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Post subject: Naive question from new player
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:14 pm
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Still taking lessons but hooked. I have two Mexican-made Strats. One is for serious practicing, the other was purchased as a means to practicing repair and upgrades. That second one has developed a tic. When the strings are strummed the sound fades quickly and unevenly. The other Strat is fine as is a another electric guitar. The amp is either an InLine 6 or Mustang Mini and it only happens with the one Strat. So I figure it is guitar.

Could use some guidance on possible problem and how I can find solution on the Fender site.

Thanks


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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:27 pm
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Check all of the solder joints under the hood to confirm that you haven't got a "cold" one, especially the wiring to the output jack. Lacking solid electrical connections, the signal from the pickup(s) will be attenuated. You might also clean the contacts of the jack, the selector switch, and the innards of the volume and tone pots. De-Oxit spray cleaner is a superb product for this purpose.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:06 pm
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ArJay, thanks. I will get under the hood and check. I don't play this one often but this last week I decided to give it some time. This is perfect for me trying to get used to working under the hood.

Thanks again!


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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:39 am
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An EXCELLENT book for basic repairs and setups that I use is the "Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine. Half deals with electrics and half with acoustics. It's very easy to understand and has lots of pictures. I have actually built a number of Strats and a Tele simply by reading this book and watching a couple of youtube videos on the subject. You can get the factory setup specs from the Fender website, but this gives you some tips and tricks from guys who have been guitar techs on tour with SRV, Buddy Guy, BB King, etc. Links are below.

Good luck!

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... tup-guide/

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Rep ... tar+repair


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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:40 am
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Welcome to the Forum.. ! :)

Did this 2nd Strat always do this, from the beginning?

You say: "... the other was purchased as a means to practicing repair and upgrades..."

What, if anything have you done to the guitar up to this point - tighten screws, remove PG to look inside, etc?

Arjay gave some great pointers, but I'm also wondering if you altered the saddles (either for height or length a bit) or inadvertently changed the pickup height... maybe on one side?

One practice you should make is to always measure everything (string height, saddle height, intonation distance of saddle from the bridge, even count the number of turns to a screw when you move it) before you do any work on the guitar. This way, if you mess it up, or simply don't like the result, you have the datapoints to find your way back to your original settings.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:08 am
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Lightnin MN wrote:
One practice you should make is to always measure everything (string height, saddle height, intonation distance of saddle from the bridge, even count the number of turns to a screw when you move it) before you do any work on the guitar. This way, if you mess it up, or simply don't like the result, you have the datapoints to find your way back to your original settings.


+1

In the absence of precision-measuring gauges, one should always begin with a quantifiable datum point that allows returning to "square one" should some calamity occur.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 7:06 pm
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lafrado wrote:
Still taking lessons but hooked. I have two Mexican-made Strats. One is for serious practicing, the other was purchased as a means to practicing repair and upgrades. That second one has developed a tic. When the strings are strummed the sound fades quickly and unevenly. The other Strat is fine as is a another electric guitar. The amp is either an InLine 6 or Mustang Mini and it only happens with the one Strat. So I figure it is guitar.

Could use some guidance on possible problem and how I can find solution on the Fender site.

Thanks


Something similar happened to me. The notes just didn't ring when I played. Every note sounded choked. One day I was reading an article about pickup height and how it can effect sustain. By moving the pickup further away from the strings, it allowed for my sustain and fixed my problem. Doing this will lower the overall loudness of the pickup, so you will need to raise the valume on your amp.

To do this, simply use a screwdriver and turn the screw until the pickup lowers. Lower it as far as you need to, but don't overdue it. For me, I put mine about 1/8th of an inch from the pickguard. Also remember that every pickup is different, and will require a different height. You can also set the pickups to factory settings, but I don't have much faith in that.

Let me know if this works for you.


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Post subject: Re: Naive question from new player
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:43 pm
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ncatechis wrote:
An EXCELLENT book for basic repairs and setups that I use is the "Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine.


+1

That book is a goldmine of information.


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