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Post by exyearrboy on May 18, 2004 15:21:36 GMT -5
Okay, this question is two pronged:
1. My strat's bridge is pulling up too much in the back, screwing up my intonation. It only does so when I have it strung, but I'm not sure whether it's because I had heavier strings than I should have (.11's), or what, but I'd like to fix this somehow, but I'm not sure the proper approach.
2. I'm playing in a mellow, melodic band and want to replace the neck pickup with something a little richer than the original standard single coil that'll give a nice clear clean tone. I was thinking maybe a Duncan sh-1 strat style pickup or possibly the Bill Lawrence 280... any experience with these? Thanks
Ty
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Post by CAFeathers on May 18, 2004 15:33:27 GMT -5
Okay, this question is two pronged: 1. My strat's bridge is pulling up too much in the back, screwing up my intonation. It only does so when I have it strung, but I'm not sure whether it's because I had heavier strings than I should have (.11's), or what, but I'd like to fix this somehow, but I'm not sure the proper approach. 2. I'm playing in a mellow, melodic band and want to replace the neck pickup with something a little richer than the original standard single coil that'll give a nice clear clean tone. I was thinking maybe a Duncan sh-1 strat style pickup or possibly the Bill Lawrence 280... any experience with these? Thanks Ty 1. Take off the back cover, in the end of the cavity closest to the neck is a piece of metal (the claw) held in place by 2 screws and the springs attach to the other side of it. Option 1. Get a screw driver and turn in the screws one turn at a time on both until you get the deisred height on the back of your bridge. Option 2. Add a spring Option 3. Combination of both above. 2. I am a big fan and user of Bill Lawrence pups, I recommend a L-280SN. However I suggest that you call Becky (Bill's wife) and talk to her. Toll-Free number is on their website www.billlawrence.com |
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Post by Ol Geezer on May 18, 2004 15:39:13 GMT -5
1. My strat's bridge is pulling up too much in the back, screwing up my intonation. It only does so when I have it strung, but I'm not sure whether it's because I had heavier strings than I should have (.11's), or what, but I'd like to fix this somehow, but I'm not sure the proper approach. Thanks Ty CAFeathers is the expert here, but I've also heard of people tightening down the vibrato system from the backside, totally eliminating the springs -- anyone know what I mean? Because you lose use of the vibrato, it should stabilize tuning. |
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Post by CAFeathers on May 18, 2004 15:43:52 GMT -5
CAFeathers is the expert here, but I've also heard of people tightening down the vibrato system from the backside, totally eliminating the springs -- anyone know what I mean? Because you lose use of the vibrato, it should stabilize tuning. Both of my Strats are set so that the trems are not used. I have 5 springs in it and the claw is tightened down so that the back of the bridge is flush on the body. |
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Post by Ol Geezer on May 18, 2004 15:46:19 GMT -5
Both of my Strats are set so that the trems are not used. I have 5 springs in it and the claw is tightened down so that the back of the bridge is flush on the body. That's what I should do -- I tried using the vibrato arm once, but when it squeaked I figured I'd better leave it alone.... |
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Post by CAFeathers on May 18, 2004 15:47:05 GMT -5
Make sure you loosen the strings before you add springs or tighten the claw.
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Post by tekrek on May 18, 2004 17:46:28 GMT -5
Both of my Strats are set so that the trems are not used. I have 5 springs in it and the claw is tightened down so that the back of the bridge is flush on the body. I totally agree with CA.. I had the shop put 5 springs on my daughters strat(she is a lefty BTW)and repoed the trem bar after a couple of "whammy bar incidents" lol and it sits perfectly flat on the body... |
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Post by Ol Geezer on May 20, 2004 14:52:46 GMT -5
2. I'm playing in a mellow, melodic band and want to replace the neck pickup with something a little richer than the original standard single coil that'll give a nice clear clean tone. I was thinking maybe a Duncan sh-1 strat style pickup or possibly the Bill Lawrence 280... any experience with these? Thanks Ty I just got the new Carvin catalog and their pickups caught my attention -- they have a twinblade humbucker TBH60 model that fits in a Strat opening that could be the answer for you. Typical humbuckers for Strats I've seen just have one coil on top of the other to cancel hum but not affect sound -- these are side by side, and with four wires can be configured split coil, series, and parallel. They even have a .PDF file on their website to explain wiring. |
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Post by exyearrboy on May 20, 2004 18:38:42 GMT -5
Many thanks, I was going to try the screw option but wanted to check with the experts before I tried anything. (I thought about the spring option but turned it down based on my lack of spring). I think the Bill Lawrence seems to be the best bet from what I've heard, so I'll give him and his wife a call. Thanks,
Ty
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Post by CAFeathers on May 20, 2004 19:48:44 GMT -5
If you need a spring email me your address and i'll send you one.
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Post by mandough on May 21, 2004 8:41:09 GMT -5
I one time had a wooden block inserted into my Strat tremolo. It sat between the body cavity, and the trem itself, and the tension of the strings plus tightening the screw kept it in place. I had never heard of doing it that way, but it worked like a charm until I got the desire to use it again.
P.S. CAFeathers, that is just TOO cool ! ! It's a real breath of fresh air to see someone be genuinely nice, unlike the corporate site...
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Post by gearhead41 on May 21, 2004 20:37:49 GMT -5
i really wish that Fender offered the hardtail strat at a more affordable price. Why not a MIM hardtail? I'd buy one is a heartbeat.
To me, the tremolo just kills the tuning stability and sustain. Maybe I'm just not a whammybar-kinda guy...
-James
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Post by exyearrboy on May 26, 2004 19:48:18 GMT -5
Okay, I totally forgot I have my first guitar, an old crappy Squier that doesn't play anymore. This has led me to two things:
1. I swiped two springs from my squier bridge to fix my Standard Strat, which is now working correctly (next job: intonation)
2. I'm going to totally hack apart and redo the Squier for kicks to maybe come up with a pretty cool (or at least original) rig.
New questions:
1. Are Fenders "f spaced" because of their scale, or the bridge they use? (this has more meaning in context of question 4)
2. If I was to install a hardtail and tune-o matic on my strat, would the scale affect string tension, tuning, etc.?
3. Are there any sites for custom wiring jobs? I'm planning on taking my roommate's old LP pup and putting it into the neck position of the Strat, but I want to wire that to a 500k pot rather than the 250k I'm (or I think I'm) running now.
4. I worry about f-spacing since I want to possibly get a bill lawrence 290 for the bridge and rewind the middle pickup myself, but since the epiphone pickup is decidedly not f-spaced (and the bridge will probably not be either), I'm worried that this'll screw up the tone or pickup's ability to pick up the string movement.
I could redo the old wiring in a snap, but I was wondering what I'd have to do if I added the 500k pot(maybe just add an extra tone pot and rewire accordingly?). Perhaps a fender Hss diagram could help but I'm not sure where to find one. Anyway, many questions, probably more later, thanks, this is my first time at this type of thing.
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Post by mandough on May 27, 2004 9:56:19 GMT -5
*I'm pretty sure that "F Spacing" simply means that it is spaced for the Fender scale. Since it is longer than a Gibby by 3/4 inch, the spread at the bridge is bigger. *I would think that it would make no difference in tuning stability or tension just so long as the scale is the same ( 25 1/2 ) * There are pups made with a blade pole piece instead of individual pieces. That might solve the problem of spacing altogether. Just a few thoughts to consider for your Strat enjoyment ! !  |
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Post by exyearrboy on May 27, 2004 16:05:35 GMT -5
Gracias, and thanks so much for the offer CAfeathers, generosity is a much missed commodity. I've been giving this much thought and I think I'm going to try to pull off a double humbucker strat witha tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar. I'm going to make some measurements to see if it'll work out okay (if not, nothing lost, I'll just try something different, pots are only about $3 each). If not, I saw a strat bridge with a smaller string spread on stewmac.com which might work.
My plan with this is to do something interesting while working with as much stuff I already have as possible (like the epi humbuckers). I'm planning a sunburst (maybe tobacco burst) for the finish with either a homemade black or homemade tortoise shell pickguard (I'm still undecided, it may depend on how I ultimately decide to finish it) to accommodate the HH config. I want to wire in jaguar style switches, which should be an adventure, and hopefully get the stopbar/tuneomatic bridge configuration in there. I actually want to leave the hole in the middle of the guitar, it could have an interesting effect. Thanks
Ty
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