Complete Guitar Setup & Fretwork Masterclass: High E Choking Out on Bends? Watch This!

"Why does my high E string choke out when I bend it? Why does my guitar buzz when I play? What's the process for setting up a guitar? Is there an easy way to do setups and fretwork that works every time? How do I set the intonation on a guitar? How do I check whether a guitar's electronics are working or not?" If you've asked these questions and never gotten any satisfying answers, this video is for you. This is the culmination of over 20 years of obsessively working on guitars and having one of my main life goals being getting stringed instruments to play as well as they possibly can, and to understand exactly why they either play poorly, or play at a world class, platinum-god-tier level. I cover everything here from soup to nuts. Buckle up, and enjoy the ride. ____________________________________________________________________________ UPDATE: 3-8-2026: Measuring the fret heights of the 1st, 7th, 16th and 17th frets can be helpful when using the digital neck relief gauge, as the legs go on the 1st, 16th and 17th frets (3rd, 8th, and 15th on a bass), and major height discrepancies (say, .002" or more) might throw your measurements off. Cross-referencing with the 'tap test' (demonstrated at 3:59) is recommended. That being said, you should still be OK leveling the frets even if the fret tops aren't perfectly straight. Get them as close as possible and keep in mind the leveling beam will level them to wherever the neck adjustment is set. STEWMAC FRETBAR: Viable option. Used this today (18" and 8" for full length and then fallaway leveling) with great results. Maybe I didn't give this tool enough credit. I still prefer the RM Lite but the Fretbar is a solid option and I actually quite like the heavy weight of the tool, which ensures even contact with the fret surfaces. Neck Relief Measurement Methods:    • Neck Relief Measurement Methods // Digital...   0:00 Introduction 2:52 Neck Straightening to .000" Relief 8:39 Setting the Capoed 12th Fret Action 11:29 Setting the 1st Fret Action 17:46 Open 12th Fret Action & Setup Philosophy 20:15 Understring Fret Leveling 40:44 Why Does the High E String Choke Out on Bends? 46:25 The Partial Compound Radius 52:59 Fallaway 55:08 If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It 1:04:02 Recrowning the Frets 1:09:56 Beveling the Fret Ends 1:12:02 Dressing or Burnishing the Fret Ends 1:16:00 - Steve's Fret Beveling and Dressing Technique 1:24:29 Polishing the Frets, Retuning, Double Checking the Setup 1:30:34 String Bending Test (.76mm / .030", GBE, Standard Pitch) 1:35:05 String Bending Test (1mm / .040", GBE, Tuned to D Standard) 1:39:42 Final Setup Specs, Setup and Under String Fretwork Commentary 1:44:29 Carving Relief into the Frets (Low E String Buzzing Remedy) 1:52:31 Setting the Intonation & 316 Stainless Superiority 2:01:17 Wiring Diagnostics 2:06:09 Setup Complications (Commentary) 2:13:25 Polishing the Body and Talking Shop 2:19:22 Ending Notes 2:21:34 Outro Demo / Solo Jams