Best strings for smaller Stratocaster

[BlackAngusYoung]

I have a Squier Mini Strat and have always found that the strings seem slack and if not being extremely careful, any fretted note can sound like a bit of a bend. I'm guessing this is because of the smaller size of the guitar. Perhaps the only way to fix it would be to tune it tighter, but I've read suggestions that changing string gauge could help. I've also read that blues players (SRV was mentioned particularly) often prefer heavier strings. So I changed to 11's and I like the feeling and sound of them, at least near the head of the guitar. A bit further down the neck it's almost impossible to play because of how high I have to keep the action to avoid buzz. Also, the bridge intonation adjustments look pretty extreme when adjusted so it'll sound right. The 6th string saddle has to be adjusted so far that the all-key screws no longer sit in their little groove tracks and the screw turned to adjust intonation is pressing right into the string.

So could anyone with some experience with a smaller guitar--or the required knowledge/logic concerning guitars to guess--recommend which strings would probably be best? And also, if I should tune it tighter, how much tighter? I have a standard non-chromatic electronic tuner, if that will work.

Thanks very much.

[andy]

I know very little about using mini guitars, but it sounds as though you have a problem that goes beyond the string gauge. Whilst heavier strings will make pitching more stable, they would also (without adjusting setup) raise the action, reducing buzz. To have the action too high to play on such a tiny instrument might mean that either you have a high fret at the top of the neck (not uncommon on Fender instruments, in my experience) or a neck at too shallow an angle from the body.

Although, am I right that you are tuning the guitar to standard pitch? That would make the strings very slack on such a short scale- the best way to sort that would be to measure the distance from the bridge to the nut. Then see where that measurement comes to on a standard scale length guitar. Whichever fret you are closest to, try tuning the mini strat to those notes when played 'open'. That should bring you to a similar tension to what you would expect with a certain string gauge, hopefully reducing buzz, increasing pitch stability, and easing your intonation problem. So try that before worring about the problems I mentioned in the first paragraph!

And welcome to Guitarnuts, by the way!

[BlackAngusYoung]

Thanks for the welcome! Seems like a good place to be!
I found this forum after finding the shielding instructions on the original page, which turned out very well for me. (Now I have one less kind of buzz to contend with.) (More of a hum, really, but you know what I mean.)

What you explained in the second part makes a lot of sense and I will try it and let you know. I guess if the strings were tighter it should reduce buzz because it really does seem like at least some of it is caused because the strings are so loose they flop around and buzz on the frets more than they'd have a chance to do if they were taut.

You are correct that I have been tuning it to standard pitch, which always seemed not-quite-right to me but the store I bought it from said that was how it should be done. Now that you've made me think of it, I realize that doesn't really line up with what they told me about another small guitar. They had a miniature Yamaha classical guitar (slightly bigger than a ukulele) which is supposed to be tuned in the manner you described. I should have probably been able to put that together myself by now. Thanks.

[BlackAngusYoung]

I forgot about this thread I made when I first joined the forum.
God am I glad I got rid of this guitar and have better ones now!

[ashcatlt]

My mini strat can be tuned up to A without much fuss. Right now, though, I've got it tuned to standard Nashville tuning - using the "extra strings" from an Ernie Ball electric 12-string set starting on 11. They're maybe a little loose, but not the point of wonkiness.

I guess you've gotten rid of yours, but since you ressurected the thread...

[BlackAngusYoung]

Yeah, I've never been too regular on any sort of forum. Is it considered bad etiquette to perform such resurrections? I guess in this case it could be... considering I've resurrected it just to say I'm glad it no longer matters to me.

Nothing against the Mini overall... just kinda frustrated with it when it was my only instrument and I didn't know anything about electric guitars. I've recently realized I'm much more comfortable with a Strat than the Les Paul I bought to replace the Mini... so that explains why I found the Mini's scale length even more annoying.
I wouldn't have sold it if it wasn't for the fact that I have my own store now and wasn't really losing too much. Thanks to GuitarNuts, I sold it shielded and more playable than it was new!

Not understanding things from my own experience... I pretty much misinterpreted everything I read about choosing a guitar. I figured that fingering chords could be a painful stretch and that quickly sliding between frets was important, so a shorter scale length made sense. I also liked everything I read about humbuckers (mainly the hum-bucking) in theory but I think now that I've tried the differences--at least in knock-off form--my actual tastes are the opposite from what I expected.
I also thought Strats were too sporty-looking and hip for me but Les Pauls looked more classy and classic.
I think it's in part because of a giant poster of Bryan Adams I always had to stand by at a bus station where I didn't want to be waiting. In my opinion, the guitar he's pictured with just seemed steeped in silliness.

I always associated the Stratocaster's look with popularity while the guys I was more into most of the time, like Slash and Jimmy Page, were a million times cooler and played Les Pauls.
But then I got into the blues...

[sydsbluesky]

hahah... Bryan Adams.

Teles are cooler than strats though. And anyone who would willingly go on stage with anything as ugly as a tele must have some rockey mountain oysters in the doggie bag.

I like this one.

guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Jim-Adkins-JA90-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=528018

Mmmmm... P-90s.


Also, is what Andy said about measuring the scale length and then comparing that to a fret on a 25.5 and determining the tuning from that true? That's kinda cool, if so.

Most tune to G if I'm not mistaken. Not sure.

[newey]

Teles are cooler than strats though.

Yes, it's that twang thang . . .

And anyone who would willingly go on stage with anything as ugly as a tele must have some rockey mountain oysters in the doggie bag.

I don't go on stage, and I don't think Teles are ugly, but I have no argument with the balance of your statement. ;D ;D

Anyhoo, Andy said a while back in this thread, with reference to Angus' problem:

it sounds as though you have a problem that goes beyond the string gauge

And, I would add that it goes beyond the short scale as well. A properly set up guitar of that size should be able to be played just fine in standard tuning, although I might forego the Super Slinkys on it. Use 11s or even 12s, and just put thoughts of those 1½ step bends out of your mind, they ain't happening.

Remember this is a $100 guitar. It's probably going to reflect that in its playability. Sounds to me like Angus' needed some attention to the frets and the trussrod, maybe needs a bit of relief.

The Mini-Strat has a 22¾" scale. Fender's old Musicmasters and Duo-sonics from the 50's and early 60's had what was called a "¾ neck", which meant a 22½" scale- a quarter-inch shorter, and no one I knew who had one tuned it up, or needed to do so.

Now, there are kid's guitars with 19" and 20" scales, and those definitely need to be tuned up to be playable.

I have a feeling (meaning no actual data to back this up), based on having owned 2 short-scale guitars over the years, that short scale necks are less forgiving of a set-up that is not quite spot-on. There is simply less room for error.

But a proper set up, levelled frets. and heavier gauge strings ought to cure all but the most serious neck issues.

[sydsbluesky]

Oh, I was thinking that this was something smaller than that. This guitar isn't too far off the jag scale, then. I was thinking tiny. I didn't know 22ish range scale size existed.

I like my 25.5, thank you very much.

[BlackAngusYoung]

I've always thought that if I ever get my hands on one, a slim semi-hollow such as that Tele would be my kinda thing. I've been admiring those a couple years now but I think I'd like Ibanez' hollow Jet King.
Generally, I must admit I find Telecasters to be sort of homely. But that's speaking from no experience with one. I do notice that when I watch blues videos (all I've been watching lately) I usually prefer the sound of players with Strats or semi-hollows.
(I know it's punishable thoughtcrime, but I watched The Blues & Gospel Train hoping the rain would ruin Muddy Waters' guitar so he'd have to borrow somebody else's axe.)
My tastes seem to be constantly changing as I learn more about guitars... and usually changing towards seeing the good in all guitars. Of course, that's probably because I'm happy with the guitars I have at this point... so anything would be a great addition to the collection, even if it wouldn't be a chosen replacement.

Never tried any... but, in theory, I think I'd be into P-90s. The Jet King has noiseless ones. (Dangerous topic, I know.) I planned to get faked-out humbucker-lookin' P-90s for my Epi Les Paul at first but decided on Wilkinson PAFs because they were a really good deal.

[newey]

I planned to get faked-out humbucker-lookin' P-90s

That's what's going in my latest Tele project:



Folks will tell you they don't sound like real P90s. I don't know yet, I'll have to tell you after I finish it!

But it should be a beefier single-coil sound than a Strat-type SC. I'm hoping it couples nicely with the neck HB, which is a Tele Custom repro. Both are GFS.

And, we're now officially off topic 100%. Sorry.

[sydsbluesky]

Hey, when the dude sprinkles the dust and reads from the Necronomicon only to tell us the guitar is gone, I feel that off-topic is what we're going to get!

And yeah, P-90s are the only single coil I enjoy playing. They don't sound like strat singles or tele lipsticks... At least I don't think so, but don't take my ear for it. The best sounding guitar I own, from everything from blues to psychedelic to metal, has a minihumbucker and a p-90. Don't overlook the minis, either!

Actually, a good deal of the decision I made to post that guitar was due to the exact pickups it has. SD sp-90 1 neck and sp-90 3 bridge.

And yes, I love telecasters. My buddy has a MIJ '72 reproduction of a '52. Squire, but it wasn't the same idea back then. It's has the best action I've ever seen.

Newey - that's an awesome combo in that tele. Those two are going to blend beautifully. What is your control scheme?

I want to convert my ESP to four knobs, but I can't find concentric 50K pots...

[newey]

What is your control scheme?

There's a thread on that around here somewhere, but in short, it's going to be wired in stereo with separate jacks, with the Br pickup going to one output and the neck to the other. When only one cable is pulled in, it's in mono, with a 4-pos. rotary switch to control the pickup selections (N, N+B, N+B OOP, Br). Each pickup gets a separate Vol so that the levels can be individually adjusted when in stereo mode. The tone is a master, using a dual-gang pot so as to keep the channels separate.

So, the controls will be 4 knobs in a row- N Vol, Br Vol, Tone, rotary sw.

I don't know of a source for a 50K concentric pot. But I suspect they do exist, I'll keep eyes peeled.

Edit: Spoke too soon, here you go:

store.guitarfetish.com/cp50kcopomo.html

Guitarfetish doesn't give any details, so you may want to inquire about knob size/fitment.

[sydsbluesky]

Ah ha! I checked about five sites and had no luck. It's even cheap!

Nice find, dude.


And the control scheme sounds good, but master tone is something on which I simply can't climb aboard.

My favorite tone from the LP, which has p-90 bridge and humbucker neck, is neck tone 0 bridge tone 10 both at full volume.

Then again, I'm not really sure what a "dual-gang" pot is...

[newey]

Then again, I'm not really sure what a "dual-gang" pot is...

It's two resistance elements on a common shaft, so one knob works both equally. It's a useful idea when space is limited, as on my Tele. To add individual tone controls, I'd have to go to a concentric pot, which I'm not a big fan of. I want the 4 knobs in a row to all be the same as well.

I also, in this design, need to keep the neck and bridge pickup circuitry completely separated to the individual channel output jacks, so this is perfect. There's no room for another pot on there, since the rotary takes up a good deal of space.

It also affords the use of separate caps with differing values, so that, even though the individual elements are turning in unison, the amount of roll-off can be varied between the "P90" and the Tele HB. I'm thinking the std 0.022µf for the P90 and 0.047 for the HB.

When in stereo mode, I can have neck tone at 0 and the bridge at 10 by adjusting the two individual amps accordingly.

[sydsbluesky]

Nice. I guess you're way ahead of me on the pup separation.

How are you planning to run these? nifty amp setup, or throw it right into the digital world?

I use a pseudo-stereo system with my ME-50 from time to time. It outs for left(mono) and a right (like a toaster...but with signal instead of bread...) The only thing is, which become especially inconvenient considering that it is the bulk of my FX, that they split after all the FX are applied.

BUT kinda cool with my dunlop wah pedal, and I can also do a boat load of EQing after they split.

But anyway, I've yet to find a good application for it, so that's why I'm asking.

[newey]

But anyway, I've yet to find a good application for it, so that's why I'm asking.

A "good application for it"? You mean, like a practical use for it or something? This is GuitarNutz! ;D

Seriously, it's more for my own amusement. I've always wanted a stereo guitar. This design is nice, I think, in that it functions as a regular mono 2-pickup guitar with a regular cable, until the second cable is plugged into the B jack. No "Y" connections needed, no stereo cable needed.

[sydsbluesky]

That's the part where I usually argue to my family and friends that the guitar is absolutely vital to both my physical and emotional well-being, in ADDITION to the inevitability that it will "make a track next time we're in the studio."

Worse case scenario it'll make either a weapon or firewood when the zombies come for us in 2012.

That's also assuming we don't get lucky and they happen to resonate violently to C.