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Post subject: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:03 am
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I don't play like Jeff Beck and never will. I play chordy stuff and I like my hardtail guitars better, because they seem to stay set up better, with low action. I put 10s on my American Standard Strat--which is set up for 9s--and in standard tuning it yanks the action up to about a centimeter at the 12th fret, and I don't think it's the truss rod; I think it's the floating bridge that needs adjusting. So now I keep it tuned down a full step and use it only to play Nirvana stuff that's tuned way down. Not Drop D--D "standard." I guess it's not overly difficult to adjust the bridge or I could go back to 9s, but...

Who here has simply decided to be a hardtail player and does not own floating bridge strat?

Is that a legitimate choice for a guitarist, or must every collection include a standard strat?

I think I have become a Tele (or strat w/ a hardtail) man.

Should I sell my American Standard Strat?

Edit: my American Standard Strat's build quality is atrocious compared to my Chinese-made $320.00 Modern Player Tele, by the way. Ditto the Japanese-made mustangs (65 reissue and pawn shop). It's like the non-lacquered neck is malleable. Action changes *a lot* day to day based on temperature and humidity outside even though I keep apartment air conditioned consistently. Yeah that has to happen, but it happens less on all my other guitars. The american strat also came with a visible and feelable chip at the top of the fretboard at fret 1. Just decided to keep it because I had already sent 3 back for similar problems and I got it for $765, no tax, free shipping from MF. Figured that must be the best the American Standard line could give me so I cut my losses and since it was only $765...--i.e., you have to expect at least one major flaw to be allowed through inspection if you're buying an american standard. Also the back of the neck on the american standards are ugly, with lots of weird random grain lines that are not nice looking and are, in fact, distracting (same with my american standard tele), as opposed to all my asian-made fenders, which have beautiful maple necks without weird lines all over the back.)

rant over


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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:19 am
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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:44 am
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I never collect guitars just to collect them. I own and play what I like and that's what I suggest you do. Why own a guitar you don't care for that much because of someone's preconception of what a proper collection is?

I own one Strat. It's a 72, but I also have a 2011 Gibson, a 63 Supro, 57 Dano, an two Ibanez guitars, two Martin guitars, a Yamaha, a few cigar box guitars, two cheap resonators, a Stinger Frankestrat for slide work, and a cheap acoustic bass. I have a few amps, two I built myself.

I use everything I own, nothing sits in a closet and they all have a purpose and sound great to me.

My point is use what suits you because you are the one playing them. I get some of the collest comments when I pull out a cigar box guitar. :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:44 am
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63supro wrote:
I never collect guitars just to collect them......I use everything I own, nothing sits in a closet and they all have a purpose and sound great to me.


+1

Three of my nine Strats are hardtails.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:54 am
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Her Wanna wrote:
I put 10s on my American Standard Strat--which is set up for 9s--and in standard tuning it yanks the action up to about a centimeter at the 12th fret, and I don't think it's the truss rod; I think it's the floating bridge that needs adjusting. So now I keep it tuned down a full step and use it only to play Nirvana stuff that's tuned way down. Not Drop D--D "standard." I guess it's not overly difficult to adjust the bridge or I could go back to 9s, but...


Sounds like a lazy way to avoid properly setting up a guitar to have it play better. :roll:

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:46 pm
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Nah, just different tastes.
With a floating trem even properly set up, I always have a tougher time with bends because you always are fighting the tremolo unit. My Strat is 40 years old and heavily used. On the other hand I love my Strat and now I put a Super Vee Blade Runner that eliminated all the issues I had with my trem. I have zero tuning issues, better, fuller tone and the guitar always comes back in tune. I also don't have to fight it as hard on the bends. If you have a cheaper Strat, or one with a screwed up trem, I highly recommend the Blade Runner. No mods to the guitar are needed. My Strat is my only trem equipped guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:18 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
Her Wanna wrote:
I put 10s on my American Standard Strat--which is set up for 9s--and in standard tuning it yanks the action up to about a centimeter at the 12th fret, and I don't think it's the truss rod; I think it's the floating bridge that needs adjusting. So now I keep it tuned down a full step and use it only to play Nirvana stuff that's tuned way down. Not Drop D--D "standard." I guess it's not overly difficult to adjust the bridge or I could go back to 9s, but...

Sounds like a lazy way to avoid properly setting up a guitar to have it play better. :roll:

Haha - indeed! :lol:

Though I'd have thought simply adjusting the spring claw and intonation to accommodate the fatter strings was actually easier than relearning all the numbers at a different pitch. Ah well, horses for courses, perhaps...

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:31 pm
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Roadie
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most likely its just a truss rod ajustment. easy enough to find out. put a straight edge on it in drop d tuning and measure the gap tnem tune it normal and measure the gap. if it changes its the truss rod because your measuring only the gap between the first fret and the last fret this measurment doesnt take into it string gap or tail piece but just the neck itself because your using the straight edge. as to owning a hard tail strat why not. its a personal preference how you stup your guitars,, i had one for years and i liked it as much as the one i have now. btw it had a fine tuning stup on it at the tail and that was real nice.


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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:29 pm
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I prefer hardtail, just because I don't ever use the trem...

I blocked the trem in my US 62 Vintage Reissue years ago--I used a stack of quarters to do it; no intonation or tuning problems.

Due to the lack of hardtail Strats out there, it might be a better option to just block your trem and try it out that way. If you still don't like it, then you can easy reverse this "modification."

BTW, you need to get your guitar set up properly for the gauge of strings you're using; that's just the way it is.

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:52 pm
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amx05462 wrote:
most likely its just a truss rod ajustment. easy enough to find out.


You have obviously never set a Strat up properly after changing to a heavier string guage. :roll:

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:24 pm
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ok what ever . i do sll my own setups and all my guitars play real fine with no problems.. and i use a stew mac thraight edge withthe notches in it . for what i said. but what ever your the expert i guess. hopefully it makes you feel better. but again my strat and all others play great with very low action.. have a nice day now, :)


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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:51 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
amx05462 wrote:
most likely its just a truss rod ajustment. easy enough to find out.


You have obviously never set a Strat up properly after changing to a heavier string guage. :roll:


+1 ain't that simple.

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:27 pm
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amx05462 wrote:
ok what ever . i do sll my own setups and all my guitars play real fine with no problems.. and i use a stew mac thraight edge withthe notches in it . for what i said. but what ever your the expert i guess. hopefully it makes you feel better. but again my strat and all others play great with very low action.. have a nice day now, :)

Hello amx05462: Her Wanna has replaced 9s with 10s which has pulled his bridge plate up at the back and thrown out the intonation and action. He needs to tighten the claw screws to bring the bridge back down and then address the action, the intonation and, as you say, possibly the relief as well. Not difficult - but instead he's decided to drop the tuning a tone, which will certainly bring the bridge back down but not help with the other issues, especially the intonation. It's not an ideal solution.

By the way, I completely agree with you that a straight edge is an easier and possibly more accurate way of measuring relief than fretting a string at first and last frets and working off that. But I wonder if that's slightly advanced stuff for the situation at the top of this thread...

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:34 pm
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Get a Robert Cray Strat, or a 70s Pawn Shop Deluxe. Problem solved!

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Post subject: Re: Is No Tremelo Strat in One's Collection a Valid Choice?
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:35 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
I prefer hardtail, just because I don't ever use the trem...

I blocked the trem in my US 62 Vintage Reissue years ago--I used a stack of quarters to do it; no intonation or tuning problems.

Due to the lack of hardtail Strats out there, it might be a better option to just block your trem and try it out that way. If you still don't like it, then you can easy reverse this "modification."

BTW, you need to get your guitar set up properly for the gauge of strings you're using; that's just the way it is.



just curious.....how many quarters? :)

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