I've just bought 10-46 gauge strings by mistake (long story). I put them on and tuned them up but the bridge went crazy high. I detuned the guitar so that the bridge went to a reasonable height and I'm gonna go and buy some 9-42 gauge strings now.


I know strats are built like brick sh*thouses but I didn't want to leave it like that overnight to wake up and find something seriously wrong with it. I'm probably just being paranoid but is it possible to break the neck of your strat by putting 10-46 gauge strings on and tuning to standard?

Your guitar just needs to be setup for the heavier gauge strings.

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Chet Feathers

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

+1

I've never heard of a guitar neck "breaking" from those gauge strings!

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Thanks for the help.

I have three springs in the back of my strat would I have to add an extra one or would it be okay to just tighten the spring tension as it is? Maybe it's a job for a guitar tech.

Take it to a Tech and have a COMPLETE SETUP done.

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Chet Feathers

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

I use 10's all the time mate. Its never had any adverse effects to the structure of my guitars. As Chet and Mike say a setup by a good tech will sort it out.

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No no and no

Chances are you could just put the other two springs in the cavity so the bridge is sitting flush against the body and tune her up... I did that when I bought my last guitar and changed from the default .009s to .010s, and as luck would have it no further work was needed. If you like the three springs, though, you may need to tighten the tremelo claw screws and do some fiddling with your bridge saddles if your intonation needs adjusting. A proper setup never goes astray, so do it if it would set your mind at rest.

The strings should be fine. I personally like .010/.038 but .010/.046 should definitely work. It's just a matter of getting everything balanced once you've decided whther you want a floating or "decked" tremolo arrangement. A professional setup is money well spent.

I disagree. With the plethora of books and internet how-to guides available, you are wasting your money by having your guitar professionally set up. By teaching yourself how to do it, you not only gain a valuable set of skills, but you entertain yourself for hours and begin to understand exactly how the guitar works.

I've never seen a professional setup that feels right for me. I taught myself how to do it ages ago, and I know exactly what I want in a guitar and how to achieve that end. I'm just always careful to go slowly, particularly when doing something new, and measure often. Works for me.

I string mine with 11's at standard tuning, and once in a while with 12's at Eb, no problem, just adjust tremolo + neck. Although I did have to get the nut slots widend when I first went to the 11's

+1

Getting it setup by a good tech would be great but I bought the strings by mistake and not for tone, feel etc reasons. Buying another set of strings (9-42) gauge is definitely the cheapest and easiest for me. When I saw the bridge shoot up so high last night I got a bit of a scare but many people use the same or even heavier gauges so I really shouldn't have worried but I am grateful for the reassurances from the replies to my thread so thanks.

I'm lucky enough to own two stratocasters, a CS and MIJ. I'm going to replace the 10-46 gauges on the CS with a lighter gauge and put the heavier ones on the MIJ. Then I'm going to do a little research and make the necessary adjustments. If I like the heavier gauge then I'll get them for the CS but I'll almost certainly go to a tech for a professional setup.

The owners manual that came with my strat explained precisely how to adjust the trem for heavier strings. If you don't have it, you can down load it from the web.

I just spent the last couple of days floating my bridge for the first-ever time, and I'm really glad I did it and not someone else. If you take your time and get the springs-strings ratio right, you're going to end up with a guitar that feels more natural for you...and because i bend certain strings certain amounts i was able to get the balance on the claws just right for me.

Once you find that spot though, don't change your string type unless you want to redo the whole process over again. I started with 9's and decided I didn't like the EBG strings to be so tinny when the bridge is floating, so I switched to 10's, rebalanced, retuned, reintonatedf and got it perfect.

It's a long process, but if you have the time and the energy (and tools), you should definitely give it a try. Gets you more in touch with how certain things affect your guitar's tone and power.

(Gotta say, I'm loving the floated bridge...)