51 tele squire

[saxman]

ok i have no clue how to use the little buttons above,
just wanted to make words bigger-easier to read
oh well.
here it is
just bought 51 tele squire (should be here tomorrow}
what do i need to know
ie adjust nut, neck, bridge, ?
anybody got one?
let me know
thanks

[ChrisK]

Dunno, let's see what setup shape it's in...

Fender have some good setup guidlines on their site.

[ux4484]

Hi Saxman, and welcome to GuitarNuts 2!

I hope you get a good one, I would hesitate to buy a guitar that I hadn't held in my hands first.
I played 'em at GC a number of times before I bought one, and I played all of them they had they day I walked out with one. The '51 is an incredible value (especially if you got it for $99!), but they all have pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses:
Every one I played had an excellent neck, though the the fret ends along the edge of the neck seem to have been cut off with a slightly dull tool and have a small sharp underside edge where they (should) meet with the neck. Some quick work with emery cloth or a jewelers file will fix that right up. IMO, I think the neck alone on this guitar is worth $99.

Some folks complain about the nut (it's a plastic/durlon type nut), but the nut is verrry small and perfectly flush with the neck sides, which is great if using it for blues or slide work. The nuts on most of the ones I've seen don't seem to be cut wide enough
for the string (too small for the string), this can give you tuning instability. I just took the next size larger string for each slot in the nut and ran it through like a flexible file to open up the slots until the correct string slid smoothly in the slot....and don't forget to lube it (with a sharp pencil) when you're done. Remember, you are widening the slot, do not make it deeper.

The nut and bridge height was pretty good on all I tried, but there was not a one that had the intonation set even close to reality (check the myriad intonation threads that can be found on this board for details). The bridge is set on kind of the short end of the scale size, I wouldn't put anything bigger than .010's on a '51 or you'll run out of adjustment on the bridge when setting intonation (The low E on mine is set almost as far back as it can go without crushing the spring). If you need to adjust the nut or bridge height, I would follow Chris's advice and follow the Fender Set up guide.

I would suggest you replace the strings right off and after setting it up; enjoy it for a while before you tinker with it (if that's your intention). It's a very fun guitar for the money

One last observation: The guys at GC don't appear to like these guitars (I think because they don't make anything off them), but they do sell a ton of 'em. I noticed that many of them on display seemed to be quite abused, many had scratches and drop marks on them or had their pick guards scratched up as if by a screwdriver or key. My last time in I spotted one of the managers in the back of the store playing some Bo Diddley on one for a few of the salesman....he quickly put it down as I approached (that was the day, and the actual '51 I bought).

[saxman]

hey thanks guys, just pulled this baby out of the box
god it's ugly supposed to be blond but it's fur shur yeller!
but i know i'll grow to love her
because like my kid
she wasn't much to look at when she came out of the box either!
ok so i tuned it up, and every strin was sharp on ath third fret
i put a straight edge on the neck, and i can see it needs adjusting
(middle frets dont touch the straight edge)
so i'm takin your advice and headin to fender set-up
oh yeah my daughter turned out beautiful,
so i have high hopes for this baby too!
thanks again

[monradon]

He right the neck is better than I have seen on alot of strats I have seen , I have one and I have this fantasy of a different body but my neck is great wood but sharp ends on the frets and nut slots too small but a great neck and the electronics are decent still not sure what the push pull switch is for maybe some one can explain that too me . Send email if you know [e-mail]

[ux4484]

monradon said:

still not sure what the push pull switch is for maybe some one can explain that too me .

It is for making the bridge humbucker a single coil, which is clearly indicated in the [url=http://www.squierguitars.com/products/view_specs.php?full_partno=0325100&name=Squier%26reg%3B+%26lsquo%3B51
]"specifications" [/url] page for the '51 on the Squire site.

[saxman]

well, i've had ol yeller for two weeks now.
i've done all the adjustments according to both fender and squire web sites
from the fifth fret to the 21st fret everything is perfect
my problem is that most of my pickin is at the other end
frets one thru four
i believe that the nut needs to be adjusted(lowered)
i've read brian cline's article "adjusting the nut"
it appears to be acoustic guitar
but it sure sounds like it would do the trick
any suggestions before i go into surgery?