hey i bought a stratocaster yesterday i took all the strings off to clean it and put new ones on and now i cant get it to tune and the bridge gets pulled out way more then it should can anyone help??

cheers

Switch to lighter strings. It probably came with 9's and was still probably setup for them. When you put heavy strings on you put a lot more pull on the bridge which is held down by the tremolo springs.

So, either go with lighter strings, and trust me... 9's sound just fine, or have it setup by a tech to the heavier strings you're trying to use.

Either way, visit a local shop with a guitar tech and they will help you out. Our shop here will do new strings and a complete setup for $35.

This is a pretty easy fix so don't worry!

1st Loosen the strings a little.

2nd carefully remove the plastic access cover on the back of your strat by loosining the six screws that hold it in place.

Locate the two screws holding the Claw to the body. Using a philllips screwdriver, tighten these screws a turn or two (not too much at first). Retune your guitar.

Note that you may ned to repeat this tightening more than once to get your desired results. Once you have it adjusted to your satisfaction, very carefully replace the plastic cover. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN TIGHTENING THE LITTLE SCREWS FOR THE COVER! You do not want to overtighten and crack your cover.

Check your tuning and you are done.

Yeah... or that too.

how hard is it to tighten stuff under the cover? like is it a bit risky to do myself?

You have discovered what happens when you take all the strings off a Strat...chaos! Just kidding.

Check this out: http://www.fender.com/support/stratocas ... _guide.php

That's why it's best to change strings one at a time on a Strat as to keep equilibrium between the strings and the trem claw springs in the trem cavity.

When the need arises to take all of the strings off, you'll need to do a little balancing act between tuning up the strings and screwing the trem claw in or out depending on how high or low you want your bridge to be.

From your position now, I suggest slacking all of the strings and tuning up each string a little at a time starting with the outer strings and working your way inside. And do it a few times (outside working in) until you get up to pitch. This way you're bringing all the strings slowly in tune together and will prevent you're bridge from flipping way up and having to back retune 100 more times because every time you tighten one string on a Strat, the other 5 will go out of tune.

If that doesn't do the trick, then it's time to get in the trem cavity and adjust the trem claw.

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Not hard at all to tighten or loosen. Just take your time. If you aren't happy with the results, take VT BlackStrat's advice and take it to a repair guy if there are any around in your area. This will be easy and quick for him to do, it won't cost you much, and you'll learn something for doing this in the future.

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

I had the same problem when I bought mine at christmas. I was worried that I might break something. It is actually a pretty easy adjustment. The biggest risk is probably over tightening the cover screws when you are done.

If you have a chance to stop over at your local book store. See if the have the book "The Fender Stratocaster Handbook". It was written by Hank Marvin. I think that it cost me about $25. It shows how to adjust the claw on page 41. I forgot to mention that the screws in question are the two long screws on the left in this photo (You may have to paste the link into your url).

Just tighten a little and retune. Tighten a little and retune. Take your time and go slow.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8906/1001372ka1.jpg

[/img]

Welcome to the Forum.

Sounds like you went to a heavier gauge string. It's no big deal. Your guitar needs to be setup (a complete setup!) for those strings.

You can pay to have it done for you or you can follow this: http://www.fender.com/support/stratocas ... _guide.php
Remember that that guide is just that, a guide.

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


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

I just dealt with this myself and this is exactly what I did. I recently switched to 10's and it pulled up the bridge. I too was freaked out but as trueblue pointed out in his directions tighten things slowly and make small adjustments. Have some patience with it. Tighten the claw screws a half turn or so and then retune and let it sit for a minute or so and let the guitar adjust. Then if need be do it again. This may throw off the neck bow a bit again with some patience and a light touch you can fix that too. The Strat Handbook is a great thing to have too. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

if i just put 9's back on would that deal with it as i was going to put 9's on anyway till my brother said to get 10's so i did but i like 9's more, so would this sort my problem out for sure ?

Going back to 9's should sort it out.

But you should learn to make your own adjustments on your guitar.
Or would you rather spend $35 each time you need someone else to do it for you? That makes an awfully expensive string change, if you ask me!

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

It is possible to buy a 9 set that has heavier bottom strings - this is a 9 to 46 set. So make sure you buy the standard light guage 9 to 42 set - almost certainly these are the guage strings fitted to your Strat in the factory. Should take you back to where you started.

You sound a little inexperienced, so make sure you give the strings a little stretch (don't break them by going mad!) when you fit them. This will ensure their pitching stability straight away.

As others have said - it's really worth learning about this stuff and fairly easy to experiment safely. But dont touch your truss rod adjuster unless you know exactly what you're doing..

_________________
Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

How about adding two more tremolo springs ala John Mayer that will help flush the bridge to the body. Then you can put the heaviest string that you can put on your strat.