BexGears $99 Guitar Kit Setup: The Honest Truth About Budget Hardware

Welcome back to Ted Talks Guitars and Life! Today, we are taking the BexGears Guitar Kit to the workbench for a deep-dive setup. We’ve already assembled the stock parts, and now it’s time to see if this budget-friendly DIY kit can hold its own or if it’s just for show. In this video, I walk you through the TRAIN protocol—a step-by-step guide to making any guitar play its best: T - Tune: Getting the strings to pitch (hint: the stock strings had to go!). R - Relief: Using the 4mm truss rod to get that neck straight. A - Action: Setting the string height for maximum playability. I - Intonation: The moment of truth where we find a major hardware flaw. N - Nut: Cleaning up the plastic nut slots for better "fretting feel." The Honest Truth: While the neck feels fantastic and the aesthetic is "smoking hot," we hit a massive hurdle with the bridge saddles. If you are a new builder, you need to see why this kit is a challenge to get perfectly in tune. Stick around for the tone samples at the end to hear the stock microphonic pickups in action, and hear my plans for the "Make It My Own" upgrade phase—including Artech big pole pickups and a bridge swap! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro: Snacks and Guitars 2:05 - Why I tossed the stock strings 4:11 - Installing Fender Road Worn string trees 5:12 - The TRAIN Setup Method explained 6:38 - Adjusting Neck Relief & Truss Rod tips 10:02 - String Action: The US Quarter trick 14:28 - The Big Issue: Why I can’t intonate this bridge 21:20 - Filing the plastic nut & adding "lubage" 24:40 - Setting Pickup Height for better tone 27:32 - BexGears Stock Tone Samples 31:31 - Final Review: Is a $99 kit worth the learning curve? Products Mentioned: *Amazon Affiliate Links when applicable BexGears DIY Electric Guitar Kit https://amzn.to/4svDKja MusicNomad Precision Truss Rod Relief Gauge https://amzn.to/3N3wBpY MusicNomad Precision Nut Height Gauge https://amzn.to/45FfL75 Solo Music Pickup Height Gauge https://www.solomusicgear.com/product/pickup-clearance-height-gauge/ Big Bends Nut Sauce https://amzn.to/4smj9O9 Artec Big Pole Pickups (Upcoming upgrade!) https://amzn.to/4jnWZH0 Have you built a BexGears kit? Did you run into the same saddle issues, or did you find a way to hack the hardware? Let’s talk about it in the comments! ____ Shoutouts: @CDNelson87 (CD) @birdman316 (Bird) @2Yards (Yard) @ForTheLoveOfGuitars (Keith) Checkout our playlist page for more series and journeys https://www.youtube.com/@TedTalksGuitars/playlists Special Thanks to our channel members "The Jacks" Want to support the channel? Feel free to explore Channel membership options: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBr6kaWeOvldTHvntB3tnMg/join Ted Talks Guitars & Life Merch Store: https://tedtalksguitars-shop.fourthwall.com/ Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3W3PZox *If you click on this link to shop at Amazon the channel will receive a modest financial commission from your purchases. Guyker Referral Link: https://www.guyker.com/?ref=tedtalksguitars If you use the link you will save 15% at Guyker Use the coupon code: TEDSMITH #BexGears #GuitarKit #DIYGuitar #GuitarSetup #LuthierTips #Telecaster #BudgetGuitar #GuitarReview #TedTalksGuitars #GuitarRepair