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Post subject: Help my Strat needs a setup bad!!!
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:27 pm
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Ok so I got this MIA strat onsale at guitar center like last year and I've come to realize that it was pretty badly setup when I got it. (It was a leftover 2007 and for all I know maybe something is wrong with it). String action was too low and I was getting a lot of fret buzz for months which I didnt even realize because I was too busy trying to learn to play the damn thing.

So I started trying to set it up myself and I'm kind of overwhelmed. The first thing I did to try to fix the action was raise the individual sattles. I have them raised very high, the screws in most, esp. the middle 2 strings are deep in the holes but I'm still getting fret buzz.

The bridge was also floating way high when I got it so I set it flush against the body by tightening the trem screws at the back of the guitar. I know this lowers the action but I dont think the saddles can be raised anymore.

There is releif in the neck but Im not sure how much there should actually be. I have tried to mess with the micro tilting screw but I tightened it some and it seemed to have no effect. I now fear that the setup might be out of whack. Where should I start to make sure this guitar is setup correctly? I would like to set it up myself if possible, but this is my first guitar.


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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:05 pm
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Welcome to the Forum.

My suggestion is to find a Guitar Tech that will allow you to watch him/her to do the setup.

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Post subject: Re: Help my Strat needs a setup bad!!!
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:28 am
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speedwagon1213 wrote:
Ok so I got this MIA strat onsale at guitar center like last year and I've come to realize that it was pretty badly setup when I got it. (It was a leftover 2007 and for all I know maybe something is wrong with it). String action was too low and I was getting a lot of fret buzz for months which I didnt even realize because I was too busy trying to learn to play the damn thing.

So I started trying to set it up myself and I'm kind of overwhelmed. The first thing I did to try to fix the action was raise the individual sattles. I have them raised very high, the screws in most, esp. the middle 2 strings are deep in the holes but I'm still getting fret buzz.

The bridge was also floating way high when I got it so I set it flush against the body by tightening the trem screws at the back of the guitar. I know this lowers the action but I dont think the saddles can be raised anymore.

There is releif in the neck but Im not sure how much there should actually be. I have tried to mess with the micro tilting screw but I tightened it some and it seemed to have no effect. I now fear that the setup might be out of whack. Where should I start to make sure this guitar is setup correctly? I would like to set it up myself if possible, but this is my first guitar.


Don't forget that the owners' manual for your guitar, which contains complete instructions for the setup, can be downloaded from THIS VERY WEBSITE.


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:26 am
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All good posts, but I am also with just getting a good setup by a pro. Afterwards your action and intonation should be nailed down. It's always good to have an expert make sure the truss rod is adjusted right, too...

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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:04 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
All good posts, but I am also with just getting a good setup by a pro. Afterwards your action and intonation should be nailed down. It's always good to have an expert make sure the truss rod is adjusted right, too...


I think that's right in this case.

A good setup is a step-by-step logical sequence. You normally don't want to be just tinkering with individual elements such as saddle height independently of one another.

A full guide to setups is a little lengthy even for one my huge posts!

There's techs and there's techs. Ask around a bit locally and discover a good guy: he may be prepared to show you some stuff, too.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:16 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
All good posts, but I am also with just getting a good setup by a pro. Afterwards your action and intonation should be nailed down. It's always good to have an expert make sure the truss rod is adjusted right, too...


That is me all over, I don't even attempt to do a setup! :? :wink:


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:21 pm
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True but I like to do things myself if I can. I am also interested in guitar setup and want to learn to do it. Plus I would rather save the money for a Dimarzio pickup :D

I am trying to get a hold of a milimeter ruller, that way I can measure the stuff the Fender setup guide talks about.

On a side note, does anyone know if I can replace the standard tremolo that I have with a vintage style one? I much prefer those.


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 4:03 pm
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speedwagon1213 wrote:
True but I like to do things myself if I can. I am also interested in guitar setup and want to learn to do it. Plus I would rather save the money for a Dimarzio pickup :D

I am trying to get a hold of a milimeter ruller, that way I can measure the stuff the Fender setup guide talks about.

On a side note, does anyone know if I can replace the standard tremolo that I have with a vintage style one? I much prefer those.


Yes you can.... That would involve a lot of tools for removing the studs and then filling the holes and THEN re drilling the 6 holes for the vingate tremolo... if I were you I would just buy a fender body from ebay that is routed for the vintage tremolo .. and then just swaping the neck to it... :D


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:17 pm
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Setting up a guitar perfectly is an art. I respect that you want to do it yourself and I totally recommend that you learn how to. But, for your first setup on your first guitar, I would recommend, as a previous poster did, that you take your guitar to a reputable tech. Maybe he/she would let you watch and give you some advice too. One problem you may be having is that you don't know what the guitar is really supposed to play/feel like when properly set up. If you had a tech get it right, you would gain the most important knowlege - the goal you are trying to reach(a properly set up guitar). Does that make sense? Much respect

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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:31 pm
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speedwagon1213 wrote:
On a side note, does anyone know if I can replace the standard tremolo that I have with a vintage style one? I much prefer those.


It is do-able - but don't. Not worth it. Buy another guitar with a six-screw trem if you feel you just must have that one.

For the time being, if you have block saddles on your two-point trem then swap them for the vintage bent steel type. That will get you most of the way to the sound of a vintage bridge, twangwise. And you could look at upgrading the block underneath that trem plate with one from Callaham(.com): many people here have good things to say about that mod.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 6:07 pm
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Hollis Prince wrote:
Setting up a guitar perfectly is an art. I respect that you want to do it yourself and I totally recommend that you learn how to. But, for your first setup on your first guitar, I would recommend, as a previous poster did, that you take your guitar to a reputable tech. Maybe he/she would let you watch and give you some advice too. One problem you may be having is that you don't know what the guitar is really supposed to play/feel like when properly set up. If you had a tech get it right, you would gain the most important knowlege - the goal you are trying to reach(a properly set up guitar). Does that make sense? Much respect

Very Much. Thank you.

And thanks for all the other info


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:20 pm
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Find a good guitar tech who can properly set your guitar up. I wouldn't recommend taking it in to the GC though. :?


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:19 pm
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I loosened the micro tilt screw and it made a HUGE difference. I had raised the bridge saddles a ton from the way I got it from the store and had given the neck a clear relief but I could never get the g string (hehe) to stop buzzing. Just a little over a quater turn to the left of the tilt screw and none of the strings buzzed anymore. The action was actually too high and my fingers were sliding under the other strings during bends, so I lowered the saddles some and tightened the truss rod a little, and it looks like the saddles can go down even more with no buzz as now the action feels especially high. The bridge is also about parallel to the body now.

This seems to have been the major problem. It was the only thing I didnt adjust (besides the 2 bridge screws) because I wasn't really sure how it worked. I played a Yngwie sig at sam ash today on my lunch break and noticed that the neck ran pretty much straight up from the body. When I came home and looked at mine I saw that there was a clear tilt back.

I will tinker more tomorrow and report my progress. I am not against taking it to a pro tho, just want to see what I can do with it 1st.


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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:22 am
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speedwagon1213 wrote:
I loosened the micro tilt screw and it made a HUGE difference. I had raised the bridge saddles a ton from the way I got it from the store and had given the neck a clear relief but I could never get the g string (hehe) to stop buzzing. Just a little over a quater turn to the left of the tilt screw and none of the strings buzzed anymore. The action was actually too high and my fingers were sliding under the other strings during bends, so I lowered the saddles some and tightened the truss rod a little, and it looks like the saddles can go down even more with no buzz as now the action feels especially high. The bridge is also about parallel to the body now.

This seems to have been the major problem. It was the only thing I didnt adjust (besides the 2 bridge screws) because I wasn't really sure how it worked. I played a Yngwie sig at sam ash today on my lunch break and noticed that the neck ran pretty much straight up from the body. When I came home and looked at mine I saw that there was a clear tilt back.

I will tinker more tomorrow and report my progress. I am not against taking it to a pro tho, just want to see what I can do with it 1st.



Good luck.

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