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Post subject: Show your bridge set up
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:21 pm
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Hi everyone, I'm a new guitarist and Strat player. I'm really a bass player of 20 years, but have always wanted a Strat, so I finally took the plunge.

Anyway, I found a great deal on a MIM Strat from a guy who never played it. The setup was pretty good, but it needed some fine touches. I do my own setups on my basses so doing one a guitar didn't seem daunting to me. But I've never really been happy with the outcome. It seemed like the G, B, and E strings didn't have a lot of sustain and decayed rapidly. I put new 10's on it, intonated it, adjusted the bridge and the trem system.

After working with it again tonight, I have pretty good sustain now and an ok sound, but my bridge really seems to be floating. It's not touching the body at all, its held in place by the strings, two outer screws on the bridge and the springs in the body. Is this right? The diagram in the directions show the back of the bridge angled up about 15 degrees and the front appears to be touching the body. The front and back of mine now appear to be parallel to the body with space in between the bottom of the bridge and top of the body.

Can you guys take some close ups of how your bridges look so I can compare? Also any descriptions of how I'm doing would be appreciated also.

Thanks!
Brian


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:29 pm
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I don't know that looking at a picture is going to help you more than this:

http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php

Granted, this may not be exactly what you want but I think it will get you much closer and then you can fine tune to your taste and setup.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:36 pm
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A few quick questions while we're at it...

**Did the Strat have 10's (String gauge) on it before or something lighter?
**Are all of the springs still attached to the tremolo?
**Does it appear as if the string tension is completely pulling the bridge \ tremolo forward towards the nut?
**Is the a fairly standard tuning like 440?

I'm sure we can figure this whole thing out and have you annoying your neighbors in no time.

:D


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:58 pm
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wickedmartini wrote:
A few quick questions while we're at it...

**Did the Strat have 10's (String gauge) on it before or something lighter?
**Are all of the springs still attached to the tremolo?
**Does it appear as if the string tension is completely pulling the bridge \ tremolo forward towards the nut?
**Is the a fairly standard tuning like 440?

I'm sure we can figure this whole thing out and have you annoying your neighbors in no time.

:D


Yeah I looked at that link up above, an the owners manual that came with the guitar. The OM actually has a diagram of a cross section of the bridge with the back end up higher than the front.

I don't know what gauge it had on it originally. They were Fender Bullets though and I had the same problem as I did with the 10's.

All the springs are attached in this formation /|\.

No it doesn't look like the strings are pulling on the bridge at all. THe bridge looks parallel to the body.

Yeah I tune to 440 and have intonated tonight. I'm getting way better sustain on it than before, so I guess maybe I've fixed my original probem. It's just different than what Fender describes it as looking like.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:17 pm
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I snapped a few pics really quickly. They aren't the best; it was hard to get them close and clear.

Image

Image

Image

Image


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:25 pm
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There are a million different ways to set up a Strat...

Looks like all of your springs are there. It is possible to adjust the tension on those as well. As far as the bridge goes, it is possible to have it in either configuration as you mentioned above. A lot of that is a matter of preference. On my main Strat the rear portion of the bridge is lightly above the body of the guitar. If I pull back on the bar I can raise the pitch of the string by about half a step. Some prefer that the bridge is relatively flat or parallel to the body which only allows you to drop the string pitch. Ultimately a few factors can limit what you can do including the bridge block which will eventually just press up against the inner caivity of the guitar. How's the action and intonation? Where you want it? Does it stay in tune? I hope I'm making some sense to you.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:31 pm
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Is there separation between the bridge and the body? I wonder if the main (6) screws haven't been lossened a little bit.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:42 pm
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wickedmartini wrote:
There are a million different ways to set up a Strat...

Looks like all of your springs are there. It is possible to adjust the tension on those as well. As far as the bridge goes, it is possible to have it in either configuration as you mentioned above. A lot of that is a matter of preference. On my main Strat the rear portion of the bridge is lightly above the body of the guitar. If I pull back on the bar I can raise the pitch of the string by about half a step. Some prefer that the bridge is relatively flat or parallel to the body which only allows you to drop the string pitch. Ultimately a few factors can limit what you can do including the bridge block which will eventually just press up against the inner caivity of the guitar. How's the action and intonation? Where you want it? Does it stay in tune? I hope I'm making some sense to you.


Yeah I have a little wiggle room to raise the pitch by pulling back on the bar. So far it feels good, and stayed close to tuned after playing it for 30 minutes. I'll let it sit overnight and check it again tomorrow.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:45 pm
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wickedmartini wrote:
Is there separation between the bridge and the body? I wonder if the main (6) screws haven't been lossened a little bit.


Yes, it's hard to see in the pictures but there is a space between the bridge and the body. I did loosen all the screws while I pulled back on the trem bar as the manual said. Then tightend down the outer screws flush to the bridge and left the 4 inner ones out about 1/16" of an inch from the bridge so the bridge rocks on the outer ones.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:47 pm
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My advice would be to also check those (6) main screws on the broidge to make sure that they aren't too loose if that is what is allowing your bridge to float so high. If the screws are to loose, that can cause some problems down the line. Good luck. I'll keep an eye on the thread.


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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:45 am
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wickedmartini wrote:
My advice would be to also check those (6) main screws on the broidge to make sure that they aren't too loose if that is what is allowing your bridge to float so high. If the screws are to loose, that can cause some problems down the line. Good luck. I'll keep an eye on the thread.

Thanks Martini, I'll experiment with it again tonight and hope it will sound even better.


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Post subject: Re: Show your bridge set up
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:11 am
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Italian_Wammy wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm a new guitarist and Strat player. I'm really a bass player of 20 years, but have always wanted a Strat, so I finally took the plunge.

Anyway, I found a great deal on a MIM Strat from a guy who never played it. The setup was pretty good, but it needed some fine touches. I do my own setups on my basses so doing one a guitar didn't seem daunting to me. But I've never really been happy with the outcome. It seemed like the G, B, and E strings didn't have a lot of sustain and decayed rapidly. I put new 10's on it, intonated it, adjusted the bridge and the trem system.

After working with it again tonight, I have pretty good sustain now and an ok sound, but my bridge really seems to be floating. It's not touching the body at all, its held in place by the strings, two outer screws on the bridge and the springs in the body. Is this right? The diagram in the directions show the back of the bridge angled up about 15 degrees and the front appears to be touching the body. The front and back of mine now appear to be parallel to the body with space in between the bottom of the bridge and top of the body.

Can you guys take some close ups of how your bridges look so I can compare? Also any descriptions of how I'm doing would be appreciated also.

Thanks!
Brian


This is certainly an accepable setup. Some players like to use the recommended 1/8" gap at the back of the bridge plate.


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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:42 am
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The gap at the back of the plate is one thing, the entire bridge floating above the body because the screws are too loose is another.


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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:45 am
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Take two springs more and turn to screws in :wink:


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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:08 am
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As mentioned before there are millions of ways to set up your bridge this is the way i like it:


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