Solid Food

Jax recently started eating (and wearing) solid food as shown here.

Peas please!

Stratocaster Setup: Lost and found

When I got my Stratocaster it was perfectly set up and played wonderfully. At some point it started to buzz a bit which I wrote it off as the wood adjusting to the humidity in it’s new home. Because I was playing Rosie so much I didn’t really notice when it started. It was a subtle change, it started to “jangle” a bit with certain chords and even buzzed on a couple of frets. I debated taking it in and getting another setup done.

Then a couple of weeks ago was watching guitar lessons on YouTube and found this video showing Fender Master Builder Yuri Shishkov setting up a Stratocaster tremolo. Exactly the same way my Strat was originally setup.

That’s when I realized what had changed and how.

I screwed it all up when I restrung it with 11s. According to Fender’s Custom Shop my guitar originally came strung with size 10 Fender Bullets. My first few restrings were more 10s and everything was fine. Then on the advice of a couple of accomplished players I decided to try a larger set of 11s.  With their higher tension, they immediately pulled the tremolo so far forward it was stuck against the back of the cavity and didn’t actually work.

With no understanding how to set up a Strat properly I simply added two more springs (conveniently in a envelope in the case) that pulled the tremolo so the tail was tight against the body.  Problem solved, so I thought.

When it was set up at Fender the tail of my Strat’s tremolo was adjusted to exactly 1/8” off the body. This allows it to pitch both up and down more than two full notes. By resetting the Strat’s tremolo flat I had unknowingly lowered one end of the strings closer to the fret board, which caused the buzzing I had noticed. I spent about an hour setting it up properly – removing the two springs I added (leaving the original 3) and instead adjusted the claw screws to set the proper tension -- and its sweet buzz-free action was restored and I don't have .

Just like the Schaller locking tuners there is definitely a “right-way” to set up the tremolo on a Strat. It's actually quite simple to setup, you just have to know how.

Finishing School for Rosie

I’ve been playing Rosie the Telecaster exclusively for a couple of weeks. I’ve been sitting in regularly at a couple of local jam sessions and never know what the environment will be like so I leave my Strat at home. 

However every time I pick up that Strat I’m astonished at how smooth it feels. Everything about it is silky smooth. It feels fantastic to play. Playing it made me wonder how I could smooth Rosie’s sharp edges.

It turns out that a little 1000 grit sandpaper was all she needed.

Recent American Standard model Telecasters (Mine is a 2012) have an unusual bridge design. Just about every Fender Telecaster made from 1956 to 2007 used four screws to mount the bridge to the body of the guitar. For some reason, in 2008 Fender changed the bridge mounting on American Telecasters to three screws (actually 5, two smaller screws were added to pickup end of the bridge to compliment the three large screws at the tail). 

My Tele has a bridge with 6 individual fulcrums rather that the three barrels used in vintage Telecaster bridges. The height adjusters on these fulcrums are small threaded studs with sharp edges. I frequently rest my hand on the bridge when I play these little studs are sharp and I begun to get a callus on my the heel of my hand on that spot

I finally got the courage to take a fresh piece of 1000 grit sandpaper to them. After 5 minutes thay are much smoother. Not as smooth as the bridge on the Strat, but much better that before. Continuing the "dehorning", I removed the Volume and Tone knobs and smoothed the knurled finish a bit as well. I was surprised to find one of the knobs was plastic and one was metal. After the treatment Rosie is pretty much free of sharp edges and much more comfortable to play. No reason to do it to the Stratocaster, as it’s already perfectly smooth. The lesson here is not to be afraid to modify your guitar to make it fit you better. 

Fender Bullet® Strings

I’ve been trying different types of guitar strings with each restring to get a feel for how different brands, models and sizes sound on each guitar. I recently tried Fender “Bullet” Strings for the first time and found there are actually different than most other strings on the market.

The difference is how the end of the string is anchored. Rather than a winding the string around a small brass bobbin, Fender casts the string onto a bullet-shaped tip. Fender claims this increases the contact area between the string and the bridge resulting in improved acoustics and sustain. I just put them on Rosie and really like the sound. I’m keeping Rosie on 11a and have the Strat on 12s.

I think the Bullets added a little more twang to the Tele so I may try a set on the Strat when the 10s need replacing. I like em.

Yeah, I'm with the band...

Rosie and I center stage at
the Poor House Bistro

How do you find yourself on stage playing with a band after just three months of practice?

Just let it happen. That’s how.

Val at King Amp mentioned they offer a blues jam class on Mondays. I said that sounded cool but as a rank beginner I would need more time to be ready for such an advanced topic. No, he explained that if I was willing to do the practice, I could probably hang with the class. So I signed up.

I got an e-mail from my teacher a few days before the first session and watched the recommended videos and listened to Jimmy Reed’s “Baby what you do to me” a few time and was ready.

Wrong.

Among many things I learned that first night of the first class was that the graduation event included jamming on stage at a local bistro during their open Blues Jam Night.  Ok, I thought, if I totally suck and never get the hand of it I can skip the last session, right?

Other things I learned that night is that I totally misunderstood how to play that song. I also learned that my classmates were all pretty experienced players; many of them were return students. I really struggled that night but left determined to catch up.

I bought a volume pedal – which makes the transition from rhythm to lead easier – and practiced for hours at least once driving Kathy and Jax from the house. By the second class I could play 12-blues pretty solidly as chords but still couldn’t drive the “walking” rhythm by myself. Or Solo.

More practice and I was much better at the rhythm – even throwing in a cool B7 twang after the 12^th bar. I also cobbled together two leads as I learned that was the bare minimum to fill my part.

And then work intruded and I was forced to miss the third class. I was discouraged and decided that without the final class I would skip the show. I figured maybe I’d take the class again after I had some more time to practice.

Then on Saturday I got another e-mail from Ned describing how to prep for the performance. “I can still do this”, I thought. So I did. Out came the Jimmy Reed and the metronome. I played and played and played. By Monday lunch I had to actively stop playing to save a little strength for the show.

After a long debate I took “Rosie” my Am Std Telecaster instead of the Strat (which is still nameless). I had basically been practicing non-stop with Rosie so she went. This is the problem with really nice guitars. Because I’m worried about dinging up the Strat walking around the house I play Rosie a lot more often. Maybe I just need to man up and bash the Strat like I do Rosie.

Actually being on stage was kind of a blur. We played two songs including the Jimmy Reed classic that I practiced so much. I got to use both solos and had to make up another. I felt in time and had good rhythm. Afterwards I got lots of compliments especially from my classmates who heard me play that first night and knew how little playing experience I actually have.

My buddy in the crowd said I might have been a touch too loud and I hit a clinker on the made-up solo but otherwise sounded good. So I survived and still want to practice – although I think I’ll take a break from 12-bar in E.