The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How to Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat

by Paul Balmer

There are six million out there--from Eric Claptons million-dollar "Blackie" to your treasured hand-me-down--and still the world cant get enough of the Fender Stratocaster, the legendary electric guitar-of-choice for players and dreamers from pioneers like Buddy Holly to todays garage-band heroes.

This is the worlds first hands-on, how-to manual for the Strat, taking the mystery out of maintaining and modifying what is really a relatively simple...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760329834
• ISBN13: 9780760329832
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

GREAT BOOK FOR THE STRAT LOVER WITH EVERYTHING

WELL I WILL KEEP IT SHORT, IT IS A "LITE" BOOK, ON THIS PIECE OF MUSICAL HISTORY. IT IS NOT HEAVILY TECHNICAL OR FOR THE EXPERT GUITAR LUTHIER,BUT A VERY NICE READ FOR LIGHT TECHNICAL WORK, TIPS, HISTORY, GREAT PICTURES, AND INFORMATION FROM VARIOUS STRATOCASTER OWNERS. I PERSONALLY OWN TWO STRATOCASTERS, AND LOVE THE STORY OF THE STRAT, THE MANY WELL KNOWN STRAT O PHILES, THE CASE HISTORY STORIES, AND THE SET UP OF VARIOUS STARS WHO PLAY THE STRAT. GREAT COFFEE TABLE BOOK, OR BATHROOM READ......A JUST READ FOR STRATOCASTER LOVERS, AND OWNERS, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE GREAT INSTRUMENTS, AND GREAT TIPS ON MAINTENANCE.

great for saving money

I set up the playing action on the guitar necks on 5 guitars in a row, right after first studying 1 page in this book for about 2 minutes, if you want to adjust-lower the string action on a guitar, this book explains it very easily, each guitar took about 30 seconds, it's so easy!

Made easy

Bought a Squire strat. It had rough unfinished frets, loose whammy, misc rough spots and I had new pickups to put in. I bought this book and did all the work myself- the first guitar work I ever did. It was easy because he gave the specs in various places and explained how things worked. I smoothed the frets, evened the neck, tuned the bridge and put Seymour Duncans in from another strat I had, Adjusted and st the wang bar and now it smokes better than any other strat Ive had. Saved me an extra 250 - 700$ buying a Mex strat, or an american standard. If nothing else- this will teach a newbie like myself how to tear a strat apart and put it back together again making improvements along the way. A good investment.

The BEST book out there on Strat maintenance

I wanted to give a more in-depth review of this book than what's currently on here now. First, about myself. As of the writing of this review I'm 38 and have been playing for over 20 years. I have been setting up, modifying and tinkering with guitars all along. So trust me when I say that this book is a must-have if you want to work on your Fender Strat. Or, if you just want to know more about what makes a strat sound and play the way it does, this book serves that purpose as well. If you are already familair with setting up your strat then this book won't tell you anything new, but it's still an enjoyable read. The book is 176 glossy pages with rich, beautiful professional photos throughout the entire book. The text is very easy to read even for those that aren't entirely familiar with the intricate working and electronics of guitars in general and therefore provides for an enjoyable read even for the casual reader. What the book is not: Althought it touches on repair, t's not a repair manual. The information on repair is not comprehensive enough to actually do it yourself. It's not a compendium of Strats from year to year giving comprehensive differences and when things changed. This information is already available from other sources. It's not simply a picture book or coffee table book even though the size and Hard Cover format might suggest. What it is: A comprehensive breakdown of how to set-up your Fender Stratocaster. And it does this in a fashion that allows the new tinkerer to get in there and do the work themselves. Very much in the same vein as Dan Earlwine's books. The book goes over specific bridge designs and how to adjust string height, trem settings, etc. It explains how to adjust the truss rod on the various styles (bullet, vintage at the heel, at the peghead, etc.). It shows you how to set up the pickup heights, string heights, etc. Also explains some weaknesses inherent in specific designs such as vintage tuners, saddles, etc. The book also has a great set of appendices that explains Fender neck profiles, body woods, what specific screws are used where (great for knowing what to order if you lost one), and a few other tidbits. Of note there is a good part of the book dedicated to examining a few specific models of guitars and their specs. They are: 54' Custom Shop, US 57 RI, Chinese Squier, Mexican Fat Strat, Indonesian 'Standard' Squier, Custom Shop Clapton, US 74' reissue, Japanese 50th Anniversary, US Am Series 2005, Chinese Standard Squier. These "case studies" examine the actual guitar in the author's hands, not just the model in generic terms. This information isn't terribly useful, but it is fun to read an offers some insight to the variances of some models. Lastly, there is a small section devoted to some of the Strat's most famous players and it examine's a famous strat that they used. Again, the information contained is not "defining" to me, but it's fun to read. In conclus

a great guide

this is a great book chock full of great information about how to set up and maintain nearly everything on a fender stratocaster. in great pictoral detail. it is invaluable to any person working on strats. i almost withheld that last star (4-star review) simply because of his choices of which models that they delve into are almost all reissue guitars. i would prefer to see case studies of actual 50s, 60s, 70s, 80, and such stratocasters.