Lucky noob with Highway 1 Strat

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

07Highway1 wrote:

There's a good article here on strat set up and there are some good how to videos online if you google "fender Stratocaster Setup:

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

Anytime you change string gauges you should check the guitars' intonation to ensure that the higher registers are still properly in tune. It may require adjustment.

Also check the distance of the strings from the fretboard at the nut. Sometimes its necessary to file the nut to get the correct specs.

I would NOT recommend you do this however if you're not comfortable with it.

Clean the neck with lemon oil.

You should also lubricate any point where the string contacts the giutar when you put new strings on. I use 3 in 1 oil on the saddles, nut and string trees. I have NEVER broken a string on my Highway one.

As for the Nitro Finish I would just let it be.

Good Luck! :mrgreen:

Thanks for answering!

I'll do as you said but I'll probably send it to a pro... I don't want to kill my strat :lol:

Never?
I think broke a lot of them, specially when I was more of a begginer. I picked really hard when playing grunge and hard rock... that's why I changed from 9's to 10's.
I'll be sure to oil the saddles, the trees and the nut. Coming to think of it my saddles are really rusty and dirty... guess I'll have to clean them as well when I change strings.

Andybighair · **Joined:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:22 am **Posts:** 2175

FenderKurt wrote:

Damn, 8?!! :shock:

XD Never thought someone, besides collectors and rock "stars", could own more than 5 electric guitars! And I bet you still have some acoustic guitars.

Hehehe!

Yeah Collectors, Rock Stars and Geeky Guitar Mod Men.. :lol:

Here's 7 of 'um for your viewing pleasure.

No.8 is in bits awaiting my second attempt at a re-fin and I only have one electric Bass. My acoustic isn't really mine as It technically belongs to Mrs Bighair...but that's just a technicality.. :wink:

Anyway, some sound info posted by others here regarding your questions.

Good luck with your search for knowledge!

Andy

HWY1Strat · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2011 4:49 am

FenderKurt wrote:

Damn, 8?!! :shock:

XD Never thought someone, besides collectors and rock "stars", could own more than 5 electric guitars!

Nope! Regular schmo's also can own more than 5....
At last count ...I'm at 12!

FenderKurt...one last word on tuning....
I own the ENTIRE series of Highway One Strats HSS's.
I absolutely HATED the stock Ping Tuners!!!!
You'll be happy to know that the Fender/Schaller locking tuners are a direct drop in replacement for the Ping's. No altering of the headstock is necessary!
You will notice a WORLD of improvement once you have changed them.
And string changing is ridiculously easier than with a standard tuner!!

ALL the ones in the picture have Fender/Schaller's and it was one of the best improvements I've made to these guitars!!

Good Luck..................

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

Andybighair wrote:

FenderKurt wrote:

Damn, 8?!! :shock:

XD Never thought someone, besides collectors and rock "stars", could own more than 5 electric guitars! And I bet you still have some acoustic guitars.

Hehehe!

Yeah Collectors, Rock Stars and Geeky Guitar Mod Men.. :lol:

Here's 7 of 'um for your viewing pleasure.

No.8 is in bits awaiting my second attempt at a re-fin and I only have one electric Bass. My acoustic isn't really mine as It technically belongs to Mrs Bighair...but that's just a technicality.. :wink:

Anyway, some sound info posted by others here regarding your questions.

Good luck with your search for knowledge!

Andy

They're all awsome looking, your guitars. The first strat and that epiphone really look good :!:

BTW, good luck with the 8th one. I'd like to see it when it's done.
What brand are the first 3 guitars, not counting the bottom ones?

Thanks alot for everything

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

HWY1Strat wrote:

FenderKurt wrote:

Damn, 8?!! :shock:

XD Never thought someone, besides collectors and rock "stars", could own more than 5 electric guitars!

Nope! Regular schmo's also can own more than 5....
At last count ...I'm at 12!

FenderKurt...one last word on tuning....
I own the ENTIRE series of Highway One Strats HSS's.
I absolutely HATED the stock Ping Tuners!!!!
You'll be happy to know that the Fender/Schaller locking tuners are a direct drop in replacement for the Ping's. No altering of the headstock is necessary!
You will notice a WORLD of improvement once you have changed them.
And string changing is ridiculously easier than with a standard tuner!!

ALL the ones in the picture have Fender/Schaller's and it was one of the best improvements I've made to these guitars!!

Good Luck..................

Thanks for the tip.

I'll try the locking tuners, they must be good for you to put them on all of those guitars.

DetroitBlues · **Joined:** Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:58 am **Posts:** 2187

to answer the original questions...

Tuning problems.... It seems like your strings are binding in the nut, that is why you tune, tune, tune, then finally, ping and the strings start to change their pitch. Also check how you are stringing up the guitar if you are not hearing/feeling a ping/pop when tuning. There are a lot of threads in this forum for that subject.

Cleaning the rosewood board takes a little bit of lemon oil or there are specialized products at your local music shop. As for frets, there are fret cleaning wipes that take time to use. However, a little masking tape on either side of every fret along with some on the pickup pole pieces, use fine grade 0000 steel wool on the frets (very, very lightly). The tape prevents the wool from tearing up the fretboard and sticking to the pole piece magnets, but the steel wool restores the shine.

mike07502 · **Joined:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:47 pm **Posts:** 748

I felt proud of myself once, having spent a long time working on the intonation of my Strat. Only to walk into the studio to find out it was playing out, and I had some fret buzz. This kind of thing comes up when you are recording, it will show every little thing. I think it is exciting to get involved with the modular nature of the Fender guitars, and trying to tweak them is part of our development as musicians. I suppose fiddling with it is fine, as we discover what string gauge we want to favour, what string height, how much bridge-play we require. Once I know what I want from a particular instrument, I take it to a guitar tech. It is worth every penny! I avoid changing configurations on guitars as much as possible. That´s why people keep several instruments, each for this one specific function. Once the tech hands you a calibrated instrument to your specification, let it stand! You will be grateful when recording!

Andybighair · **Joined:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:22 am **Posts:** 2175

FenderKurt wrote:

They're all awsome looking, your guitars. The first strat and that epiphone really look good :!:

BTW, good luck with the 8th one. I'd like to see it when it's done.

Thanks man.

FenderKurt wrote:

What brand are the first 3 guitars, not counting the bottom ones?

Godin Exit 22 (above)
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinxtsap.htm

Godin XTSA (above)
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinxtsap.htm

Andybighair's Custom Build "Huxley 501" (above)
3 way coil split taps for each humbucker
3 way standard switching
Onboard 5 way distortion (Artec QDD)
Onboard tone booster with high/low gain switch (Artec VTC)
Onboard EQ Boost with Push pull bypass (Artec EXP)

Enjoy!

Andy

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

DetroitBlues wrote:

to answer the original questions...

Tuning problems.... It seems like your strings are binding in the nut, that is why you tune, tune, tune, then finally, ping and the strings start to change their pitch. Also check how you are stringing up the guitar if you are not hearing/feeling a ping/pop when tuning. There are a lot of threads in this forum for that subject.

Cleaning the rosewood board takes a little bit of lemon oil or there are specialized products at your local music shop. As for frets, there are fret cleaning wipes that take time to use. However, a little masking tape on either side of every fret along with some on the pickup pole pieces, use fine grade 0000 steel wool on the frets (very, very lightly). The tape prevents the wool from tearing up the fretboard and sticking to the pole piece magnets, but the steel wool restores the shine.

Thanks for replying. I'm going to change the strings and see if that was the issue.

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

mike07502 wrote:

I felt proud of myself once, having spent a long time working on the intonation of my Strat. Only to walk into the studio to find out it was playing out, and I had some fret buzz. This kind of thing comes up when you are recording, it will show every little thing. I think it is exciting to get involved with the modular nature of the Fender guitars, and trying to tweak them is part of our development as musicians. I suppose fiddling with it is fine, as we discover what string gauge we want to favour, what string height, how much bridge-play we require. Once I know what I want from a particular instrument, I take it to a guitar tech. It is worth every penny! I avoid changing configurations on guitars as much as possible. That´s why people keep several instruments, each for this one specific function. Once the tech hands you a calibrated instrument to your specification, let it stand! You will be grateful when recording!

Thanks for replying.
I actually tried to adjust the action because of the fret buzz and managed to get rid of it... but the action was terrible. I'll probably take it to a guitar tech.

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

Andybighair wrote:

FenderKurt wrote:

They're all awsome looking, your guitars. The first strat and that epiphone really look good :!:

BTW, good luck with the 8th one. I'd like to see it when it's done.

Thanks man.

FenderKurt wrote:

What brand are the first 3 guitars, not counting the bottom ones?

Godin Exit 22 (above)
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinxtsap.htm

Godin XTSA (above)
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinxtsap.htm

Andybighair's Custom Build "Huxley 501" (above)
3 way coil split taps for each humbucker
3 way standard switching
Onboard 5 way distortion (Artec QDD)
Onboard tone booster with high/low gain switch (Artec VTC)
Onboard EQ Boost with Push pull bypass (Artec EXP)

Enjoy!

Andy

Never heard about them, but they must be good... I mean you have 3 :!:

of them XD.
I must admit they look great.
Thanks for everything.

Andybighair · **Joined:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:22 am **Posts:** 2175

FenderKurt wrote:

Never heard about them, but they must be good... I mean you have 3 :!:

of them XD.

Only 2... I built the last one.

FenderKurt wrote:

I must admit they look great.

Sound good too! :wink:

FenderKurt wrote:

Thanks for everything.

Any time!

Andy

FenderKurt · **Joined:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:49 am **Posts:** 28

Andybighair wrote:

FenderKurt wrote:

Never heard about them, but they must be good... I mean you have 3 :!:

of them XD.

Only 2... I built the last one.

FenderKurt wrote:

I must admit they look great.

Sound good too! :wink:

FenderKurt wrote:

Thanks for everything.

Any time!

Andy

I thought you were kidding... they really look alike. Well, yours has alot more switches. :lol:

Thanks for everything, Andy.

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