I need help ASAP!

texasguitarslinger · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:05 pm

With the King of the Blues finals in less than two days, my (Squier) guitar has decided to act up. The 21st fret keeps grabbing the high e string and takes it off the fret board. It's really annoying because I have to stop playing to fix it, and it could screw me up bad if it does that in the finals. I can't bring it in to my tech because there's no time. I could use my other (Fender) Strat, but the Texas Specials sound so much better than the stock MIMs, and to be honest I enjoy the confused looks people give me when they see the purple Squier. :lol:

I took some pictures so that y'all can see what I'm talking about.
http://s984.photobucket.com/albums/ae32 ... linger777/

I need to fix this myself, but I don't know what to do.

nikininja · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:17 pm

Alrite Tex, i could do with a picture or two of higher up the neck but i'll offer some advice.

It looks to me like you've had a bit of fret raise. A fret has come up from the fretboard and the gap between the board and the end of the fret is catching your string. Now this may not neccissarily be happening where you think it is. You need to play the guitar as absolutely normal as can be. When this happens stop, immediately. Look along that side of the neck, identify which fret is causing the string to get caught. GET THE STRINGS OFF THE NECK (important). Tap the suspected fret back into place with a rubber mallet (i use a rubber handled screwdriver) LIGHTLY. Then repeat until your satisfied its not happening on that fret or others further up or down the board.

Take a spare to the gig too. Forget how everyone online quibbles about tone. Most of it your audience wont hear anyway. Gear always sounds different in different rooms and responds differently to different volumes.

All the best.

rkreisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:28 pm

Well, that is a doosey. I agree with Nik on this one. Find the culpret fret and bang it back in place with a rubber mallet. I also recommend to take along your Fender Stratocaster as a back-up, just in case.

Are you any good at modifications? Could you quickly put the Texas Specials in the Fender prior to the competition? If not, your hands are the key to your playing. Play the best you can. Good luck in the competition.

RK

texasguitarslinger · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:34 pm

Well, I didn't really want to do this but tomorrow we're going to take it into the shop and my tech's going to look at it. I checked for gaps, but I'm pretty sure it's happening because the fret is extended past the fretboard. The 20th fret is also. And I'm definately going to bring my Fender as a backup anyway. It feels kind of weird bringing a backup guitar to guitar center. It's not like they don't have 200 already there. :lol:

But I wouldn't want to play a guitar off the wall.

My tech is going to teach me how to swap pickups when he gets the chance, but right now I can't. Plus I just changed the strings on both of the Strats.

nikininja · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:44 pm

It is your absolute GOD given right to provide your own gear. Forget any customshop or whatever pickup'd model they may offer you. You need the comfort of your own guitar that you know above anything else.

What would EC or SRV do if you were their paid employee (like your tech is to you) and you said 'oh play this thing you've never handled before'.

Not on is it. I'm pretty certain its not side sprout and is a raise, but i reserve the right to be wrong :wink:

.

Go sort em out and show em whats what Tex, you know you wanna.

texasguitarslinger · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:02 pm

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I like my Squier so much. I play it more than any other guitar, and it always feels like coming home when I play it. So what if it's a Squier. And my Fender is that way too. I've played the new and improved MIM Standards, but for some reason I just like mine better.

I double checked the problem area and discovered two things.

1. I'm not sure whether the 21st fret is the problem anymore. It feels a little sharp but it's not really sticking out visibly, nor do I see a gap. There are other frets that feel a little sharp too, but they aren't causing any problems.

2. The 20th fret feels worse and it's sticking out even less than the 21st fret. If there's a gap, it's probably there. Maybe it's a combination of the 21st fret and the 20th fret.

I'm glad I took the time to re-examine it, and I'm glad we're going to show it to my tech tomorrow since it's a little more complicated than I thought.

cherokee747 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:14 pm

Goodluck Texas.

Mike

Solid Body Love Songs · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:14 pm

break a leg texas!

Ceallach · **Joined:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:13 pm **Posts:** 1633

How can a girl be KING of the blues? Mind=blown.

Shredd6 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:17 pm

I can't see the pics. All I get is a site maintenence message.

But I have owned my share of Squiers (still do, and use them a lot). The one I had where this was an issue is when someone had installed graph-tech saddles on the Squier. The specs for the graph-techs aren't made for Squiers, but for Fenders which are a wider spacing than a Squier in the bridge. If you have a proper Squier spacing in the bridge with the saddles, you should have about 1/8" of space from the side of the neck to the 1st string, same with the 6th. If you don't have that it could be that you have saddles that are too big in the bridge.

Also it could be that the frets are a little too beveled, and that's what's causing the string to go over the side to begin with. I haven't ever really had this problem with any of my Squiers, but it is possible.

With 1/8" spacing on either side of your neck to the string, if you still run the string off the side, then it's a technique issue within your playing. That should be enough.

Just remember that Squier spacing at the bridge is smaller than a regular Fender spacing. Check that spacing to make sure that you have genuine Squier saddles in the bridge.

straycat113 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:13 am

Tex I am glad you are bringing your guitar to your tech. As Niki and the other guys have stated you do not have a major problem with your ax and you should leave your techs place 100% confident that your ax will perform up to its specs. Stop putting so much emphasis on the make of your guitar. I have one of my best friends who is a fantastic player his name is Sane and I have never seen him with a big brand name ax as long as I know him and thats 20 plus years. In fact he was the first guy I ever saw with an Agile and that was 5 years ago. I have seen him play on bills in NY where there would be three acts and he would be the top player and backstage the other players would want to know what he was using because he dazzled with his ability and not because he had some high end guitar. Sure a better guitar helps for certain reasons but it all boils down to your hands. And always make it look like you are having fun and play to the crowd. They will get behind you as a little showmanship can go a long ways . GOOD LUCK AND WE ARE ALL BEHIND YOU.

texasguitarslinger · **Posted:** Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:11 pm

Thanks.

I'm going to have fun, and I'm going to be happy for whoever wins.

Well, I took it to my tech this morning when the store wasn't busy and he dressed the frets and now everything is fine. It went a lot quicker than I thought it would, but I didn't have the proper tools (or experience) to do it myself.

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