March 19, 2004
Curious George: Stratocaster Action I want to lower the action on my American Fender Stratocaster.
It's always been kind of high (can't tell you why—I got it as a second-hand gift) and when I play my sister's new Mexican Strat, I really wish my action were lower. I just sound better! Can anybody explain the procedure? (If it's something worth attempting on my own.)
It depends on what kind of bridge you got. If you've got a modern style whammy-bar, it's easy enough, but the older type is a bit more fiddly.
You also can file down the nut (the thing at the top of the neck where the strings go across). I recommend just taking the thing to a guitar fixer or luthier and paying a few bucks to have them do it. It's very easy to fuck the thing up if you don't know what you're doing. A good music shop should be able to do this for ya in an afternoon.
Couple of possible reasons — the neck curve is out, or the bridge saddles are too high. You can adjust the neck by turning the truss rod (which I think on the American involves taking off the scratch plate), but if you are not confident in this procedure, I don't recommend it.
If it's the saddles, you can wind them down by turning the little Allen keys on either side of them as desired or until the string buzzes. However, as you do this, you are changing the way your guitar is intonated, so you'll need to refix it by adjusting the string length at the bridge (use the screws at the back of the bridge) until the note you hit at the twelfth fret is the same pitch as the twelfth-fret harmonic. Check it with your tuner. If your pickups are too close to the string, the magnetic pole pieces will also adversely affect the intonation. The pickups are adjustable for height using the Philips head screws on either side of them.
My advice? Find $50 and take your axe to a good guitar tech. You'll really enjoy a good professional set-up.
Action on a Stratocaster is determined by the bridge, nut, tremolo setting (if you have one), and neck warp. Bridge height for just about all Stratocasters is controlled per-string by two little bolts. Twist the bolts to make the bridge go up and down. The nut you shouldn't mess with. Fucking up while filing a nut gives you an unplayable guitar until you get a new nut and try again. The tremolo height is controlled by two or 3 big screws under the big cover on the back of the guitar. If you tighten the tremolo the action will drop (if you tighten too much you won't be able to use the tremolo to bend up). If your neck is warped your action will be abnormally high. adjust the truss rod to unwarp a warped neck. You should check the neck before you look at anything else. Most importantly, after adjusting anything mentioned above, you'll have to reset you string lengths.
And what Nostrildamus said about taking it to a shop. But ask around for a shop known for good repair. Lots of shops employ college kids who don't know their ass from their elbow when it comes to parts, woods, and tuning.
Alright, sounds good; I'll get it done professionally. I haven't had it set up in forever anyway. Do y'all know a good Chicago-area (accessible via CTA) shop?
Pussy.
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