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Post subject: Help mee bridge trouble :(
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:16 pm
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Hey Community,

I just got home from buying my MIM strat, got quite a deal in fact, brand new mim thats in a discontinued color (its a misty green metalicky) for 450 with a free gig bag. Anyway After arriving I noticed the bridge its bend back, as if the whammy bar (which I haven't put in yet) is being pressed down on, raising up the bridge. It is raised substantially that i can even see inside the cavity. I'd say its about 25-35 degrees slanted. Is this trouble or Am I newbishly overreacting?


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Post subject: bridge issue
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:50 am
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I have an American Series Strat HH.
Guitar came set up perfect from Fender.
The first time I broke a string, figured I might
as well replace all of them due to age.

Anyway, once I replaced them, the butt-end of my
bridge came up off the body a good 1/2" - 3/4". Obviously
this wasn't correct, nor could I get the guitar back
in-tune.

I really dont know exactly what the problem was, but I started
loosing the strings "slightly", starting with #1, bridge fell back into place once I hit #3. Ended up pulling it, re-stringing #3 only, bridge did
not rise up during the process. Guitar tuned perfectly 1st time, no problems
since.

I would suggest backing-off the tension on your stings "slightly"
see which one allows the bridge to drop back into place and go from there.



good luck!


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:33 am
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Good lord.

Read this:

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

The bridge is supposed to float, about an 1/8 of an inch between the bottom of the plate and the face of the guitar.


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Post subject: bridge
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:48 am
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What does "Good Lord" have to do with this guys question? :x

If the bridge is more than an 1/8" off the body, something is wrong.
He is new, why not try a more positive approach. :D


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:30 am
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pay no mind to gravity jim. from my experience he has a little additude problem but he is normally right and has some good info so we put up with him. :wink:


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Post subject: Re: bridge
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:37 am
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LBZ HH wrote:
What does "Good Lord" have to do with this guys question? :x

If the bridge is more than an 1/8" off the body, something is wrong.
He is new, why not try a more positive approach. :D


My "attitude problem" is nothing more than a normal reaction of a 35-year working professional to the flood of misinformation on this forum. And it wasn't directed at him.

Since you asked, LBZ, "good lord" is short hand for "why is LBZ HH trying to explain anything to this guy when he obviously doesn't know what he;'s talking about?"

You don't fix a bridge problem by loosening the strings and bringing them back up to pitch, hoping to find "the one" that's causing the problem! If the bridge is floating TOO high with your chosen string gauge under tension, you bring it down by adjusting the trem claw screws in the back of the guitar.

But don't take my word: read the Fender site on the subject.

And try this: if you ever find yourself typing the words "I really don't know what the problem was" in the course of explaining to someone else what the problem was, just don't post it.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:41 am
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Dude that aint right but it is easy to sort.Simply take the back plate of your guitar,you will notice 3 or 2 springs attatched to the block of your trem,the other end is attatched to a metal platform of which the pickups are earthed to.Now simply undo the screws attatched to the platform untill the trem is at a 90 degree angle to the body. Hope this helped you out. Good uck


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:41 am
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Luck (sorry)


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:50 am
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OK Jimmy, adjusting the trem claw screws might work for a minor
lift, but when the bridge plate is 3/4" off the body, they offer no
assistance.

Now, if this individual's bridge was 1/4" off the body in lieu of 1/8",
than that's fine, but that was not my case which is why I clearly noted
the extreme height of mine.

As far as bad information, or no bridge knowledge, just forwarding a experience I had, & how it was resolved. No need for a pissing match.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:10 am
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Sorry for bad info but then again hardware isnt my strong point. Good luck with that bridge dude


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:34 am
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Gravity Jim wrote:
Good lord.

Read this:

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

The bridge is supposed to float, about an 1/8 of an inch between the bottom of the plate and the face of the guitar.


Goede Heer (dutch for Good lord).

I already wrote to another question,'' do you people ever read guitar-
magazines'', now i say read you're manuals or go to the Fender site.

Peter from Holland


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:35 pm
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Gravity Jim's young (to me). I've learned quite a bit from some of his comments though.

Put 5 springs in the back of the trem and it'll drop like a stone. Whether or not it fixes your overly high floating bridge, in the future if it's like my Highway One it'll be stable and also won't give you hell with unintended vibrato if you move around while playing. Since you're way too high to start, who knows maybe it'll end up close enough to fix with the screws in the back.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:10 pm
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What everyone has failed to come right out and say is:

Your guitar needs a setup. If you can not do it yourself have it done and ask to watch how it is done.

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http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:21 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
What everyone has failed to come right out and say is:

Your guitar needs a setup. If you can not do it yourself have it done and ask to watch how it is done.



We are all human, nobody's perfect.
But you're right about the setup, ask a friend with experience to help
you or go to someone who does it for a living.

Peter Holland/Europe


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 3:30 pm
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Chet's right. He's right a lot. Give it a try yourself. The manual from Fender tells you everything you need to know. The bridge is supposed to float about 1/8" (I've been keeping mine a little lower buy may raise it back up someday when the mood strikes) and then there are measurements for distance of the strings over the pickups, and the string height over a certain fret (I forget which but could be the 17th). Anyway, that manual's got a ton of information about how to set it up.

I have an old Squier that a friend of a friend set up when I bought it direct from Fender in '99. Before that I played around with electrics a bit but mainly I played acoustics. You can't set up a Squier like you can your MIM Strat. The bridge doesn't float. I don't even think the truss rod adjusts. With your Strat, you can make it exactly the way you want it. If I can DIY, anyone can. Chet's posted a lot of great stuff about putting in added springs to stabilize the trem, using coins to get the distance from the pickups about right, finalizing by ear on the distance from the pickups. Everything you need for a basic set up is in the manual, and then you can get a philips head screwdriver and a ruler or a tape measure. If you want to mess with the truss rod or the bridge screws holding the strings, you may need more equipment. As somebody said, if you totally screw it up, you can always pay for a setup or get your smart friend.


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