Just picked up a new american standard!!! I'm really excited but having a hard time getting the action lowered. I have the neck adjusted to specs in the manual even used a feeler gauge. I just cant get the action very low without sounding bad. I'm not really getting any fret buzz when I lower the action but it just sounds like it's fretting out slightly. Do I need to screw the tilt screw in and start over from there with the saddles, right now it's all the way out so the neck is not tilted at all? I usually don't have this many problems with other guitars. Should I try and get the neck nearly completely straight, I've always heard that was the easiest way to get the lowest action, but I adjusted it to fender's specs.

This guitar just blew my mind! I took the neck down to nearly completely flat and the action is super low and sounds fantastic!

Alot of the forum users like their necks straighter than fender spec's. I dont personally i like more bow.
My suggestion would be if you could get another guitar you like the feel of and compare the neck relief on both. Try and get the strat somewhere near the preferred neck. I hasten to add just because you set the neck the same as a guitar you like it doesn't necessarily mean you will like the way the strat neck is set. But i would make a decent start point. I'm afraid its a case of adjust,try,adjust,try untill you get it right if your not familiar with strats. Even when you are familiar you spend time tweaking, strats were made to adjust. When you have the neck bow at what you want, then i'd think about the tilt function.

Do me a favour though, lower the neck and middle pickups before you fiddle too much. They can pull the string down causing a partial 'fret out' sound. If my vintage noiseless pckups are more than 3mm above the pickguard i get similar problems.

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No no and no

Hey congrats, post some pictures if you can

Congratulations on your fine choice of guitars and welcome to the forum!

If you adjust it to the specs in the manual, you'll never have truly low action.

It is highly unlikely that the neck tilt screw needs adjustment or EVER will, rule that out and FORGET about it.

The possibility of fret buzz and near fretting out are a fact of life with low action, especially on Fenders. Lighter gauge strings will only compound these annoyances. This is NOT to say that Fenders are inferior, unruly, etc. They just need a lot more attention. You've worked on other guitars, why these problems now? Fret size, neck radius, etc. all come into play here.

Yes to trying to get the neck nearly completely straight as this would indeed be a big help. Lower the tremolo block too, about 50% less of what the specs tells you. Mirroring the curvature (radius) of your bridge saddles to the curvature of your fingerboard is also a vital ingredient. The predominant factor here is to have your high E string as low as you can get it but not so low that it cuts out when you bend it or otherwise rattles. Remember, you are bending, "up hill" on a Strat vs. straight across on say, a Les Paul. Another thing which causes flakey tonality is your pickups being too close to the strings. I leave a nickel's thickness distance on the bass side and a dime's thickness distance on the treble side.

Back to the action: Once you've gotten your high E to an acceptable height, adjust the rest of the strings, mirroring the radius of the neck and allowing for each strings own thickness in order to keep the action uniform. Check them all out as you go, giving each the same considerations (where applicable) that you gave the high E. Ensure that both height adjustment screws of each saddle are evenly adjusted so that each saddle is nicely parallel with the bridge plate. This allows for firm seating and optimum sound transference.

This is MY FIRM OPINION: Unless you truly must use them, throw away the manuals, rulers, feeler gauges and all that other ancillary stuff and replace them with your eyes, feel and a vision.

Don't forget to do the intonation when you're done. Yes, this procedure I still use the meter. However, I don't do it, "clinically". Too many players adjust the intonation with the guitar on a table, with the neck on a block and overhandedly, do their adjustments this way. This really serves no practical purpose nor is it accurate because the tensions at various key points on the guitar are not the same as if you were holding it in it's playing position and fretting it the way you normally would. One example of what I'm talking about is, how anyone stands or sits and grips the neck while playing it This puts normal stress on the guitar all over and will cause the guitar to need some more fine tuning in spite of the fact that the guitar was just 'perfectly' tuned while lying on a table.

This whole diatribe has worked quite well for me for decades. As always, YMMV.

Either way, best of luck!

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Thanks for the advice I will definately check my pickup height that never occurred to me! I'm sure I'm going to have to tweak a few more times as the neck takes a set but it's playing really good now! I'll try and get some pics up tonight with a couple more questions I have about the single stack humbuckers vs true humbuckers!

You're quite welcome!

Sounds like a plan but it's, "beddy-bye" time for me, I'll check back in the morning.

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