Hi everyone,

I have had my American Standard Strat for about a year and a half and love it. It came with 9's strung on and I had Long & McQuade guys change the setup to 10's. I can't remember how the bridge plate sat before switching the string gauge, but now it sits flat against the body.

I had never considered this bit of setup detail until I really started studying SRV style playing and using my whammy bar, and through playing and attempting to pull up on the bar from its standard position against the body I've caused some small cracks in the finish just around the bridge.

This is an extremely minor crack and I believe it is all cosmetic (barely able to see unless you comperss the whammy bar to look under bridge plate) but it has made me wonder what the correct setup for your bridge plate is?

Do you all have this piece mounted flush against the body, or do you play with spring configuration and number in the back of the guitar to ensure the bridge is slightly floating off the body (also allowing you to use the whammy bar to push down towards the body as well as to pull away from the body)?

Thanks for your help.

There is no "correct" way. It all depends on how you want to use/not use the trem. How do YOU want it to operate? Once you make that decision then set up the guitar that way.

_________________
Bill

bluesky636 is correct in that it's really a matter of taste as far as how you play, but Fender spec is a 1/8" (3.2 mm) gap at rear of bridge between the bridge plate and the body: http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide

Fender spec is a 1/8" (3.2 mm) gap at rear of bridge.

If you increased string gauge, that would typically pull the bridge up from the body if anything, so it's likely it was set up flat before. You can adjust the gap using the spring claw in the tremelo cavity. loosen it to get the desired gap between the body and the bridge plate.

Edit: Here's a good diagram:

http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewt ... =1&t=74658