Import Strat
Guitar Bridge and Neck Maintenance – Know How to keep Your Guitar in Shape?
Down at the other end of the guitar, the Bridge, we have the same problem with “string-slack” as it’s called, as mentioned in the previous article on whammybars and Strats. It is a bit more difficult to get the graphite under the string here, so loosen the strings a bit one by one, pull aside, and pencil the saddle itself, just under where the string lies. After you finish one, tune it back up and move on to the next one. Do not release the tension of all the strings at once with a floating bridge, as you can imagine this plays havoc with the tuning.
Giddyup there… If you notice a lot of strings breaking across the bridge, it’s time to replace your bridge saddles. If your handy at doing your own servicing, this is relatively easy. If not, get them done in a good, reputable repair shop. It’s not expensive, and after you have gone through breaking string after string every night, you will be so relieved, not to have to worry about that anymore, that it is worth every cent! Now you can concentrate on your playing instead. Yeh!
Do not do the job yourself if your not sure how to reset the saddles, distance, action and string heights. If you set these wrong, this will play HAVOC with your Guitar Tuning! You have been politely warned…
If you use special replacement graphite saddles and a graphite nut this will improve things considerably. These are not much more expensive than the normal ones and they really do make a huge difference. As constantly stated before, when you do not have to worry about gear and equipment performance and breakdown, it’s half the battle.
Under the Bridge (that sounds familiar), you will see 6 screws lying flush along a metal plate. If you dip the bar you will notice a little gap appearing underneath these, and you can lubricate under each one, with 3 in 1 sewing-machine oil. It is ideal for guitars and not to heavy.
Next, we are onto the Guitar-Neck itself. While this does not affect the tuning as such, it is the final piece in our Strat tip-top jigsaw. Once a month or so, depending on how often you gig, loosen off 2 strings at a time and pull them aside. Rub a small amount of almond oil into the neck and leave soaking for a few minutes. Wipe any excess off with a dry cloth and cover the whole board in this way. Tune back up and don’t forget to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the strings again. It will not take long if they have been done before. This makes the neck feel nice and smooth to the touch, and also brings out the wood design. Improves general sliding notes around, and feels so professional to play.
Do not mess around with the guitar-neck regarding “Bowing or Concave” problems unless you are experienced and fully confident of doing the job. Doing this wrong can not only destroy your guitar tuning, but the your precious guitar itself! Any problems in this area I would strongly advise you to see a guitar tech.
Another huge factor to be considered in Staying-in-Guitar-Tune Land, is your musical lug’oles or as they are more commonly called, ears! Lose these and you can forget about playing anything. (unless your as good as Beethoven…fair play to ya’ if so).
You know what they say “Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow”. Use special ear-plugs at rehearsals. Make sure they are audio ear-protectors. There is more than one type. Oh while I think of it, get yourself a good guitar tuner that will last you.
BEGINNERS GUITAR TUNING TIPS: For a professional vibe on stage you need an Inline-tuner (a private tuner with headphones that only you can hear). There is nothing worse than hearing someone on stage giving it the old “doi, doi, doi, doirrng” before your first number and during the gig. When two or three in the band are doing it at the same time including possibly the drummer, you have complete “amateur hour”. It doesn’t exactly induce a gig-owner to book you again and it is not only amateurish but extremely annoying to the punters.
So look after your guitar bridge, saddles, strings and nut on a regular basis and it will help keep tuning problems down to a minimum. Learning the art of tuning can make a very important difference to your playing, and is one of the hallmarks of a professional. So it is well worth knowing how to get your guitar perfectly in tune and keeping it there.
About the Author
David O’Toole is a guitar player, music fan, and musician from Ireland. He is the webmaster at the UniGTR+ Center and editor at the BellaOnline Musician Site
A keen player and experienced guitar teacher, he is also the author of the popular standard, lefthand, reverse guitar, and piano / keyboard series of
Basic Chord Families — Not just another random selection of 1000s of chords, but the key to fast learning and playing 1000s of songs with under 60 chords!
This article may be freely reproduced as is, provided it is keep it intact, and that the above resource box is maintained – thank you.
Blackstar HT-5 head with Strat
|
|
GRAPH TECH STRING SAVER SADDLES FIT IMPORT FENDER STRAT $36.95 |
|
|
Import Push Pull 250K Tone Pot DPDT Switch Replaces Strat, LP & Other Tone Pots $3.95 |
|
|
Import Push Pull B500K Tone Pot DPDT Switch Fits Strat Tele LP & Other Tone Pots $3.95 |
|
|
12 Fender Import Strat Stratocaster Saddle Length Intonation Screws 0264243049 $9.99 |
|
|
Graph Tech ghost Loaded Saddles for Strat (Import Style) $99.00 |
|
|
Graph Tech ghost Loaded Saddles for Strat – Import Style $99.00 |
|
|
New FENDER Tremolo arm for older import Strat AGED TIP $6.19 |
|
|
Heavy Steel Tremolo Block With Matching Plate and Bar for Import Strat $20.00 |
|
|
Import Style Strat Pickguard 11 Hole 3 Ply White $12.99 |
|
|
HIPSHOT STAINLESS TREMOLO FOR IMPORT STRAT® 40500C-N $109.99 |
|
|
Graph Tech PS-8000-00 Saddles for Import Strat, Tele $37.99 |
|
|
Allparts Tone Knob (1) Yellow for Import Strat $2.25 |
|
|
Allparts Tone Knob (1) Hot Pink for Import Strat $2.25 |
|
|
Allparts Volume Knob (1) Hot Pink for Import Strat $2.25 |
|
|
Switch Tip for US or Import Strat Blade Pickup Selector Red $1.25 |
|
|
Switch Tip for US or Import Strat Blade Pickup Selector Yellow $1.25 |
|
|
Saddles For Import Strat Stratocaster Bridge Set of 6 NR $5.00 |
|
|
HIPSHOT GOLD 6-PT TREMOLO FOR IMPORT STRAT® 40500G-N $144.99 |
|
|
STRAT SCRATCHPLATE – SSS – TORTOISHELL: IMPORT PROFILE $22.91 |
|
|
GRAPHTECH STRING SAVER SADDLES STRAT IMPORT 7 STRING $41.99 |
|
|
BLACK TREMOLO Guitar BRIDGE for Import Strat – Stratocaster – T6 $23.95 |
|
|
Chrome Import String Trees Fits Strat Tele Jackson Ibanez Many Electric Guitars $1.50 |
|
|
Fender Import Strat Aged White Switch Tips 0994947000 $4.95 |
|
|
Fender Import Strat Tremolo Bridge Complete $0.99 |
|
|
BLACK TREMOLO Guitar BRIDGE for Import Strat – Stratocaster – T6 $29.95 |
|
|
Genuine FENDER Import Strat Hardtail BRIDGE Non Tremolo $17.97 |
|
|
Stratocaster Switch Tip, White, Metric for import Strat guitars $5.25 |
|
|
IMPORT QUALITY JACK AND CHROME PLATE FOR STRATOCASTER STRAT $4.00 |
|
|
Graph Tech PG-8000-0B Import Strat/Tele Saddles, BLACK $54.99 |
|
|
Import Fender Strat Switch Tip Knob Black Metric $6.45 |
|
|
NEW Genuine Fender Import GOLD Strat Tremolo 2-1/16″ $24.99 |
|
|
Real Fender Import ’50s Stratocaster Strat Nickel Output Jack Ferrule 0077339000 $7.99 |
|
|
Vintage Strat Tremolo fits Import String Spacing D03 $24.45 |
|
|
Vintage Strat BLACK Tremolo fits Import Spacing D04 $25.95 |
|
|
Vintage Strat GOLD Tremolo fits Import Spacing D05 $29.95 |
|
|
HIPSHOT BLACK 6-PT TREMOLO FOR IMPORT STRAT® 40500B-N $119.99 |
|
|
KTS Import Strat Style Titanium Saddles $115.00 |
|
|
GRAPHTECH STRING SAVER SADDLES STRAT IMPORT PS-8000-00 $37.99 |
|
|
Graphtech TREM Nut Slotted Import Strat Flat PT-5010-00 $14.70 |
|
|
NEW – Graph Tech Saddles For Import Strat, Tele – TUSQ $37.99 |
|
|
Ferraglide Import Strat Saddle PG-8000-F0 $69.95 |
|
|
Ferraglide Import Strat Saddle PG-8000-00 $79.95 |
|
|
GRAPHTECH FERRAGLIDES CLASSICS SADDLES IMPORT STRAT CR $56.99 |
|
|
Graph Tech FerraGlide Saddles PG-8000-0G Gold 2 1/16″ Import Strat $64.95 |
|
|
Graphtech Supercharger Kit C for Import Strat Stratocaster PX-8000-00 $59.95 |
|
|
GOLD NARROW TREMOLO KIT FOR IMPORT STRAT® $29.99 |
|
|
Genuine FENDER Ping 2 Pin Chrome Tuners Strat Tele USA & Import Easy Replacement $19.97 |
|
|
2000’s Strat Selector-Import $29.00 |
|
|
GENUINE FENDER Import STRATOCASTER Aged White KNOBS & Switch Tip Strat Guitar $6.97 |
|
|
GRAPH TECH PQ-5010-00 SLOTTED FLAT BOTTOM TUSQ NUT FOR IMPORT STRAT GUITAR $11.95 |
|
|
2 FENDER IMPORT STRAT PICKUPS CHEAP !!!! STRATOCASTER $15.99 |
|
|
NEW NICKLE metric import Strat bridge intonation adjustment screws and springs-6 $8.50 |
|
|
NEW Gold metric import Strat bridge intonation adjustment screws and springs-6 $8.50 |
|
|
GRAPH TECH STRING SAVER SADDLES FOR FENDER IMPORT STRAT $37.95 |
|
|
CHROME NARROW TREMOLO KIT FOR IMPORT STRAT® $24.99 |
|
|
Stratocaster Strat Import Replacement Switch Tip White $2.25 |
|
|
Graph Tech String Saver Saddles PS-8000-00 Import Strat $41.25 |
|
|
Genuine Fender Mexican Import Strat Lefty BIG TREMOLO BRIDGE BLOCK Left Hand LH $21.97 |
|
|
Switch Tip Knob for Import Strat White Fender Metric $6.50 |
|
|
Graph Tech Ghost Saddle Pickups Import Strat $100.04 |
|
|
NEW Graph Tech PG-8000-00 Saddles for Import Strat/Tele $54.99 |
|
|
Graph Tech SS PG-8000-0G Saddles Import Strat/Tele GOLD $58.99 |
|
|
STRING SAVER SADDLES FOR SOME IMPORT STRAT – PS-8000-00 $45.00 |
|
|
GraphTech String Saver Saddles for Import Fender Strat Tele 2-1/16″ PS-8000-00 $55.38 |
|
|
LEFTY BLACK NARROW TREMOLO KIT FOR IMPORT STRAT® $27.99 |
|
|
GRAPH TECH FERRAGLIDE SADDLES FOR FENDER IMPORT STRAT $55.95 |
|
|
NEW Genuine Fender Hardtail Bridge For Import Strat $9.99 |
|
|
NEW WASHBURN IMPORT GUITAR PICKGUARD LOADED 3 SINGLE COIL PICKUPS 4 FENDER STRAT $27.00 |
|
|
Fender Mexican Import Strat BIG TREMOLO BLOCK High MASS $19.97 |
|
|
Brand New GENUINE Fender Import GOLD Strat Tremolo 2-3/16″ Highway 1/MIM Classic $17.50 |
|
|
TOG BLADE SWITCH BUTTON CREAM FOR IMPORT STRAT SWITCH $0.99 |
|
|
TOG BLADE SWITCH BUTTON BLACK FOR IMPORT STRAT SWITCH $0.99 |
|
|
GraphTech PG-8000-00 2-1/16″ Import String Saver Saddles for Fender Strat Tele $69.24 |
|
|
GENUINE FENDER FENDER LOGO SADDLES IMPORT STRAT TREMOLO BLOCK 003-7449-000 $19.99 |
|
|
NEW – Graph Tech PG-8000-0C Import Strat, Tele Saddles – CHROME $54.99 |
