Hello, elders,

I'm new and just don't know yet...

1)On a brand new Strat, for blues playing 5-7 days a week for no less than 20 min/day and up to 3 hours, how long until I need to replace my Fat Strat strings?
2)There's a tremolo "arm" that came with my HSS Fat-Strat. There's also a threaded hole in my guitar's face where it should go. I heard that using the tremolo knocks my tuning out of whack. Since I'm just learning anyway and don't need it, can I just leave it off? Do I need to plug the hole?
3)I know that learning guitar is a journey and to "enjoy the ride" but with diligent practice (5-7 days a week for no less than 20 min a day) how long can I expect to wait to be able to rip a few blues tunes at home? I'm not interested in playing in a band or anything. I just want to sit out back with a cold one and do a lil' sumpn!

Thanks for all your input. Much appreciated and it's great to be here!

Hi maverickcop,

Only one question is easy, you can leave your arm out, no problem. You should plug the hole only if you have the small spring in the hole for arm positioning, so as not to lose the spring. If there is no spring in the hole, plugging it would keep the dust out, but otherwise unnecessary.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Hi maverickcop,
shimmilou hit it on the head.
No need to use tremelo if you don't wish too and no need to plug the hole really, just don't put the arm in at all.
As far as strings go ...that depends on how gnarly or not you are on strings.Many factors come into play such as ....
1.how hard you play them
2.are your fingers dirty when you play
3.do you sweat alot when you play
4. Do you wipe the strings down when done playing...The list goes on and on.You can get the idea though,the more you play and abuse them the quicker and more often you need to change them.
Everybody plays differently and one might be able to play really well quickly where one might not for various reasons.I know if I was new to guitar and put in an hour everyday, I would expect to be playing some blues in a few weeks or so but like I said ,everyone is different and some learn faster than others
good luck.......and keep on pickin brother

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

............

Ive trained Brazilian Jiujitsu competitively for over three years and have recently stepped into an instructor role. I'm always sure to be "useful" to dedicated, excited new students. I do that because when I first started fighting, I was surrounded by smart-ass idiots who did nothing but get their rocks off showing me how good they were by beating a newby. Now, on the mat, tables have turned and I choose to be helpful and nice to new people.

Guitar is my new Jiu-Jitsu and I see that there are also "those people" here too.

But, shimmolou and scarleg, thank you.

Of the questions you asked, I think you got the answers you were looking for, but to add to the string subject...a set of strings usually lasts me 6 weeks to 2 months tops. I change my strings once I start noticing flat spots on the bottom of the string where it comes into contact with the frets, that seems to be a good rule of thumb for me.

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Check out my new FB music page!

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

I love new strings. I change mine when that new feeling goes away.

.......

stroker vance,

Maybe you weren't as funny as you thought, why not leave it at that? Did you win the "tootles" award, or what?

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

i live near the coast and i play mabe 3 times a week, i can get a max of 2 months out of a set of strings (when they rusted and worn heavily) i play blues and am a heavy player so my strings die pretty fast... ive noticed that some so called string cleaners cause more rust than if you just leave the strings alone... i always replace strings before a gig so normaly my strings are always fairly new

peace out!

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blues - its a religion...

,,,,

Nope, not funny. You certainly were nominated for a "Tootle" at least. And, so far, you are in second place.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=58538

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

A lot of Strats come with a little spring inthe hole to help keep the vibrato arm snug.If the spring is still in there you can cover the hole with a small square of duct tape or just put duct tape over it to keep dust etc. from getting into the hole.

There is no tried and true timetable for string change,generally the brightness of new strings fades as time goes by and when the strings no longer have that new sounding brightness it's time to change them.Also strings that are worn go out of tune faster due to metal fatigue and also it's harder to get your intonation to be spot on.

Regarding practice times and learning,that varies greatly between people,some may take to it like a fish to water and put seemingly little time into it yet others may have to devote hours of practice time to achieve the same level of competence.The main thing is to devote as much time to it as your patience allows and don't keep at it while frustrated,just take a break from it and go back after a while.When I started out I literally played til my fingers bled sometimes over 8 hours a day.Generally an hour a day though is pretty good for starting off.Welcome to the Forum and lots of luck with your newfound hobby.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Welcome to the Forum maverickcop. Congratulations, a Stratocaster is an excellent guitar for blues. You like the feel of a guitar. Your practice schedule should get you playing if you aren't already. shimmilou and scarleg and TimDrakeMusic all gave good tips. Even tbazzone gave up a good rule , sometimes a new set of strings just feels better. If I could add that once a month is a good default schedule that changes with your gigging schedule. Play on maverickcop.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Sweet! Thanx guys!