I'm looking into buying or bulidng a strat. I've never owned one before but have played them before alot. The one thing I dont like about them is that when I palm mute my pinky almost always hits one of the knobs and moves it ALOT! Any sugesstions?

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Epiphone Les Paul 100
Custom-Made Craig Telecaster
Custom-Made Craig Stratocaster
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Ibenez Artcore Hollowbody
51 year old Silvertone Electric-Acoustic
Older Model Fender Acoustic
Alverez Acoustic
Bugera V5

Cut your pinky off.............................

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

Why thank you Nevin!

In all seriousness it could just mean altering the position you hold your hand when musting.........musting???? I meant muting!

I assume your pinky points straight down.......mine kind of points along the strings........so I don't risk hitting any of the controls.

Maybe there is other ways but I think it is a case of changing the way you play for it to work or maybe put on a tele control panel if it is a build.

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

I've been playing a Strat since 1974 and palm muting has become second nature and I can't remember ever having a problem with my pinky getting in the way.Have you tried just curling your pinky up while palm muting?

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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.

Muscle memory; it's a simple matter of "teaching" yourself to play a particular guitar. Strats, LPs, Jacksons, etc. all have different configurations and some take more getting used to than others. Wide/narrow fingerboards, thin/thick neck profiles, taller bridge height all require some adaptation and it only comes from playing. You can always alter the layout with a replacement pickguard but that wouldn't make you any better at picking up any guitar and playing with no problems,

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

Musting.... ..Is that Busking quietly....

Seriously, a strat does require adaptation of a different sort, especially if you have played a Les Paul for a long time. I found years ago that I had to rearrange both my hand positions as well as my picking. The different layout allows adaptation but it also rewards the effort.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Play a madern Telecaster with 3 Strat Pickups or be more careful.

One of my guitar heros, local Nashville blues artist, Stacey Mitchheart always played Teles. I asked him why once. He told me that he loves Strats, but he kept hitting the knobs.

I think he's playing hollow body electrics now. It's been years since I saw him play.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

yeah ive always played my les paul alot. at least sombody didnt tell me to cut my pinky off! thanks

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Epiphone Les Paul 100
Custom-Made Craig Telecaster
Custom-Made Craig Stratocaster
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Ibenez Artcore Hollowbody
51 year old Silvertone Electric-Acoustic
Older Model Fender Acoustic
Alverez Acoustic
Bugera V5

Being a carpenter I have always cherished my digits and would not even toy with the idea of cutting any of them off.....

Not a funny joke at all....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

my lil bro's a carpenter. he helps me build my guitars and he does custom picks

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Epiphone Les Paul 100
Custom-Made Craig Telecaster
Custom-Made Craig Stratocaster
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Ibenez Artcore Hollowbody
51 year old Silvertone Electric-Acoustic
Older Model Fender Acoustic
Alverez Acoustic
Bugera V5

I play both Teles and Strats a lot and I have found, now and then, that all of a sudden I notice a drop in my volume with a Strat... only to find that I have managed to slowly knock the volume down by accidentally hitting the volume knob now and then while I was playing. It's a little annoying in a live setting, but once I make a little conscious adjustment it doesn't usually happen again that night.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I have always had the same problem. There's a cure, but it takes some work (by you or a tech.) and you may have to undo it if you want to sell. What I have been doing for years is to have the guitar modified so that there are only two controls: a master volume, and a master tone. Two remaining controls occupy the lower two spaces in the pickguard, thus leaving the whole upper area for your palm muting. The key to this (besides the obvious rewiring) is to buy a custom pickguard with just the two holes for the master volume and tone. Custom pickguards are available from Chandler, Warmoth, and a host of others. You can often choose from a wide variety materials and colors. Doing this also gives you the option of getting a very custom looking pickguard that will really make your guitar stand out. I have a black 57 AVRI with a maple fretboard and a tortoise shell pickguard. I like it. To me, it looks a lot better than the standard white pickguard. This solution probably is not for everyone. But - it worked for me.

sounds like a good idea! thanks

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Epiphone Les Paul 100
Custom-Made Craig Telecaster
Custom-Made Craig Stratocaster
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Ibenez Artcore Hollowbody
51 year old Silvertone Electric-Acoustic
Older Model Fender Acoustic
Alverez Acoustic
Bugera V5

Is this only a problem for Metal players? I never have this problem.

(pet peeve time) “ALOT” isn’t a word, but I see it “A Lot” on this forum. I’m not sure why
(I'm a crappy speller BTW, so I know I shouldn't throw stones)