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Post subject: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:29 pm
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I guess I win Stupid Question Of The Day with this one, but here goes: my MIM Strat came with 9s. Are 10s (46-36-26-17-13-10) okay for the nut (yep, the nut, not the truss rod) w/ no adjustments or anything? Never played anything other than 9s on a Strat in my life, I think.

Oh, the joys of OCD :)

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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:35 pm
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Most of the time this gauge will fit.

Check truss rod few days after you put ´10


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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:51 pm
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stratele52 wrote:
Most of the time this gauge will fit.

Check truss rod few days after you put ´10


+1

If the trussrod requires adjustment, do it incrementally with 1/8 turns spaced over several days.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:40 pm
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Make sure you lube your nut, seeing as how the 10's will be snugger than the 9's.
I've gone back and forth between 9's and 10's on my Strat. I've pretty much settled on DiAddario 9.5's as a compromise. Sometimes I'll put on a set of 9.5's with a high E and B from a set of 10's. Now there's OCD for you. :)

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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:55 pm
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10s should not be a problem. 11s usually work well too, in my experience.
If there is a pinch in the bass strings, that can be fixed by pulling part of the string (preferably the end you later cut off) back and forth in the groove a couple of times. It's the perfect size nut file - just don't overdo it. :)
The plains usually won't stick, at least not on the nuts Fender tend to use. On my SG, I had to file its nut a bit to put on .011s, but I've never had a problem on the treble side for Fenders.


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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:15 pm
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arth1 wrote:
10s should not be a problem. 11s usually work well too, in my experience. ...
This has also been my experience. I went from stock 9s to 11s on all my Strats and had no issues with the nut (all trems are blocked) nor did I have to adjust the truss rod.

HTH

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BM

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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:59 pm
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You will likely have to tighten the trem claw screws too, to put the bridge back to proper floating angle. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 12:45 am
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The answers above are correct, but grabbing on that OCD part... :wink:

The nut slots are cut a bit wider than the (.009) string set's diameters are, so a .010 set will most likely fit in the slots.

But, to have a guitar that plays perfectly, you have to check.
If you feel the nut slots need to be widened: tune down enough so you can lift a string from the slot & slide it aside. Take a piece of (about) #400 wet/dry paper, wrap it around the old string, sand (just a couple of times) on the slot. Polish with #1200 if you're really OCD.
Lube.
Retune.
Repeat the procedure with all strings.
It's rather a simple job, and unless you go berserk with the sanding, there's no big risk you'd deform the nut slot shape - it should fall & widen a bit towards the headstock.

Then: check (& adjust if needed) trem string tension, relief, action, intonation, pickup height.


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Post subject: Re: 10s on a Strat
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 7:28 am
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Avoid sanding downward and to the front of the nut, try to angle your sanding stroke to the angle of the string at the nut to the tuning key. Sanding down or to the front to far on the nut can create unwanted buzz. Just take your time, you'll be fine.


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