Pro Guitar Tech's Most Hated Things (and how to fix them)

When it comes to setting up your guitar, theres many different methods and practices. In today's video, my friend Ben Calhoun at Big House Guitars in Atlanta Ga, shows us some of his biggest pet peeves when setting up and maintaining your acoustic guitar. Some of these things I've even done and showed on this channel in the past!

Check out some of Ben's favorite products here:

6 String Guitar Setup Kit (affiliate link)

Truss Rod Guages (affiliate link)

String Action Guage (affiliate link)

Fretboard Care Kit WITH Fret Protectors (affiliate link)

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[feartheocean]

This guy just dropped more knowledge in 15 easy to understand minutes than every asshole guitarist I've encountered in 27 years that's got off on making guitar maintainence seem like a dark art. Zero gatekeeping, transparent explanations, no hard sell on anything other than knowledge: absolutely buying this guy a drink if I'm ever in Georgia! Thank you all for the video!

[rosswheatley]

Been playing guitar for over 20 years, building guitars for around 10, and the "just pull it back one fret" trick just changed my life.

[HerbertLemons]

Been playing guitar for 44 years. Like most everybody here, this little 15 minute video has succinctly shown me where I've been making an arse of myself all this time.

[donwold]

I have learned more here in ten minutes than I have during the last 40 years of playing, stringing, and fooling around with guitars. Thank you!

[johndinsdale]

Man, why can't all setup vids be like this? Straight to the point, plain English, nothing superfluous. Bravo. Keeping this.

[chuckstroud]

This guy = no BS and doesn't over complicate things. Awesome.

[ytmndan]

I love that pull it back one fret trick. It's so simple, effective, and consistent. I wish I knew that 25 years ago.

[billwentz]

I've been playing acoustic guitar since 1964. This is the best information on set up I've even seen. I feel like I want to change all my strings now. Amazing information. Thank you!

[Inumakitoge]

Fretter and inlayer for a professional acoustic guitar company here! Looking down the neck helps great to see if your frets are all in line and level. When light catches a high fret it will shine before the rest of the frets as you bring the guitar up and down with your hand. That’s what it should be used for, not so much using it to spot the neck itself!

[jdmorgan]

WoW!! I'm 67, been playing since I was 13. I sure wish I'd learned from a master like this decades ago.
Thanks so much, both of you.
I will pass this on to my son.

[MrBikboi]

Love hearing from Ben, he should have his own channel. If I lived in the area I would absolutely immediately switch to him for all my guitar work.

[larrykaplan]

Hands down, this is the best, most informative, and clearest summary/demonstration of basic acoustic guitar maintenance I have ever seen. Wish I was closer to Atlanta—thanks guys, for this video.

[odelljl]

This is gold ... please feature Ben as often as he is willing!

[RemiCardona]

Having seen Ben in many videos over the years, he seems like a really cool and knowledgeable guy. Always glad to see him here.

[MarkPeotter]

The new trick here, for me, was "wiggle" the neck by its' head after turning the truss rod. Very cool. I've been setting up my own guitars for 15 years, but it was great to see that I do things the same way as this expert.

[RollinKelleher]

I could listen to him talk about guitars all day. He has that same easygoing demeanor that all of our favorite teachers had back in school, all the while dropping truth bombs.

[muzikjay]

Wow. One of the most helpful guitar videos I’ve ever seen! I learn so much every time Ben is featured on here.

[GuitaristOnWheels]

I’ve always struggled to get the right amount of wraps for a string and the 1 fret trick is the best thing I’ve seen!

[migyverman]

I put the first wrap over the string end and the rest under. Don't trim the end until you have a few windings on it. Good tips in this video.

[adamfeder]

What a game-changing video. I've been terrified to do anything to my acoustic guitar and BOOM you and Ben just simplified things so much. I like to do some of the work on my electric guitars but never felt comfortable on the acoustic for some reason. You also made my day with a couple of things you showed that I have been doing correctly (I guess I watched the right videos... HAH HAH) on my electric guitars like how I have measured the relief and also with my rosewood fretboards NOT saturating them with a ton of oil and leaving it on there but instead wiping it off right away. One funny thing was when Ben said not to sight along the neck I really enjoyed the way you handled being shown something different than what you've done in the past. I have always respected you greatly, Rhett, and you increased my respect for you by showing a willingness to learn. Good on you, sir!!! And now I have to make a trip down to Big House Guitars since I live in the suburbs of Atlanta.