NG&AD! (NOT A SQUIER!)

Legionreturns

Alnico said:

Legionreturns said:

Ha! I don't own anything fendery and haven't since my very first squire strat! I often wonder whether I'm missing something and actually need one but I'll cope for now. 

Not once you've played my American Pro you won't !
It's rather addictive.
Pick it up at your own financial risk.

I've only got mildly nagging GAS for a fender at the moment. I've got something humbuckery, something p90-y and the Dearmond single coils in my very Gretschy thing. There's not much room in between and I suspect if I want something with more twang I'll end up going Jackson or Ibanez rather than Fender. 

Alnico

TADodger said:

I have a G&L Tribute S500 which does Straty type stuff OK, but starting to really want a Fender, particularly when a certain @BRISTOL86 posts such good looking pics .....

The trouble is, following the 'Boys Day out in Derbyshire' thread my head wants to hold out for something special, but my GAS keeps finding alternatives!

Honestly,...when I came home from that and obviously had not been able to bring home a CS like @Bridgehouse did, I felt a little bit heartbroken until I picked up my Pro and realised that I didn't need one.
That said, I AM very glad I've got my Pro and it's become something really special to me, not only because it was a gift from one of my two best friends.

I can however totally condone holding out for something decent though, even if not a CS.
There are plenty of *really* good Mexican Strats / Teles as well, it doesn't *have* to be American but I do love the spec and the feel of what I've got and I'm very lucky to have it and such amazing friends.

I'm saving for a reasonably high-end Ibanez right now and "Keeping on finding alternatives...." is something I find myself constantly battling.
My Wife is very heavily involved with what I do and I love sharing all this with her. She doesn't play but has a huge apprecaition for guitars and she's learnt a lot. Last month she surprised me with a guitar she'd been secretly saving up for to replace the Jackson Soloist i'd sold last year through disappointment with the 'X-Series' Jackson. She chose the guitar herself based on what she knew I wanted and what she'd learned and bought me an Ibanez Iron Label IR20E. It's such a great guitar, I've decided to buy the 7 string version of the excat same model, incoming in 2 weeks. Natasha really is a great girl and knows more than i sometimes give her credit for. She's been the one now who is keeping me on track to get the Ibanez Universe she knows I want so badly.
We've put this photo on our laptop to stop me looking at anything else in the meantime and it's exactly the one we're getting, as long as we can find a decent used example of one.
So far her theory of "Just look at that every time you want something else" is working very well.
Roll on Halloween!

http://i.imgur.com/Y3PzGG1.jpg

BRISTOL86

Alnico said:

Genuinely I thought you'd bought a Squier as well as the American Special!
Yesterday was busy as hell so I read this "on the go" as it were.

The 'Gary' bit made me laugh like hell though.
So,.....how are you finding the Special then?

This has made me want one all over again now.
I've got NGD coming up on August 9th (Just over 2 weeks now) for another Ibanez and my first 7 string THEN I'm saving for an Ibanez Universe in October for my Birthday so I know I can't fit a Fender into all that and I'm committed to what I'm doing........but this still makes me miss the ones I had.

I'll rough it with my 'Pro' for now I suppose and stop being so daft.
LOL.

I Hate GAS sometimes.

Haha it wasn't until I read back through the thread this morning that I realised how much it looked like I'd bought a Squier! I think because I knew what I had I assumed everyone else did! (Not helped by the fact that the headstock wasn't in any of the photos!!)

Loving it so far. The combination of this and the amp is such an enormous step up from the MIM Strat and THR10. The difference in dynamics is astounding, it will really make me pay attention to technique. Really feels like I'm playing through a proper amp for the first time.

Love the slight twang from the Texas Specials and the jumbo frets are awesome. 

Haha yes I think your Pro is more than satisfactory  

Alnico

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Genuinely I thought you'd bought a Squier as well as the American Special!
Yesterday was busy as hell so I read this "on the go" as it were.

The 'Gary' bit made me laugh like hell though.
So,.....how are you finding the Special then?

This has made me want one all over again now.
I've got NGD coming up on August 9th (Just over 2 weeks now) for another Ibanez and my first 7 string THEN I'm saving for an Ibanez Universe in October for my Birthday so I know I can't fit a Fender into all that and I'm committed to what I'm doing........but this still makes me miss the ones I had.

I'll rough it with my 'Pro' for now I suppose and stop being so daft.
LOL.

I Hate GAS sometimes.

Haha it wasn't until I read back through the thread this morning that I realised how much it looked like I'd bought a Squier! I think because I knew what I had I assumed everyone else did! (Not helped by the fact that the headstock wasn't in any of the photos!!)

Loving it so far. The combination of this and the amp is such an enormous step up from the MIM Strat and THR10. The difference in dynamics is astounding, it will really make me pay attention to technique. Really feels like I'm playing through a proper amp for the first time.

Love the slight twang from the Texas Specials and the jumbo frets are awesome. 

Haha yes I think your Pro is more than satisfactory  

Get a pro set up done and it will transform it.
Mine was set up by @SteveRobinson and it's another-level-great.
Once the nut height is lowered to where it should be and the frets are truly level it becomes something else entirely.
I play 10's and I've got action height of 1.2mm treble and 1.4mm Bass with no rattle whatsoever.
It's stunning to play and my frets are narrow/tall on the Pro.

The cost of it being done (£65) has literally brought it up to another level, I can't condone this enough.
It'll be good out of the box but it can be better still.
Make sure you see someone good to get it done though.

BRISTOL86

Alnico said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Genuinely I thought you'd bought a Squier as well as the American Special!
Yesterday was busy as hell so I read this "on the go" as it were.

The 'Gary' bit made me laugh like hell though.
So,.....how are you finding the Special then?

This has made me want one all over again now.
I've got NGD coming up on August 9th (Just over 2 weeks now) for another Ibanez and my first 7 string THEN I'm saving for an Ibanez Universe in October for my Birthday so I know I can't fit a Fender into all that and I'm committed to what I'm doing........but this still makes me miss the ones I had.

I'll rough it with my 'Pro' for now I suppose and stop being so daft.
LOL.

I Hate GAS sometimes.

Haha it wasn't until I read back through the thread this morning that I realised how much it looked like I'd bought a Squier! I think because I knew what I had I assumed everyone else did! (Not helped by the fact that the headstock wasn't in any of the photos!!)

Loving it so far. The combination of this and the amp is such an enormous step up from the MIM Strat and THR10. The difference in dynamics is astounding, it will really make me pay attention to technique. Really feels like I'm playing through a proper amp for the first time.

Love the slight twang from the Texas Specials and the jumbo frets are awesome. 

Haha yes I think your Pro is more than satisfactory  

Get a pro set up done and it will transform it.
Mine was set up by @SteveRobinson and it's another-level-great.
Once the nut height is lowered to where it should be and the frets are truly level it becomes something else entirely.
I play 10's and I've got action height of 1.2mm treble and 1.4mm Bass with no rattle whatsoever.
It's stunning to play and my frets are narrow/tall on the Pro.

The cost of it being done (£65) has literally brought it up to another level, I can't condone this enough.
It'll be good out of the box but it can be better still.
Make sure you see someone good to get it done though.

Yeah there's a really good tech not far from me who I'm going to have set it up, made a big difference on the MX Strat

Alnico

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

BRISTOL86

Alnico said:

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

It's amazing how small things can contribute so much to the sound, isn't it? 

I dont use the tremolo at all so I have it fixed down but sounds like you're onto a winner!

Alnico

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

It's amazing how small things can contribute so much to the sound, isn't it? 

I dont use the tremolo at all so I have it fixed down but sounds like you're onto a winner!

When you say "Fixed down", how do you mean that?
Have you screwed all 6 screws down tight?

BRISTOL86

Alnico said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

It's amazing how small things can contribute so much to the sound, isn't it? 

I dont use the tremolo at all so I have it fixed down but sounds like you're onto a winner!

When you say "Fixed down", how do you mean that?
Have you screwed all 6 screws down tight?

I didn't do it on the MX Strat, the tech did. I presume it was just screwed down tight. It stayed in tune very well. 

Alnico

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

It's amazing how small things can contribute so much to the sound, isn't it? 

I dont use the tremolo at all so I have it fixed down but sounds like you're onto a winner!

When you say "Fixed down", how do you mean that?
Have you screwed all 6 screws down tight?

I didn't do it on the MX Strat, the tech did. I presume it was just screwed down tight. It stayed in tune very well. 

That's not how a 6 point tremolo works.
The 6 screws are merely holding the tremolo in place, not screwing it down with any force at all.

If you're going to do it yourself you bring each one of the 6 screws down until it just touches the tremolo plate. There's a ski ramp underneath there so actually tightening it will only have an adverse effect.
If you're going to use the tremolo you raise the centre 4 screws back up around a quarter turn so they're just a tiny amount above the plate. If you're not going to use the tremolo, leave all 6 just touching it but not tightened any tighter than finger tight with the tremolo held against the body. I would do this with the strings very slack or off the guitar in between string changes and springs disconnected, holding the tremolo flat to the body with my hand.
Once the 6 screws are "Set", you can either install 5 springs and tighten the claw around halfway which will give the effect of having an almost hardtail bridge or you can put a wooden block behind the sound block and physically stop it from moving at all but if you do that you still need spring installed and tensioned.

Tightening a 6 point tremolo "Down" tight using the 6 mounting screws is not the way to get it to play nicely or hold tuning well.
Have a look at one when it's off the guitar and you'll see what I mean.
I wouldn't do this with the new one and I doubt any proper tech would set up a Strat tremolo like that.
You'll most likely find he's done it like I've described and used spring tension to give more than any string pull would affect.

I hope so anyway !

Plectrum

The standard way to block off a trem is to insert a piece of wood in the gap at the back on same side as the springs (you need to take the springs off to do this) then tighten up the springs enough so that there's no movement of the bridge when you bend notes. This will also clamp the wood in place. Simply getting the springs really tight with the bridge flat to the body can work too.

BRISTOL86

Alnico said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Alnico said:

Cool.

Going to be a good weekend though eh?

I've just bought some GOTOH power springs for mine which should arrive today so I can go down to using just 2 springs instead of 3.
I have my tremolo set floating so It goes up a while tone on the G string and I use my tremolo a lot when I'm playing, hence the desire to have a perfect tone-up on the G string. I set it using a tuner, playing the G at the 12th fret and then pull up until the tremolo decks out at a perfect A note.

Anyway, by going down to 2 heavier springs it gives a much lighter and more responsive feel to the arm when I'm doing lighter vibrato playing and that lighter, more fluttery feel to it transforms that side of the guitar again.

I've just done it with the Ibanez and it's a stunning difference.

£5 and free postage.
Usually, arrive next day delivery from those guys, I've bought them before. It's a good shop to buy from.
Excellent cheap mod and a huge difference.

It's amazing how small things can contribute so much to the sound, isn't it? 

I dont use the tremolo at all so I have it fixed down but sounds like you're onto a winner!

When you say "Fixed down", how do you mean that?
Have you screwed all 6 screws down tight?

I didn't do it on the MX Strat, the tech did. I presume it was just screwed down tight. It stayed in tune very well. 

That's not how a 6 point tremolo works.
The 6 screws are merely holding the tremolo in place, not screwing it down with any force at all.

If you're going to do it yourself you bring each one of the 6 screws down until it just touches the tremolo plate. There's a ski ramp underneath there so actually tightening it will only have an adverse effect.
If you're going to use the tremolo you raise the centre 4 screws back up around a quarter turn so they're just a tiny amount above the plate. If you're not going to use the tremolo, leave all 6 just touching it but not tightened any tighter than finger tight with the tremolo held against the body. I would do this with the strings very slack or off the guitar in between string changes and springs disconnected, holding the tremolo flat to the body with my hand.
Once the 6 screws are "Set", you can either install 5 springs and tighten the claw around halfway which will give the effect of having an almost hardtail bridge or you can put a wooden block behind the sound block and physically stop it from moving at all but if you do that you still need spring installed and tensioned.

Tightening a 6 point tremolo "Down" tight using the 6 mounting screws is not the way to get it to play nicely or hold tuning well.
Have a look at one when it's off the guitar and you'll see what I mean.
I wouldn't do this with the new one and I doubt any proper tech would set up a Strat tremolo like that.
You'll most likely find he's done it like I've described and used spring tension to give more than any string pull would affect.

I hope so anyway !

Thanks for that. It's absolutely not something I'd try and do myself - not at this stage anyway! But interesting nonetheless. 

I imagine the tech did what you said, I never had any issues with playability or tuning!

usedtobe

I love how they give you the drivers name, lol
I was waiting in for a delivery, once, following the drivers progress, until his eventual arrival at my door."Ah, you must be Chris!" I said, as I stood on the doormat, in my smoking jacket.

The look on the guys face was priceless!

TADodger

Love Natasha's plan to keep you on track. I would probably keep changing the picture! 

If I want to go with anything vintage I will need to try out the neck because not only do I have small hands but I am further hindered by having short pinky fingers, so, I'm guessing any kind of fat necks are out. The moment I walk into a shop  with any sort of choice to try out some Strats I can see walking out again empty handed being a non starter.

Having looked at a few specs on @guitars4you's website I am quite liking the CS Postmodern NOS - if one came up in a colour that I fancy.....