Reddit reviews Dreamtop Set of 9 Guitar Radius Gauge Understring Radius Gauge String Gauges Luthier Tools for Guitar and Bass Setup
We found 3 Reddit comments about Dreamtop Set of 9 Guitar Radius Gauge Understring Radius Gauge String Gauges Luthier Tools for Guitar and Bass Setup. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
【Usage Range】All kinds of electric guitar, electric bass, acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar, electric box guitar fretboard measured in radians, and radians to adjust the strings piano code【Accurate Measurement】Fast, accurate bridge saddle adjustment,obtain accurate measurements of your instrument's fretboard radius,saddle radius nut radius from either the top or the bottom radius surface【Easy to Use】Fast, accurate bridge saddle adjustment. These come in the most popular fingerboard radius and make it easy to measure the radius from either above or below the strings【Understring Radius Guages】Stainless steel material,set of 9 including: 7.25", 9.5", 10", 12", 14", 15", 16", 17" and 20" radius,A must have for bass guitar maintain and adjustment【100% Satisfactory After-Sales Service】- If you have any problems while receiving our product or after that, please contact us through emails at any time. We will offer you a quick response within 24 hours and give you the most satisfied solution.
Based on the description of your Strat, it sounds like it has the vintage 7.25" fretboard radius. String bending, especially in the higher registers, is know to be problematic on that fretboard radius for exactly the reasons you describe.
Essentially, you need to do a proper setup to try and lessen the problems you're describing. If you're unfamiliar, doing a setup on a Strat involves adjusting things like the truss rod for neck relief, the bridge/claws to determine how you want your tremolo setup, the action, the intonation, and the nut. In essence, everything that your strings touch that can affect how they function mechanically.
You can learn how to do this yourself even if you have no experience. Dan Erlewine has a great book to tackle just this sort of stuff called How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great and you can snag a used copy on Amazon for the price of a new set of strings, practically. StewMac, the company where he works and that sells supplies for guitar building, has also started releasing some very helpful YouTube videos on different aspects of the setup. You can also poke around r/Luthier for any tips you can find there (though there's a lot of shorthand that would be tough for a beginner to get into).
My advice to you would be to buy the book, read it over a weekend (it doesn't take long to get from cover to cover), buy a few tools to get the job done and learn how to setup your own guitars so you'll always be able to make sure they're in perfect playing condition and won't have to rely on your local Guitar Center.
Basic tools you'd need include either a pre-assemlbed kit if you want to go the expensive route or a few of the individual components from elsewhere:
If you can install a stereo, hang a picture and put together a puzzle, you can set up your own guitar.
Usually you can just look it up on the website of whoever made your guitar and it will be listed on the spec sheet for the model.
If you can't find it on their website, this set of gauges is what I use.
Like others have said, most likely you simply need to set the guitar up. Its not that difficult. Just take your time and be careful with the truss rod.
Refer to this Ibanez PDF.
http://www.ibanez.com/world/manual/guitars/Maintenance.pdf
Looking online you need a few things:
https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Set%EF%BC%8C30-Master-Measuring-Luthier/dp/B07594N814/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1537217933&sr=1-1&keywords=feeler+gauge+for+guitar
Adjust your neck relief accordingly.
https://www.amazon.com/Dreamtop-Understring-Radius-Luthier-Guitar/dp/B01LZBHHC2/ref=pd_sim_267_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01LZBHHC2&pd_rd_r=883fa36e-babc-11e8-87eb-1be919d0e38f&pd_rd_w=40MfM&pd_rd_wg=eOv48&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=56838e6b-66d4-41e0-a762-743f1a1a628a&pf_rd_r=C4RV6HSAJA5KWFZG20J2&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=C4RV6HSAJA5KWFZG20J2
https://www.amazon.com/String-Action-Electric-Acoustic-Guitar/dp/B00NARHNCS
The Ibanez PDF outlines these steps, but YouTube search to find more examples. Its pretty straight forward. These steps with a small investment in tools will not only save you money, but teach you how to set the guitar up in manner you prefer as opposed to paying someone.
If after all that it is still unplayable, then I might venture to guess you have a major neck issue like a broken truss rod or something.
Good luck.