skyguitarworks Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 i got an american strat that is giving me fits, was brought to me by a buddy, the action is awfull and for the life of me i am either having a brain fart or i am just lost for some reason.........have set the trem, the truss rod, nut, saddles, neck tilt all the factory recomendations and can not get action worth a crap, if ya get the strings at a decent hight they buzz like hell, it is not the nut have checked it also.....any ideas guys, what am i missing........if this has been covered i appoligize, i did a search before posting....thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 I completely overhauled my strat a few weeks ago. If you've done that much and you still have trouble.. you're probably looking at some uneven frets. I took the neck off. adjusted the truss rod till it was perfectly flat, did a level, crown and dress, put it back on and it was like night and day. A lot of strat players play with high action.. you get more tone out of a strat with 10s or 11s and a high action you can really dig into.. plus with the 7.5" radius it's easier to do bends if the action is high.. After my level job (and it was the first time I had ever done one, came out beautifully, at least by my standards) I could set the action rediculously low.Now everything else on it was fine.. nut, bridge, etc.. Are you using 9s? You might try 10s and see if the extra little bit of tension helps. Also, how did you adjust your rod? For mine, i unstrung it and adjusted the rod so the neck was perfectly level, then strung it back up and the string tension pulled just enough relief in the neck for the proper action. Anyway, hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 (edited) I found that setting up a much played guitar is like trying to do a tuneup on the engine of my old truck. Sometimes factory specs don't apply anymore because of worn parts so you have to back off the timing a few degrees to get proper valve clearance, etc. You need something close to original for factory specs to apply. I second the idea of checking the neck, ie. reset the truss rod so the neck is straight and check all the frets with a straightedge. I'll bet you WILL find thats where the problem lies. Edited March 10, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stageleft Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 I couldn't have put it better myself SouthPA. Factory specs are for getting a guitar out the door in playable (but by no means great) condition. You can try and start with those, but expect to adjust by ear and eye. You might want to take a deep breath and follow one of the tutorials on the main site and see how that works out. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyguitarworks Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 did not stick to factory specs, just after i had tried all else i used that as a starting point, the guitar is not well played, it is less than 2 years old and does not show any wear at all. i will check frets and do a fret level if need be, but just from the guitars appearance i did not expect to have to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyguitarworks Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 did not stick to factory specs, just after i had tried all else i used that as a starting point, the guitar is not well played, it is less than 2 years old and does not show any wear at all. i will check frets and do a fret level if need be, but just from the guitars appearance i did not expect to have to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Did it ever play well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyguitarworks Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Did it ever play well? ← now that i can not answer, this is the first time i have layed eyes on this guitar, i came in in the middle of this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Got some feeler gauges laying around? They really help when adjusting all the different things on a Strat. Also, what gauge strings are you using and how many springs do you have on the trem? On another note, are you a pro or is the "skyguitarworks" for some kind of show? I'm not trying to bag on you, but they really do suggest that if you're not a pro builder or tech that you try not to pass yourself off as one in your name. There's been some problems with that in the past and a lot of hurt feelings because of some misrepresentations that happened here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyguitarworks Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Got some feeler gauges laying around? They really help when adjusting all the different things on a Strat. Also, what gauge strings are you using and how many springs do you have on the trem? On another note, are you a pro or is the "skyguitarworks" for some kind of show? I'm not trying to bag on you, but they really do suggest that if you're not a pro builder or tech that you try not to pass yourself off as one in your name. There's been some problems with that in the past and a lot of hurt feelings because of some misrepresentations that happened here. ← the guitar has a set of 10's on it, i have feeler gauges and the trem has 3 springs, the trem is adjusted correctly. now to the second question, i have been doing repairs for a few years now and for the last 2 years have been building guitars, so i guess you could say pro although i feel i have more to learn and with guitars like all other musical instruments there is always a ton more to learn, i by no means think i know everything there is to know by far, as with this question i have never run into this with a strat other than if the frets were in bad shape, so i threw the questions out there. i hope you do not take my answer as being short or bagging on you but i have sat back and read since i found this board and not posted alot yet just trying to get a feel for the board and people here, so i do not feel i am trying to pass myself off as anything, just another builder here to learn and pass on what i may have to add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 The only possible thing I can think of is a fret job. If that doesn't work, then you need to start over until you find something wrong somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Okay, I was just wondering about the name. Glad to hear that you actually DO know what your doing. Most people who pass themselves off as a pro never seem to really know what's up. Anyway, I usually run 4 springs on the trem when I use 10s. Yes, it makes the trem a little stiffer but it brings the bridge back down to where it was with 9s. It just works on my guitar, your mileage will vary. As for the buzz, what fret are the strings buzzing on? Do they just buzz on fretted notes or on open strings? You have the advantage of having a bi-flex truss rod in the American Series neck, as well as micro-tilt. However, I would suggest maybe trying to lower the tilt to zero pitch and see what it does there. See if it buzzes at zero and check your action there if it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Like Devon say, I think by the sound of what you are saying,(truss rod adjusted, right nut, right saddles height, neck straight) that you need a fret level, maybe it is just a fret, hard to diagnose with out the guitar in hands, but definately sounds like the frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 I would definitely say frets. Might even just need a spot level. I'd just take all the strings off, adjust the rod till the neck is as flat as it can possibly be and use a straight edge to find the high frets. A small straight edge (stewmac sells it under the name fret rocker) is helpful.. Something that spans 3 frets.. you can go all over the neck and look for any fret that you can "seesaw" over, for lack of a better term and that's your high spot.. Another trick you can do is lower your action a little more so instead of just a buzz you'll actually fret out and somewhere on the neck you'll have 2 frets that play the same tone because the high one in front impedes the correct tone behind it.. That will be your problem fret. Just play eachnote up and down and anywhere your pitch goes more than a frets worth you've got a high fret and might just be able to carfully file that one fret down to level. Hope that helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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