This is How I Set Up my Les Paul - Neck relief, action and intonation.

In this video I show you guys how I set up my Gibson Les Paul Classic and you can actually apply this methods for setting up almost any Gibson electric guitar.

It is very important to do things in a particular order when setting up a guitar and we always start with adjusting the truss rod and the neck relief before we move on to setting up the string height/string action and intonation.

We will have a look at the measures and tools I use when I set up the neck relief and string action and I will show you the methods I use for adjusting the intonation.

I do then talk string tension at the end of the video and how the angle on string can affect the tension and show you some examples.

Hope you find the video helpful.

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00:00 My Les Paul and different string gauges
02:00 Do things in the right order
02:30 Neck relief
03:58 String action
05:17 Intonation
06:22 String tension

[JorgeErnestoAvila]

THE TENSION, omg, i never paid attention to it! Changes the world on a LP

[MJRegul]

Thank you. Because of that video now i have buzz free ~1.2mm on high E and ~1.6mm on low E on my Les Paul with spot on intonation. Never had it so low. 1.25/1.75 was my go to height since I have it.

[ppgwhereeverett]

Thank You !! For making this easier to deal with than an hour long video of a job that takes twenty minutes . Thumbs Up !!

[sfvefmt]

By far the simplest, most explanatory and helpful instructions on setting up. Thank you SO much for doing this video.

[haydenyoung]

Thanks for this helped me set up my Epiphone Standard pro. i have similar 11-49 strings on and removed the buzz on the low E.

[Bob]

Well done. Straightforward and thorough. Thank you for posting this.

[danserogermusic]

Thanks man, very helpful, I'm new to the setup aspects of our beloved guitars!

[ToniLovesSkateboarding]

The video I was looking for! short and to the point. I'm renovating a 1998 Korean Epiphone LP that my neighbor gave to me and Ive changed every single thing in it. Now its time for a setup and thats where my knowledge lacks. This video will help me a lot. Also, im trying 10s for the first time (tuned on D#) after playing 12s (tuned on D) for over 15 years and they feel too loose. im going to try out 11s and this setup.

[dudeomondo]

Fantastic!!!
Great no-nonsense video!

[Clive]

Great video, thank you. One observation, a Luthier taught me to NEVER support the neck when measuring neck relief and to measure with the Guitar in playing position, what are your thoughts on this?

[tfejulienewmar]

Cool settings, they're pretty much factory spec. I have .004 relief and.60/.40 action at the 12th and 17th fret (measured without a capo on the 1st fret) 10-46 strings. No buzz or dead notes.

[RBFR]

I recommend using a high end Peterson Strobe tuner for intonation as it's extremely accurate.

[AdamusPrime]

If you’re going to a higher string gauge, shouldn’t you adjust neck relief after restringing and bringing up to tension?

[AlJohnsGuitar]

Thank you sir. I got a new Epiphone and this will help definitely.

[slashtrio]

Man this is good info. I have a couple of USA standards that plays great. I just got a custom shop Murphy lab 59 that is a stunner, but I have found it is more difficult to play. I was unaware of adjusting the tail piece and thus the height and that could affect the string tension. I play mostly blues type lead and find that the custom shop just feels more stiff, so maybe that’s what’s going on. I’m almost scared to do it myself because it’s such an expensive guitar!

[brad_neal]

Did you change the bridge? Yours is backwards compared to mine. Intonation screws on mine are on the front of my bridge. I have a '60's reissue standard (2021) I noticed yours facing backwards. Nice vid though.

[vibonacci]

Aren't you supposed to fret down at 17th fret (and 1st fret ofc) when measuring the neck bow at the 8th fret?

[melonhusk-ktys]

Hi thank you for this vid.
i'm busy trying to set up my LP standard also with a 60's neck.
i skipped the truss rod adjustment and went ahead with setting up the string action
the guitar plays like I want BUT i'm getting a tiny bit of fret buzz
i'm thinking i might have to get the neck slots filed down
do you think it's the nut or the truss rod needs to be tightened??
thanks

Hm, don't you have quite a lot fret buzz with 1.8 mm and 1.4 mm height action? Especially if you hit harder when playing heavier music (if you do so, of course).

[tristangorin]

What if I’m setting up with new strings gauge and type (roundwounds to flatwounds)