Hello everyone.
I am new here so I apologize if this question has been asked before.
I have a squire bullet strat and a squire affinity strat, both of which suffer from the same problem with the bass E and A string buzzing. at first I thought it was a problem with my technique, but I have found that this is quite a common problem.
the problem isn't as bad on the affinity as the body is made of heavier alder instead of the bass wood on the bullet, overall the affinity is of a much higher quality and is made a lot better.

the main problem is that the bass E and A strings vibrate, after you have played them and you take your fingers off them and also when these two strings haven't even been touched. if I play any of the other four strings without touching the top two, they still vibrate. not a lot but the low hum from each string can be heard no matter if the guitar is plugged in or not. if I play the bass E A and D string, the E B and G strings make no noise at all, so it doesn't work the other way round.

I can also feel quite a lot of vibration through the neck on both guitars.
again it isn't as bad on the affinity as the neck and headstock on the affinity feels a lot thicker and heavier.
I recently played a friends guitar that he made himself, he made the body but used the neck from a squire strat that cost him £30, which is a hell of a lot less than I paid for each of my guitars. I also noticed that the neck he had felt a lot thicker and heavier than the necks on both of my guitars. I played his guitar for nearly an hour and I never felt any string vibration through the neck and I didn't have the same problem with the bass E and A string vibrating when they haven't even been touched.

on both of my guitars, the nuts are correct, the neck relief is correct, the intonation is perfect, the string height is perfect and the tremolo is set correctly.

could this be a problem with the neck on each guitar? or could it have something to do with the fact that the nuts are plastic instead of bone? I have heard that this problem could be caused by the bridge saddles being loose, but if I tighten the screws anymore then the string will be too high. the screws on the bridge saddles are as tight as they can be without making the string too high.
I have also heard that having too many winds round the tuning peg on the bass strings can cause such vibration. but mine have about three winds round the pegs on the bass strings.

as well as finding a solution to this problem, I would be interested to know if there is a similar problem with the American standard strat? it would be a shame if it was when you consider the price difference.

if anyone can offer me any help on this subject then I would greatly appreciate it.
thanks in advance for any help.

Hi kiss nation,

I'm not sure if you mean the same thing with both terms, but the term "buzzing" is usually used to describe a rattling of the string on the frets when fretting the string, indicating that the action is too low, or the frets are uneven in height, for that particular instrument.

The fact that the E and A vibrate when other strings are strummed is just a natural reaction to the guitar's resonance and some guitars do this more than others. Playing close enough to an amp can add to this vibration, it's perfectly normal. I have gotten used to having to mute the unused strings because of this type of vibration.

You might notice this when checking the tuning also. Plucking one string can cause vibration on another string. Feeling the vibration through the neck is the norm, and again is more noticeable on some guitars than others.

All guitars are a "resonant system" and some more so than others. I don't think that there is really a "fix" for this, it's a product of the guitar as a whole. Using lighter gauge strings can reduce the effect.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

thanks for the quick reply mate.
it's nice to know that there is nothing actually wrong with my guitars.
I do understand that my question might have been a bit confusing because I used the word buzzing instead of vibrating. it's not a case of the string buzzing or rattling against the frets, sorry for the confusion there.

I also notice the vibration in the strings when tuning, I have to mute the other five strings to make sure the tuning of each string is accurate and correct.

as for using strings with a lighter gauge, both my guitars are strung with ernie ball super slinkys, they both have been since I bought them.
the strings that were fitted as standard vibrated in the same way and the super slinkys do it too.

not to worry, it's just nice to know that everything that I am considering a problem is actually perfectly normal.

thanks again for the help mate

I was also wondering if getting a thicker denser or heavier neck would be better.
or maybe even the same size neck so it will fit, but one with a larger radius.

It would be different, but better? If you mean would the strings vibrate less, I doubt it. But it would likely be less flexible than the one that you have now. A larger radius would be flatter, but no affect on string vibration.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

I have thought in the past about saving up my money for an American standard strat.
right now I'm glad I haven't, now that I know that a real strat will have more or less the same problems that I am having with my affinity.
the affinity body is made from alder, the neck is maple and the fingerboard is made from rosewood, just like the real strats are. ok so the dimensions might be a little different and the wood used to make the body and the neck will be carefully selected and of a better quality. the pickups will be better quality, as will the tone and volume pots.
the tuners, pegs and the bridge will be made of a better quality metal, and the nut will be made of bone instead of plastic.

these are minor differences when you consider the difference in price (£900 for an American standard and £200 for the affinity) and the fact that the strings on a real strat will vibrate just like the strings on a replica such as the affinity.
so it looks like I will be sticking with my replica for now, until the day comes when someone finds a solution to this unwanted vibration.

I know it might sound like I am complaining a lot, but I have had fender replicas from squire and encore in the past, even though it has been a while since I bought a guitar until recently. I even tried a jaxville strat and I never noticed any unwanted string vibration or vibration in the neck with any of these guitars.
it's only with the two I purchased recently.

does this mean that standards have been slipping in recent years?
or does the vibration in the neck tell me that I have got a very good guitar for not much money?

The Am Std is miles above a Squier Affinity in every aspect.



Add:
Better fit and finish
better frets, hand rolled edges
bi-flex truss rod
micro-tilt neck adjust
two-point bridge
a case
better resale value
even the knobs, covers, trem-claw, springs and screws are better

Subtle? I mean everything about it is better.

I have never ever heard anyone complain that the strings vibrate on a guitar, that's what they are supposed to do. As I said already, some guitars might vibrate more than others, it's not a problem, it is a function.

Just pick up an Am Std and play it once and you will instantly know that the Squier isn't even in the same league. Not knocking the Squier, but come on, you're bordering on the ridiculous comparing the two as having subtle differences.

If the Squier bothers you that much, get rid of it, save up and get an Am Std. But, the strings will still vibrate.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

it has been annoying me a little, especially after playing a guitar that my friend made himself using a replica fender neck.
that felt a lot thicker and heavier and there was no unwanted string vibration, neither could you feel any vibration through the neck.
could that have more to do with the body that the neck is fixed to?
he had used quite a solid lump of wood for the body.

I was actually pointing out that the std strat will be better in every way, but yet the std strat will have the same problems with vibration as my affinity.
so after paying much more money for a std strat you will still have the same problem with vibration.