Gimme a hand setting my strat up..please?

MessianicDreams

New member
Hey guys,


well i had my american deluxe strat set up with a floating bridge for a while, but the action was way too high and i found the floating bridge a pain in the arse, so now its not floating.

I wanna make the action lower but its still not low enough on the higher frets and i'm getting fret buzz. do i need to adjust the truss rod?

i'm kinda scared of screwing with the neck cuz i don't know what i'm doing. i've tried lowering the bridge for a while but that just made the buzz worse.

thanks for any help


MessiD
 
strat set up

there could be a lot of things wrong w/ it ..... does the neck have the correct relief ?? fret the strings at the first and last fret... hold them down measure the distance beteween the top of the 12th fret and the bottom of the string... you should be able to fit a credit card beteween the string and the top of the fret....... is your neck twisted..... do you need to shim your neck ?? you might want to take it to a pro for a set up ?? if you want to try to adjust your trus rod be sure the guitar is at room temp.. make small adjustments.. slowly... wait a few mins beteween adjustments.. make sure you have the right tool so you dont strip anything...... :cool:
 
sure, i'll give you a hand--this one's easy. TAKE IT TO SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. few things are easier to screw up than a neck by someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

get them to let you watch while they do the setup and have them explain what they're doing. you'll be out $50 or so, but $50 for a great playing guitar is worth it....i mean, this is an american deluxe, right? what's $50 in maintenance for a $1000 guitar? you change the oil and rotate the tires on your car, right? and get it inspected once a year, right?


cheers,
wade
 
A quality tech is worth his weight in gold..... but analyzing and adjusting neck relief is something that ALL guitar players should know how to do. The reality, is that anytime you chance the guages of your strings, you will need some sort of truss adjustment. Bottom line? Unless you are dealing with an historic guitar or something that is frozen or totally whacked, it aint rocket science, and on a modern guitar you really cant do much harm.

There are tons of books and articles on simple set up tricks for setting action and intonation, so go for it. A lot of factory spec. perfect setups do not feel good for everyone, so experiment with it till ya find whats right for you.

Who knows... you could be the next guy on Craigs List who advertises complete setups for $15! :) LOL!!!
 
One warning if you try to do it yourself..... a little adjustment goes a long way. use 1/4 and 1/2 turns to get it right.
 
MessianicDreams, if you will go to the Fender web site they should have set-up instructions for your guitar. They will include how to measure for the appropriate amount of neck bow and string height, and the order in which things should be done.

None of this is particularly difficult, but as others have said, a little goes a long way when you are adjusting the truss rod. Changes you make to the truss rod are immediately measureable, so take your time.
 
:(


now you guys scare me a bit. guess i'll need to find a guitar tech. $50 is not much to keep this guitar going..as someone said, it was a decent investment to start off with so i may as well treat it right.



i'm gunna have a chat with a mate of mine who knows his shit. maybe he'll be able to sort me out with summin'..


thanks for the help guys :)
 
Zaphod B said:
Changes you make to the truss rod are immediately measureable, so take your time.


are you sure that isn't meant to be "AREN'T immediately"?? I was under the impression that it took a few mins for the neck to adjust each time..
 
Of course, the change you are "seeing" is the measurement of string height at the midpoint between the nut and the neck heel, and the increments are very small. So the change won't be big to the naked eye but with a gauge you can definitely see it.
 
Okay Messianic Dreams, straight from the Fender guide on maintenance, here's what they say about the truss rod:

Truss Rod

There are two different styles of truss rods found on Fender guitars and basses; the "Standard" truss rod, and the "Bi-flex" truss rod. Most Fender guitars and basses are equipped with a "Standard" truss rod (there are two types of "Standard" truss rod; one which adjusts at the heel of the neck, and one which adjusts at the headstock, but both operate on the same principle). The "Standard" truss rod can counteract concave curvature, for example: in a neck that has too much relief, by generating a force in the neck opposite to that caused by excessive string tension.

Fender also uses a unique "Bi-Flex" truss rod system on some instruments. Unlike the "Standard" truss rods, which can only correct a neck that is too concave (under-bowed), the "Bi-Flex" truss rod can compensate for either concave (under-bowed), or convex (over-bowed) curvature, by generating a force in either direction as needed for the correction.

Check your tuning. Install a capo at the 1st fret, depress the 6th string at the last fret.

With a feeler gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret -- see the specification chart below for the proper gap.

Adjustment at headstock (Allen wrench): Sight down the edge of the fingerboard from behind the headstock, looking toward the body of the instrument. If neck is too concave (action too high), turn the truss rod nut clock-wise to remove excess relief. If the neck is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to allow the string tension to pull more relief into the neck. Check your tuning, then recheck the gap with the feeler gauge and re-adjust as needed.

Adjustment at neck joint (Phillips screwdriver): Sight down the edge of the fingerboard from behind the body, looking up toward the headstock of the instrument. If the neck is too concave (action too high), turn the truss rod nut clock-wise to remove excess relief. If the neck is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to allow the string tension to pull more relief into the neck. Check your tuning, then recheck the gap with the feeler gauge and re-adjust as needed.

Note: In either case, if you meet excessive resistance when adjusting the truss rod, your instrument needs constant adjustment, adjusting the truss rod has no effect on the neck, or you're simply not comfortable making this type of adjustment yourself, take your instrument to your local Authorized Fender Service Center.


Neck Radius
7.25"
9.5" to 12"
15" to 17" Relief
.012" (0.3 mm)
.010" (0.25 mm)
.008" (0.2 mm)


Action

Players with a light touch can get away with lower action, others need higher action to avoid rattles. Check tuning. Using 6" (150 mm) ruler, measure distance between bottom of strings and top of the 17th fret. Adjust bridge saddles to the height according to the chart, then re-tune. Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved. Note: For locking tremolo systems the individual string height is preset. Use the two pivot adjustment screws to achieve the desired overall string height.


Neck Radius String Height
Bass Side Treble Side
7.25"
9.5" to 12"
15" to 17" 5/64" (2 mm)
4/64" (2 mm)
4/64" (1.6 mm) 4/64" (1.6 mm)
4/64" (1.6 mm)
3/64" (1.2 mm)
 
Man if I can adjust your action, anyone can. Just do it very, very slowly. Leave it overnight after a turn and come back to it the next day. You may have to intonate again, but that's handy enough. It's a pain to do, but you'll be glad you know how to.
 
Zaphod B said:
Telepaul, you really don't have to wait overnight.

Well, it is reassuring, especially if you're worried that your neck is gonna snap off in your hand as soon as you go near it with an allen key.

You can see it immediately (although the change is more obvious on an acoustic - figures, I suppose), but it certainly doesn't do any harm to wait, particularly if you're nervous about doing it.
 
Zaphod B said:
Telepaul, you really don't have to wait overnight.

Oh right well i figured it was best to allow the wood contract. Maybe I'm erring on the side of caution, I do know the immediate effects are noticeable but I like to wait...just in case.
 
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