2 weeks ago I received my first electric guitar. It's a 2008 Fender Standard Stratocaster the made in mexico variety. I had been practicing trying to learn how to play the last few weeks until the high E string started to sound really off. I don't really know how to describe it. I tried tuning it but it just wouldn't get in tune all it would do is make this really awful sound. So I figured maybe it needed new strings. As I loosened the tension on the high E to take it off it actually broke. (Including this in case it's a symptom of the problem). Soooo I spent an entire night putting on new strings. Got the strings on tried to tune the guitar with absolutely no luck. The low E would tune but no matter how tight I made the other strings they all just made the same bad sound the high E was making before I put the new strings on. So.... I did some reading etc. etc. Thought well... maybe I got some bad strings. Went to guitar center picked up some new packs of D'Addorio Super Light electric guitar strings. .09 gauge same as what came with the guitar just not same brand. Strung it up again this time doing a really good job winding them on the pegs. Stretched em for quite a while. I'm still having the same problem only this time I'm able to get the Low E and the 5th string to tune and the rest sound like crap no matter what I do. I'm a total beginner here I've been playing an acoustic since Christmas and made the switch to electric because that's what I really want to play. Any suggestions about what this might be would be very much appreciated.
sounds like the strings are slipping on the tuners....the high strings are prone to this as they are not wound and dont generate enough friction......as a noobie you will be prone to making mistakes so dont feel discouraged.
here is a simple video that may help you
One problem that guitars with vibratos (whammy bars, whatever you want to call them) have, is that they retune the other 5 strings every time you retune one. This is due to the tension on the springs, which hold the tremelo/whammy/vibrato in place - as you exert more pressure on one string (by raising the pitch) you automatically reduce the tension on all the other strings.
I wrote a piece on tuning (here it is)
Hope that helps
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One problem that guitars with vibratos (whammy bars, whatever you want to call them) have, is that they retune the other 5 strings every time you retune one. This is due to the tension on the springs, which hold the tremelo/whammy/vibrato in place - as you exert more pressure on one string (by raising the pitch) you automatically reduce the tension on all the other strings.
This is why I removed the whammy bar as soon as the guitar got home. It's also (one reason) why I only have to retune my strings once a week or so, and then usually just one or 2, just a little. 8)
What you get from the whammy bar just isn't worth the aggravation to me.
I may have this confused, but as I see it, removing the whammy bar itself won't change the effect on tuning- you'd have to block the bridge for that.
But I've never had problems with strat-style bridges. Just stick an extra spring on and they stay right in place except when you really whammy!
My other guitar has a floyd rose trem- now that was a pain to learn to tune.
Best,
Ande
I suspect your intonation is off. Basically, intonation means that each string is the proper length. The distance from the nut to the 12th fret should be the same as the 12 fret to the saddle. You adjust intonation using the small phillip's head screws behind the saddles.
Here is a post I made some time ago with photos, keeps me from having to write it all over again:
Often when some chords sound good but others sound bad your intonation is out. Basically, intonation means your strings are the correct length from the nut to the saddles on the bridge. The 12th fret is halfway.
1) Tune your open bass E string to pitch with a tuner. Get it as perfect as possible.
2) Fret the string at the 12th fret with normal playing pressure. If set properly the note will be exactly the same as the open string.
3) If the fretted note is sharp, loosen the string slightly and adjust the saddle back toward the rear of the guitar. Retune the open string to pitch, then check the fretted note again. It may take several attempts, but you should be able to get the fretted note to match the open string note perfectly.
4)If the fretted note is flat compared to the open string, then loosen the string a bit and adjust the saddle forward toward the headstock. Again, retune and compare the fretted note to the open string note. Try to get them to match as perfect as possible.
5)Perform the same procedure with the A, D, G, B, and high E strings.
When you get intonation correct, your chords will sound very good no matter where you play them on the fingerboard unless there is some other problem. It makes a huge difference in how well your guitar sounds. When your intonation is out some chords will sound great while others sound terribly out of tune. The higher you play up the fingerboard, the more out of tune they sound.
When setup properly, your saddles will almost always look staggered like this;
That's for a Strat style bridge and saddles, if you have a Gibson type bridge it will look like this;
Notice on both that the bass E string is far back, the A string a little forward, the D string even more forward. Then the G string saddle is far back like the bass E, the B string a little forward, and the high E a little more forward. There are exceptions, but 90% of the time this is what your saddles will look like when your intonation is correct.
I am a real freak about intonation, I carefully set it correctly on all my guitars. When it is correct you will think you have a new guitar the chords will sound sweet. :wink:
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