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Post subject: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 5:40 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2017 5:03 pm
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So, I just bought a new Squier Stratocaster HSS with a tremolo. I'm a beginner to guitar in general so my knowledge is poor at best and I've got a few questionable that hopefully you veterans could answer.

First, I have a weird buzzing noise on strings 6,5,4, it mainly happens when I press at around the seventh fret, it's not me not pushing hard enough since even when I do it it still sounds weird. What causes this and how could I fix it?

Second, what's the preferred stance when playing, being used to acoustic it feels weird holding the guitar so maybe I'm doing it wrong?

And third about maintenance and care, any tips for it? I would buy the fender stuff but where I live it's rather hard to get the official thing so any comments on a more DIY approach?

And finally, I just wanted to ask how do I post images in the forum? Yesterday I opened the back plate and It felt like something was off, so I would like to know if it's just me being superstitious.

Anyways thanks for reading :)


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:13 pm
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 1339
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Welcome to the forum and the Strat family!

You ask several questions, each of which have long answers. For general care and cleaning, there have been lots of threads, with lots of approaches and opinions.

Spend a lot of time reading past threads and experiment with the search feature.

As far as playing position, if you watch a lot of Strat players you'll see lots of different ways they hold their guitars. You really have to put in the hours and experiment until you find what feels right to you.

Buzzing at the 7th fret: could be a number of things. The neck's relief (truss rod adjustment) may be set wrong. The 7th fret could be too low, or the 8th fret could be too high. Could just be a set of bad strings (unlikely to have 3 buzzing at the same fret though).

There are books and lots of web resources that explain how to set up electric guitars in general and Strats in particular.

But if you've never done it, it's probably best to have a pro do it. At least the first time, so you have a good starting point for learning.

To post pics you have to upload them to a photo sharing website, then link to them here. Several people can/have explained it better than I can. Hopefully one of them will post to this thread. Otherwise reading lots of threads and/or using the search feature will give you the details.


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 4:35 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:49 am
Posts: 661
Location: Cambridge UK
Yes, welcome to the forum!
Quote:
Second, what's the preferred stance when playing, being used to acoustic it feels weird holding the guitar so maybe I'm doing it wrong?
Do you mean standing or seated? Personally, I've always played standing as I don't think it's very 'rock 'n roll' to play electric sitting down (unless medical conditions dictate). I'm not as good sitting down as a result.

But as to 'wrong', don't worry about it - there is no 'wrong'! :D If you can get what you want out of the guitar for your own amusement, who cares how you do it? If you want to gig, then standing to play is more useful, I'd say. But that's just me!

Your other questions could all be answered with a pro setup, and even after 55 years of fiddling with guitars, I still think it's worth the money. Find a good luthier and you won't regret it!

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:09 am
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Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4241
On the problems you have, I'll cast a third vote for a setup by a good pro. For a relatively small amount of money, you get a guitar playing at its optimum. And you get a perfect base for learning the DIY setup - make a note of what & how much you tweak, so it's easy to return to the previous.

If you wish to do your own setups, proper tools are a good investment.
For care&cleaning, Zippo fluid with cotton rags are the proven old school route, or choose a clean/care set from any reliable brand. Remember lubing (all string/other contact points), and oiling a rosewood/pau ferro fretboard occasionally (once a year or so).

You get a general view of what & in what order to do in the Strat Setup Guide
(One note: That guide assumes that things like nut slots, frets, saddles, screws/nuts, neck angle are all as they should; those would be checked & taken care of in the recommended pro setup.)

And a very important trade secret: if a guitar has problems, start by putting on new strings.

Re: the playing position - choose your favorite player(s) and imitate. Most of us started that way... :lol:

Pic posting:
Quote:
First you need to upload your pics to the internet. Use a pic hosting site (imgur, imgbb, flickr or such - avoid photobucket) or some common web framework like e.g. facebook, googlephotos - whatever you're familiar with.
The important thing is that the web site provides you with a pic address - that's the one starting with 'http' and ending in '.jpg'.

Copy the pic address, and use the IMG-command (visible when you write a message) on the forum.

Preview your post so everything is OK.


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:11 am
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Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14049
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
Your guitar need a complete set-up.

You buy it new, ask the store to set up properly.


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:21 am
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Rock Star
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Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:52 am
Posts: 3840
Location: Colorado Springs
I echo all of the previous sentiments. Personally, I feel that many young guitarists left guitar due to an unknowingly poor setup on the guitar. Buzzing, action set too high (or low), and bad intonation can be big turnoffs.

That being said, I think it is very useful for new Strat players to understand the "balance" of setting up the tremelo and the concepts of "floating" and "blocked". To me, Strats are very different beasts than hard-tail guitars with the guitarist benefiting much more from understanding how the tremolo is supposed to "float". Every Strat owner, in my opinion, should know whether their guitar is set up to "float" or if it is "blocked", and also why -- both of which are perfectly good.

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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:39 am
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 1339
Location: Denver, CO, USA
On the buzzing at the 7th fret and our suggestions to see a pro:

Wood fretboards and metal frets expand & contract at different rates in response to temperature and humidity changes. Rarely, a fret can lift up/pop up a bit and need to be tapped/clamped back down. Sometimes with a little superglue wicked into the fret slot.

On a brand new guitar that should be covered under warranty. Otherwise it's a quick and easy repair, so low cost.

Advanced do-it-yourselfers can do it. But novices should leave it to a pro.


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Post subject: Re: A few questions about my strat (Newbie here)
Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:22 am
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Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:52 am
Posts: 3840
Location: Colorado Springs
strayedstrater wrote:
... Wood fretboards and metal frets expand & contract at different rates in response to temperature and humidity changes ...

Excellent point -- You may need to consider a humidifier depending on where you are. I know where I am one is mandatory.

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