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very unhappy with guitar purchase

Bad RadioBad Radio Posts: 30
edited July 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
im a gibson man, but bought a fender strat. paid 850 for it. i have had it for 2 weeks tomorrow and it will not stay in tune for more than about 2 minutes. plus the strings have a real bad buzz. is it the guitar?? i never have had this problem w/ any of my previous guitars. any help would be appreciated.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • EchoesEchoes Posts: 1,279
    Newer guitars/strings seem to go out of tune a alot early on, I found.
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  • MissYouAllDayMissYouAllDay Posts: 939
    Theres no way a 850$ strat can be that bad.

    Do you go nuts on the trem?
    Did a guitar tech set it up for you or no? They sure as hell should have for 850 bucks!!
    There is probably a bunch of little problems with the frets or action height.
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  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    for one, you're probably not used to the 60 cycle hum of single coil pickups.

    I'd wager that's where your buzz is coming from.
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  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    I'd take it in for a proper set-up. Get the neck adjusted, have the intonation set, and the saddles dialed in. I'd also be curious about the in-tune problem... do you use the tremolo much? Does the trem usage affect the tuning? The nut might be grabbing the strings a little, too... a good set-up should include looking at the nut and making sure it's smooth. What kinda tuners does it have?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Needs a pro set up to get the proper neck relief and truss rod adjustment
    It's very common with new guitars.

    The out of tune may be improperly installed strings. If they're not on the tuner posts right, they'll slip all the time. Learn to lock the strings on the posts. There's a cool way to wrap the strings and they self lock. Guitar techs use this method on stage all the time on stage.

    http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/reference/techsheets.html
    click on "some do's and don'ts about stringing your guitar"

    The nut slots might be too tight if you put heavier strings on. (Like 10's or 11's instead of stock 9's.) That causes the strings to bind, especially when you're bending or dive bombing the trem. Some tremelos just don't come back to perfect, and that is the nature of the beast. You can pull on the arm to get the strings back, like eddie van halen does , or you may need a locking nut.

    An 850 strat SHOULD work!
    Good luck
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  • Bad RadioBad Radio Posts: 30
    i got it guitar center and the guy set it up for me. i think im gonna call them today and have them do it again. i dont really mess w/ the tremolo at all. dont get a chance cause it wont stay tuned. that was what i was worried about when i bought it, having a tremolo and all.
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