Tech support for a cheap strat.

  • Thread starter Thread starter 64Firebird
  • Start date Start date
64Firebird

64Firebird

New member
It's a Squier. I like this guitar a lot. The tone is really good, it sounds much more aggressive than any of my Gibsons. But, it's a real fight to play it! I've tried to lower the action and tweek the truss rod, but all I get is fret buzz. I'm thinking of adding a shim in the neck joint and tilting the neck away from the pull of the strings, but this seems radical. Is there anything else to try first?
 
Try graphite on the nut under the strings that buzz when you adjust the truss rod
 
After doing some research at Mr. Gearhead it seems that shimming is not the fix I'm looking for. I'll try the graphite and keep tweeking the truss rod and fooling with the action.

Thanks
 
If you are simply trying to make the guitar more playable, you might want to take it to a good guitar shop and have one of the techs set it up for you. Lowering the action is not always the solution. A good set up by a pro is worth it.

I've worked on a lot of Squires and if you are willing to make some investments over a period of time, you can end up with a great sounding guitar.
 
I'm a do it yourselfer. I don't like to take any of my guitars to techs for anything other than refretting. I do all the eletronics my self and even cut my own nuts (insert your joke here).

For me, half the fun of owning a guitar is in the maintance and tweeking it, trying to get it to sound and play better. I'm just not used to bolt on necks. I've always played Gibsons and Epiphones with set necks or neck thru body.

After doing my research, I found that the only real defferance between the $200.00 strat that I bought and a $1400.00 one is in the eletronics and the wood.

I'm thinking that I can buy some rocking pickups, better pots and switches for 2 or 3 hundred bucks. The body is made from Agathis (it even has a bit of flame). While this is not Alder or Ash it is compative in density and hardness. The neck is Maple with a Roeswood fretboard and that's the same as the high dollor Fenders.

I'm thinking I can make this into as good a guitar as any of the over priced models for about half the cost. As long as I do all the work myself.
 
64Firebird said:
I'm a do it yourselfer. I don't like to take any of my guitars to techs for anything other than refretting. I do all the eletronics my self and even cut my own nuts (insert your joke here).

For me, half the fun of owning a guitar is in the maintance and tweeking it, trying to get it to sound and play better. I'm just not used to bolt on necks. I've always played Gibsons and Epiphones with set necks or neck thru body.

After doing my research, I found that the only real defferance between the $200.00 strat that I bought and a $1400.00 one is in the eletronics and the wood.

I'm thinking that I can buy some rocking pickups, better pots and switches for 2 or 3 hundred bucks. The body is made from Agathis (it even has a bit of flame). While this is not Alder or Ash it is compative in density and hardness. The neck is Maple with a Roeswood fretboard and that's the same as the high dollor Fenders.

I'm thinking I can make this into as good a guitar as any of the over priced models for about half the cost. As long as I do all the work myself.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are quite the handy man Firebird, but if you are have so many problems, you might need a little help. I do most of my stuff to, but sometimes a guitar is so out of whack that there is really no good reference point for adjustment, unless you are trained in what to look for. For about 50 bucks in most places, that Strat can be set up to play like new. Once there, you can keep it in ship shape with the skills that you possess.

Oh, By the way... What else is there to an electric guitar other than electronics and wood? You're right. That's the difference.

Good luck with the guitar.

Fangar
 
Thanks for the input. I'm not really having problems, as a matter of fact I'm very happy with the way the guitar is playing now. This is just my first bolt on neck guitar. My LP and Epi Dot both have set necks and my old Firebird is neck thru body. Also, on these guitars the necks are angled away from the pull of the strings about 4 drgrees. Fender dosen't do this. They've sloved the problem by setting the neck higher in the body. Once I understood this the rest was easy.

BTW there is a lot more to a guiter than electronics and wood. There is craftsmanship! And that's more important than anything else.
 
You are correct. However, the craftsmanship of your 200.00 guitar, I'm gonna bet may pale in comparison a bit to the "$1400" model. Glad to hear that it is playing well for you.. Why did you create this post then? Hmm.

P.S. I like the firebird. It was a cool guitar.

Fangar


It's a Squier. I like this guitar a lot. The tone is really good, it sounds much more aggressive than any of my Gibsons. But, it's a real fight to play it! I've tried to lower the action and tweek the truss rod, but all I get is fret buzz. I'm thinking of adding a shim in the neck joint and tilting the neck away from the pull of the strings, but this seems radical. Is there anything else to try first?
 
Okay Fangar, you seem to know more about it than I do. Why don't you (or anybody) tell me how the craftsmanship is better in the USA made strat than it is in the Indonesia Strat? Because, I just don't see it.
 
64Firebird said:
Okay Fangar, you seem to know more about it than I do. Why don't you (or anybody) tell me how the craftsmanship is better in the USA made strat than it is in the Indonesia Strat? Because, I just don't see it.
Click to expand...

Firebird,

While I am sure that your Squier is a great guitar for $200.00, I always seem to have a problem when someone compares two guitars of such obvious different calibers. The largest differences between the Squier and American Strat that I always note is the hardware. Squier uses cheap die cast tuning machines, the pickups are bottom of the line, they use woods like agathis (Which is of the pine family) for the bodies as opposed to Alder or Swamp ash. When I speak of craftsmanship, I am referring to the whole package, but namely the finishes and most of all the neck joint. The Squier guitars are definitely assembled with far less scrutiny. I have seen new Squier Guitars come in with gaps on either sides of the neck that allowed them to shift with pressure, a neck that was put on off angle, or even sometimes a neck that was crammed into a joint. This is a problem for obvious reasons. Are they all like that?... Nope. If you play a lot of them, you will find a good one. As someone that has owned some nice guitars, I am sure that you would easily see the differences if you compared them side by side. You would see, feel and hear the differences. Obviously it is in a companies best interest to make a guitar for each of many key price points, to sell product. But to compare those price points and say they are the same, is often times denial. I can tell by the statement though that you are happy with your guitar.

But the biggest issue now is that your guitar plays well for you, and I am glad to hear that. Make sure you eat plenty of vitamin C to avoid getting scurvy from that Indonesian Guitar... That was a joke bird. :p

Cheers,

Fangar
 
The playebility issues you report could be due to the higher string tension of your Fender. The longer scale neck will make it harder to play than your Gibsons/Epiphone's. Just an idea.

Matty
 
You know... I started a real rant. But, I thought better of it and I'll just let it lie where it is. I'm happy with my new guitar even if it is cheap.

matty_boy, thanks I'm sure your right. I think it was Jeff Beck that said "playing a strat is a real fight, but sometimes it's worth it."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top