New Fender Telecaster Standard

[Jerry Ryan]

I have been working exclusively with acoustic instruments for 3 yrs now. Last week I won a new Fender Telecaster Standard (made in Mexico). It was direct from the factory. No Setup. I looked up the method of setting the 6 part bridge for intonation, action etc.. The guitar is a 25 1/2 " scale, However when I went thru the process identified by Fender to adjust the bridge(s) The screw to adj the length was too short for the A string and barely long enough for most of the others?

The Fender instructions said to adj the high E to 25 1/2 " or double the length of the distance from the front of the center of the nut to the center of the 12th fret or 12 3/4". That part I recognized from acoustic guitar saddle placements. Using this distance I was to set the 1st or Hi E to 25 1/2" then tweak the intonation. I thought it was odd the screws were almost at the end, then I had the problem with the A string, still a bit sharp fretted at the 12th string, not enough screw to get it right. The rest adjusted to pitch but barely had screw left.

What am I doing wrong?

 

Jerry

[Jerry Ryan]

PS:

The picture I added isn't my Telecaster, its a stock photo. This bridge had the A string back further that mine is. Maybe its the strings? The hi E is a .08  must be too light?

 

Jerry

[MrGlyn]

Hi Jerry,

 how's the neck relief?

 What's the action at 12th fret?

 If the action is too high then you might run out of intonation adjustment.

 8's are very light - most players I deal with use 10's

 Glyn

[Paul Verticchio]

Hello Jerry.

Oh, where to start.....?

As MrGlyn said, make sure the neck is straight. 

Then put on a fresh set of strings. Factory strings are always awful. BTW: the Tele Std. ships with .009-.042 strings, not 8's. Stretch the strings well so they stay in tune. Heavier strings will not make the setup easier or more difficult.

Adjust the string saddles height following the FB radius so the action is comfortable for you.

The adjustment suggestions that you state Fender includes are ridiculous. Disregard them.

Now, set the octave by ear* for the high E string.  DO NOT use the measurement method.  That's what's causing the problem you're experiencing.

Continue with the rest of the strings, with the exception of the plain G, until all strings sound true at the octave (12th fret). You shouldn't run out of screw legnth using this method.

Most (not all) electric bridges end up with a double stair-step saddle pattern when the octaves are set correctly.

For the plain G, capo the strings at the first fret using adequate capo pressure but not brute force.  These are WAY different than acoustic strings.  When capo'd, set the G string's octave at the 13th fret.  A plain G string will always give "searchers of perfect intonation" a problem due to it's diameter relative to the other strings.

I've used this setup method over a thousand times and it only let me down when there was a factory flaw with the bridge placement.  Even then, once corrected, it worked fine.

* I don't use tuners or strobes to set octaves as differences in playing/fretting pressure negates any advantage they (may) provide.  Other than for the initial tuning of open strings, they're effectively useless in the real world when dealing with fretted notes.

Best of luck Jerry (:

[Jerry Ryan]

M

I followed your advice, made a big difference using your method. New strings.. went a touch heaver, set intonation by ear after getting the Hi E with a tuner with initial set at scale. Neck if good, set the action to about 2 dimes, and bridge radius to neck radius. Fine now. Tuner must have been playing games with me on this guitar. Must not transmit tone like an acoustic.

 

Thanks!

Jerry

[Bob Steinarsson]

Hi Jerry,

You say that the A string is sharp at the 12th fret. If that is correct, I think you will solve the problem by tightening the A saddle screw.

Bob

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Assuming that the string height is correct and you are not mistaking when adjusting intonation, the fact that you are at maximum of travel of the saddle may suggests the whole bridge is misplaced. It happen sometimes. The best way to check it is to unscrew the high e saddle until it's at its 75% to 90% of its travel ability. That saddle should be at 25,5" from the nut. If it's not the case, the bridge may be misplaced. Sometimes, not enough to be a problem, sometimes enough to make the guitar unsuable without moving the whole bridge.