Just got my first guitar and I have a question

So I purchased a fender standard strat and I have a question about the bridge/tremolo area. Is it supposed to lay flat on the body of the guitar or not mine looks like this ( http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_portfolio/4494/print_preview/80655.jpg ) And im just wondering if this is normal or if I should be concerned I can't seem to tell in any pictures if others actually look like this due to the angles. Help is appreciated thanks.

First of all...welcome to the boards.

Now let's get down to bussines, you seem to have a a tension problem with you bridge, this could happend for some reasons, the fist and most probable is that your tremolo has a lose or missing spring (remove the back cover on your guitar and you should find maybe up to 4 springs, maybe one of them is out of hook or missing), the string tension without one spring will be higher than the resistance that the springs should give so the result is that the strings win in the pulling contest.

(Ok all the strat lovers in here give me a hand... how many springs does a regular strat should have??? as far as I remember is 4...) :confused:

Another cause could be heavy gauge strings (maybe from .11 or .12) cuase heavy gauge strings offer more tension to get in standart tune so once again their tension win over the resistance of the springs, the solution would be using lighter gauge strings or tunning low (like drop D or drop C)

So check this things and maybe they are useful, and keep on checking for somebody smarter than me bout this topic.

Rock on and welcome bro...

Hey man, thanks for the help. There is three large springs in the back, I JUST got this guitar today straight from the shop brand new I dont see how it could be messed up yet? In the manuel fender seems to suggest a "1/8th of a inch space between the body and the bridge" im really not sure im a total newbie to this

Another thing... when I bought my first guitar ( a dean flying V with floyd rose) the tremolo had a lower level on the bridge (below the horizont to say so) this was caused by string being on the guitar for too long, as soon as I changed them the thing just got fine... so maybe from factory you do can have a bad adjustment so no worry there.

Wait till someone has another opinon on the forum, maybe I'm missing something, I don't know too much bout strats (i just don't like em' so I don't dig too much on how they work) so, we must wait for maybe Adam (Aschleman on the boards) he is one of a kind strat lover, he must have the answer.

Hang in here, lots of help from the coolest people over the net.

Rock on bro... don't disspair.

Also if anyone has any help for me with this one, I finally got the strings tuned but when i play the low E closed on any of the first like 5-6 frets it makes a virbating noise. If i play the low E open it makes no vibration noise at all. Im totally new to this so help is very much appreciated. thanks

Yeah sounds like your bridge is a little out of whack. It could even be causing the buzz you hear. You'll probably just have to tighten the springs a little. As for it being brand new i hate to say it but almost no guitar will ever come from the shop perfectly set up. I'm not trying to slander anyone but I think they do it on purpose so people will go in to have it set up for an extra $50. :eek: What do I know though. I wish I knew how to help you tighten your springs but I don't. I assure you aschleman or LATS will be around to help you out. In the mean time you can do a forum search on "Trem Springs" and see if you can dig up the answer because I'm sure someone else probably had the same problem. :)

I think you'll find it depends how you set the trem up. On my strat, it's set flush to the body so I can only drop it down - I can't pull up. With the bridge set how it is in the pic you'll be able to raise the pitch as well as drop it.

It may not necessarily be a problem, but hopefully LATS or Asch will be along soon with a more confident answer. I'm pretty sure you don't need to panic though - as long as the tuning is fairly stable and it's not set so that you break strings all the time raising the pitch, it's all cool....

If you want to drop it down, you'll need to take the trem cover off and possible add a spring or tighten the claw screws to the body. The fender site covers this here - hope that helps dude...

Nice purchase.

Strat bridges can be setup a wide variety of ways to offer different playing abilities... For instance, a strat with a brdige that is flush to the body will offer the most tuning stability but will render the trem unusable. The most common strat trem setup is what's called a floating trem setup... This is where the bridge is slightly off the body of the guitar. This setup offers full range of diving (lowering notes with the trem) and about a whole step of rasing the notes with the trem. Yours is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of whack. There shouldn't be more than maybe a quarter of an inch between the brdige and the body.

If you don't have all 5 trem springs installed I suggest installing them all... This will counterbalance the string tension and lower your bridge back down a considerable amount.

After you try this let me know what happens... I also recommend getting a book called "The Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine.... He's invented most of the modern techniques and tools for working on guitars and its a great resource to have laying around... It should be required reading for every guitar player.

Good Luck man, and let me know.

thanks for the replies. That picture is not actually mine it is just the only picture i could find that showed what i was talking about. Mine is raised about a little less than a quarter inch off the body. Do you have any idea why the Low E and A strings vibrate when i play them on the first 5-6 frets? When i play them open they dont vibrate. thanks

Originally Posted by: bertkcthanks for the replies. That picture is not actually mine it is just the only picture i could find that showed what i was talking about. Mine is raised about a little less than a quarter inch off the body. Do you have any idea why the Low E and A strings vibrate when i play them on the first 5-6 frets? When i play them open they dont vibrate. thanks

Your action needs to be adjusted at the truss rod side... Or you have a high fret around the 7th fret.

Take the guitar in to a good tech and have them look at it... Get it setup... it should only cost about 25 bucks or so plus the price of strings. It'll be worth it.

Ok, does any guitar place do repairs?

Whoooa, rollercoaster WHAO

Look, this guy is very new to guitar, and from what I read has very little knowledge. First settle down, all is not lost. 2nd don't go adding springs and ****. You (the 1st poster )needs to get specific about the trem.

1. How high(use a ruler) is the trem?
2. Do you even need the trem at this point? You could always block it and the problem is solved.
3. If you want the trem then you gotta understand what the heck is going on. The springs(no matter how many) are there to counter act the tension of the strings. There is a plate inside where the springs go. This plate can be adjusted (righty tighty, lefty loosy) the tighter(closer to the body) you make the plate the more effective tension you will have.

Bottom line.........If you are this new, seek experienced help. either in a guitar shop or from a friend who knows whats goining on with your axe.

Just my 2 cents

and DO NOT attempt to adjust the truss rod..you could ruin the neck

Originally Posted by: aschlemanYour action needs to be adjusted at the truss rod side... Or you have a high fret around the 7th fret.

Take the guitar in to a good tech and have them look at it... Get it setup... it should only cost about 25 bucks or so plus the price of strings. It'll be worth it.

Like I said...

I removed the tremelo arm when I bought the guitar from new, so there is no wear on the return springs