bought a seymour and custom pickgaurd for the strat. with the help of all of you, i installed everything myself. IT WORKS! howevah, now that i'm a certified guitar tech-expert, i adjusted string height a bit lower. now my intonation is a little bit out. i know how to adjust it, BUT, my tuner and amp is 30 miles away where we practice. i won't rest until i have it sounding right, like it was before i started tweaking on it. i guess i should stop whining. i wanted to hear it through the tube amp anyway.
anyone else out there go overboard with set-ups? i wish i would have left it alone.
happy easter everyone

Been there done that... Here's some good advice my luthier gave me once. (after fixing my overadjustments)

The best setup you can get is the one that another qualified tech or luthier does for you; regardless of your understanding and ability to do it yourself. Simply because all us do it yourselfers are constantly tweaking our setup until we forget where it was originally when it actually played better.

I in turn can set up a friend's guitar and he thinks I'm the cat's meow because I found the sweet spot that he couldn't...The reality is I just followed the basic guidelines that the manufacturer recommends + or - the friend's preferences.

It is good to know how to do it yourself but the trick is not to over do it or experiment too much.

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

Happy Easter to you too!

Nah, you didn't go overboard. Rather, you've now learned that you FIRST need the proper tools in hand for the proper job at hand. Not to worry! For the moment, use your ear for intonating until you get your tuner back. There's nothing that you've done or will do that can't be undone or further tweaked to perfection once you get your tuner in hand.

FWIW: You may want to consider picking up a second tuner so this problem cannot repeat itself.

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You dig?

jeebus, If you like the action height you have now, I'll bet you can adjust the intonation by ear to a level that will get you by until you are reunited with your tuner. You can even get it done w/o a tuning fork by getting A-440 off the web.

Just listen to the harmonic of the string at the 12th fret. Then compare that note to the fretted note at the same fret. If the fretted note is flat, the string is too long, etc, etc.

You may be surprized how well you have done when you get a chance to confirm with your tuner.

Do it by ear. Play the harmoinc at the 12th fret, check it to the 12th fret note. I reckon its way more accurate to refrence the guitar to itself this way than any tuner. After all you listen to a guitar, you dont play it and watch a needle move do you.

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No no and no

did you think of trying Fenders new online tuner?

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People say I'm a nice guy, I can't figure why

as always, great advice. i'll try it by ear and if that don't work, i'll wait a couple weeks for the tuner. did i mention i have -10 on the patience scale? thing is, i have 4 other guitars. this is my only strat. it was a gift from my cousin. i did alot of simple mods to it. until it's back where it was, i feel like i'm offending my bro for some reason. jeez, i just worry and think too much. time to get to work.

My tech knows my guitars better than I do.lol The great thing is I just have to bring it in and not say a word. I found out that I really hate electric tuners as they have made my ear lazy and for the last 20 years I have come so dependent on them that I dont even trust myself tuning my guitar without one which is weird. But I really think I am going to go back to basics and just use it to check the tuning instead of it being a crutch I rely on.

Isn't it something how electronic tuners have in certain ways retarded us just like pocket calculators?

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You dig?

I thought one of the first things they would teach you in guitar tech class/school is always take your tools with you...or make a travel tool kit for quick or emergency adjustments/setups/repairs...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

I always prefer to do any and all work at my facility as 99.99% of any and all tools, parts, etc. that I could possibly ever need would be right there at my disposal. As to an emergency travel kit, of course I have one but this is just for basic 'gas and go' type situations. Any projects so to speak, I won't do in the field as it were. In the words of one of my former teachers, "It is better to do one thing good than ten things half-assed."

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You dig?

my attempt at humor and sarcasm failed me once more. i am not an expert at anything. i rebuilt an old gibson explorer with help from you folks. i did the the same with the strat and knocked the intonation out ever so slightly. once i get the tuner back, i'll nail it. i'm a complete beginner at simple mods. i just wish i hadn't messed with the action. it was fine before i started tweaking on it. just couldn't leave it alone. it's really not that bad and i've been playing it anyway. i simply love this strat.
cheers