Hello Fender community,

I recently purchased my first Fender electric guitar, a brand new American Standard Stratocaster, and I have a couple of questions regarding it since I am new to the world of Strats.

1.) When I play the Strat through my amplifier, the volume is much lower than when I play my Les Paul through the same amp, with the same exact settings. Is this normal, or does something need adjusting? Keep in mind, I already adjusted the pickup height (5/64" bass, 4/64" treble) as I thought the pickups being too low might be the cause, yet that didn't resolve the issue.

2.) When I tune one of the strings to pitch, it goes out of pitch as I tune the other strings to pitch. Is this normal for tremolo guitars?

3.) I noticed a tiny black spring on the floor today as I was working on my guitar, and I can only assume that it fell out of the tremolo arm hole. Does this sound correct? How can I keep from losing it?!



Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you all,

Best Regards,
Bob

1.) Output from a single coil pickup is less than that of a humbucker, so you will notice a slight drop in volume. but nothing major.

2.) If you're bridge is floating (like the setup on most american standards) then yes this will happen. You need to tune until A) the strings are in tune B) the total string tension matched that of the springs attached to the bridge in the back route of the body. In tuning 1 string sharper, you add more tension to the string side, so the pitch of all the other strings will flatten. It takes an extra min to tune the guitar with fresh strings, but once you're in tune you're fine.

3) Thats the spring that goes in the tremelo arm hole. its there to add tension to the arm as you screw it in, so that the arm stays in the spot that you left it after you used it. I personally don't like them, but no, the only way to keep it in place is to leave the wammy bar in.

Given that you've asked the above questions, you might wanna know this: If you snap a string on a guitar with a floating bridge, you're whole guitar will go out of tune. You lose a string you lose tension on the string side, so the springs in the back route will pull back, raising the pitch of the remaining strings on the string side. This is an absolute bugger when you're playing live. New strings before gigs

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My Rig: Guitar into Pedals then into Amps and out into Speakers.

+1
Nothing there sounds unusual for a Strat. If you find the floating bridge tuning problematic, there are resolutions. i.e. blocking, locking, or decking the bridge. It's always personal preference. Enjoy your Strat.

Re black spring.

Exactly right. If you don't want the arm in there, but you want to keep the spring in, most new guitars come with a little round sticker type thing over the hole. Throw a little sticker or piece of tape and it will stay in place.

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