Are strats supposed to be "jangly"/"buzzy" unplugged?

[ms21]

The reason I ask this is that I’ve just got my first one and it’s now back from my tech who set it up. Prior to this I was playing a POS Encore guitar that was £25 second hand. One thing that differs substantially is that they’ve set it up with a much lower action on the strat than the encore - so much so I’m actually going to contact them next week over it as Id say it’s too low compared to what I was playing.

But beyond that, and something that really surprised me, is just how much more resonant the encore is unplugged than the strat. The strat also seems to have a lot of fret buzz/rattle unplugged which isn’t prominent on the encore.

Is this normal? Are they just different types of guitars and nothing to be concerned about? Or should an almost 1k guitar be sounding more resonant/less "rattly" when unplugged than £25 one?

 

[chrisrocksusa]

Yes.

 

[ms21]

Yes.

Thanks. Very helpful. Short and concise.

 

[Lung Plunger]

The higher the action is, the more tension and less buzzing rattle there is.

* I think *

 

[ms21]

The higher the action is, the more tension and less buzzing rattle there is.

* I think *

Yeah the action is definitely a lot lower so I’m sure that’ll be contributing to it. But just the general sound difference is immense. The encore is so much fuller than the strat unplugged. If that’s normal I don’t mind, but it was a big surprise as soon as I struck a chord on it.

 

[chrisrocksusa]

Thanks. Very helpful. Short and concise.

It answered the question without extra fluff

 

[ms21]

It answered the question without extra fluff

Nowt wrong with that!

 

[Den]

The only noise that sounds anything like buzzing on my strat is sometimes the trem bar rattling a bit. I simply move the bar and the rattling stops. On a another strat doing the same thing years ago, I ran a wrap of teflon tape around the bar where it inserts into the trem to tighten it up and that eliminated the noise. Worth checking out.

 

[TP Parter]

Yes Strats can be set up to have a beautifully musical jangle to them. They are buzzy only if set up that way, or the bridge sucks. Sproingy is how I describe the sound of a trem equipped Strat. An elastic metallic glassy ball of sound that has a specific bounce to it, and creates a great slinky and glassy liquid crunch that bites perfectly for rhythm cut as well as stinging and singing leads with overdrive.

 

[59stratocaster]

It is my experience that some degree of buzz is to be expected. Exactly how much and how hard you have to hit the strings to induce it will vary. If you don't hear it amplified and your guitar isn't choking out then it's a non-issue in practice.

 

[ccc]

I'll never get the "But how does it sound unplugged" discussions , it's an electric guitar for Christ sakes plug the fuc_ _ _ in and crank it up !!!!!!!!

 

[Axaholic]

They'll always be a small amount of fret buzz on all guitars unless you set the action really high. Do you have too much fret buzz? Maybe your tech had it setup nice but a temperature change has made it a bit more buzzy, hard to say from here.

Let your tech have another look at it, but if it's not excessive buzz it might be a good opportunity to learn to play with a lower action

 

[twoheadedboy]

I'll never get the "But how does it sound unplugged" discussions , it's an electric guitar for Christ sakes plug the fuc_ _ _ in and crank it up !!!!!!!!

That's one way of putting it! For me, some of what is desirable in an acoustic instrument is not desirable in an electric instrument. For example, a big loud acoustic sound usually does not translate to an electric sound that I like. My favorite electric guitars usually don't sound like much acoustically.

 

[ms21]

That's one way of putting it! For me, some of what is desirable in an acoustic instrument is not desirable in an electric instrument. For example, a big loud acoustic sound usually does not translate to an electric sound that I like. My favorite electric guitars usually don't sound like much acoustically.

This is good to know!

 

[Soundhog]

If a guitar sounds great unplugged,it will sound amazing thru your amp.

 

[Tony Done]

Well, my Oz$60 Peavey is a lot louder and more interesting acoustically than any of my other guitars, which include an LP Sp. How do your two compare when amplified?

 

[Selsaral]

For the record, a tool to measure action and stuff is like $5-10 on amazon.

You probably just want to play your guitar but...setups and action height are part of your life now.

 

[Strummerfan]

An electric guitar is not meant to be played unplugged. If the action is too low, I definitely recommend raising it, super low action is not for everybody. It does neuter the tone and makes certain playing styles less comfortable. Unfortunately a lot of players are obsessed with low action, so a lot techs try to err on the low side for fear of customers complaining that the action was set too high. Low action or not, the way to judge a solid body guitar is plugged in. It's not an acoustic, and it's unplugged sound is meaningless.

 

[Strummerfan]

If a guitar sounds great unplugged,it will sound amazing thru your amp.

Sorry, I don't see the connection. An electric guitar isn't amplifying the acoustic sound of the guitar. It's turning the metal strings movement through a magnetic field into an electric signal. The more the wood vibrates, the more it absorbs the string vibration, which is a negative to the tone and sustain.

 

[ChickenLover]