How Do I Make My Strat Play Faster?

[Heywood Jablomie]

The only way you can permanently hurt your guitar is if you start spinning the truss rod like a whirling dervish. A little dab'll do ya.

Zackly! The rest is stuff that can easily be undone. Even if a novice completely screws that stuff up trying, the professional undoing of it (if that's the only thing he can do) won't cost any more than any other setup.

[marnold***]

Well, actually, I heard of someone on another forum snapping the bridge plate on a Floyd Rose copy because the trem arm post wasn't right somehow. He yanked on it with a screwdriver until it snapped. I don't care how cheap the metal is--that pretty much redefines abuse. I didn't question if he could breathe with his mouth shut.

[Heywood Jablomie]

I think we've all overtorqued something at least once, and hopefully learned to gauge the limits of miscellaneous hardware, and gauge our own strength in the same regard. I've seen plenty of skilled pros break stuff from time to time. Stuff happens.....

[Mymindsok]

Something thats missing from this discussion, is a discussion of the general health and quality of a guitars neck.

Standard issue Strats, MIMs in particular, are built to meet a price point while turning a profit and Fender expects thqt those of us who are buying "Consumer grade" guitars to be happy with consumer grade performance. Primo materials, decent fret work and close production tolerances cost $$$ but we can stack the deck on our favor be shopping carefully. After that, a little professional help can work wonders.

If you take your guitar to a good Luthier, if he has the tools , he can put your guitar in a jig and check the neck for twisting, high spots, low spots, bends and then check the frets. There are lots of Strats that pass Fender's QC and are within production tolerances but aren't close to being "right". I've learned the hard way that whether its an acoustic or an electric, even after choosing a guitar carefully, spending $100 or $200 for some professional help is a good investment.

Two examples:

1) I bought an EJ that played OK but developed ""EJ high E string running off the board syndrome." It turned out to have a banana shaped neck and miraculously, I ended up with a new, hand picked Strat. The new one plays worlds better than the first example because someone went through a warehouse full of Fenders to find one "Good One".

2) Bought a Mint condition Brawley Attack at an auction for $130. Great guitar and it played fine but I took it to my luthier who removed the neck, straightened it to almost dead straight, re-crowned and polished the frets and put the guitar back together. Now my "Auction Find" plays just as nicely as my EJ. (Maybe better, Hard to tell!)

3) I have a MIM Strat that I never could bond with but three years later I fund a nice, used, custom-built neck at a music flee market for $150. I bought it, pulled the neck off of the MIM, bolted the heavier, wider, fatter fretted, custom neck to the MIM and spent a day setting it up myself. Now, what was a POS beater, is a killer instrument that feels, plays and resonates like a much more expensive guitar. It'll be getting new pickups shortly.

4) Two decades years ago when I was much dumber, I bought an expensive Martin OM-28. I only kept it for a few months before I resold it to the same Staten Island shop I bought it from. The shop's assistant manager looked at the guitar and complained that it needed a neck reset. After I showed him me receipt I said: "If that guitar needs a neck reset now, it needed one when you guys sold it to me!!!" (Thats where the argument started!) In the end they paid me what I wanted, took the guitar back and probably sold it as/was to some other fool.

It's all about the necks!

[deeaa*]

It's all about the necks!

That is indeed where it's at. I always say that you can make any guitar good if the neck is or can be made good.
Body materials, most other things (especially in an electric)...pfff...insignificant compared to the neck.

[MAXIFUNK]

This is why I enjoy this forum so much, any other place, this would have degenerated sadly, Great tips Deeaa & MarkB!

+1

[markb]

I've never found a strat that couldn't be made to play well with some professional assistance. Maybe the early MIM I had for a few years was the exception but, on reflection I just never really liked the neck profile. It was fine otherwise.