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Post subject: Help-Changed Strings, now Bridge is off??
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:24 pm
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Sorry if this is a newbie question, but I am fairly new with Fenders and guitars in general. I changed the strings for the first time on my Strat and noticed them getting way out of tune very quickly. I noticed that my bridge was slanted up, but I am not sure why? Its usually flat on the guitar. I didnt loosen or change anything with that, just the strings. I then loosened the strings up after noticing this, and the bridge came back down to normal, where it was when I bought it. Again, sorry if its a dumb question, but can someone help me out? Thanks


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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:39 pm
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Hi,
Actually, it sounds like your strat needs to be set up and the bridge balanced. Normally, the strat bridge is meant to be a "floating" bridge. The players who usually prefer to have the bridge against the body of the guitar, do so because they remove the tremolo bar and don't use it, and they usually tighten down the screws on the spring claw to keep the bridge firmly against the body.

I don't know if you have the Standard or Vintage bridge on your guitar, but the standard has two pivot posts which the bridge 'rocks' on. these are normally set up to lift the bridge plate off the body, and the springs are adjusted so that when the guitar is tuned, the bottom of the plate is parallel to the top of the guitar body.
The Vintage bridge has six wood screws, and that one is a bit trickier to set up, but well worth the effort when done properly. That bridge plate will be angled up slightly when it is set up and balanced properly. Setting the fulcrum point on the pivot screws with that bridge is mostly using the two outside screws for the pivot point, the four inside screws are better off raised a little higher to allow freedom of movement with the bridge. the saddles, and springs need to be adjusted accordingly to get the intonation correct, and allow the string height adjustment..

I hope this is helpful to you

Harley 8)


P.S. If you went to a heavier string guage: i.e. ".009's" to ".010's" then this will pull your bridge up when you bring the tuning up to pitch.

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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:46 pm
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Thanks for the help. It looks like I have the standard bridge. Heres a link to the guitar I have

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Stan ... 1148871.gc

I saw the 2 springs when I took off the back panel. Are you saying that if I tighten the screws holding the springs, it will lock and hold the bridge down and keep it from moving?


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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:56 pm
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Give this a read. Its very informative

http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php


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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:57 pm
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Yes, if you screw the two screws in the anchor claw in deeper it will pull the bridge harder against the body. or, you could add two more springs in the back and that would add more tension and keep the bridge back also if that's what you are looking to do.

I'll check out the guitar link

Harley 8)

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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:06 pm
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The link you sent shows a guitar with six fulcrum screws, if this is the one you have, then you have the vintage styled bridge.

Harley 8)

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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:17 pm
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That is the one I have in the link. Sorry if I confused you. I tried tightening the screws under the back panel and they are very tough to turn, so I stopped for fear of messing something up. Anything else I can try? Or if it will be too difficult for a beginner, I was thinking of taking this to Guitar center tomorrow so they can look at it.


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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:51 pm
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WAREAGLE posted a link to the official Fender setup guide. It tells you how to set up the tremolo.

The Eric Johnson signature strat comes from the factory with 5 tremolo springs installed and the tremolo is flush with the body. If you don't need to pull up on the tremolo then it is a very stable setup. If you don't prefer a floating tremolo then I would just add more springs and see how you like it. It's something easy you can do and it can be reversed just as easily.

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Post subject: bridge out of whack
Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:51 am
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actually since your a newbie, i dont sugest that you mess with it too much.

i believe that you went from 9s to 10s, if you start messing with it you will throw it off completely,

i speak from experience.lol.

easy fix, get new set of 9s and remove these strings.


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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:57 am
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Wareagle and riversitter- I checked out the link and it is very helpful. Thanks

I think I did go from 9s to 10s now that you mention it. Ill take your word for it and not mess with it. Thanks man


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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:28 am
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Just got back from Guitar Center and saw your post about them. Luckily, it seemed the guy who helped me knew what he was doing. He added an extra spring to keep the bridge held down and said the problem was from going to heavier strings that made the bridge stretch up. Shouldnt have that problem anymore though. Thanks all for your help


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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:34 am
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bigfoamfinger wrote:
Wareagle and riversitter- I checked out the link and it is very helpful. Thanks

I think I did go from 9s to 10s now that you mention it. Ill take your word for it and not mess with it. Thanks man

If you are changing string gauges then yes you will possibly need more setup than simply adjusting the tremolo. However, adding springs is not really something you can mess up. But going to a larger string gauge will mean that you may (or may not) need to adjust string height, intonation, neck curvature, etc.

-------------------
EDIT: Just saw that you posted again while I was writing this post. Problem apparently solved. :) Have fun.

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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:51 pm
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Something similar happened to me like that, 'cept it was with my 61' Gibson Melody Maker (hardtail-wrap bridge). I took ALL the strings off before restringing it and the horror on my face when the whole bridge just FELL OFF. Then I just held it down while replacing the strings and its fine now. 8)

But still, its something that scares the fire out of you, especially when its a $1500 Guit-fiddle. :shock:


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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 10:03 am
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HarleyHexxe wrote:
P.S. If you went to a heavier string guage: i.e. ".009's" to ".010's" then this will pull your bridge up when you bring the tuning up to pitch.


Hi bigfoamfinger. Welcome to the world of the non-blocked tremolo guitar!

Good luck with your learning to set up your guitar. You've jumped in feet first!

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 2:34 pm
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Since my guitar is now set up with the heavier strings, will it need re adjusted if I go back down to the 9's? I dont really like these regular bullet strings lol


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