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Post subject: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 10:07 pm
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I've got an Am Std. Strat with the 2 hole bridge I bought new in 1989-90, and the last time it had a set up was probably 15 years ago when I lived in a large city. I'm sure it needs another set up because I've screwed it up since then by swapping the pups to Tx Specials, changing strings gauges, tinkering with the bridge and who knows what else trying to dial it back in. Now the the intonation is out and I have a buzz on the D string coming from somewhere I can't see, and it's a pain in the arse to tune. It doesn't even sound like a Strat and it's frustrating.

I've been watching clips and reading up on bridge, string, pickup height and intonation but it's not coming together. There are tons of clips on the subject but I'm almost certain I'm not following them in the right order. I haven't messed with the neck. Not gutsy enough to do that. I have a little buzz on the G string around the 9th fret but for all I know it may be the saddles not set right. At this point I'm not sure and I don't want to take it from bad to worse.

When setting the intonation I looked for the saddle stagger like I see in most pics and clips. Mine doesn't look like that.

I'd take it to a shop in a heartbeat if I could but live in a small town now where the nearest guitar shop is a 4 hour drive. I found a local part time guitar tech who said he could do it, but when I asked how long it would take he said he wasn't sure because he "just screws around with it until it sounds right." Yea well that's not going to happen. I'm no pro player and it may be jacked up but I'm not going to let someone lay tools on it unless I trust them not to make it worse.

Is there a step by step guide available that I could reference in order from start to finish? I several tuners, rulers and micrometers. Can you think of anything else I would need?

Thanks in advance for any links or suggestions.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 1:31 am
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Set up and mesurements here;
http://www2.fender.com/fr-FR/support/ar ... tup-guide/

Yeah , it is not clear where to begin, the right order.
I do set up on all my guitar since 20 years, I never go to a luthier.

Most difficult is to know how to use good tools , how and where to take the right mesurements.
_____________________________________________________________
Short answer ,the order I do set up ;

Set up
1- Read neck curve and adjust truss rod, this may take many hours to stabilize the neck between each adjustment .
The neck is the only thing that move by itself.
Wrong neck curve = wrong action and false intonation

2- Check action, adjust saddle height

3- Tremolo/ bridge; never turn the 2 pivot screws with tight strings, you'll ruin knife edge on bridge.
If you change something, check action see 2

4- Adjust intonation

5- Check adjust pickups height

6- Check neck , see 1
_________________________________________________________________
Good books you may have;

How to make your electric guitar play great;

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Electri ... play+great

The Fender Stratocaster handbook;

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Stratocast ... r+handbook


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 6:00 pm
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stratele52 wrote:
Set up and mesurements here;
http://www2.fender.com/fr-FR/support/ar ... tup-guide/

Yeah , it is not clear where to begin, the right order.
I do set up on all my guitar since 20 years, I never go to a luthier.

Most difficult is to know how to use good tools , how and where to take the right measurements.


This is what I was looking for. A step by step guide by someone who has done it. Thank you very much stratele52..

I'm going to pick up one of the books you mentioned and see if I can get my Strat straight again.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 11:53 pm
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Things often forgotten in setup guides:

Nut slot height check Put a capo on the third fret, check the gap between the top of the fret & the bottom of the strings on first fret. If you're close to .010" lowE/.006" highE (0,25mm/0,15mm), you're OK.
Screws and nuts Check that they are at correct tightness (read: no excessive force but snug, for some screws just finger tight).
Contact points String/other (string tree, nut, saddle, trem plate). Check for grooves, wear marks etc; sand/polish if needed. And remember to lube.

On st52's list order, I set the trem before relief and action, but both ways will do.

And, my recommendation is to first set the guitar to factory specs. Then tweak what you need to get it better suitable for your playing style, making notes on what you adjust so it's easy to go back.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 1:59 am
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Randy70065 wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
Set up and mesurements here;
http://www2.fender.com/fr-FR/support/ar ... tup-guide/

Yeah , it is not clear where to begin, the right order.
I do set up on all my guitar since 20 years, I never go to a luthier.

Most difficult is to know how to use good tools , how and where to take the right measurements.


This is what I was looking for. A step by step guide by someone who has done it. Thank you very much stratele52..

I'm going to pick up one of the books you mentioned and see if I can get my Strat straight again.


This on is the book you must buy if you buy just one ;

How to make your electric guitar play great.

As a beginner, you should buy both. It is a good invest and they are paid in the first set-up.

The first book is technical and easy to understand with some pictures, no enough for a beginner.
The second book, less technical but lots of picture to see how to.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 12:29 pm
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stratele52 is quite correct in identifying the relief adjustment as being before other adjustments.
The relief adjustment will affect some of the other parameters but those parameters will not affect the relief.
That is why the relief should be done first.
Do the relief adjustment and then leave it alone unless you go to alternate tunings or change string gauge.
The other parameters you can adjust to your liking but the relief needs to be within a range or else the guitar will not function properly.
Your personal preferences should not impose on that range.
Necks should not be perfectly flat.
Problems arise when the neck is flat, ie: not enough relief.
Likewise, problems arise with too much relief.
I find most guitars work best when the relief is between 0.005" and 0.010".
I shoot for 0.008" for my own guitars.

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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 5:34 pm
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Thank you BMW-KTM. I ordered the books recommended plus a notched straight edge for checking the neck. I don't know the radius, nor do I have a radius gauge to tell me what I have, but I think the Am Standards in '90 were 9.5 so I'm going to test the waters a little at a time with any neck adjustments and see where it goes from there. Good info from you and stratele52. I appreciate it!


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 12:51 am
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A good study of the books and you will learn how to.

Set up a guitar is very easy if
1- You know how
2- Follow the step in right order is easy when you know how each parts of a guitar work
3- Have the right tools and know how to use it.

That is what you'll learn in the books I recommend.

2-3 set up will pay the 2 books and tools you need.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 11:03 pm
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Okay! Made some progress.

Checked the high E using a .01 and it was tight. I stuck the allen wrench in the truss rod, twisted my tongue just right and gave it a little twist. Uh-oh. Didn't budge at all, so I held pressure to it for a few seconds and it popped free. It had been at least 15 years since anyone had been down that hole and the rod and nut had stuck together. Nothing big. I gently moved an eighth of a turn left then right. There's moderate resistance but it is what I expected.

With capo in place I checked the 9th fret and it was tight. Gave it a little crank to the right and got a little too much relief so I nudged it back. the .01 fit just right. I can get it in the ball park at .01 and maybe try an .08 later if I have a need.

The low E had a tad more relief than the high E. Is that normal? I didn't see on the fender site how to check or if I should check the low and high the low and high E.

I haven't done anything else to it but instantly noticed how some of the fret buzz was gone but now the low E has a definite harmonic almost like a 12 string when played open, and the G has a very slight rattle from the 5th to 9th fret. All others are clean from one end to the other. Figure I will deal with that later. I'm just guessing that when I get the bridge and string height set the rattles will go away.

I tuned it and man the intonation is way off. Chords are terrible. I'll look at the bridge and saddles next.

As I was adjusting the neck and trying to picture the geometry in my head came up with either a question or observation. When dialing in a neck should I focus only on the relief and ignore the fret noise, leaving it for the bridge, trem and saddle adjustments, or work beyond the recommended relief to eliminate all buzzing? Seems like getting the neck relief dialed in at .01 would be the right thing to do and then let the bridge do the rest. Am I on track here or have I missed something?



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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 11:24 pm
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Looks like you're well on your way to a good setup.
The process has begun.
The 6th string does exert more tension on the neck than the 1st string.
I'm not sure that equates to more relief on that side.
Usually it relates to a slightly unbalanced bridge with relation to spring tension.
That can be remedied easily by cranking that side of the claw in a little more or letting the other end out a little or by doing both but either way that's not going to ease up on anything with respect to relief.
It's not necessarily a bad thing unless you notice it interfering with some other aspect.
I wouldn't lose sleep over it unless you notice other issues that seem related.

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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 1:48 am
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Comments:

That "stuck truss rod nut symptom" is why truss rods should have some TLC at regular intervals - even when there's no need for adjustments. Once a year or so.

Relief is usually checked on lowE only; if the neck isn't warped, no need for further investigations.

The lowE harmonic when played open could indicate nut problems - slot may be too tight, worn, or too low. Lube, check, adjust if needed.
The G buzzing on middle frets (5-9) will most likely sort out when you adjust the action. If your saddles are still level, the 3rd and 4th strings may be too low for the fretboard radius.

Intonation way off; first do the "roughing it out" part in the setup guide link above. Plus, the trem setup (floating or decked) should be done before intonating.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 7:09 pm
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I'm impressed!

I've tried to set bridge height and intonation before but never messed with the neck. This time I did and found that it wasn't difficult at all, and it took just a slight tweak of maybe 1/16th of a turn on the truss rod to get it dialed in. After that I did the bridge and intonation like I'd done before but this time the results were WAY better. The big difference between my previous attempts and this one was the truss rod adjustment and the order of my steps. I can't believe such a small change made everything else fall into place.

The guitar probably isn't 100% yet but it's at least 95 which is good enough until I get more experience wrenching on it.

Many thanks to those of you who posted tips, links and shared your knowledge.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 2:28 pm
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Stand your guitar up, and look at it.
You start at the top and work your way down.

Tuners, change your strings.
Neck bow.
Nut, cursory check on slot depth. (unless you've gone up to a .13" set don't bother widening the slots. I've never seen a guitar with a high E slot narrower than .15". You can't guarantee hand waver .06")
Lower pickups (just to make sure they're out of the way).
Set string height.
Set intonation
Re-adjust pickup height to suit.

That's the easiest way I've found of doing it without having to go back over yourself much.

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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:14 pm
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Sorry I'm a little late on this thread but here's a link for setting up a floating tremolo bridge that works real well.
It takes some patients to get it right but but it's worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CkrKdQR6_g


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Post subject: Re: Strat Set Up - Where to Start and In What Order?
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:16 pm
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I've been setting up floating trems this way ever since the first time I read about it in some guitar magazine, maybe 20 or 25 years ago.
I find it is a quite musical sounding setup arrangement and it does help keep the guitar in tune with whammy bar use.



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