Im having a problem setting the intonation on my strat, im as far back as i can go with the saddles on 4 of the strings. (low e to g). i was wondering if there was another adjustment i could make to bring the whole bridge back? a thing i noticed is when i changed the string i had to take the back cover plate off, because the bridge was too far forward and the strings was hitting the cover plate.

Thanks

Sounds to me like your bridge is floating too high. Read this:

http://www.fender.com/support/stratocas ... _guide.php

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Bill

Im kinda Stumped cause I have it setup to the specs fender has listed for the strat.but the strings are still sharp when fretted.if i take the spring off of the saddle it lets it go back far enough to make them come out just rite. so im just gonna leave the springs off the saddle.i dont guess it will hurt anything or i hope not anyway.

If you followed the setup guide and adjusted the trem properly, there is no reason you should have to remove the springs on the saddles. Are you setting intonation by ear at the 12th fret (fretted note and harmonic) or are you using a tuner? I set mine using a Boss TU-3 Tuner using the open string and fretted at the 12th fred. It is dead accurate. My hearing is bad enough that I cannot hear the harmonic well enough which always resulted in my strings being sharp when fretted.

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Bill

I'd back off the saddles to where you think they were originally and start again. Making sure the trem is set where Fender specs it to be...a couple of 32ths. How I did it was set the trem plate and stuck a piece of wood between the trem block and the side of the wall closeset to the bottom of the guitar. I then tightened the two screws that hold the spring plate till the wedge was just snug. Did my tuning and intonation. When done I just had to loosen the screws a bit till the wood was free. Checked everything again for a minor adjustment of tuning and intonation.

How old are the strings?
How good is the winding on the tuners?
Almost sounds like the strings are stretching.

Use an electronic tuner too. They can be had for $25 or less.

I just did an intonation on my MIM and on one of the strings, G I think, the same thing started to happen and I backed off the tuning and started over. Came in fine the next go around.

-T

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

Setting the intonation is only advisable using new strings and sticking to that gauge until you go to another gauge,which will need another intonation adjustment.I find that having the bridge non-floating allows for easier intonation adjustment.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Pictures of what your guitar currently looks like can help.
The lower your action (string height) is the less your intonation will pull sharp when you fret.

Here are some tips:
Stretch in new strings before setting the guitar up.
Always continually tune your guitar after each adjustment.
It pays to slacken the string tension off especially just before tightening the spring claw and lengthening the string (intonation flat) and saddle height.

If your bridge is floating or you want it floating:
First adjust or add springs so that you have your bridge floating around 1/8" at the rear.
See the top part of this photo (ignore the saddles and bridge type it makes no real diff).


Next set the string height and recheck the floating height.
Then set the intonation. I play open, harmonic then fretted.
I can get it right on even floating. You need to continually check your work.
Be sure when your fretting a note you don't use too much pressure that's a technique problem the note will always go sharp.
If your using standard gauges of strings your intonation will roughly look like this.