Stratocaster sustain question

[stef89]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

^^ We need a special font colour for sarcasm......well actually not in this particular case.


OP, you said that the guitar sustains ok open strings and then not fretted.
If you have screwed the trem so that it is now flush/decked, by definition the saddles will now be lower. By doing this the setup that was on the guitar will have changed, and could well be close enough so that you are getting choking out of the notes due to the string vibrating on the frets slightly. You may well find that raising the saddles individually will return the sustain.

I have about an even spread of set neck and bolt on guitars. Acoustically I notice almost no difference in sustain. Plugged in is different as the pickup plays a large part in the signal generated and sent to the amp.

Yea I guess I should try raising it. Altought cant see how it makes a difference cause my string height is the same either way. When I lowered my saddle I raised the strings.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

I find you need a hell wicked amp to get the most out of true single coils. Also volume turn that right up. Imo the neck joint has little to do with sustain. Out of all my 20 guitars i find my bolt on destroyer sustains the most. Even over my neck through guitars.

kramersteen is right. I have owned some sweet set neck guitars (especially a Gibson Les Paul Studio that I once loved) and I have owned quite a few bolt-ons like my current Warmoth Les Pauls that have great sustain as well. I have played both set neck and bolt-on neck guitars that do not have good sustain at all. Sometimes it was a bad set-up and sometimes it was just bad wood.

 

[stef89]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Here is an old trick, it might help, it might not help:

1. With the guitar tuned to pitch, loosen the 4 screws holding the neck to the guitar body about 1/4 of a turn each. You will hear a bit of creaking.
2. Tighten the screws again.
3. Re-tune the guitar to pitch.

Again, it might help, it might not but this can sometimes pull the neck into the pocket to make better contact with the body. It has helped me on two bolt-on neck Warmoths quite a bit.

It might not help, sometimes bad wood is just bad wood. Guitars can be hit or miss like that.

Tried this, even took of the neck and bolted it back on. To no difference. But I actually think its me adjusting to the scale length like one member suggested here.-

 

[DreX]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Plugged in is different as the pickup plays a large part in the signal generated and sent to the amp.

That's a good point, a humbucker is typically much higher output than a Strat single coil, and that certainly effects the perception of sustain from an amplified perspective.

 

[DreX]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

I actually think its me adjusting to the scale length like one member suggested here.-

I thought longer scale sustained better. That seems to be true with bass guitars, anyway.

 

[stef89]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

I thought longer scale sustained better. That seems to be true with bass guitars, anyway.

Im a really heavy picker. I tried some light strumming on my strat just now. And it sustains better hahha

 

[AlexR]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

It's not that they aren't "good". It's just...that's the cost cutting line of the Fender American brand.

Those guitars are made to the same standards as the Mexican Strats which are made of wooden boards that are glued together to make a rectangle and then the bodies are cut from that. On a good day, those guitar bodies are around 5 or 6 percent glue.

It's perfectly ok that you bought an American Special. Please don't judge American Made Fender Guitars by the Special line because that line was specifically marketed to people who don't want to buy Strats made in Mexico.

Upgrade your bridge, electronics and tuners.

Happy New Year,

~LD

Please disregard this statement OP.....in fact this entire post can be said to stink.

Not the least that this poster obviously knows less than nothing about woodwork and the amount of glue used in a joint......
or that glue forms a stiff interface which efficiently couples 2 surfaces together
Or the fact that there is no 'optimum piece' count for a good body
or the fact that every bit of wood is individual, it might just be that the 2 or 1 piece has a tonal deadspot that adding another piece would fix..........and the smaller width boards come from the same trees as the wider ones used in the regular Am STD line, custom shop and masterbuilt guitars
or that vintage fender is a 3 piece.......approx 3% glue according to his calculation.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Yea I guess I should try raising it. Altought cant see how it makes a difference cause my string height is the same either way. When I lowered my saddle I raised the strings.

How did you raise the string?? The saddles are the method of string height off the board. If the saddles are lower (as you said) then the string height is lower.

 

[Spudman]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

^^
Ya, if your strings are too low on a Strat it will kill the sustain on fretted notes, and if your pickups are too close to the strings they can rob some of the momentum from the notes. Try raising the strings and lowering the pickups.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

They need to load that Scott Grove into a huge canon, Aim it at the sun and launch his ugly head right into the core.

That guy is seriously dumb and obviously not the full ounce.

 

[CTN]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

My strats have huge sustain. Huuuge. More than most set necks I've played, Gibsons included.

One's a Japanese made alder body. The other is a warmoth alder body. There's no pixie dust or magic going on. I just tighten the necks down really well and make sure the rest of the setup is top notch

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

It's the luck of the draw. Some wood is resonant and some isn't. I suspect the specific pieces of body and/or neck neck wood, coupling (or lack thereof) at the pocket, or the quality of the hardware.


Edit: By the way, I have a new Fender guitar and the strings are buried ridiculously deep in the nut. That's not good.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Lighter strumming yields more sustain for you and your open strings sustain well while your fretted ones die quickly? There's the problem to me. Get your guitar set up by a professional. If you want, you can upgrade the bridge block too. I use stainless steel Callaham bridge blocks and I couldn't be happier with how my strat sings. Something seems to be interfering with how your strings vibrate, they may be fretting out somewhere on the neck from what this sounds like. Higher action won't help much if the neck isn't adjusted correctly.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Is the neck joint tight? I'd give tightening that a go..

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Years ago a friend was talking to me about how his sunburst Am strat had no sustain. It was hard tail even. Sure enough when I played with it, it was a dud. Some guitars are just duds. That's not typical of most strats though. Mine all have good sustain and are set up with floating vintage style trems. With one I notice that F# played on the G string doesn't sustain very well, but all the other notes have excellent sustain. The D played on the G string sustains just like the same note on my Les Paul.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Stef, how is sustain varied across your fretboard? Does it decrease gradually or are there "spots" where sustain dies instantly, whereas adjacent frets enjoy better sustain? IMO no trem blocks, or raising the action will help if the behaviour of your neck dictates those negetive effects on sustain.
You better sell the guitar and get a another one which you like.
My 1983 old Strat sustiains just as a good as my set-in and neckthroughs, and it has received beating, headers, anything you can imagine. It sounds so good that when It happened to have an extra super-vee trem, and had no other option than to actually install it on this strat, the guitar sounded the same as before.

 

[Stratman]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Different pieces of wood can react (Sound) different.

If the amount of glue is a factor, remember that Les Paul maple tops are glued to the body... Does that change the amount of glue used? Questionable!

I would think that it is just a problem with the wood used for the body is dead sounding.

I have noticed that happening before, and you could always switch to a different body (e.g., Fender, Warmoth, USACustom, etc...)

 

[stef89]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

Higher action won't help much if the neck isn't adjusted correctly.

By adjusted do you mean the the curve of the neck? or fitting the neck in the bolts?

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

My money is on bad set up causing loss of sustain.

 

[stef89]

Re: Stratocaster sustain question

How did you raise the string?? The saddles are the method of string height off the board. If the saddles are lower (as you said) then the string height is lower.

Sorry its my english. I ment when I lowered the bridge I raised the saddle.