Hi everyone. I changed the strings on my new strat from 9's to 10's last night, and as I probably should have expected, the Bridge is now very high, pulling away from the front of my guitar. I've never made any adjustments on my guitars in the past and have never switched string gauges before.

Is it damaging to my guitar to have the Bridge pulled in this way?

How do I fix it, if I do in fact need to make adjustments?

Thanks for your comments.

No worries yet, if you are handy and have basic tools do this as a starting point
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide
Even after you do this you might still experience string "chinking" with larger gauge and you will have to work on the nut groves.

With the information and action you provided you seem not experienced enough to do this so I would suggest you take it to the good tech shop for a complete setup (try to be there when they do it and learn) and btw you will need another set of strings. Lesson learned you do not change a gauge of strings without the setup.

Welcome to the forum

I'd take the tremelo spring cover off and turn the two tremelo claw screws until the bridge floated down to where it was before.

The strings you put on pull on the bridge more than the lighter gauge strings making the bridge lift. By tightening the claw screws you're countering that additional pull which will allow the bridge to float back down. The tremelo bridge is sort of like a see-saw, you added more weight to one side by using heavier strings and now you have to add more weight to the other side by stretching the springs more to balance it.

Good luck with it. . .

Thanks for the comments guys. I think I'll take it into the shop, as I don't have any experience making these type of adjustments. Don't want to make a wrong move on my new beauty!

Don't waste your money! You can turn 2 screws !!!! All you have to do is take the back trem cover plate off, turn the 2 claw plate screws in a little, retune to standard pitch, and repeat until the bridge sits about 1/8 inch off the face of the body. Unless you want the bridge pulled flush to the body to help stabilize the trem, in that case crank those screws!

Follow what Steve said, 2 scews and you will learn a basic adjustment.

Why does he need another set of strings? Don't you set up a guitar after a string change?

_________________

Meant to say, but forgot to edit, that the shop guys usually don't care to look how new the strings are and will either put the new set or ask him to provide a new set charging him $ again. So it is up to OP to let them know that the strings are fresh and if installed properly there is no need to pay again. I know it is not that much money but why waste.

Sorry for the confusion bud, was in a hurry when originally replied

Thanks for the tips everyone, but I had already dropped it off to the tech by the time some of you posted. Being pretty new to all of this setup business, I was afraid leaving it in the condition it was would damage the bridge or some other piece I was not considering (it was floating seriously high).

Now it's all fixed up, but I did notice that the bridge now sits flush with the body, whereas before when strung with 9's and setup at the store originally from Fender the bridge was floating a bit up off the body.

What is the reason to have the bridge up on an angle, if any? Is there one correct way to position it, or will this a preference thing having an effect on playability, tone, etc?

I'd like to know so that I can do this work myself in the future as you all suggested.

See that is the thing, these guys did not consult with you before the setup and it seems the norm these days. More motivation for you to learn how to do it.

Anyhow to answer your question bridge can be positioned on the angle (floating) or decked to the body and both setups are fine from the tech stand point, some people like to wiggle a wang bar up and down the pitch and for that you need floating setup. Some people do it down the pitch only or not use the bar at all for the vibrato/dive effects and there is a preference for the bridge to be setup like yours. When properly setup you should have tunning stability in both cases.

From my experience, it was easier to do the setups i the beginning with the bridge down because I use .11 strings and claw balancing (on vintage and modern fulcrums) was tricky to get it right and better tuning stability. Now days I find a slight floating (I don't use a wang bar) works the best on Am Std and decked on Mexi Std. When floating I feel strings are looser for the lack of the better term, perhaps due to the over the saddles break over angle iduno, it's just a feel thing.

Hope that helps, and now you are ready to rock it....

You take the decision too fast and your guitar tech is not a good one.

You will learn like many of us.

>>Now days I find a slight floating (I don't use a wang bar) works the best on Am Std and decked on Mexi Std.

hey fendermandan,

i have a new MIM, you think it best for the bridge to be on deck for the MIM? if its on deck the wang bar isn't very effective any more is it? or only for pressing down?

also, when putting the bridge decked, is the right way to do so with strings on or off?

still trying to get the sound my ears want so i mess with it all the time. it teaches me things so i don't mind but i'll like it better when i get it close to what i want.

They didn't explain it to you at the shop?! All you would have had to do would be take the plastic back cover off and you'd see two screws on the side nearest to the neck. A metal claw would be what the screws are holding in. The spring attach to this metal claw. It's a very simple mechanism really, Leo Fender designed it so that ordinary musicians would easily adjust it. All you have to do the bring the bridge down is tighten up those screws, righty tighty. To make the bridge go up further you just have to loosen them.

If you tightened it all the way and the bridge still wasn't coming down enough, you could buy an extra spring or two for it. Strats come with three springs installed, I use all five. Slap a spring on, and it would've taken care of it. Springs cost .99 cents.

The reason the bridge was pulling up was the increased string tension from the heavier gauge strings. The heavier the string, the more it pulls on the bridge. If your bridge isn't tightened up and only has three springs, then that is what will cause it to pull up. This won't hurt the guitar, it'll just make it go out of tune easier. Your guitar was never in any danger. Some people like their bridge like you how you said yours was originally. That's so they can pull the whammy bar in both directions, causing the strings to go sharp and flat. With it flush with the body you get better tuning stability, but you can only drive the bar down, causing the strings to only go flat. The only thing you can do that may hurt your guitar in the long run is to mess with the truss rod without knowing what you're doing. Everything else is easily treated.

I'm a little shocked that the shop you took it to didn't show you what to do or at least explain how it worked and what was happening. It's literally the easiest adjustment you can make on a guitar, I wouldn't even call it a repair. If you paid more than $5 for that then you got screwed. All they did was take a screw driver and tighten those screws up, and perhaps added an extra spring or two. It would've taken them less than five minutes to do.

If you'd like to know more about guitar repair then Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair Guide is an excellent book. It has everything you need to know about everything. If you just want to focus on your strat, how it works and how to set it up then I'd suggest you take a look at The Fender Stratocaster Handbook by Paul Balmer. Someone on the forums suggested that one to me.

_________________
Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

+1 texas

A bit harsh, don't you think? He took it in for a set up, which he should have done anyways. Yeah, turning two screws would have fixed his problem, but if its a new guitar, a set up is generally recommended. Also, depending on the place, people wont even see the tech who sets their guitar up, let alone have one explain anything. They're usually so backed up at the places here that it's a 3 day turn around for a $80 set up.