Amazon.com: The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat: Paul Balmer, Hank Marvin: Books

Review

Vintage Guitar, February 2007

“The book takes the mystery out of maintaining and codifying what is really a simple instrument, and shows the reader how to make it truly their own … one of the best at showing you how.”

Library Journal, Feb. 15, 2007

“A clearly written owner’s manual and tune-up/troubleshooting guide full of hot rodders’ tips and tricks … This first guitar maintenance and repair book to focus on a specific mode is sure to be in demand at public and specialty music libraries.”

Product Description

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 instrument (two boards, some wires, some pickups). It shows you how to make the most of your Stratocaster--and how to make it truly your own.

With clear text and colorful illustrations, this guidebook takes readers through the basics of selecting and buying Strats; maintenance and repairs such as tuning, setting intonation, tremolo alignment, fret repairs, bridge and nut adjustments, electrics troubleshooting; spur-of-the-moment stageside fixes; and some basic performance enhancements like adding "hot rod" Fender and aftermarket pickups, locking-tremolo nuts, and more.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Voyageur Press; 1st edition (February 15, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0760329834
ISBN-13: 978-0760329832
Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,209 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#46 in Books > Entertainment > Music > Instruments & Performers > Strings
#84 in Books > Entertainment > Music > Instruments & Performers > Guitar

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
vintage reissue, custom shop, output jack retainer, affect tuning stability, trem block, recessed jack socket, worth tightening, pickguard rear, truss rod access, screening foil, causing crackles, socket spanner, fingerboard radius, tree grooves, little lemon oil, tremolo springs, two tone controls, intermittent output, tone pots, point screwdriver, generous vintage, neck relief, single coil pickups, truss rod adjustment, nut slot

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Leo Fender, John Diggins, Vintage Strat, Floyd Rose, Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, American Series, Jeff Beck, Fiesta Red, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Cruz, The Shadows, Cliff Richard, Chinese Squier, American Standard, Music Man, Lee Dickson, Voodoo Chile, Tech Tip, Andy Gibson, New York, Texas Specials, George Harrison

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	74% buy the item featured on this page: The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat 4.5 out of 5 stars (15) $16.47
	12% buy The Guitar Player Repair Guide - 3rd 4.5 out of 5 stars (24) $19.77
	7% buy How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great (Softcover) (Guitar Player Book) 4.6 out of 5 stars (25) $13.57
	4% buy The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat 4.9 out of 5 stars (33) $31.50

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST book out there on Strat maintenance, April 14, 2007

By	Glen Murley (Sagamore Beach, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 conclusion, the reason to buy the book is for the clearly-written step-by-step instructions on how to set up your Stratocaster. The rest of the information can be found in other places, and probably in better detail, but it's nice to have it all contained in one book.

I think a book like this is long overdue. Without this book the tinkerer would have to spend a few weeks asking Q&A at various guitar forums. And even then you have to figure out who's right and who's wrong. I can say from my own experiences over the years in setting guitars up that this book is an excellent resource for the would-be do-it-yourselfer that wants to learn basic maintenance on his/her Fender Stratocaster.

The book is a joy to read too. If you don't have a Strat and are thinking of buying one...this book will put you over the edge and send you running off to buy one.

Cheers!

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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Does Not Do Justice To The Usual Haynes Manuals Quality, October 7, 2007

By	Bought It and Shouldn't Have - See all my reviews

First, if you just bought a Strat (any type from the far, far East to the current American Standard)you might enjoy this book but if you have owned Strats before and are familiar with them you should save your money. If you are looking for real usable information to really set up your Strat to perfection, you might look at Dan Erlewine's books instead either the one on repairs or the one on how to make your electric guitar play great.
My copy of this book was one of the first editions ordered through Amazon.uk in England and arrived months ahead of the US release of this book. I was disappointed that the book was not up to the usual Haynes manual quality (like the ones for cars and motorcycles). Who needs to see a picture of Squier Strat pickups to know they are junk? Or a close up of a cracked pickguard from an overtightened screw? History wise it gives some data, but not nearly as much as the Duchossoir book and the Wheeler book. Both of which are excellent. Or even the Minnihinnet and Young book.
Don't expect too much from this book. It tries to cover many areas of the Strat but offers no real depth for any area. It might be worth it at about half the price it's offered at. More and better information is available elsewhere.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made easy, March 1, 2008

By	R. Semmens "third eye private eye" (Phoenix, Az. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fender, it's gotta be good
This book was exactly what I wanted when I purchased it.It's not just useful for repairs on my guitars, but it gives insight on what the pros do with their instruments. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Tim W. Arnold

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published 8 months ago by FenderBender

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. know How
This handbook is really good, for me it gives me almost everything I needed or I wanted to know about the legendary Stratocaster guitar, I personally recommend it to anyone who is... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Hesham Askar

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with cheap binding
Beautifully illustrated,and jam packed with information on how to maintain,adjust and set up Strats for maximum playing comfort and best tone. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Malcolm D. Leonard

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Strat owners!
An excellent primer for background information and maintenance of the beloved Stratocaster. Many setup tips from experts as well. If you get only one Strat book, get this!

Published 15 months ago by Allen Bessanson

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a great handbook but not awful
This book has a lot of good things, stories about players, beautiful pictures of strats, tech data and in general good manteinance advise for your axe!!
But.. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Oscar Rodriguez

5.0 out of 5 stars Fender Care Book
The book is very interesting and full of great pictures to clarify what is being said. It is excellent to see all that good information in one book.

Published 17 months ago by James D. Degraaf

5.0 out of 5 stars Fender fan
If you are looking for a book that takes you under the hood of a Stratocaster this is the book for you. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Hobby man

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about Fender guitars.
Very well-written book about the history and maintenance of Fender guitars. What I really like most about the book is the generous data provided on Squier guitars! Read more

Published on June 8, 2007 by Robert Leth

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic resource
If you want to know everything there is to know about the Fender Stratocaster, this is your Bible. History, great photos, set up instructions, it's all there. Read more

Published on April 5, 2007 by Michael D. Stevenson

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