Why do a lot of Strats play "stiff"??

[KC]

my '66 always played kind of stiff, which worked fine for me when I would gig with only one guitar -- I'd leave a .10 set on there with a high E switched out for an .11, leave the action kind of medium and play slide when I wanted to & regular the rest of the time -- kind of a bear but I could get around on it OK.

Now I use a separate slide guitar & wanted the action to be as loose & easy as my tele. I got the guys at Music One in Kalispell on the case, swapped the strings for .09s, played around with the neck set & relief & now it plays super-easy. It doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it used to, though.

[hal]

Mark is describing what I am talking about perfectly.

[Scotland]

Originally Posted by charlie frey

I always felt that Strats were among the least stiff guitars.
I figure it's because the bridge moves while bending.

+1

[Ron C]

Interesting thread. Reminds me of my quest for a guitar that didn't cause me pain.

After about 25 yrs playing anything and everything with no problems, I developed some nasty pain and stiffness in my left wrist and hand. Exercise, ultrasound, and a guitar that fell at just the right angles and didn't fight back were the answer.

I ended up with a USAC strat using a neck with 24-3/4" scale & a fat back shape, body without the tummy cut (because of the reason Alotas raised), hardtail, and a great setup.

I gig weekly now, no problems. Not much Strat left to this guitar, though.

[Nick Fanis]

maybe they need a SET UP badly????

[Colo Springs E]

......and I disagree with the widely-held axiom that any guitar can be set up to play right for you. Some guitars just feel stiff to me, some are like butter.

I've encountered Mark's experience before with various guitars--that no matter what you try, they just don't feel right, and not just on cheap guitars either. Ironically, some cheapies have been among the easiest to play!

That said, I believe MOST guitars can be set up to your liking if you spend enough time with it.

I have played a few Strats that were very stiff feeling--but have played several that were among the easiest to play guitars I've ever owned.

[fierce_carrot]

It's not just strats that seem to be "stiff", try Les Pauls. One out of a 100 will have the feel I'm looking for.

[Colo Springs E]

That's been the opposite of my experience! The shorter scale, flatter fretboard, etc on an LP make it one of the easiest playing guitars of all time for me. I can get virtually any LP set LOW with slinky feeling string tension, just how I like it.

[Mark Davis]

I always thought a good correct setup could change any guitar into a good playing one but that just isnt true. I have found the same thing on Teles too. So it doesnt have anything to do with the bridge.

I have brought this upo before and no one can come up with a logical answer. Some people say the one thats playing stiff has too much neck relief but on that 56 I had that played so stiff I set the relief all over the place trying to get it to play good. I worked on it everyday for 2 weeks. If it was a setup issue during one of the 10-15 string changes to different brands and sizes and different adjustments I would have come up with the right combo.

Thats why its important to try all guitars before you buy them cause you might get a stiff one mail order and if you do there isnt much to do to correct it.

[tbp0701]

I know this is just a crazed, stab-in-the-dark question, but is it possible to have any variance in scale length? I realize they're pretty careful about that, but I'm thinking that, if the nut or bridge is just slightly off from the exact 25.5" scale, it would increase string tension a little bit, which would probably make it feel stiff.

[roadkillbill]

For me--as Telenator has pointed out-- it was the scale length...after a lifetime of Gibsons, I bought my first strat having no idea there even was a difference in scale lengths, and spent the first month alternating between selling it and keeping it, just because of the perceived 'stiffness'.

But after another month I had completely adjusted to it [at about the same time I 'discovered' the difference in scale lengths], and now, 3 years later, switch between 24 3/4 and 25 1/2 without a hitch.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by hal

I mean they are hard to move on the neck quickly, hard to bend strings--just stiff.

I have owned about 12 Strats in my life. Never completely bonded with any of them. I recently went on an all out Strat search. Mayer, EC, EJ, MIM, Classic, Custom Classic, Custom Shop, Knopfler, Hiway 1, American--you name it, I played it. I ended up with an American Standard because it played the best period. By the way, it was just this one--I played 3 others that were not as good.

So what's the deal? Fret size, spring tension, neck radius, neck tilt? Today I had some time to kill so I went to my local store and played every Strat that had a decent weight--probably about 10 total. The best player was a 50's Player Strat--MIM but designed by the Custom Shop. It played better than all three Custom Shop Strats that cost 4 times as much.

One more thing--can you set up any Strat so it will not play stiff? If so, how? Bring it on TDPRI members and thanks.

i have had four strats with different feels...my standard strat and squier strat had 7.5" inch radius fretboards and though they had the best vintage tones, i could not get the action too low or else they would buzz on bends

so the american standard strat with the flatter 10" inch radius was better for that and i could lower the action a bit

and the strat ultra i had sported a very flat, and obviously ibanez, charvel, and jackson inspired, 12" inch radius and i could lower the action all the way and make it great for sweep picking, two hand pulloffs and all the fast stuff without fret buzz

but i actually preferred the stiffer 7.5" inch fretboards because the super flat radius was too slinky

[63dot]

oh, and the 25.5" inch fender scale length makes for tightening the strings a bit more than a 24.75" gibson scale length for the same key

[JohnnyCrash]

Maybe:
1. Proper setup?
2. Too many moving parts (the bridge)? Too many variables?

The floating bridge, springs, and 6 saddles (12 adjustment screws).

Some of Gibson's limited edition ES-135's had saddles that rattled and buzzed (poorly fitted saddles and/or retaining wire). Quality can stray easier when more parts are involved (especially dynamic as opposed to static parts)... if it's a bridge, that could mean harsher action.

Regardless, I HATE Strats, but my personal experience has been that they've been very easy to play, for me. Strange...

[bagpipe]

Its kinda weird, because I just posted a similar question over at thegearpage, but I was trying to figure out why my Tele has a much stiffer feel to than my Strat? Is it okay to post a link to a thread on another site? I hope so - here it is. Let me know if its not cool and I'll remove the link. Most people seem to point to an issue with the setup of the guitar.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...d.php?t=197653

[fierce_carrot]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

That's been the opposite of my experience! The shorter scale, flatter fretboard, etc on an LP make it one of the easiest playing guitars of all time for me. I can get virtually any LP set LOW with slinky feeling string tension, just how I like it.

Next time I go looking for a Les Paul I want to go where YOU are shopping!

To be honest tho, I'm sticking with my 81 LP Standard Goldtop. I REFUSE to pay the idiotic amounts Gibson now wants for Les Pauls.

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by fierce_carrot

Next time I go looking for a Les Paul I want to go where YOU are shopping!

To be honest tho, I'm sticking with my 81 LP Standard Goldtop. I REFUSE to pay the idiotic amounts Gibson now wants for Les Pauls.

.....I'd love to have a VOS Goldtop, but 3 grand?!?

I don't think so! (Especially not when the car I drive to work everyday is probably worth $1000 LOL)

[63dot]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

.....I'd love to have a VOS Goldtop, but 3 grand?!?

I don't think so! (Especially not when the car I drive to work everyday is probably worth $1000 LOL)

for fender stuff, i can deal with a new american standard tele or highway 1 tele, but new les paul standards and customs are off the hook

i got my les paul custom used for $550 in the late 90s...during the same time i got an american standard stratocaster new from guitar center for $599

now fender stuff can also be unreasonable like the custom shop teles and strats which can usually start in the $2000 dollar range for a basic model, and up to $10,000 grand for one with a non standard feature and/or very special finish...i would like a special order, one of a kind, certified axe with an ash or alder tele body with a hand tooled leather top, back, and sides with all metal parts made of engraved .925 sterling silver but i would not want to know what that costs

for a humbucker equipped guitar, i would settle for a comparitively economically priced esp custom shop, one of a kind, viper solidbody, bolt on maple neck with rosewood fretboard, dual antiquity duncans, and nitro silver sparkle finish for $4800 dollars (fallon of kitty had one like that)

and to top things off, i would go to cf martin and have him build me a dreadnaught and go to d'angelico guitar company and have them build me a new yorker

[TG]

I think it might have something to do with the various break angles along the string length. Just adjusting a string tree can affect the feel of a guitar.

[aznrambo481]

maybe you're stretching the strings when you bend?