What the heck..?

[Twinky_Bomb]

I just changed my strings from almost the lightest guage you can get, I think there .010s-.046, to some like .013-.056, something close to that, and before I changed them my bridge was resting against the body of the guitar like I like my guitars, then I change my strings and for some reason my bridge is like 1\8th away from the body????? Why did it do that, and how do I lower it back down?

[monstermike]

I'm assuming it's a Strat-style vibrato bridge? Go around to the back cavity and tighten the spring claw until the bridge rests the way you like it. The heavier strings have higher tension, so you need to compensate by increasing the spring tension.

If it's not a Strat bridge or similar (PRS, Floyd, etc), ignore all of this.

[Twinky_Bomb]

Oh, yeahh. Sorry for my lack of info, skewl has gotten to me, and it's really frying my brain cells..and my memory. :p

It's a 1962 Stratocaster. How do I tighten them?!?

[walterw]

dude, you'll need to do some work to that guitar to get those ridiculous strings to work. your nut slots are all way too narrow, and you risk breaking the ends of the nut off. it definitely won't stay in tune until those slots are widened.

you'll need to adjust the truss rod, the saddles and the bridge spring claw to get it to straighten out again.

[Boris Bubbanov]

I would stay closer to the size of string the guitar had had, previously.

A change of guage this radical is probably gonna require you take the guitar to a competent luthier; but unless you've played 13s a bit, I'm gonna suggest the shock to you (and maybe the guitar) will be too much. You need to run up at that large a guage in increments, 10, then 11. 11 then 12. 12, then 13 and it might take a year or more to make that big of a he-man transition. 13s, played at concert pitch, require heart and gristle, and serious callouses.

[walterw]

13s, played at concert pitch, require heart and gristle, and serious callouses.
and in Stevie ray's case, half-step down tuning and a coke habit so severe he couldn't feel the ends of his fingers! He lightened up to 11s when he cleaned up.

[monstermike]

The short answer is to remove the backplate over the spring cavity if it's on there, and you'll see a claw holding the springs in place. There are two screws holding the claw into the wood. Tighten those until the bridge sits where you want.

As far as the other work needed to use those strings, it depends on the setup you want, but you will need to have things adjusted if you want action and setup to stay consistent with what they were with the lighter strings.

If it's the original nut, .013s shouldn't be a problem. A reissue or replacement nut is probably slotted for lighter strings.

[Eagle1]

You will probably need four or even five springs as well.

[GtrDr]

13's are the limit to Fender's waranty.

[Rock Johnson]

13s on a '62 Strat.

Just damn.

[Dana Olsen]

Hey Twinky -

Nearly everyone who's responded to you is a guitar tech/builder/ repair person or very mechanically inclined. From your question, it sounds like you're a little new to guitar setups.

For that reason, I recommend you take your guitar to a good tech. Changing from 10's to 13's is a HUGE CHANGE as far as the guitar goes. The bridge pulling up is a visibly obvious change, and there are other changes that aren't so obvious to the eye, but which make a big difference to how the guitar plays, sounds, feels, and how it stays in tune and intonates. The nut, nut slots height, intonation, neck relief - ALL those will change dramatically when going from 10's to 13's.

As Walter pointed out, SRV didn't always use 13's, and he DID tune down to Eb with either 13's or 11's. Listen to "Sweet Little Thing" - sounds like it's in Eb, but he's playing in the "E" position, tuned down to Eb.

Unless you plan on switching back immediately to 10's, you're gonna need a full setup with that big a switch - I'm not kidding, that's a BIG CHANGE in the tension on the neck, claw, nut slot width and height, etc.

You'll never know whether 13's are for you without a good setup - they'll be REAL HARD to play even with a great setup.

Anyhow, that's my advice. Tell your tech what you're heading for - the SRV sound is what it sounds like to me, and see if they can't help you get there while making the guitar play as good as it can. Frankly, with 13's, you'll be struggling enough as it is.

Good Luck, hope this helps, Dana O.

[Rock Johnson]

Listen to Dana, he and WalterW know more than just about anybody on here about setups. I'm pretty dang good at setups on my own gear, but those two are absolute founts of knowledge.

13s on a Strat just seems, well, painful. I just switched from 11-48s tuned to Eb to 10-46s in standard tuning on my Les Paul, and after setting it up again, I can't believe how much easier the guitar is to play. I don't notice any loss of tone, either.

[Dana Olsen]

You say the sweetest things, Rock. (GRIN)

Walter does this for a living, as does Boris, Eagle1, and Gtr Dr., and Mike is VERY mechanically inclined (GRIN), and may as well do it for a living.

I WAS A PRO TECH at one time, but that was many years ago. I just had some good training back then - I was very fortunate to have a roommate who is an excellent tech and builder, and I was his apprentice/ assistant. I'm more of a guitar player who understands setups than I am a good all around tech nowadays. I've just tried to learn from my mistakes - since I'm older, I've made a large number of mistakes, so I've learned a lot (GRIN).

Those guys I mentioned above - They're PROS!

In this case in particular, if the OP's guitar is setup well in the first place, then it'll be reasonably easy to maintain. But if you're a guy who's not experienced in setting up guitars, I think you're gonna find that trying to learn about setups when changing from 10's to 13's on a '62 Strat is gonna be a tough row to hoe, if you know what I'm 'sayin.

Thanks, Dana
Listen to Dana, he and WalterW know more than just about anybody on here about setups. I'm pretty dang good at setups on my own gear, but those two are absolute founts of knowledge.

13s on a Strat just seems, well, painful. I just switched from 11-48s tuned to Eb to 10-46s in standard tuning on my Les Paul, and after setting it up again, I can't believe how much easier the guitar is to play. I don't notice any loss of tone, either.

[GtrDr]

You said it Dana. In our business, that's a huge change. If it's a real $25k '62 Strat, I'd be afraid to put 11's on it. A set of .010's weighs approx.103lbs. A set of .013-.056 weighs almost 180lbs.

[Rock Johnson]

You say the sweetest things, Rock. (GRIN)

Walter does this for a living, as does Boris, Eagle1, and Gtr Dr., and Mike is VERY mechanically inclined (GRIN), and may as well do it for a living.



Nah, not sweet, just honest. I've learned a TON from you and Walter, in particular. Walter, especially, has put up with all my dumb-ass questions.

As a result, though, I've gotten pretty damn good at setting up a guitar, to the point where all my guitar playing friends bring their guitars to me to get 'em done up. :)

[GtrDr]

Nah, not sweet, just honest. I've learned a TON from you and Walter, in particular. Walter, especially, has put up with all my dumb-ass questions.

You outta hear some of my dumb questions.

[Keyser Soze]

I have a frankenstrat with 13s (rotosounds) set up for slide (usually open E or G). It sounds positivey huge, but is an absolute mother to play otherwise. The neck is a Warmoth boatneck and it easily handles the tension. I could not imagine risking a true vintage neck that way.

I'd strongly recommend going back to the original gauge, which really is a 'light medium' and perfectly appropriate for that guitar. Light gauge strings are things like 08s and 09s.

[walterw]

something tells me the guitar in question is a '62 reissue of some sort, but even so, the old guitars originally came with wound-G telephone cables on them, so i have to think that as long as the neck is adjusted to be straight, a "real" one could be strung with heavy strings just fine.

+1 to all warnings about the setup: going from plain-G 9s or 10s to wound-G 13s requires significant adjustments as well as mandatory filing of the nut slots.