i had a pro luthier setup my new strat when it had the 9-42 strings on it. he lowered the strings a bit and adjusted the bridge, etc. 65.00 worth it.

i'm at the stage now of wanting to experiment with different strings but i don't have the bucks to keep taking the guitar to a pro to re-setup every time i change strings.

is it that difficult to setup after one changes strings? is there like a youtube vid "howto" or a website that shows one the steps that folks here use?

Buy this book !

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Stratocaster-Handbook-Maintain-Troubleshoot/dp/0760329834

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"I like the way he puts Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his album covers. You know,....so you don't confuse him with all the other Yngwie Malmsteens in the business"


2008 Fender MIM Stratocaster
2010 Epiphone Masterbilt
2009 Fender Super Champ XD

i'm trying out 8's, 9's, 10's, & 11's. i kinda like a mixture right now, which might seem odd.

i'll get that book as suggested.

i see what you mean about the nut. i didn't notice that before with the new .10.. strings until you mentioned. beginner's eye vs trained eye i would say.

i jumped in and tinkered with it prior the book arriving - kinda my nature. the E,B,G,D strings height are ok and the intonation adjusted. the E,A string height and a bit of a buzz i can't seem to get tweaked out yet.

took the tremolo arm off and flushed the bridge. as a beginner i don't really need the tremolo arm now.

learning & practicing, all fun for me ...

thx

even though some strings might be the same guage, they do not all have the same tension. I learned that the hard way.

good to learn, appreciate the tip

I strongly urge you measure the string slots in the nut of your guitar before you pay anyone to widen them. Use some feeler gauges. I haven't seen a high E slot cut thinner than .015" on anything ever.

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No no and no

What Bluegrasskid says is right,a set of 9-42 gauge in one brand may have a much higher or lower tension than those of another due to the differences in the ratios of alloys in the strings.A change in tension will most likely necessitate a change in setup.

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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.

Unless u have the money too pay someone to re setup your guitar I would not change the type of strings you use. It's not worth it.

Learn to do your own setups and be done with it:

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide

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Bill

If you were doing well with 9's, stay. Otherwise use the heaviest gauge string you can reasonably handle because on strat's, the heavier strings really bring out the tone! I wouldn't consider 8's myself, not even an option. Your strat would sound very weak. swapping out 9's for 10's won't mess up your setup too much, but will need tweaking to feel right again. Going from 9's to 11's or worse, 8's to 11's (dear God NO!) will totally wreck your setup, lol. Buy Dan Erlewine's book on maintianing and setup of guitars. It will be the best money you spend on a book. Then you can experiment with this all you want. Please don't use 8's, I beg you! Happy tone-hunting

Dan's book arrived today.

i reset it up for the 10's. it was a little out of whack but getting closer to what feels/sounds right to me for the present time.

doing this will help if/when i need to take it to a pro - like what to ask for and terminology.

Re 8 - 38 strings:Don't be afraid to use them,some people say that they lack tone but I've used nothing but for about 40 years and I get gobs of tone.Billy Gibbons,Tony Iommi ,Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon all used super light strings and you can't say that there's anything lacking about their tone.8s can really help you get really deep bends in the style of Buddy Guy and Albert King without bloodying your fingers doing so.BTW Gibbons and Iommi use 7s for the high E.

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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.

I run 10s on all my electrics and it's been my experience that there are no nut issues with stock Fender nuts whether they are standard slot or rolling, (I don't use clamping) as long as you stick to either 9s or 10s. Within that small range all that should be required for a simple tone/feel test would be a trussrod adjustment. If you decide you want to stick with 10s you might want to think about double checking intonation. It shouldn't be too far off if it was good with 9s but even one gauge size can make a small difference. I don't reccomend guages other than 9s or 10s unless you intend to dedicate the guitar to an alternate tuning and make mods to accomodate the strings. It's important to remember that enlarging nut slots is not a reversible procedure. I have done this in the past. I once set aside a guitar specifically for Eb tuning. I modded the nut, strung it with 12s and did a complete setup and left it that way. I was young and dumb at the time. Wouldn't even think of it today. With age and experience comes wisdom.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I recently re-acquired a '57 AVRI that I let slip out of my hands for about a year. After I bought the guitar back, I noticed the strings were a considerably lighter gauge and the overall feel was different - not to my liking. I was going to take it to my regular tech. when I read something on this board by someone who said that - every guitar player should know how to do basic adjustments on their guitar. After thinking about this, I decided to take on the challenge. Since I still had the Fender owner's manual, I used that as a guide. The manual tells you what tools you need and what the specs. are. It is a great starting point. There's also a really good piece on You-Tube that explains how to do truss rod adjustments for those of us that have to remove the neck to get at the adjustment screw. Long story short (maybe the other way around!), I was able to do all the adjustments myself and feel like a learned a good bit in the process. So - my recommendation is to study up a bit, and give it a go.