Bridge adjusting for strings

[Guest pop-notmyface]

ive just put new strings on my strat, namely D' Addario .10s, and was wondering if i need to adjust the bridge of my guitar as now have thicker strings than before?

Sam said something about that but i didnt quite get that....

[Tav]

Well if you tune your strings up and they are a thicker that the old set this may cause your bridge to rise up. There is a thread somewhere near the top about someone having that problem and how to fix it. You will also need to check intonation as well...

[David]

you should check the intonation of the guitar, and ajust if it needs it.

how to intonate a guitar (stolen in part from www.jemsite.com, cause i cant be othered typing it out myself)

tune the guitar, make sure you've stretched out all the strings properly

then check the intonation on the strings, first make sure it is in tune played open, then see if the 12th fret harmonic is in tune and compare it to the note of the string fretted at the 12th fret

if the tuning is out you will need to ajust the saddle on the string, you do this by tightening/loosening the screw at the back of the bridge, and therefore moving the saddle forwards or backwards a bit

if the fretted note is sharp, move the saddle away from the neck (tighten the screw) if the fretted note is flat, move the saddle towards the neck (loosen the screw)

so ajust a little, then check the intonation again to see if tis correct, repeat untill the string is intonated

then move on to the next string and repeat everything again, then the next string, then the next and keep going until all 6 strings are intonated correctly

as for the bridge position, is the bridge sitting in a different position to what it was before, the heavier guage of strings may have brought it forwards slightly (so it isnt resting against the body) if this has happened, you need to take off the plate on the back of the guitar (which you have done anyway ) then tighten the screw that holds the springs to the body, then retune the guitar and see if its sitting against the body now, if its still floating a bit, then tighten them a bit more, it shouldnt take too much tightening

or you could leave it 'floating' slightly, that will mean you can raise the pitch of a note slightly by pulling up on the trem arm or palming the bridge. note this means you wont be able to downtune the guitar easily and quickly

i doubt the bridge will have moved though, so you probably wont need to ajust anything for it

any more questions, ask and i shall do my best to help

David