OK.....I have changed my strings in the past on other guitars I have owned without a problem. I have a sunburst mexican strat that has not had new strings on it for about 4 years (I got lazy). I put new strings on it and now it seems the whole guitar is having issues.

I changed the strings one at a time, but they are a completely different brand than what was on the guitar. All of the sudden there is a stripped screw on one of the pickups and the bridge is angled up WAY too high. What is going on?

The new strings are probably a bigger size than the old ones and have more tension. You'll need to tighten the claw screws on the back of the guitar under the trem cover, or you can add extra springs. It looks like this.



The stripped pickup screw probably was just loosened too much and came out from the pickup, but you'll probably need to take the pickguard off to fix it.

The stripped screw on the pickup sounds like a fluke but the bridge angled up sounds like you put heavier gauge strings than what was on their before and that pulled the bridge forward.Are they the same gauge that was on before?

_________________
1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

They are a heavier gauge string; good call. I figured that's how you adjust the bridge but I didn't know if it was something I should leave to a pro.

Thanks for the help.

Hi Mikey85123: like Jason said, I bet the pickup screw isn't stripped, it has just come out of the mounting hole in the end of the pickup beneath the pickguard. Either way, you need to remove the pickguard and take a look.

Also, if you have changed string gauge then in addition to tightening the trem springs you will now need to check the relief, action and intonation. If you don't know how to do that then a visit to a good tech is recommended.

Cheers - C

_________________

I'm thinking that it might be thinker strings, too. But remember that you've had the same strings on the guitar for 4 yers. If the new ones are the same gageas the old ones, which are stretched out, the new ones are much stronger.

You probibly haven't had the guitar set up in 4yrs either. I would take to an expert. You'll thank me later.

Paris

I took it up to the local music store today. Hopefully they set it up properly. I suppose if it sounds good and stays in tune when I pick it up that's all I can ask for.

Well, you could ask for a free gigging amp to go with it. But I don't think you'll get it.

But I'm sure that geet will come back right as rain, which is the main thing. Enjoy!

Cheers - C

_________________

I got her back and it sounds great. I'm mad at myself for not having put string on it sooner. The only odd thing is that the B string has an odd buzz when it is allowed to sustain. I looked closely and it is not touching any of the frets; maybe it's coming from the bridge saddle.