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This is for all those interested in setting up their own guitars..
will add videos worthy as i find them. but to start a video with quick insight curtsy of Norio

lesson 1
How to do your level and crown your frets,

Now that we have the frets out the way.. lets start setting up the neck..
for bolt on necks AKA Fenders etc.. we need to set the neck angle to lower or raise the action.

Neck Angle...
Many guitars with bolt on necks have no neck angle. This means that when the neck relief is set to zero, the fretboard surface is parallel to the body. Some guitars have some degree of neck angle, usually 2-6 degrees. Why? The first reason is simply age. Guitars are usually made of different types of wood that were cut and dried at different times. As things age, things move. What was once a perfectly set up instrument may have changed with time. No matter the quality of the original build. Because of the amount of neck relief needed to allow the strings to move freely with no buzz (if this is your preferred setup) and the height of some bridges,

https://dylantalkstone.com/blogs/dylan-mckerchie/neck-angle-are-shims-bad-etc

  • V8 replied to this.

    Tuckstir About shims....nut and saddle height (s) are the first stop for adjusting action.

    For minor neck angle adjustments, let's say you want to get the string parallel to the fretboard (shreddy smurf setup) many use a piece of paper/sandpaper/credit card - this kinda works...but paper will compress over time and harder materials might emboss themselves on softer woods (basswood bodies). I've used wood veneers which seem to be okay.

    But if I have the patience and time, I'll make up a full pocket shim from some wood veneers. Especially useful if you've maxed out adjustment of nut & saddles for action and you really need to bring the neck up to the strings (E.g. the wood has compressed over time).

    I've posted this link before but it's worth another read for the details. : https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19686-guitar-shop-101-how-to-shim-a-bolt-on-neck

      V8

      agreed for best results do it right ,,
      but for a quick setup and to get the amount of shim needed stiff cardboard works fine i.e like a business card

      for those that like moving pic's a more comprehensive video of what @V8 posted

        Something i should of mentioned, if you are battling to get your string height down..
        look at shimming your neck,

          Have you covered relief (adjusting the truss rod) yet? It's something I do before string height/shim.

          I've a kinda 'method', it's iterative but I'd check relief before anything else. On 2ndhand guitars It's usually a good place to start. This week I had to walk away from two instruments because - from checking the relief - I knew to check the truss rod, which was seized in both of them ?

          Setting relief correctly. get you into the ballpark of then deciding what adjustments for getting your preferred action (nut/saddle/shim) are necessary. It's iterative, I will go back and re-check the relief is where it should be once I've played around with the action.

          V8
          It was kinda loosely covered in the Fret setup video,
          but you are right, it should of been covered as a separate topic..

              shew. so much info in one brilliant post. thanks to each and every of y'all.
              dh|

              Tuckstir As per Sage advise from V8

              Errrr.......thanks. Let's just say I've paid some school fee's by making some horrendous mistakes. ? I do not -under any circumstance- consider my thoughts to be comparable to a beginner luthier's knowledge.

              Here's two stoopid's I did
              1. Bought a Partscaster that was soo bad I had to junk it for parts. After spending at least 20 hours trying to rescue it, including making at least three full pocket shims. Turns out the 'luthier' (was 'built' at a local guitar store) routed the neck pocket far too deep. I learnt a lot about neck angles, and full neck shim's on this one.
              2. Bought a BC RIch Warlock bass that was more dog than instrument. I knew how bad it was when I bought it! I had a guitar version and it was as bad - Alas, I forgot the body was literally chipboard and the 'wood' in the neck pocket was rather compacted. Got it to play, but it was as much a decoration as a instrument.

              While you (dear reader) might not ever pick up a screwdriver to work on your guitar it's really useful to have a understanding of the elements of a setup . When you buy a secondhand guitar, you'll have a better chance of spotting a dog or negotiate if there's some work to be done. And, when someone works on your guitar, you can provide useful feedback/info on your preferences.

                Now that your guitar setup and shreds like nothing you've ever played... but it just doesn't sound right.. no-matter how many times you tune it.. every time you strike a note, its off..

                Now my Gent's and Ladies, its time to set your intonation, this step should be done after all of the above, simple reason is, if change anything, i.e string height, you need to readjust your intonation.
                little tip, try to get the a tuner with a high accuracy / low number of increments for best results

                https://www.cyberfret.com/guitar-maintenance/guitar-intonation-setup/

                Okay, now I am going to sound pedantic. (noone is surprised :p)

                Intonation should be done with instrument in playing position. Lying flat (as per video), will give you a slight difference to when the guitar is in playing position. Gravity is a thing. As is the drag from the pickup magnets if they are too close to the strings.

                It's not a huge difference, but some players are ridiculous about intonation. I had to pay particular attention this this, because the midi guitar I slapped together was super fussy about it. If the intonation was out, even slightly, the tracking suffered.

                edit : I forgot that I spent a LOT of time on the djenty bass (bead tuning) I used when we tracked the Alinea album last year. Glad I did, meant I didn't have to re-track when the engineer proclaimed both guitars to need to be setup (again) and re-track. I'll admit, I was a bit smug - a very minor win for the bassist ?

                Setting up neck dip (truss rod) and action should be done in "playing" position too, due to that gravity thing. Handy to get close on the bench, but fine-tune in your hands.

                Oh, yeah, it rains. It does not. It is hot, then it is winter. You may find your action all screwed up all the time. Action is fine, check truss rod.

                There is a set sequence to do this setup thing, to avoid going to-and-fro all the time, getting nowhere. Someone please list this and pin it on the main notice board for all to see. Hmm, separate discussion of nut height?

                So now our guitar plays like a dream.. the strings feel just right, it sounds awesome unplugged, but now we need to plug our beauty in and make sure that we get that red-lace pantie dropping sound.

                this is probably the most subjective part of your setup, and what sounds right to you might not be your buddies perfect setup.

                for the humbucker guys
                https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22114-mod-garage-humbucker-height-adjustment

                and adjusting pole pieces
                https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/fine-tuning-the-adjustment-of-passive-humbuckers

                and for the hockey playing ladies
                https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/How_to_Balance_Pickups_on_Strats_and_Teles

                some further considerations

                adjusting nut string height

                cleaning and conditioning your fret board

                  I hope this helps, what I can say is there is a ton of information out there, on all of the above topic, please do further reading/watching if even just to better guide the person who will be doing your guitar setup,
                  but sometimes even when you send it in for a complete setup..you end up having to do it yourself..
                  My own guitar I ended up butchering the nut to file it down enough to actually be able to play it, after sending it in, and specifying that as one of the problems.. thus starting my slow arduous delve into the world of guitar setup.

                  Disclaimer.. I Am by no means a expert on the above mentioned topics, and this guide is as much for me as it is for you.