Looks like I may have bought some time

[snowywolfowl]

I've spent the last couple of hours playing my guitar to stretch out the new strings and I've also raised the bridge saddles a bit (and the low E string saddle alot) to reduce the fret buzz as much as possible. So far, so good. I've run through "Whole Lotta Love" and "Children of the Grave" a few times and so far the low E has been alright. Unfortunately I can feel some fretwire sticking out a bit from the side of the neck, so its likely that eventually I will need to replace it. Thankfully I play a Stratocaster so neck replacement is possible. If this was a set or a throughbody neck I'd probably need to be talked in off a ledge.

That's the really nasty thing about Canada. As I used to tell my coworkers in India I get 35+ Celsius temperatures in the summer and -40 Celsius temperatures in the winter. Add in the fluctuations in humidity and keeping a guitar in good working order can be a nightmare.

Oh well. That's the problem with this type of thing. Hopefully the saddle adjustments and 010's will help. I'd prefer 009s for strings but if the extra tension helps, then so be it.

Comments

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

That sucks about the guitar neck. HOpefully you won't have to replace it right away.

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It does suck, royally. Necks are expensive. :(

[telemeister.livejournal.com]

Move to California, old lad. Just got my Strat back with a refret. Yummmm...

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

California's climate is definately appealing.

[fen-wolfchile.livejournal.com]

I have enough problems with the very minor temperature fluctuations we get over here.
Just going from warm house to slightly chilly practice room can play havoc with tuning.
If the neck is not actually brocken may I suggest finding a decent luthier and getting the frets dressed and a good set up, perhaps even a new nut if the fret buzz is from the lower end of the neck.
Also check your truss rod adjustment.
Hold one finger on the first fret, the other on the 17th of your low e (da big fat one) and have a look at how much clearance you have between string and frets. It should be almost flush, but not quite.
If you can easily see a good gap then you need to add tension (clock wise on the rod) if they are all bottoming out then counter clockwise. You need to do no more than a quarter turn at a time and leave a good few hours in between to allow the neck to settle. Simple rule is if you have fert buzz above the 12th your actions too low, below your truss rod is too tight or your nut is cut too low.
If you know all this please feel free to ignore me :)

If the neck is warped beyond truss rod adjustment then a re-fret may well help, but some luthiers can charge more than the cost of a new neck.

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

Thanks Fen. It looks like the truss rod is already going all the way but we'll see how it works out.