pretty dull sounding guitar to a firebreathing beast

Which grit of fret eraser do you use to just clean the fret?

Nice guitar but store must specialize in fenders

Whether a young person thinks in or out of the box is not as important as that they actually THINK.😉 Think rationally. Think critically. Think frequently.

I want that guitar please

Oh oh!

He makes it look so easy. But it is not that easy. Have to know what your doing.

Guitar Store Guy:" Can I help you sir?" Dave (A la Ron Swanson) "I know more than you".

If you are incapable of thinking, being inside or outside the box makes no difference. You could see from the string angle alone going from the stop bar to the bridge this little les needed some help from you Dave.

"Fast" Fretty Fingerboard was a good player.

TBH, the only thing the store had wrong was the bridge height. Everything else was pretty good.

I bought a guitar from a small shop that "set up" every guitar themselves. It was set to "cheese cutter".

inside the box ha ha

I deal with a small Mom and Pop music store, when I went to buy my Les Paul Custom, I asked if I needed to get a set-up....he replied (with an attitude) ALL our guitars are set up and ready to go......It was NOT, Now, granted it was an Epiphone LP custom so it was 1100, for 1100 I want the best LP in the store, NOT the one I got. fck guitar center, sweetwater, I'll stick to the Mom and Pop...just wanted more for my money, 1100 bucks is a lot of money, for me.

Let me guess Long n Mcquade?🤣

Was it new from that store, or did the customer take it in there for a setup? It is a shame if the store gooched the finish. If the owner did it, then I guess he learned a lesson.

i have a hard time believing someone would accept that guitar with that buggered up finish straight from the store... i know i wouldn't

your independant music stores tend to have decent techs in my experience but big box places are usually pretty awful

That Les Paul tailpiece looks like it was top wrapped at one point, at least I would try that before raising it. If it’s good enough for a ‘55, it’ll work on a ‘57 style.

Yeah I took delivery of my brand new Gibson from Sweetwater where they supposedly do a 55 Point Inspection that they tout about so much and it played like ass, and don't get me started on the so called plek job Gibson says they do. Probably be the last guitar I buy from Sweetwater and last Gibson as well. Which is a shame because it is my first Gibson and the whole experience just turned into a giant turd all around. sigh...should've went with the Yamaha but hey we live and learn right.

4:30 LOL

👍👍😎✌️🤟

Well, that's not a stock Les Paul. They don't come with Seymour Duncan pickups, and I have a 2020 Les Paul standard and it does not have the allen wrench holes on the bridge posts, but I have no problem adjusting it with my fingers. No pliers needed so yeah some dumbass dinged up the finish. Great job Dave.

Like deployed 👍

This is doubly bad. Gibson's are plek'd from the factory. That the store further gooched it is a testament to the pride in workmanship in today's big box stores.