Setting up a strat?

population

I have up until a couple of months ago only ever ownde hard tailed guitars. Bought a strat and it is my first experience with a trem system.

Had a ball playing surfy stuff and set up from the shop seemed nice. Good low action and very nice neck to play with.

Decided to change the strings last night and man oh man what did I do wrong Restrung it the way I would normally string my hard tail guitars but it seemed to pull the trem right up with the string tension. Now it is horrible to play, you can fit a bus under the strings and the neck feels rigid as hell. I know I can put a shim in to fix the trem solid but quite liked it the way it was and dont want to go down that road.

Where have I gone wrong???

(oh and its a 2008 highway 1 hss strat btw)

feylya

Turn the guitar over. See the plastic plate in the middle of the body? Remove that. You'll see a few springs and two screws going into the wood. If you loosen your strings, screw in those screws a couple turns and then retune to pitch, you'll notice the bridge doesn't stick into the air.

Johnny Storm

+1

Here's Fender's set up guide http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php

Sofaspud

Note: Feylya's suggestion isn't standard every time you string the guitar, only when you restring with thicker strings.

NoQuarter

population wrote: »

Where have I gone wrong???

You put heavier strings on!

Throwing an extra spring on in the back compartment will help too.

population

Alright cheers I will give that a go.

FTR strings are the same guage as what was previously there.

10'S FOR 10''S Only diff is traded fender bullets for ernies

68 lost souls

Im guessing they were actually 9s on it origionally as that is what they come with as standard.

-=al=-

yes 9's

you need to ad some mroe tension in the trem cavity at the back, or even move the strings into an arrow shape / | \ instead of the normal | | |


its easy and simple to setup once you get your head around whats going on

population

Interesting stuff

Do you reckon 9's are the way to go with strats???

Always found em a bit flimsy y'know.........

Johnny Storm

String gauge is completely a matter of personal preference.
The majority of people would probably go with 9s or 10s though.
I like 9-46 which is the plain strings from a 9 set and the wound strings from a 10.

NoQuarter

population wrote: »

Interesting stuff

Do you reckon 9's are the way to go with strats???

Always found em a bit flimsy y'know.........

Nah ive 10's on mine, on all my guitars actually!

Id even try 11's before i went back to 9's!

Quattroste

9's are for gays

spoonbadger

Quattroste wrote: »

9's are for gays

Damn right!!.

Us real men use 11s!!. And we play standing in the rain, with no clothes on, while our fingers bleed .

I used to use 9s, then 10s, and now 11s. I tried to go back to 10s last week, it felt like i was playing elastic bands with a mallet :eek:.

NoQuarter

Quattroste wrote: »

9's are for gays

spoonbadger wrote: »

Damn right!!.

Us real men use 11s!!

Damn i must be bisexual so..... stuck right in the middle there!


Of all the places to discover it, it happens on an instruments forum!!?

68 lost souls

I play 9s on my Ibanez and strat, 10s on my SG. Thinking of going up to 13s or something on my Strat though to try and get a bit more sirfy kinda sound.

-=al=-

9's for me, only use 10's on my les paul

Welease

Quattroste wrote: »

9's are for gays

I use 8's I'm worried....................

spoonbadger

king-stew wrote: »

Damn i must be bisexual so..... stuck right in the middle there!


Of all the places to discover it, it happens on an instruments forum!!?

I'd understand if it was in a thread involving the wangcaster

Welease wrote: »

I use 8's I'm worried....................

*Cough*

How do you feel about the colour pink? :).

population

Just to give ya'll an update.

Did the screw thing Feyla mentioned and all is peachy again, even with my beloved 10's:D

However if I were ever to decide to put on 9's (unlikely but..) would I just reverse the above process? Or would it be ok to leave as is???

-=al=-

no you'll need to re adjust, the tensions changed again... its a simple system once u grasp it, tis all good


i just setup my ibanez sa yesterday, absolutly everything, truss rod, trem height and position, the saddles are action and saddles are perfect for each string, intonation, pickup height, the works, plays amazingly now, needs a pup update though

Johnny Storm

population wrote: »

Just to give ya'll an update.

Did the screw thing Feyla mentioned and all is peachy again, even with my beloved 10's:D

However if I were ever to decide to put on 9's (unlikely but..) would I just reverse the above process? Or would it be ok to leave as is???

The key thing to keep in mind with a strat trem is that the tension on the sTrings must balance the tension on the sPrings if you want it to float. So anytime you put on strings that have a different tension you will need to twiddle with the springs.

Sometimes even a different brand of the same gauge of strings will have a different tension

ride the spiral

damn right my fellow man!
11s till i die!
9s scum wha?!

theres a guy i know that used to use 12s and 13s on his expensive real strat and he tuned... wait for it... UP!.. *holds gut and gowns*

he ended up breaking the nut on one of his guitars and bent the neck of the strat.

also this guy is a general idiot and does not deserve a real strat...