Making An $85 Guitar Play Like A $1000 Guitar

In this video, we'll be taking an $85 Squier Affinity Stratocaster we got off Craigslist and setting it up to play like a $1000 Fender American Stratocaster. All the things we do in the video are things you can do at home with a few tools.

Sometimes, a used guitar can have some issues that'll make it feel a lot worse than it is. In this guitar lesson, Nate Savage and Andrew Clarke will cover the things to look out for when buying a used guitar, and also some important tips for making your used guitar sound and play amazing!

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[MusoraMedia]

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[pomegranitejason]

Nothing new here, I can make any $1000 guitar sound like a $85 one.

[Mattjki]

Best Tip: remember FFF for intonation, if Fretted note is Flat, move saddle Forward!

[captainamericanflag]

Making an $85 guitar sound like a $1000 guitar: plug into a really nice amp.

[donaldsmith]

I enjoy talking guitars all the time. At 75 yrs of age, I have learned over the decades that the amp and the guitar player
are as important as the guitar itself.

[MrSaturnMusic]

"I'm going to play the same riff on both guitars"

-proceeds to play fancier on the more expensive guitar-

[mattschutt]

I bought a used Starcaster years ago, did everything you mentioned here with the addition of swapping out the wiring for lower gauge (thicker) wire. It had a loud buzz if stood within 6-8 feet of the amp, but increasing the thickness of the wiring eliminated it completely!

[chaseb]

It’s 2020 and I’m feeling nostalgic watching this dude just walk up in a stranger’s house without a face mask

[EOHRyan]

Should be called "Putting new strings and doing a basic setup on an $85 guitar"

[rinzxc]

0:46 "so i worked at a G--, one of the largest.."

[inkey]

Setting Intonation: "Always" set intonation with the guitar in the playing position. Hold it like you are playing it . Many guitars, especially bass guitars are "position sensitive". So if you set the intonation with the guitar flat on a table the intonation may read quite different in the playing position. Also....the most overlooked adjustment on setting up a fender style "screw on neck" is before you do anything else to the guitar you have to check those 4 neck screws. Even right from the factory they are usually loose. Tighten them. All the other set-up steps are useless if the neck screws are loose. I've been a Guitar Repairman in the Boston area (since 1974)

[JamesJeude]

Cheap guitars so much better than they were decades ago. I am almost reluctant to admit that a $90 Squire P-Bass I bought to travel with sounds almost as good and plays as well as my Rick 4001. The quality of fretwork and finishing is leaps ahead of a cheap guitar I bought 20 years ago for similar reasons, where the neck was not capable of proper adjustment and the frets were sharp on the sides. I also got a $99 Fender acoustic guitar on a trip (for something in the hotel room) and was stunned to find the intonation and string height was exactly what I wanted with no adjustment - also, traditionally, a weak spot of cheap guitars. So computer-aided manufacturing is showing its benefits in consistent quality, I guess.

[cameronfielder]

The taking a buddy or two on a craigslist run is good advice... I always take my bros, smith and Weston...

[eyeout]

I’ll save you some time. They just clean it and change the strings. A basic setup.

Didn’t change a thing.

[emanu]

Just adjusted the intonation of my cheap guitar. It was HORRIBLE! Almost 1 full note off. Now it sounds so much better

[killinfilms]

why buy a nice guitar? JuSt TiGHteN tHe sCrEwS

[lunarpollen]

One thing that everyone seems to forget is to check the action at the nut... On many if not most cheap instruments, the string slots are not cut deep enough. Sometimes this can be corrected by removing the nut and sanding the bottom to remove some overall height (if the radius between all the slots is correct), sometimes it will require the deepening of one or more slots (if the radius isn't ideal). I usually take it to a local guitar shop to have it done properly; any good tech will easily be able to do this properly. This step probably has contributed most to improving playability on almost every cheap instrument I've ever owned. Of course it should be followed by a proper set-up.

[HansZarkovPhD]

I wish I could play an $85 guitar. I have a $2000 guitar and it sounds just as bad when I play it.

[Thomas-jxk]

One tip: I use scotch brite on my frets to prevent the steel filings from the steel wool getting on the pickups. I saw you taped them off to avoid this, but each way works.
I'd also mention fingerboard height at the body joint. Not a common adjustment, but its another way to get the action dialed in. Pretty good video I must say; supports my argument that setup is everything!

[malksc]

Please note that raising a bridge saddle while the string is tuned up can (won't always, but can) give enough resistance to strip the Allen screw. If you're fighting them or the wrench is getting stuck, you probably should slack off a string before you attempt to raise its saddle.

Also, feeler gauges are pretty cheap and eliminate a lot of guesswork. You can do without, but it will go faster and you'll be more confident about your setup being ideal if you have them. _Don't_ get a cheap business card sized printed gauge from some random source. If the printing is a bit askew (and it often is) then the gauge will be worse than useless because it will lead you in entirely the wrong direction. Cheap feeler gauges just rust and have to be replaced, which isn't going to induce bad setups.

If you're being super cheap, picks can be used as feeler gauges, but you should confirm their thickness with calipers ($10 at Harbor Freight) rather than assuming they are exactly as marked, if they are marked at all.

When doing the first/last fret check for neck relief (I actually use the 16th fret which marks the beginning of the neck pocket rather than the 20th or 21st fret), a feeler gauge is much better than guessing. At .010" of relief on my kit build, I get fret buzzes, particularly on the low E string. At .012", I don't. Those are rather difficult to tell apart without a gauge. If you don't have a capo handy and are wondering how one person can hold both ends of the string _and_ work a feeler gauge, (1) put the guitar safely on the floor (use a rug or blanket if you think you should), and (2) take off one of your shoes and use your big toe to hold the string at the first fret. You don't need a whole lot of dexterity, just a third hand. Of course you can ask someone to help you, but what's the fun in that? ;)