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.