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Post subject: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:51 am
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Hello everyone,

I have started playing electric guitar in the beginning of the year and, since then, I have developed a sort of a passion for electric guitars. I am, in no way, a connoisseur... so bear with me! :)

So, I have recently bought myself a beautiful Olympic White (with maple fretboard) american standard stratocaster. It is AMAZINGLY beautiful! I have been dreaming for a while of getting a strat made in the USA. So, you can imagine I had lots of hopes for my new guitar.

Unfortunately, it came with a few issues:

1- low E is not properly intonated. I have to pull the saddle all the way against the bridge and, even like this, it is not properly intonated. What is worst, the 1st fret is almost 50 cents out of tune (more like 30-40 cents, I would say).
2- the shaft of the tone pot close to the bridge is slightly bent (I guess). As a consequence, the knob is angled and not completely parallel to the pickguard.
3- The jack was not properly fixed (solved this in the meantime)
4- There is a very noticeable acoustic buzz, more noticeable on the G string (and around the middle of the neck).

The last issue is really bothering me and I am not entirely sure what to do. Did I get a lemon? Was I unlucky? Can it be solved without changing the action (I like it the way it is now)?

Have a look if you can:


What do you guys think I should do?

Cheers everyone!


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:17 am
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1st observation about the buzzing.

Personally I hear nothing out of the ordinary. Do note that the harder you pick the string, the more it's going to vibrate and oscillate and .. in this regard -- more vibration here is not better if you're trying to minimize the buzz.. From that vid, seems you're whacking the strings a bit too hard. (it's common with beginners) you don't need that much attack.. back off the pick a little see if it cleans up. also realize there is going to be SOME buzzing, especially unplugged.. that probably wont get into the tone once amplified.

regarding the intonation. it sounds like it's just way out, as a result of adjustments that maybe were not made properly?? I guess for me, I would have to see what you are doing.

have you made these adjustments yourself? I'm not trying to be snarky but I wonder.. do you know how to do this properly?

Are these stock strings?
(you should always intonate with new strings, and you should de-tune the string to take the string tension off the saddle so you don't start to strip and wear down the screw threads.

so you know that if the harmonic @ the 12th fret is true (in tune) and the fretted note it "flat" you need to shorten the scale, (move the saddle closer to the neck. If it's sharp, you need to lengthen the scale. push it back away from the neck)

Can you take it some where? A proper setup is not expensive, and could resolve all of these intonation issues.

About the bent tone pot, we'd need some pictures of the shaft.. but it's very easy to replace that if it's been bent or damaged at some point, where did you get this guitar?


Was it off a store rack? That could have been where this happened. It's probably cosmetic if the pot works ok.. if it was bugging you, it's an easy fix to replace a 250k tone pot. not expensive and any setup / repair guy can handle it.


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:28 am
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KidBlast wrote:
A proper setup is not expensive, and could resolve all of these intonation issues.

With the correction of "could" to "would", +1 to this


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:17 pm
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KidBlast wrote:
Are these stock strings?


+1
Never intonate with old strings, waste of time and confusing. I remember once I completely messed up intonation because of very old strings, with a new set all went fine.

One other factor which affect intonation in the first fret could be improperly cut nut slots, in particular nut slots cut not deep enough, which results in note pitch higher especially in the first 2-3 frets.
I assume higher pitch is your case since you are moving the saddle all the way towards the bridge plate...
One tip: you can remove the spring in the saddle screw in order to gain some space more, that would not cure 30/40 cents though....
Difficult to judge without seeing it live.

Alberto


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:48 pm
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pretto84 wrote:
KidBlast wrote:
Are these stock strings?


+1
Never intonate with old strings, waste of time and confusing. I remember once I completely messed up intonation because of very old strings, with a new set all went fine.

One other factor which affect intonation in the first fret could be improperly cut nut slots, in particular nut slots cut not deep enough, which results in note pitch higher especially in the first 2-3 frets.
I assume higher pitch is your case since you are moving the saddle all the way towards the bridge plate...
One tip: you can remove the spring in the saddle screw in order to gain some space more, that would not cure 30/40 cents though....
Difficult to judge without seeing it live.

Alberto


Hola Alberto

The guitar is less than one week old. As soon as I got it at home, I tested it thoroughly for intonation, buzz and all those sort of more obvious things.

I thought it could be the nut... But find it hard to believe that a new American Strat (highlighting "American") would have such a flaw.
I guess I will take the guitar to the shop and ask the guy there...


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:52 pm
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Your guitar needs a setup. It would be a real favor to yourself to learn how to perform a setup on your own.


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:22 pm
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Honestly... If you're new to guitar.... TAKE IT TO A QUALIFIED GUITAR TECH FOR A SETUP!
Your guitar will be playable and awesome if you do this.
You can learn about setups down the line. Do yourself a favor and get it done right!
That's a wonderful guitar you have... Rock On 8)

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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:34 pm
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Hello!

I am not COMPLETELY new to guitar setup (although, quite a beginner, I should say). But, I had my guitar teacher setting it up and it was good for him. But I was finding it hard to handle the buzz... There was one on the open low E and the G buzzing all over.

As it was driving me insane, I started changing things on the guitar. For starters, I removed the low E string and stringed it again (the same string). And magically, that sorted out the open E buzz! Yeahhh!

I then made the arm flatter (by turning the truss rod anticlockwise (looking from body to neck)) and raised the saddles of a few strings. Now it sounds okish... Still not perfect and, surely, there's room for improvement! I should say, the action of the low E and G are now relatively high, at about 2mm. If I try to put it down to Fender's recommended specs (around 1.6mm, if I am not mistaken), there's buzz all over! Don't get it...


In any case, now it sounds better (solving that open E buzz made me quite happy). Tomorrow I will take it to the store and ask them to look it over.


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:40 pm
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Good to hear you're bringing it in to the shop :wink:

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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:50 pm
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Forums often advocate doing stuff yourself. I don't. As a beginner you've other things to think about rather than learning to set up a guitar properly. If you bought it at a shop, they should set up up for nothing, if they value keeping customers.

When I bought a Tele a while back, it had some pot issues. Tech gave it back and said the intonation was also off, the nut was too tight and the action too high, and he'd fixed the lot. Said if the action wasn't to my liking, he'd adjust it again. No charge.


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:45 pm
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Drubbing wrote:
Forums often advocate doing stuff yourself. I don't. As a beginner you've other things to think about rather than learning to set up a guitar properly. If you bought it at a shop, they should set up up for nothing, if they value keeping customers.
I agree getting it setup by a good tech. I get mine setup when I buy them. I might get them checked every ten years or more, sometimes never. Might be because it's fairly dry here and I keep them in the cases when not in use. Maybe I'm just lucky lol

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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 12:23 am
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KidBlast wrote:
1st observation about the buzzing.

Personally I hear nothing out of the ordinary. Do note that the harder you pick the string, the more it's going to vibrate and oscillate and .. in this regard -- more vibration here is not better if you're trying to minimize the buzz.. From that vid, seems you're whacking the strings a bit too hard. (it's common with beginners) you don't need that much attack.. back off the pick a little see if it cleans up. also realize there is going to be SOME buzzing, especially unplugged.. that probably wont get into the tone once amplified.

regarding the intonation. it sounds like it's just way out, as a result of adjustments that maybe were not made properly?? I guess for me, I would have to see what you are doing.

have you made these adjustments yourself? I'm not trying to be snarky but I wonder.. do you know how to do this properly?

Are these stock strings?
(you should always intonate with new strings, and you should de-tune the string to take the string tension off the saddle so you don't start to strip and wear down the screw threads.

so you know that if the harmonic @ the 12th fret is true (in tune) and the fretted note it "flat" you need to shorten the scale, (move the saddle closer to the neck. If it's sharp, you need to lengthen the scale. push it back away from the neck)

Can you take it some where? A proper setup is not expensive, and could resolve all of these intonation issues.

About the bent tone pot, we'd need some pictures of the shaft.. but it's very easy to replace that if it's been bent or damaged at some point, where did you get this guitar?


Was it off a store rack? That could have been where this happened. It's probably cosmetic if the pot works ok.. if it was bugging you, it's an easy fix to replace a 250k tone pot. not expensive and any setup / repair guy can handle it.


I had a huge reply to this post... Just realized I pressed Preview, but not Submit! :(
Anyway... Here goes the short version:
- I am not a total beginner in setting up guitars. I have done it with my previous one. In any case, my guitar teacher (that builds his own electric guitars) set it up quickly. He said it was fine for him, but I was finding all the buzz and rattles disturbing.
- Intonation, it really seems to be at the 1st frets of the low E. Just rechecked after doing a bit of a setup myself, and all are sport on at the open/12 fret/ 12th harmonic (not the 1st frets of the low E though...).
- The pot is very slightly bent. Not sure if it is evident on the photo:
Image

I have ordered a new guitar in a store in Paris. The guitar was always on its case and I came to pick it up the moment it arrived at the store. So the (slightly) bent pot has to be from the factory!


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:16 am
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Annoying but it's only a bent shaft. A new pot is $3-5. Not likely to have anything to do with your other issues.


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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:39 am
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Take it to your nearest shop for a setup. Part of being a guitarist is getting to know your instrument and identifying what feels right. Some day you'll acquire the knowledge to fix the issue by yourself..

Nice guitar to learn on. I remember I played an old Korean Vester Strat copy when I was learning to play.

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Post subject: Re: New Stratocaster American Standard with a few "issues"
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:25 am
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Drubbing wrote:
Annoying but it's only a bent shaft. A new pot is $3-5. Not likely to have anything to do with your other issues.


I know, it's quite a small thing! And to be honest, as it doesn't seem to affect anything on the playability, I am going to forget about it. At least, my guitar has something unique! :) Besides being mine, it has a slightly bent pot... I wonder if I can market that! :)

Anyway... How easy is it to change a pot? Does it require soldering?


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