The last 3 mim strats I tried at GC felt ok, but all would not stay in good tune. Could this be the stock strings they come with?

I purchased a used MIM strat from Elderly instruments (http://www.elderly.com/) and a new mim strat from sweetwater (http://www.sweetwater.com/) and both came very well setup. I would trust either of these online retailers. My new MIM also cam with a gig bag. Just an FYI and something to think about.

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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 don't think so. It's the floating bridge. It's an inherent flaw in the design. There are solutions & half solutions. On my MIM, I lowered the bridge, tightened the springs, so it's nearly flush w/the body, & I removed the trem arm. I also put graphite in the nut. It's not perfect, but I'm content enough. Using the trem arm really put mine out of tune. There's other things that can be done, but it's not the strings.

Well, since every MIM I have tried at GC will not seem to hold a tune. I am leaning towards buying from Sweetwater.com .At least they set up the guitar, Gc wants extra for that.

Hey General,

I feel like I can help. I played back in the 60's and put the guitar down for 30 years. Picked it back up 3 years ago and Guitar Center was where I did all my comparisons.

BUT

You need to know that GC typically takes a guitar from the box and puts it on the rack. They do not set them up typically (but some stores are starting to). I'll tell you.....I put Squier down for almost that entire 3 years. A couple months ago, I decided to give them a shot with a used Squier strat. Here is what I found.....doing a proper setup on the guitar turns them into "real" guitars. I had the same "won't stay in tune" problems. This is due to several things.

One of them, you found. The bridge pulls up because the trem springs need to be tightened down some. Easy to do, but takes time and you need to remove the rear cover to do it.

The next is stretching strings. I'm sure that any Guitar Center accessories guy or guitar guy can show you how to do it. If you don't do this, new strings become out of tune in minutes......for a month.

The next is to lubricate all the contact points with strings. Use a sharp pencil and pull the string away from the nut (the piece near the headstock that is at the top of the fingerboard) and "write" on the contact surfaces. I always start with the high e string because then as the pencil starts to lose its sharpness, you don't need it so sharp for the lower strings. Also, do this on the saddles. I also lift each saddle and do it on the screw contact points. Get some goop (vasoline, chapstick, whatever) and with a q tip or pencil or tooth pick, put it under the string trees.

I'm sitting next to a squier strat that I bought yesterday. The neck was bowed, the saddles were too high, the intonation was horrible and the strings stuck in the neck when tuning. Typical piece of crap that most of the world thinks of Squiers. I did all of the above plus adjusting the neck with the truss rod (you just need a hex wrench) and then adjusting all of the saddles for height and then for intonation. It plays wonderfully and stays in tune just fine. Learning to do this yourself is the way to go. Fender (look under support, setups) has some good info. There are youtube videos for setups as well.

Ok, on to learning. Youtube is honestly the only reason I got hooked on guitar again 3 years ago. I play at least an hour a day now and am in a worship band at my church. Check out justinguitar.com or just go to youtube and look for Justin Sandercoe. I feel that he's one of the best, free online instructors out there. He'll take donations, but does not require one or make you feel like you have to donate. Beginner stuff all the way up to some good expert tips.

For any guitar purchase, I always say to try whatever you're thinking of buying. There are great bargains out there. Mostly with Squier or mim guitars. The Americans do come down in value but not as much....except the high end newer ones. I've bought 2 Squiers and 2 mim's along with some amps, gigbags and hardcases. I sell off what I've done setups on and make a couple dollars and buy up. (squier to mim....looking to head to an Am eventually). People are always looking for a good playing guitar to start off with or to give to their kid.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I'm pretty enthusiastic to find that these really are good guitars after having thought so little of them in the past.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

save a little more money up and buy a used american strat.

Hi General, I'm kinda surprised you haven't bought one yet. If your heart is set on a Strat, the tuning probs are just something you need live with & work around. Setup is a good thing, but you need to do the basics yourself on a regular basis to minimize the problem, as suggested by Jack. Plus even a change in temperature can cause a guitar to go out of tune, so it doesn't necessarily mean the guitars are flawed.
If you order through the web, make sure you have plenty of time to return it in case there's a problem. I would prefer to try before I buy. I may be lucky, but my MIM was set up nearly perfect straight out of the box. Just a set of new strings & later I tweaked the bridge & PU height to my liking & I was set. Whatever you decide, don't expect the guitar to always stay in tune, it won't, especially w/o proper care & maintenance. & it's really worth having a good electronic tuner. Good luck mate

P.S. Besides what Jack mentions already, you need to properly install new strings.

Well, now I am rethinking everything. Tried a MIM at GC yesterday and it stayed in tune pretty well. I even checked intonation. The low e was a little sharp, but thats fixable. I was going with the MIM and the fender frontman 212r. However, i currently have a Yorkville 200 watt keyboard amp and a digitech rp100 prossesor. I know it's not a guitar amp, but I would be in over 800.00 for the Fender amp and MIM. So I may spend a little more on the Strat and get a real amp later.

General Coulter

No reason a keyboard amp wouldn't be ok if you're using an effects processor at least to start with. The rp100 has amp models in it. I have the Boss GT10, & on their forum, many actually recommend using keyboard amps w/the GT10. It may not be "boutique" but it'll get you by for now.

Sigh, now I'll have to try the guitars on the TOP row at GC.....LOL

Well, the bonus fairy was a little more generous than I expected. I am still looking at the mim strats, but the classic vibes look good as well. And if I stepped down, I could get a real amp. With my digitech rp100, I wouldn't really need a combo amp. Just a good amp. Any suggestions would be welcome. I am shooting for this weekend. As as soon as I figure out how to post , i'll post post pics. Thanks again to all who put up with my stupid questions.

Look on line for sales personal sales or go to a guitar center and talk them down.

I'm guessing money is tight, but if you buy one really good guitar you'll be very satisfied.

Saturday is the day. I went in tonight and had everything picked out, but my check had not yet cleared,lol. They are holding it till tomorrow.It is the MIM 2011 Olympic White with the maple fretboard.
If someone wouldn't mind, can u tell me how to post a pic. I know i have to put the pics on a public server, but what command do I use eo post it.Thanks again for all the help

Upload the pics to a public server (i.e. photobucket), view the picture from your web browser and copy he link from the top of your browser and hit the "url" button and paste the address between the [url][/url] labels. Photobucket also has a tab that will copy the link for you, just click the "direct link" button and paste the link in between the [URL] labels.
Hope this helps

_________________
"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

Congrats General, sounds like a guitar I would choose for myself. Waiting for the pics.