You forgot the best one. Slightly loosen the neck (1/4 turn) and retighten. It made a huge difference for me and many others. Loosen the bottom two first, then the top two. When you loosen the top two you will hear the wood creak as the neck settles deeper into the pocket.
The portion of the strings above the nut and below the bridge does produce sound that will reach the pickups, even if you dampen the strings with your hand over the fretboard. Try this: turn your amp volume way up and strum the strings between the nut and the tuners. See what I mean? And if you don't dampen the strings with your hand, it REALLY comes thru. For extra credit, try this with the trem springs.
I use low output vintage strat pickups with a Barber Gain Changer SR and a Thorpy Muff with a Fender Blackface 65 Princeton. I do alot of Santana and I get incredible Sustain with my Suhr strat = Gotoh 510 (floating trem). Good tips & information. I always love learning. Stay Safe.
Ever since after playing for 50 years I found out the difference between tremolo and vibrato, it's sort of bugs me when I hear people use the wrong word. tremolo is a change in volume vibrato is a change in Pitch. therefore the whammy bars are not trem bars, but vibrato bars. No thanks to Leo fender, who's products I always loved, who used the terms interchangeably and so did I for years. That's what I think anyway.
with the strings tuned to pitch, undo the neck screws a quarter of a turn. it will creek as you do so. this is the tension of the strings pulling the neck tight into the pocket. retighten the neck screws. saw this on youtube and was amazed at the difference, it really does work, try it you have nothing to lose.
In regards to the nut having an impact on tone: Once you put your finger on the fretboard and the vibration is now changed to the length between the metal bridge and the metal fret, the nut has very little to do with tone at that point. I'm sure it still has something to do with it but much less. The tone you get from the nut would play a part much more in open strings only.
No, that’s not correct. The nut has an influence on tone even for the fretted notes. The nut and all parts behind the fretting hand is part of the vibrational system and has its contribution on sound.☺️
@@lone-wolf-1 You are confusing tone and sustain. Tone is the quality, content and timbre of the overtone series...Sustain is measured in amplitude and time.
Wow that close up revealed so much little metals on your pickup. Another way to increase sustain that's truly effective is to get your frets leveled because they won't be vibrating against other taller frets. the quarter turn on your bolt on neck trick, retune, and then tighten the screws back up. Switching the block is very minimal. But the best is the quarter turn bolt trick.
Teguvas * well... look into the big time builders and how they have done just that and discovered more sustain and and increased vibrations from the neck to the body as well as the strings to the tuners.
I think that may be a distortion or misunderstanding of the idea of sanding the paint off the tremolo block. I usually sand the paint off the top of the block (if there is any) and also grind the top of the block and the bottom of the bridge plate so that they are a good fit to each other and you have a solid metal to metal contact. It is certainly worth checking that the block attachment screws are tight. I have seen guitars that have been played hard for a long time and the screws have loosened so the inertia block is flapping around.
Thank you Sir f0r focused and sensible tips in such a " fine tune " area . I am into these subtleties right now . Even the cheaper Squires can still sound " Stratty " without mods - and many demo's might be played through a great amp which defeats the object 0f analyzing where great sound comes from . ( I reserve the right t0 say - N0 . . that is ZER0 - sound = mentally stable and fulfilled guitarists ever make negative comments toward fellows in this Passion ) - Play 0n and educate us by y0ur superiority you " Masters " ! .
A hard nut material will only help sustain when playing open strings, once you depress a string down onto a fret, the nut no longer has any influence on the sustain. Just sayin'...
Kellie Conn: What do you mean? I agreed with you. The nut only effects the open string. I said the exact same thing in my other commentary. I build guitars. I know this shit through practical experience.
Another way to go is to get a hardtail bridge instead of a vibrato bridge. You lose that possibility of shaping your tones with the vibrato, but you gain a lot of tone.
You can also loosen the four neck plate screws like 1/8 turn, you should hear it pop as the string tension pulls the neck into the pocket nice and snug. Then tighten them back up of course.
going up to 11 gauge is a Bear for string bends...you could tune down a 1\2 step like SRV,there's no doubt that a heavier string will produce major results in tone and sustain, but you may have to reset string height and possibly the neck relief because of increased tension on the neck! Your video gives a player a lot to think about, and that"s a BIG step,when some would pour money into a new guitar, rather than the cheaper alternative of replacing a few PARTS... thank you for the video!
I used to play 10s. Yeah, I did make some minor changes to the action, but moving from 10s to 11s isn't that huge. Since I'm not playing music that requires excessive speed, the 11s are working pretty well for me. It is a bit tougher, but I did enjoy the tonal change, so for me, it's worth it.
Nice looking guitar, the gold saddles and tuners looks good on the blue body and wood headstock, just wondering why not go with a Fender LSR Roller Nut to top off the roller system that you got going?
----also----ONE OF THE MOST overlooked ways to increase sustain (intonation and tuning too) on a "screw on neck" guitar is very simple, :Make sure those neck mounting screws are tight. Tighten them crossways (right top to left bottom etc) like the lug nuts on a car. I spent many years setting up fender guitars for a music shop. Right from the factory many of the screws were quite loose. It's the first thing to check before doing a set-up
THE COMMENTS SECTION ON THIS VIDEO ARE HILARIOUS. IT'S JUST GUITARS PEOPLE NEED TO STOP TAKING DIFFERENT OPINIONS SO PERSONAL. CALLING PEOPLE NAMES BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE WITH YOU DOSN'T PROVE YOUR POINT.
@Kaptain Kid Clean out the neck pocket of any paint, etc. so you get a good mating surface between neck & body. When the neck is back on and the guitar is tuned to pitch, loosen the mounting screws diagonally (like changing a tire) a bit at a time 'til you hear a 'ping' or slight creak, then tighten back up. Helps to seat the neck more firmly in the pocket using string tension. Results may vary. I've had it make a noticeable difference, and little at all.
Sustain ... finding the correct distance from the speaker or monitor you use in which a feedback loop can be created to elongate the resonance of the note that is being struck. You can do it with any guitar / amp combo on the market you simply have the find the right place to stand. Santana does this at every venue sound check so he knows exactly where to be to get that perfect long sustain. Europa and Soul Sacrifice would be two examples of this.
my oldest Son gave me an American Standard Diamond Anniversary Stratocaster. Absolutely love it! Until i finish putting some beta test humbuckers in my Custom build LP style guitar, the Strat has & will be my #1 player, and will remain a very close 2nd to my Custom. i prefer it for the real Ebony Fretboard, Stainless frets Mammoth Ivory Nut, Babicz Bridge, Flatter fretboard radius and Triple bound body & head, single bound neck....i dearly love that one, but Mr. Jeff Lace sent a new type of Alumitone Humbuckers for me to check out and report back. Just got the wiring harness yesterday, so soon i will have a video of that process. Still, i will go on record saying that of the Big 2, Fender wins going away. Gibson has done everything you'd do if trying to make a company fail. Fender has always shown better judgement. For the cost of a new LP custom from Gibson, you could get a Custom Shop Guitar from Fender...that says it all. All companies would be wise to lower production numbers, as there's tons of used guitars out there, and if they haven't looked around...not a lot of guitar based music out there right now. Like Joan Jett, i love rock and roll, so i will always have used for a dozen or so. :D All Be Well, -trout
Sorting out micro vibrations in the bridge is the best. Bullets are a start but being superstitious about anything that could move and steel the vibe from the strings. I want to make a vid on what I do to sort that out. Also dropping the pups a bit helps. Less pull on the string
One thing to add, loosen the bottom 2 neck bolt on screws by one turn, then loosen the top 2 screws one turn. tune the guitar back up if it dropped down, and tighten the bottom screws first. Makes a huge difference if the neck pocket isn’t tight
I' m wondering if the tip about removing the paint from around the tremolo cavity is not actually a distortion of the idea of removing the paint (if any - steel blocks are usually painted while zinc blocks aren't, which was another money saving reason why Fender moved from machined steel to die cast zinc blocks, die casting of course being much cheaper than machining steel) from at least the top surface of the tremolo block where it mates with the bridge plate (or perhaps from all of the block). Incidentally this is a tip not mentioned here. It may also be beneficial to grind the top of the tremolo block and the bottom of the bridge plate flat, so the two meet as closely as possible.
Just wanted to offer a correction. Brass is a softer metal, why it is used on crush washers for instance. I think there must be other factors rather than metal hardness that control sustain.
Brass is a strange metal in a lot of ways. It's soft yes but it's also very dense. I work in a machine shop and we actually have special tools to cut brass at high speeds because it tends to damage normal tooling. The more dense a metal is the more it can reflect energy back into what is impacting it. It's a definitely a give and take metal though
@@redneckwithajeep5001 I'm still confused though. Steel is denser and harder than brass but is not used in guitars. Lead is really dense. I just think sustain is a more complex issue than just how dense or hard metal is. Titanium is sometimes used in place of brass in expensive instruments.
The best trick is to undo the neck screws after retuning, then re-tighten and retune. sustain is much better. The theory is, is that the neck is pulled closer to the body, making good contact with the body without a gap. Worked for me.
I was just gonna day the same thing that’s the best free way to get increases sustain that and changing your bolt to brass or stainless sleek screws coat 6 bux for 8 at homedepot and throw a couple tooth picks in those screw holes before you re tighten them to snug them up
I think sanding it is more that you create a hard surface for the sound to escape. the paint acts as a sound deadner.. It would be interesting to experiment with
lengthen the string lenght, off intonation, heavy string, well height radius adjusting on saddle. flat kissing poles pickup. tunning for whole day. boom, great setup its hard to play and tune, but lots of lots in effort. learned it from srv and rb.
Three things I don't worry about is nut ,whammy bar,nor the neck radious. I did however use brass string pins on my besting acoustic guitar. If you put a capo above the nut for muting my classical guitar for playing straight acoustic.
Definitely replace that crappy plastic nut with a good bone nut. It makes a BIG difference. I found pre-slotted bone nuts on Amazon. Part of the charm of a Strat is the tremolo. If you're going to play a Strat and block off the tremolo stop embarrassing yourself and play a Les Paul. Fender Bullet Strings are horrible. With the tension that's on a string it's not going to move around. One other thing that can dramatically increase sustain is to, while the strings are at tension, turn the guitar over and loosen the two neck screws on the bridge end ¼ to ½ turn. Just loose. Then, do the same thing to the screws toward the head stock. You might hear the neck creek a bit. That's good. That's the sound you'll hear when the tension of the strings pulls that neck heel as snug as possible into the neck slot in the body. To finish simply snug up the screws in reverse order. Not to tight. Just snug. You don't need 1000 lbs of torque on that neck plate.
I love strat tremolos the best, too. I agree that Bullet strings are pretty whack. I like DR, they take a beating. I think they stay in tune better, but that might be influenced by the fact that I'm way better at setting it up than I was before I used them. I have stuck to them for more than half of my guitar playing life. I have Slinkys on my Epiphone, the new coated ones now. They're ok.
Been accumulating guitars since the late 70s and at one time had close to 100 of all types. I enjoyed playing unplugged most the time and thats the true way to hear a guitar's characteristics. Everything else can be tweeked. I don't understand the infatuation with sustain on a electric guitar. Acoustic yes. What are people doing? Are they hitting a G or D and counting the seconds? Do you hit a note and listen until only your dog can hear it? When playing how long do you really hold a chord or note? If its dying out within seconds you have bigger problems than magnet pull. And if you are a sustain fanatic get a compressor.
@@srubberalittle The 'Les Pauls give more sustain' myth is a strong one, but a myth, all the same. Sustain is about maintaining the amplitude of the string vibration. If that were dependant on the thickness of the guiitar body, why would Gibson have introduced chambering in its Les Pauls? Because Gibson knew that they were losing sales in the modern era due to their overly heavy guitars. The irony is that they STILL maintain that the thickness generates sustain, despite them deliberately removing substantial wood mass from the body of modern LPs. Are you getting it yet? It's all about marketing and not sustain.
notice fender on the cheaper Models drill a large plug where the neck sits flat ( They know this is the key to a good sounding strat ) Flat neck pocket is no1
nice clip Max, but electric guitar it's not just about sustain, otherwise you better play an acoustic guitar. But it's always about the final result, do we like it or not? Don't forget how the different type of truss rods affect the final result.
at 1.09 the nut of your guitar doesn't look parallel to the frets or the rosewood fingerboard at the nut. Is that just the perspective creating that illusion?
Rather than removing the paint in the cavity for the trem springs, I think you would be better off removing the finish from the top of the guitar where the trem system rests against the body. Off course this assumes you have your term set up, so that it is flat against the body (will only go down in pitch). But if max sustain is what you´re after, I guess this would already be the case.
you actually remove the paint from where the tremolo block MEETS the body cavity, he is gesturing to the wrong spot and doesn't know of what he speaks, in this specific instance. Sometime the paint in those cavities is really thick, so if you hard tail your whammy(i.e. it can only lower pitch), and you remove the millimeter or two of paint that is sitting between where your trem block meets the body. Often you must place a shim between the body and the trem block, same theory applies, no thick chunky paint interfering in transmission of vibration.
A note to Squier Strat owners....since the body is thinner than a Fender Strat, the trem blocks aren't compatible. The Squier block has to be shorter to fit inside the thinner body.
Texturas75 I’m not sure which series, but it’s a full body squire so it’s the same size as a fender, usually they are thinner by mine is a different version squire (I don’t remember the date and model of it)
I still haven't heard any explanation why the nut seems to be...not backwards...but put on the side and slotted that way. Beats me. Increasing sustain that one too ? ;-) (sorry, couldn't resist)...
Loosen the neck bolts a 1/4 turn until you hear a slight crack. Retune and tighten the screws back down. Easiest way to get some sustain and people have been doing it for over 50 years.
Omg bro u saved me thank you. I took of my neck and put it back on and I tightened all the way and tuned and I was like wtf no vibration and I felt miserable that I ruined my guitar but I tried what you said. PERFECT!
No... heavy strings do give more tone/sustain. I have a strong playing style so when I do thin strings the A) break a lot B) I cannot feel them as accurately when I do pitch harmonics. That being said you can over do it! I like Zak boomer size 10 or 11 on normal 440 guitars. When I detune I go to a 12 or 13 Zak boomer. I also notice that the thick strings with a lower tuning then playing the riff transposed sounds quite different even though technically I am playing the same tone and frequency. Sometimes it really warms it up and I overdub both then mix them. Either way, strings don't injure you if you have common sense and good technique. If I am going to learn a new piece and repeat the same motion for an hour or two, or if I am writing a song etc and same thing many tries etc to get it correct then yeah I use a light strung guitar. When I record or play live I get the GHS Zak boomers guitars out in most cases. Pitch harmonics are way easier to hit and have a much greater tone/louder volume with thick strings. That is just physics you cannot argue about science.
@Question Everything You obviously do not have a good concept of what I am saying most likely because you do not have the ear I do and take everything Billy says at face value and being the truth. LOL Billy likes to talk a lot of crazy stuff. Sometimes I wonder if he does so just to get a reaction out of people or send them looking in the wrong direction. I can tell by the sound of a guitar if the strings are thicker or not because I have played for longer than you most likely have been alive and I also learned by ear before the digital age of having everything tabbed for me. Some brands have a distinct sound IE GHS Boomers IE Ernie Balls but thicker strings do not sound muddier they just sound different and have more tones and harmonics due to having more substance in the material. Light strings or not I always have a great tone and I have no problems playing either but what I was saying is that there is a difference and there are really great reasons to have a thin or thick string if you take some time to think before you just say "give me a set of xx's because that is what I run." The ONLY thing I will say is that I prefer thick strings when recording in general due to capturing more tone in the media. I can tell Billy does so also from replicating his sounds here at home. He also has different tunings with the thicker strings. For example Over You is played in an open tuning. I can play it either way but it sounds like the album with thick strings and the open key tuning. At 440 it just does not sound correct and way less powerful. If you want more proof... Billy says himself that BB King told him he was working too hard with the thick strings which is why he went lighter- for every night playing shows- he never said for recording he still opts for the heavy most times because I can hear it. As far as the snobbish comment you made about crap pickups Mick Mars states he often has some cheaper crap sounding pickups and overdubs with the great sounding ones to get some magic to his tone. What does he know though? He has been the only real musician in Motely Crue forever. I have several pieces of advice for you, 1) get more guitars and set them all up differently with different tunings and strings that fit what they want to be. 2) Stop reading so much tab to figure things out by ear. Sure its slower and you will get some of the licks a bit off but that only makes you better when you learn them correctly. 3) play with people better than you. 4) Don't believe what someone says when they are making money off of their music. IE yeah I play with this equipment set up like this and here is the tab. Now everybody can do what I do... said the musician who went from a gold album to the soup line in about a year from all the imitators copying their style and tone. I have some really great pickups such as EMG, Gibson, Fender, DiAddario, Seymour Duncan and many more popular names. I also have the cheaper kind that most people replace. They all can sound great! Sometimes you must mix and match them or switch the guitar they are on. Maybe change strings or something like that until you get the correct sound. The only pickups I would consider un-desirable are ones with low volume output or crackle/white noise riding the signal and of course ones that don't put any sound out at all. But to sum up your theory on strings, talk to anyone with a heavy LP style guitar and they will swear that the heavy guitars with neck through bodies sound better as a general rule. They are correct because the wood resonates the tone from the strings more and the solid contact points allow the resonance to continue longer which is what we call sustain. So a heavy thick guitar made of the right wood with thicker strings will vibrate more thus more sound and tone... it is physics not my opinion. Sure you can get a great sound out of thinner strings I do it all the time. The sounds are different though and will really be noticed in a recorded track on certain songs. You don't have to believe me though I only have 15 guitars now and around 40 years of experience. I am sure you know more than I do...
TUSQ nut... after the guitar is strung and stretched loosen the bolts on the bolt on neck.... the string tension will pull the neck deeper into the pocket bonding that heel and body. Retighten and the sustain will sound like a violin 🎻. Leave the plastic trem cover off.... and if you really want a fancy way to add infinite sustain.... buy a sustainer pickup that works like an Ebow......or buy an Ebow..... simple....
In december, I installed Texas Special Pickups into my Strat. The very same day I thought "well, we love SRV, let us put those heavier gauge strings!" I looked for 12s, but found only 11s and got them. Kept with the 11s, of course renewing like on a three week basis. Now in july, a went back to 10s... and I can tell you, folks... it made no difference in sustain, at least for me. But now I can do better bends and vibratos. I don't know if 13s, like they say SRV used, would make such an enormous difference in sustain, but I bet it would turn bending a torture for the fingers. And I play 1/2 and even a whole step down.
The reason thicker strings will sustain more is because they require more tension to bring up to pitch (and as a result are harder to bend). That said, my feeling is that you're not going to see any sustain increase if you play tuned down since that counteracts the effect of the heavier strings.
With all the effects pedals in existence....delays, chorus, flangers, overdrives, etc, it amazes me that someone hasn't come out with a pedal that will let you get the kind of sustain that someone like Santana gets from standing in front of a huge tube amp.
knucklehead...Lower the pickups right down flush with the pickguard, than gradually raise them, but avoid interfering with the strings natural vibration pattern, and thats how you'll get a natural longer sustain & bloom!
Does anyone know why open string notes sustain much longer than fretted notes? The answer will clue you in on why some guitars sustain longer than others.
It's first and foremost (if not ONLY) the length of the string, total scale. Don't believe me? Watch this fanned frets bass with a 37" scale open low B-string at the ending. Sustain, decay longer than ANY 34" scale low B-string regardless of gauge. Thus, fretted notes along that string will ring for longer too. Period. If all else equal. ua-cam.com/video/h6iFzHmf2LU/v-deo.html
Actually, the hand on the neck, deadens the vibrations in the neck, reducing sustain. It has nothing to do with contacting the string. The fret, being solid metal with wood under it, transfers the vibration into the neck. Your finger on the string has no effect on sustain. The fact is, your hand wrapped around the neck kills sustain more than anything else. Don't believe it..... test it. Hold the D string down at the 3rd fret and pluck it with a pick, measuring the sustain time. Now, do it again with just the tip of your finger, (do not wrap your hand around the neck) Note the sustain time. Now, think about what might reduce that effect. Thicker, denser, fatter necks. Thicker, denser, fatter bodies. * less contact with your hand?
I just built up a cheap partscaster I bought off of fleabay and spent this mroning setting up the action and the frickin' thing rings like a bell - no idea how or why but imagine how smug I am tonight - oh yes... !!!
The sanding in the cavity is a known trick but your reasoning is off. The sanding is done so the body can breath, not to transfer vibrations but to let trapt moisture in the wood breath out of the guitar. It is the only advantage tonally to a reliced guitar. Supposedly, over time there is less moisture in the wood if the body can breath and therefore transfers energy better. Many claim that certain guitar finishes allow the wood to breath better than others for the same endgame desire of having the wood dry out over time and be more resonant. Also acoustic and semi hollow guitars do seem to get better with age.... maybe this body "breathing" thing has some merit.
Hello sir, do you happen to know what type of steel or metals is the stock tremolo block made of (i.e. @ 4:02) ? I recently bought a 2017 Strat Deluxe w/maple neck.
Haven't tired it yet, though that would be a good experiment in the future. I know that titanium is roughly half the weight of steel, which I'd consider an important factor. Of course, it's stronger too, but I don't see you wearing out a steel block though. My gut says that a brass block on the other hand could wear over time, though I haven't heard any complaints.
1:05 Considering most notes people play are not open strings... no, it doesn't. The nut isn't that important for sustain or for intonation. What it actually is important for is tuning stability, especially when using a tremolo.
"Tremolo bar?" Never heard anyone say that about the sustain block. I've tried all these, and taking the paint off does nothing, even did it under the trem base plate and made no difference. I think Callaham are way too expensive. I found a guy who engineers them and they are better than the Callaham because it has a small nylon bush that stops that irritating movement of the arm with the traditional trems. It's still a screw-in but the the bush makes a world of difference and the arms are stainless steel. My trem' NEVER goes out of tune and I have a fatter tone with more sustain.
Callaham blocks DO have a nylon bushing that eliminates play in the arm,though. (Not saying that makes 'em worth the price, but I totally agree with the way the bushing eliminates the "slop") Simple mod that Fender should've been doing DECADES ago!
Just exactly how much vibrating does the string do in the trem block or at the tuner? You know, beyond both terminuses. Definitely not a physicist overseeing this operation.
the nut wont affect anything once you fret a note, people dont understand this. every fret is basically a nut. and whats behind your fretted note is pointless. but open strings will change in tone, etc, based on what the nut is made of. i like brass on mine but they can cause hangups and tuning problems sometimes no matter how well they are cut
I do not agree. You can try this: put a hairtie behind your fretting hand or before the nut, and one behind the nut. Now compare the single fretted notes and chords with and without the extra dampening. You will notice a slight loss of overtones and a tiny bit of sustain. The string bits behind the fretting hand and behind the nut are vibrating if not extra dampened, and feed back into the fretted string parts, giving them also more frequency content and enhance sustain. Headstock vibration comes from the strings and neck directly and via the guitar body. This induces the most part of string vibration behind the fretting hand. The vibrating headstock feeds back into the body and so into the ongoing vibration of the fretted strings. Goes full circle. There is also sympathetic ring of the unplayed strings and string bits behind the hand and behind the nut wich are feeding into the neck, headstock and body and thus into the vibrating fretted strings. I just wonder how this myth of nothing happens behind the fretted notes could survive over 50 years told by millions of people till today. I checked as a guitar greenhorn 3 years after starting, and used my ears. Before those 3 years my ears were not sensitive enough... There is a lot going on behind the fretted frets and past the nut. 😊 To dampen everything behind your fretting hand, your hand must be as big to cover the whole headstock.😅😊 Cheers🤘
The type of electricity surging thru your equipment has a huge effect on sustain,ask EJ....he once pulled the plug on a show citing the electricity as no good....my electricity is fantastic no matter where I go in the house 'cept when I dont pay the bill....it really affects the amount of sustain ,very soul destroying and I can't create when this happens....I'm well known as a hard nut but I can't handle it when this happens I go to a bar and cry into my beer about sustain,I mean seriously ,how long does a note need to last.... ? Play play and keep playing 'til your fingers bleed and develop callouses .... remember those lumps of hard skin like a blister on your fingertips? Django......Tommy Emannuel ,ever hear Django on electric..? no fuzzbox required......
READ: Screw the claw to the bottom after adjustments for full contact to the body place a metal gasket under the claw to level it. And enjoy. harder materials like a steel guitar = more sustain not weight. Carbon paper + joint adjustment + tune + loose neck + tune + right it + retune + quality block & tuners & pickups. Springs and craw play a very important roll (Cheap springs = Cheap sustain and noisy cheap tone). straight springs make more tension than diagonal, 3 are fine to get a barely floating tremolo (or diagonal to loose tension) I prefer Only diagonal spring in the “e” side and straight on the E and G due they demand more tension in action. Tone is another subject too many gadgets can affect the strat tone careful.
when you listened to gary Moore once
Haha i here becuase i'am learning "the loner"
I’m glad I found my people
You forgot the best one. Slightly loosen the neck (1/4 turn) and retighten. It made a huge difference for me and many others. Loosen the bottom two first, then the top two. When you loosen the top two you will hear the wood creak as the neck settles deeper into the pocket.
Ima try to confirm u
Wut in the world did worked so wel lol
I just did it. An eternal buzzing problem I had exclusively on the fifth and sixth fret on the B string on my strat is now gone! Thank you!
I actually didn't get it what I should could you please explain it in more detail thank you
I've done this at my Fender Player Strat. It had no effect. Imho speaks for the good work of the mexican Fender factory respectively their workers. 👍
The portion of the strings above the nut and below the bridge does produce sound that will reach the pickups, even if you dampen the strings with your hand over the fretboard. Try this: turn your amp volume way up and strum the strings between the nut and the tuners. See what I mean? And if you don't dampen the strings with your hand, it REALLY comes thru. For extra credit, try this with the trem springs.
I use low output vintage strat pickups with a Barber Gain Changer SR and a Thorpy Muff with a Fender Blackface 65 Princeton. I do alot of Santana and I get incredible Sustain with my Suhr strat = Gotoh 510 (floating trem). Good tips & information. I always love learning. Stay Safe.
Ever since after playing for 50 years I found out the difference between tremolo and vibrato, it's sort of bugs me when I hear people use the wrong word. tremolo is a change in volume vibrato is a change in Pitch. therefore the whammy bars are not trem bars, but vibrato bars. No thanks to Leo fender, who's products I always loved, who used the terms interchangeably and so did I for years. That's what I think anyway.
@4:27 Just a pointer...... Tape over the pickups before you use steel wool or your pickups will look like woolly willy.
with the strings tuned to pitch, undo the neck screws a quarter of a turn. it will creek as you do so. this is the tension of the strings pulling the neck tight into the pocket. retighten the neck screws. saw this on youtube and was amazed at the difference, it really does work, try it you have nothing to lose.
In regards to the nut having an impact on tone: Once you put your finger on the fretboard and the vibration is now changed to the length between the metal bridge and the metal fret, the nut has very little to do with tone at that point. I'm sure it still has something to do with it but much less. The tone you get from the nut would play a part much more in open strings only.
I agree
Open position especially
I found that a zero fret brightens the tone and increases sustain all over the fretboard.
No, that’s not correct. The nut has an influence on tone even for the fretted notes. The nut and all parts behind the fretting hand is part of the vibrational system and has its contribution on sound.☺️
@@lone-wolf-1 You are confusing tone and sustain.
Tone is the quality, content and timbre of the overtone series...Sustain is measured in amplitude and time.
4:46 Dude your pickup poles have gathered some stuff..is it steel wool??
Wow that close up revealed so much little metals on your pickup.
Another way to increase sustain that's truly effective is to get your frets leveled because they won't be vibrating against other taller frets. the quarter turn on your bolt on neck trick, retune, and then tighten the screws back up. Switching the block is very minimal. But the best is the quarter turn bolt trick.
Omg that last tip about sanding the paint off!! Btw, want to buy some magic beans? I hear they go well with snake oil.
Teguvas * well... look into the big time builders and how they have done just that and discovered more sustain and and increased vibrations from the neck to the body as well as the strings to the tuners.
Yup. i am a tone wood denier, myself. A simple understanding of Physics kinda makes those kinda magic beans end up in the kettle or the bin.
I think that may be a distortion or misunderstanding of the idea of sanding the paint off the tremolo block. I usually sand the paint off the top of the block (if there is any) and also grind the top of the block and the bottom of the bridge plate so that they are a good fit to each other and you have a solid metal to metal contact. It is certainly worth checking that the block attachment screws are tight. I have seen guitars that have been played hard for a long time and the screws have loosened so the inertia block is flapping around.
@@kilgoretrout3966 Magic fava beans and liver! Mr Lecter likes it.
Thank you Sir f0r focused and sensible tips in such a " fine tune " area . I am into these subtleties right now .
Even the cheaper Squires can still sound " Stratty " without mods - and many demo's might be played through a great amp which defeats the object 0f analyzing where great sound comes from .
( I reserve the right t0 say - N0 . . that is ZER0 - sound = mentally stable and fulfilled guitarists ever make negative comments toward fellows in this Passion ) - Play 0n and educate us by y0ur superiority you " Masters " ! .
A hard nut material will only help sustain when playing open strings, once you depress a string down onto a fret, the nut no longer has any influence on the sustain. Just sayin'...
Kellie Conn: Correct. anyone who doesn't know this, knows nothing about how a guitar works.
How stupid is this video? I mean, really? Please DELETE!
Heya Tim, what the hell are you talking about?
Kellie Conn: What do you mean? I agreed with you. The nut only effects the open string. I said the exact same thing in my other commentary. I build guitars. I know this shit through practical experience.
Kellie Conn he is just saying
Another way to go is to get a hardtail bridge instead of a vibrato bridge. You lose that possibility of shaping your tones with the vibrato, but you gain a lot of tone.
You can also loosen the four neck plate screws like 1/8 turn, you should hear it pop as the string tension pulls the neck into the pocket nice and snug. Then tighten them back up of course.
"To increase sustain you need to keep the string vibrating." So simple yet I've never heard it stated so simply before. Thanks!
Oh, but it's in fact obvious. A neverending vibrating string is a neverending sustain (of vibration) 🤷🏻
Thanks. Nice tips man
going up to 11 gauge is a Bear for string bends...you could tune down a 1\2 step like SRV,there's no doubt that a heavier string will produce major results in tone and sustain, but you may have to reset string height and possibly the neck relief because of increased tension on the neck! Your video gives a player a lot to think about, and that"s a BIG step,when some would pour money into a new guitar, rather than the cheaper alternative of replacing a few PARTS... thank you for the video!
I used to play 10s. Yeah, I did make some minor changes to the action, but moving from 10s to 11s isn't that huge. Since I'm not playing music that requires excessive speed, the 11s are working pretty well for me. It is a bit tougher, but I did enjoy the tonal change, so for me, it's worth it.
I just did the 4 screw way and it worked wonders !!! I got a lot of sustain :D
Nice looking guitar, the gold saddles and tuners looks good on the blue body and wood headstock, just wondering why not go with a Fender LSR Roller Nut to top off the roller system that you got going?
----also----ONE OF THE MOST overlooked ways to increase sustain (intonation and tuning too) on a "screw on neck" guitar is very simple, :Make sure those neck mounting screws are tight. Tighten them crossways (right top to left bottom etc) like the lug nuts on a car. I spent many years setting up fender guitars for a music shop. Right from the factory many of the screws were quite loose. It's the first thing to check before doing a set-up
THE COMMENTS SECTION ON THIS VIDEO ARE HILARIOUS. IT'S JUST GUITARS PEOPLE NEED TO STOP TAKING DIFFERENT OPINIONS SO PERSONAL. CALLING PEOPLE NAMES BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE WITH YOU DOSN'T PROVE YOUR POINT.
neither does all caps
loosen your neck screws, then re-tighten them, if the neck its the body it will vibrate better.
@Kaptain Kid Clean out the neck pocket of any paint, etc. so you get a good mating surface between neck & body. When the neck is back on and the guitar is tuned to pitch, loosen the mounting screws diagonally (like changing a tire) a bit at a time 'til you hear a 'ping' or slight creak, then tighten back up. Helps to seat the neck more firmly in the pocket using string tension. Results may vary. I've had it make a noticeable difference, and little at all.
Sustain ... finding the correct distance from the speaker or monitor you use in which a feedback loop can be created to elongate the resonance of the note that is being struck. You can do it with any guitar / amp combo on the market you simply have the find the right place to stand. Santana does this at every venue sound check so he knows exactly where to be to get that perfect long sustain. Europa and Soul Sacrifice would be two examples of this.
Yes he does. The sweet areas on the stage are marked with tape.
Good video gj man.
my oldest Son gave me an American Standard Diamond Anniversary Stratocaster. Absolutely love it! Until i finish putting some beta test humbuckers in my Custom build LP style guitar, the Strat has & will be my #1 player, and will remain a very close 2nd to my Custom. i prefer it for the real Ebony Fretboard, Stainless frets Mammoth Ivory Nut, Babicz Bridge, Flatter fretboard radius and Triple bound body & head, single bound neck....i dearly love that one, but Mr. Jeff Lace sent a new type of Alumitone Humbuckers for me to check out and report back. Just got the wiring harness yesterday, so soon i will have a video of that process.
Still, i will go on record saying that of the Big 2, Fender wins going away. Gibson has done everything you'd do if trying to make a company fail. Fender has always shown better judgement. For the cost of a new LP custom from Gibson, you could get a Custom Shop Guitar from Fender...that says it all. All companies would be wise to lower production numbers, as there's tons of used guitars out there, and if they haven't looked around...not a lot of guitar based music out there right now. Like Joan Jett, i love rock and roll, so i will always have used for a dozen or so. :D
All Be Well,
-trout
Sorting out micro vibrations in the bridge is the best. Bullets are a start but being superstitious about anything that could move and steel the vibe from the strings. I want to make a vid on what I do to sort that out. Also dropping the pups a bit helps. Less pull on the string
and i plan to put tv jones hilotrons and starwoods in these guitars . . one has ssl1s and tele hots already . . so there! . . life is precious!
6:05 John Norum( guitar player from the band Europe ) he uses 10,13,17,26,38,50 (Ernie Ball strings) and on his LP 11-52
One thing to add, loosen the bottom 2 neck bolt on screws by one turn, then loosen the top 2 screws one turn. tune the guitar back up if it dropped down, and tighten the bottom screws first.
Makes a huge difference if the neck pocket isn’t tight
I' m wondering if the tip about removing the paint from around the tremolo cavity is not actually a distortion of the idea of removing the paint (if any - steel blocks are usually painted while zinc blocks aren't, which was another money saving reason why Fender moved from machined steel to die cast zinc blocks, die casting of course being much cheaper than machining steel) from at least the top surface of the tremolo block where it mates with the bridge plate (or perhaps from all of the block). Incidentally this is a tip not mentioned here. It may also be beneficial to grind the top of the tremolo block and the bottom of the bridge plate flat, so the two meet as closely as possible.
Just wanted to offer a correction. Brass is a softer metal, why it is used on crush washers for instance. I think there must be other factors rather than metal hardness that control sustain.
Brass is a strange metal in a lot of ways. It's soft yes but it's also very dense. I work in a machine shop and we actually have special tools to cut brass at high speeds because it tends to damage normal tooling. The more dense a metal is the more it can reflect energy back into what is impacting it. It's a definitely a give and take metal though
@@redneckwithajeep5001 I'm still confused though. Steel is denser and harder than brass but is not used in guitars. Lead is really dense. I just think sustain is a more complex issue than just how dense or hard metal is. Titanium is sometimes used in place of brass in expensive instruments.
Good video. However, I used to use Fender Bullets but the last few times I used them there was corrosion on some of the strings.
The best trick is to undo the neck screws after retuning, then re-tighten and retune. sustain is much better. The theory is, is that the neck is pulled closer to the body, making good contact with the body without a gap. Worked for me.
I was just gonna day the same thing that’s the best free way to get increases sustain that and changing your bolt to brass or stainless sleek screws coat 6 bux for 8 at homedepot and throw a couple tooth picks in those screw holes before you re tighten them to snug them up
Me too, Bob. Also, when I tighten the neck screws, I use a BIG screw driver and
I bear down hard while tightening. HARD.
I need to loose all screews(1/4 turn) until the pop wright?
Yes undo two, you may hear a pop, then retune, then undo next two screws, you may hear another pop, then tighten up all screws. Return.
If we then tighten up all screws it will be same situationю shouldnot it ? I have the bolt neck
Wow that's a narrow neck!
Great video cheers
I think sanding it is more that you create a hard surface for the sound to escape. the paint acts as a sound deadner..
It would be interesting to experiment with
lengthen the string lenght, off intonation, heavy string, well height radius adjusting on saddle. flat kissing poles pickup. tunning for whole day. boom, great setup its hard to play and tune, but lots of lots in effort. learned it from srv and rb.
What do you mean by lengthen the string length?
Three things I don't worry about is nut ,whammy bar,nor the neck radious. I did however use brass string pins on my besting acoustic guitar. If you put a capo above the nut for muting my classical guitar for playing straight acoustic.
Definitely replace that crappy plastic nut with a good bone nut. It makes a BIG difference. I found pre-slotted bone nuts on Amazon. Part of the charm of a Strat is the tremolo. If you're going to play a Strat and block off the tremolo stop embarrassing yourself and play a Les Paul. Fender Bullet Strings are horrible. With the tension that's on a string it's not going to move around. One other thing that can dramatically increase sustain is to, while the strings are at tension, turn the guitar over and loosen the two neck screws on the bridge end ¼ to ½ turn. Just loose. Then, do the same thing to the screws toward the head stock. You might hear the neck creek a bit. That's good. That's the sound you'll hear when the tension of the strings pulls that neck heel as snug as possible into the neck slot in the body. To finish simply snug up the screws in reverse order. Not to tight. Just snug. You don't need 1000 lbs of torque on that neck plate.
I love strat tremolos the best, too. I agree that Bullet strings are pretty whack. I like DR, they take a beating. I think they stay in tune better, but that might be influenced by the fact that I'm way better at setting it up than I was before I used them. I have stuck to them for more than half of my guitar playing life. I have Slinkys on my Epiphone, the new coated ones now. They're ok.
keep play gib bankrupt guitars
Been accumulating guitars since the late 70s and at one time had close to 100 of all types. I enjoyed playing unplugged most the time and thats the true way to hear a guitar's characteristics. Everything else can be tweeked. I don't understand the infatuation with sustain on a electric guitar. Acoustic yes. What are people doing? Are they hitting a G or D and counting the seconds? Do you hit a note and listen until only your dog can hear it? When playing how long do you really hold a chord or note? If its dying out within seconds you have bigger problems than magnet pull. And if you are a sustain fanatic get a compressor.
@@srubberalittle The 'Les Pauls give more sustain' myth is a strong one, but a myth, all the same. Sustain is about maintaining the amplitude of the string vibration. If that were dependant on the thickness of the guiitar body, why would Gibson have introduced chambering in its Les Pauls? Because Gibson knew that they were losing sales in the modern era due to their overly heavy guitars. The irony is that they STILL maintain that the thickness generates sustain, despite them deliberately removing substantial wood mass from the body of modern LPs. Are you getting it yet? It's all about marketing and not sustain.
How about removing any finish in the neck pocket and heel (only where it makes contact with the pocket)? Some (cheaper) guitars come like that.
notice fender on the cheaper Models drill a large plug where the neck sits flat ( They know this is the key to a good sounding strat ) Flat neck pocket is no1
I am going to give my guitar a massage. If I treat it right, I know it will treat me right!
I think the bullets help tuning pick up height can cause wolf notes
Brass is soft ..much softer than steel so the cheap saddles are probably harder than brass ones.
Brass has better tonal qualities. Bells of steel would sound like shit.
4:47 are these bits of filed metal on your pickup magnets?
nice clip Max, but electric guitar it's not just about sustain, otherwise you better play an acoustic guitar. But it's always about the final result, do we like it or not? Don't forget how the different type of truss rods affect the final result.
that nut was installed with the bottom side towards the headstock.
A Wudtone 2.5 stainless steel neck plate & improved screws.
Wudtone vintage CP bridge assembly.
Raw Vintage Trem Springs.
Highwood Contoured Vintage Saddles.
Both 9/10 together 11/10 my favourite is Frida just Beutiful
at 1.09 the nut of your guitar doesn't look parallel to the frets or the rosewood fingerboard at the nut. Is that just the perspective creating that illusion?
Brass Nut helps alot , plastic deadens the vibration .
Does string gauge also affect sustain?
Rather than removing the paint in the cavity for the trem springs, I think you would be better off removing the finish from the top of the guitar where the trem system rests against the body. Off course this assumes you have your term set up, so that it is flat against the body (will only go down in pitch). But if max sustain is what you´re after, I guess this would already be the case.
you actually remove the paint from where the tremolo block MEETS the body cavity, he is gesturing to the wrong spot and doesn't know of what he speaks, in this specific instance.
Sometime the paint in those cavities is really thick, so if you hard tail your whammy(i.e. it can only lower pitch), and you remove the millimeter or two of paint that is sitting between where your trem block meets the body.
Often you must place a shim between the body and the trem block, same theory applies, no thick chunky paint interfering in transmission of vibration.
A note to Squier Strat owners....since the body is thinner than a Fender Strat, the trem blocks aren't compatible. The Squier block has to be shorter to fit inside the thinner body.
Gator Roadie mine fits fine and I have a squire body
XYXZProductions Which series Strat do you have? Which block did you install?
Texturas75 I’m not sure which series, but it’s a full body squire so it’s the same size as a fender, usually they are thinner by mine is a different version squire (I don’t remember the date and model of it)
I still haven't heard any explanation why the nut seems to be...not backwards...but put on the side and slotted that way. Beats me. Increasing sustain that one too ? ;-)
(sorry, couldn't resist)...
Loosen the neck bolts a 1/4 turn until you hear a slight crack. Retune and tighten the screws back down. Easiest way to get some sustain and people have been doing it for over 50 years.
Omg bro u saved me thank you. I took of my neck and put it back on and I tightened all the way and tuned and I was like wtf no vibration and I felt miserable that I ruined my guitar but I tried what you said. PERFECT!
@@hmm4959 awesome! Glad it helped you out🎸
Did anyone replace steel block with an aluminium one (Fender CS strat)? any difference?
Is that nut installed the wrong way round?
lighter string gauge gives you a tighter sound,heavier strings give you tendonitis and little else.
Haha...good one...
No... heavy strings do give more tone/sustain. I have a strong playing style so when I do thin strings the A) break a lot B) I cannot feel them as accurately when I do pitch harmonics. That being said you can over do it! I like Zak boomer size 10 or 11 on normal 440 guitars. When I detune I go to a 12 or 13 Zak boomer. I also notice that the thick strings with a lower tuning then playing the riff transposed sounds quite different even though technically I am playing the same tone and frequency. Sometimes it really warms it up and I overdub both then mix them. Either way, strings don't injure you if you have common sense and good technique. If I am going to learn a new piece and repeat the same motion for an hour or two, or if I am writing a song etc and same thing many tries etc to get it correct then yeah I use a light strung guitar. When I record or play live I get the GHS Zak boomers guitars out in most cases. Pitch harmonics are way easier to hit and have a much greater tone/louder volume with thick strings. That is just physics you cannot argue about science.
@Question Everything You obviously do not have a good concept of what I am saying most likely because you do not have the ear I do and take everything Billy says at face value and being the truth. LOL Billy likes to talk a lot of crazy stuff. Sometimes I wonder if he does so just to get a reaction out of people or send them looking in the wrong direction. I can tell by the sound of a guitar if the strings are thicker or not because I have played for longer than you most likely have been alive and I also learned by ear before the digital age of having everything tabbed for me. Some brands have a distinct sound IE GHS Boomers IE Ernie Balls but thicker strings do not sound muddier they just sound different and have more tones and harmonics due to having more substance in the material. Light strings or not I always have a great tone and I have no problems playing either but what I was saying is that there is a difference and there are really great reasons to have a thin or thick string if you take some time to think before you just say "give me a set of xx's because that is what I run." The ONLY thing I will say is that I prefer thick strings when recording in general due to capturing more tone in the media. I can tell Billy does so also from replicating his sounds here at home. He also has different tunings with the thicker strings. For example Over You is played in an open tuning. I can play it either way but it sounds like the album with thick strings and the open key tuning. At 440 it just does not sound correct and way less powerful. If you want more proof... Billy says himself that BB King told him he was working too hard with the thick strings which is why he went lighter- for every night playing shows- he never said for recording he still opts for the heavy most times because I can hear it. As far as the snobbish comment you made about crap pickups Mick Mars states he often has some cheaper crap sounding pickups and overdubs with the great sounding ones to get some magic to his tone. What does he know though? He has been the only real musician in Motely Crue forever. I have several pieces of advice for you, 1) get more guitars and set them all up differently with different tunings and strings that fit what they want to be. 2) Stop reading so much tab to figure things out by ear. Sure its slower and you will get some of the licks a bit off but that only makes you better when you learn them correctly. 3) play with people better than you. 4) Don't believe what someone says when they are making money off of their music. IE yeah I play with this equipment set up like this and here is the tab. Now everybody can do what I do... said the musician who went from a gold album to the soup line in about a year from all the imitators copying their style and tone. I have some really great pickups such as EMG, Gibson, Fender, DiAddario, Seymour Duncan and many more popular names. I also have the cheaper kind that most people replace. They all can sound great! Sometimes you must mix and match them or switch the guitar they are on. Maybe change strings or something like that until you get the correct sound. The only pickups I would consider un-desirable are ones with low volume output or crackle/white noise riding the signal and of course ones that don't put any sound out at all. But to sum up your theory on strings, talk to anyone with a heavy LP style guitar and they will swear that the heavy guitars with neck through bodies sound better as a general rule. They are correct because the wood resonates the tone from the strings more and the solid contact points allow the resonance to continue longer which is what we call sustain. So a heavy thick guitar made of the right wood with thicker strings will vibrate more thus more sound and tone... it is physics not my opinion. Sure you can get a great sound out of thinner strings I do it all the time. The sounds are different though and will really be noticed in a recorded track on certain songs. You don't have to believe me though I only have 15 guitars now and around 40 years of experience. I am sure you know more than I do...
Another tip: buy a compressor pedal. It'll definitely add to your sustain, especially with distortion.
TUSQ nut... after the guitar is strung and stretched loosen the bolts on the bolt on neck.... the string tension will pull the neck deeper into the pocket bonding that heel and body. Retighten and the sustain will sound like a violin 🎻. Leave the plastic trem cover off.... and if you really want a fancy way to add infinite sustain.... buy a sustainer pickup that works like an Ebow......or buy an Ebow..... simple....
In december, I installed Texas Special Pickups into my Strat. The very same day I thought "well, we love SRV, let us put those heavier gauge strings!" I looked for 12s, but found only 11s and got them. Kept with the 11s, of course renewing like on a three week basis. Now in july, a went back to 10s... and I can tell you, folks... it made no difference in sustain, at least for me. But now I can do better bends and vibratos. I don't know if 13s, like they say SRV used, would make such an enormous difference in sustain, but I bet it would turn bending a torture for the fingers. And I play 1/2 and even a whole step down.
The reason thicker strings will sustain more is because they require more tension to bring up to pitch (and as a result are harder to bend). That said, my feeling is that you're not going to see any sustain increase if you play tuned down since that counteracts the effect of the heavier strings.
MaxGuitarVids after putting 12s on my sustain lasts like 3 seconds lol, idk what wrong with it
I find thicker strings make more of a difference in tone, and attack, than with sustain. Honestly, I've never agonized over my lack of sustain. :)
Agree..
I notice you got rid of the strings tree. Dose a guitar really need those anyway ?
also loosen neck bolts a 1/4 turn
The last tip is mambo jumbo. You should have swap that for a neck inserts instead.
Brass is relatively soft , not hard?
a good compressor is also need for a good tone with sustain!?!
I agree. The last one is complete mumbo-jumbo. Thanks for the others, however!
With all the effects pedals in existence....delays, chorus, flangers, overdrives, etc, it amazes me that someone hasn't come out with a pedal that will let you get the kind of sustain that someone like Santana gets from standing in front of a huge tube amp.
When you name a segment "Pickup height" but keep saying "strings are too low" that is confusing.
Raise your strings to get more sustain.Did you mention that?
It should be first on the list,IMO.
if your raider your strings to much that's going to have an opposite effect. especially if you don't have a strong freting hand.
knucklehead...Lower the pickups right down flush with the pickguard, than gradually raise them, but avoid interfering with the strings natural vibration pattern, and thats how you'll get a natural longer sustain & bloom!
Does anyone know why open string notes sustain much longer than fretted notes? The answer will clue you in on why some guitars sustain longer than others.
Tim Hallas it’s because it’s using the nut to resonate and not the fret and your finger
It's first and foremost (if not ONLY) the length of the string, total scale. Don't believe me? Watch this fanned frets bass with a 37" scale open low B-string at the ending. Sustain, decay longer than ANY 34" scale low B-string regardless of gauge.
Thus, fretted notes along that string will ring for longer too. Period. If all else equal.
ua-cam.com/video/h6iFzHmf2LU/v-deo.html
Actually, the hand on the neck, deadens the vibrations in the neck, reducing sustain. It has nothing to do with contacting the string. The fret, being solid metal with wood under it, transfers the vibration into the neck. Your finger on the string has no effect on sustain. The fact is, your hand wrapped around the neck kills sustain more than anything else. Don't believe it..... test it. Hold the D string down at the 3rd fret and pluck it with a pick, measuring the sustain time. Now, do it again with just the tip of your finger, (do not wrap your hand around the neck) Note the sustain time. Now, think about what might reduce that effect. Thicker, denser, fatter necks. Thicker, denser, fatter bodies. * less contact with your hand?
I installed a brass nut on my strat and I really didn't notice any tone difference. hmmmmm.
I just built up a cheap partscaster I bought off of fleabay and spent this mroning setting up the action and the frickin' thing rings like a bell - no idea how or why but imagine how smug I am tonight - oh yes... !!!
Could you tell me where you got your guitar mat that is in your video? Thanks
It's actually a yoga/exercise mat I got from Target. I never did much yoga, but it's perfect for guitar work.
Is it just me or does the nut look slightly crooked to the fret.
high quality tuning keys will make a differance too
How does Buddy Guy does that absurd sustain on Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute??????
The sanding in the cavity is a known trick but your reasoning is off. The sanding is done so the body can breath, not to transfer vibrations but to let trapt moisture in the wood breath out of the guitar. It is the only advantage tonally to a reliced guitar. Supposedly, over time there is less moisture in the wood if the body can breath and therefore transfers energy better. Many claim that certain guitar finishes allow the wood to breath better than others for the same endgame desire of having the wood dry out over time and be more resonant.
Also acoustic and semi hollow guitars do seem to get better with age.... maybe this body "breathing" thing has some merit.
Hello sir, do you happen to know what type of steel or metals is the stock tremolo block made of (i.e. @ 4:02) ? I recently bought a 2017 Strat Deluxe w/maple neck.
Have you tried a titanium trem block? Any thoughts on that?
Haven't tired it yet, though that would be a good experiment in the future. I know that titanium is roughly half the weight of steel, which I'd consider an important factor. Of course, it's stronger too, but I don't see you wearing out a steel block though. My gut says that a brass block on the other hand could wear over time, though I haven't heard any complaints.
👍
1:05 Considering most notes people play are not open strings... no, it doesn't. The nut isn't that important for sustain or for intonation. What it actually is important for is tuning stability, especially when using a tremolo.
I don't use a tremolo. I use a vibrato. 😁
@@Juno58 You can blame Leo Fender for that.
"Tremolo bar?" Never heard anyone say that about the sustain block. I've tried all these, and taking the paint off does nothing, even did it under the trem base plate and made no difference. I think Callaham are way too expensive. I found a guy who engineers them and they are better than the Callaham because it has a small nylon bush that stops that irritating movement of the arm with the traditional trems. It's still a screw-in but the the bush makes a world of difference and the arms are stainless steel. My trem' NEVER goes out of tune and I have a fatter tone with more sustain.
Callaham blocks DO have a nylon bushing that eliminates play in the arm,though. (Not saying that makes 'em worth the price, but I totally agree with the way the bushing eliminates the "slop") Simple mod that Fender should've been doing DECADES ago!
@@cpfs936 Completely agree.
Just exactly how much vibrating does the string do in the trem block or at the tuner? You know, beyond both terminuses. Definitely not a physicist overseeing this operation.
the nut wont affect anything once you fret a note, people dont understand this. every fret is basically a nut. and whats behind your fretted note is pointless. but open strings will change in tone, etc, based on what the nut is made of. i like brass on mine but they can cause hangups and tuning problems sometimes no matter how well they are cut
I do not agree.
You can try this: put a hairtie behind your fretting hand or before the nut, and one behind the nut.
Now compare the single fretted notes and chords with and without the extra dampening. You will notice a slight loss of overtones and a tiny bit of sustain. The string bits behind the fretting hand and behind the nut are vibrating if not extra dampened, and feed back into the fretted string parts, giving them also more frequency content and enhance sustain. Headstock vibration comes from the strings and neck directly and via the guitar body. This induces the most part of string vibration behind the fretting hand. The vibrating headstock feeds back into the body and so into the ongoing vibration of the fretted strings. Goes full circle. There is also sympathetic ring of the unplayed strings and string bits behind the hand and behind the nut wich are feeding into the neck, headstock and body and thus into the vibrating fretted strings.
I just wonder how this myth of nothing happens behind the fretted notes could survive over 50 years told by millions of people till today. I checked as a guitar greenhorn 3 years after starting, and used my ears. Before those 3 years my ears were not sensitive enough...
There is a lot going on behind the fretted frets and past the nut. 😊
To dampen everything behind your fretting hand, your hand must be as big to cover the whole headstock.😅😊
Cheers🤘
I had to laugh out loud to the last one. Voodoo is right.
he IS right, all and every tip helps bring the guitar to life,
One of the most ridiculous ideas is a bronze saddle! Soviet-era perfectly decent wooden instruments had a bronze saddle and a negative sustain!
You forgot string hiegth - keep recomendation 2+- mm on 17th. if less - sound will be scooped.
Use sustainer driver for eazy step😆
The type of electricity surging thru your equipment has a huge effect on sustain,ask EJ....he once pulled the plug on a show citing the electricity as no good....my electricity is fantastic no matter where I go in the house 'cept when I dont pay the bill....it really affects the amount of sustain ,very soul destroying and I can't create when this happens....I'm well known as a hard nut but I can't handle it when this happens I go to a bar and cry into my beer about sustain,I mean seriously ,how long does a note need to last.... ? Play play and keep playing 'til your fingers bleed and develop callouses .... remember those lumps of hard skin like a blister on your fingertips? Django......Tommy Emannuel ,ever hear Django on electric..? no fuzzbox required......
Number 500 👍
The Trem Block Not bar.
I can see why that last one he called voodoo
Thumbnail has a fender, video has a squier.
Good info in this video.
The first thing you want to do is not buy a Squire, an American ash body Strat is great way to achieve sustain, its a one step move not 8.
READ: Screw the claw to the bottom after adjustments for full contact to the body place a metal gasket under the claw to level it. And enjoy.
harder materials like a steel guitar = more sustain not weight.
Carbon paper + joint adjustment + tune + loose neck + tune + right it + retune + quality block & tuners & pickups. Springs and craw play a very important roll (Cheap springs = Cheap sustain and noisy cheap tone). straight springs make more tension than diagonal, 3 are fine to get a barely floating tremolo (or diagonal to loose tension) I prefer Only diagonal spring in the “e” side and straight on the E and G due they demand more tension in action.
Tone is another subject too many gadgets can affect the strat tone careful.
Dr. Mtz no, hardness of the metal does not matter one bit. Why would it? Your strings don’t care what kind of metal they’re touching