Tight strings on guitar

Liamgilmour928

I bought a Fender black top telecaster a couple of years ago and was very happy with it. However, I have since played/ owned a few more guitars and now realised that the strings are very tight. First I thought it was the string gauge but that didn't make much of a difference, then I thought it was the scale length. But I've played a friends telecaster with the same scale length and string gauge and his strings are a lot looser. I was wondering what the problem could be?

olafgarten

What string gauge is on it? 

FelineGuitars

It will most likely be down to the break angles behind the saddles and over the nut .
It maybe likely from your description that the break angle on your tele is steeper than your friend's tele
Could also be a different brand of string - can be a factor.....

Liamgilmour928

10s

Bridgehouse

Well, it could be string brand, but unlikely.

In no particular order it could be:
- Tuner height
- Nut (height and cut)
- Neck angle and thus saddle height
- Neck relief (less likely)

olafgarten

I think the Blacktops come with a Modern strat type Hardtail, so you can't change the break angle at the bridge. It most likely has string trees, you could get rid of them and replace the tuners with staggered ones. 

FelineGuitars

Bridgehouse said:

Well, it could be string brand, but unlikely.

In no particular order it could be:
- Tuner height
- Nut (height and cut)
- Neck angle and thus saddle height
- Neck relief (less likely)

I agree
Tuner height and saddle height (esp with string thru body teles) basically come down to break angle  issues
Nut height making playing first position chords hard and relief are basically set-up issues , but certainly affect the playing experience.

Bridgehouse

@FelineGuitars beat me to it!

I still vote for nut break angle as @olafgarten said..

Might be worth going to a good tech for a setup and explain the problem?

guitars4you

Compared to many other guitars, a Tele does have a tighter feel, but if you compared it to another Tele then as both Bridgehouse and Feline Guitars have stated various structural' factors come into play - Do both bridges have strings loaded thru' the body or is one top loaded - Not knowing the grade of other Teles you have tried, including your mates, it is hard to comment about a well cut nut and set up  Also when you say tight, are you referring to just strumming a few chords or  string bending, as again fingerboard radius and fret size comes into later

As to can yours be improved regarding a 'good set-up' then let a dealer, repair tech or mate(if skilled) see if it can be tweaked to maximise the playing performance

Then again the reason many of us have 2 guitars or more is because they bring something different to the table, but my initial gut feeling is that a good set-up will enrich the playing performance

Bridgehouse

@Liamgilmour928 - is it tension near the nut when playing chords, or tension further up the neck when, say, bending, or tension as you fret notes all over the board?

Liamgilmour928

Not so much when playing chords, definitely while bending especially around the 10 - 12 fret region

Liamgilmour928

The neck is not bowed at all though

Bridgehouse

Take it in to a tech to have a look at - seems you are not far from Steve Robinson (Manchester Guitar Tech) - he would check nut and rest of the setup for you. 

My guess is a recut nut and some general setup and it would be much better.. To the extent you would notice a difference..

StuartMac290

Are your frets lower than his?

guitars4you

Liamgilmour928 said:

Not so much when playing chords, definitely while bending especially around the 10 - 12 fret region

many other comments above may well still apply but this suggest fret size between what you have and other Tele's you have tried - yet yours is a 89.% radius and medium jumbo frets so should be easier than many other Tele's especially with vintage spec and features

TheMarlin

Did it have a Bigsby B50 on it?

Bigsby tension bars increase string tension. 10's will feel like 11's, 11's will feel like 12's...   It can be cured though!