My new Affinity Strat has cracks on the wood beneath the bridge

[menac1ty]

This was my first ever guitar.
I bought the guitar brand new about 6 months ago, as an inexperienced player, I did not know what to watch out for. What happened was, the bridge posts had started to come loose and come out of the body about 1/3 of the way, and I'm assuming this had caused it. I did not notice this, i may have used the trem for about 10-15 times in total, but each time, i pressed it all the way just to see how it works, to see what it does, diving and going back to the body; but each time, the springs on the back weren't at all tight.

Then I noticed the bridge was ever so slightly misaligned, as in, the bass side was almost leaning on the pickguard and the treble side a bit back, think of the bridge as being like / instead of | when viewed from above. This had affected intonation in a way that even fully tightening the adjustment screw on the low e would still not be enough to make it be in tune at 12th fret.

So I took it all off, and being an alleged handyman that I am, fixed it, it appeared that the posts lifting and having to endure all that string tension, had caused the wood directly in front of it to break off, causing the bridge to lean forward, I sanded it a bit, and fixed it completely with wood glue and clamps, it has not moved ever since; I also wrapped one layer of newspaper around the posts themselves and hammered them in lightly; they have not moved at all.


But anyway, today I noticed the bridge is very high, I saw the crack and it seems the strings make the wood itself bend up, lifting the bridge.
Can this be fixed, or does it require a new body?
Now that I think of it, it may have been completely my fault at the beginning for going FULL DIVE on the trem (i may have heard "wood noises" that I didn't give it a second thought)
I had to tighten the claw ALL THE WAY, just to have the bridge on an almost parallel postion, (still high tho) and bend the wood back in place.
The guitar is playable though, perfectly, (minus the trem), the action is set nicely and it intonates perfectly, stays in tune well too but it has to be fixed

 

[Diavolo]

Oh man! That's unfortunate.
It's not your fault, the guitar should be built better to withstand that.

It's not all that uncommon with 2 post trems but sad that it happened on a new guitar.

Since you tried to make a repair you might not be able to warranty it, if that was even a possibility in the first place.

If you can't exchange it...
I would suggest a replacement body, with the vintage style bridge (6 screw) and move all your other parts over.

 

[Ace38]

I had a guitar that did that, a woodworker friend shot some epoxy in the cracks and reset everything. Week later it was better than new.

 

[Higgins1980]

My white Strat had that happen. I ignored it until the metal posts sheared off. At that point I carved a piece of basswood to fit the trem cavity, glued it in and mounted a top load hard tail bridge. It’s been going strong for over a decade now. On the picture below you can see the block peeking through on the right hand side.

 

[dpang2836]

WOW!!!!!!!! I won't loan you a Guitar. Some have put Metal inside after they Glued it back?

 

[menac1ty]

Oh man! That's unfortunate.
It's not your fault, the guitar should be built better to withstand that.

It's not all that uncommon with 2 post trems but sad that it happened on a new guitar.

Since you tried to make a repair you might not be able to warranty it, if that was even a possibility in the first place.

If you can't exchange it...
I would suggest a replacement body, with the vintage style bridge (6 screw) and move all your other parts over.

I don't think I can return it but I'm going to ask (when posts were lifting out i took it there and they said "just push it back in, it's not a problem")
I found a local luthier who could make a body from Alder and paint it to whatever color I want, I've seen their work and it looks promising, but if they can fix it with epoxy, or cut out the wood completely and glue in new wood, that'd be cheaper I think,

 

[DougMen]

That's common on the Squier Standards with Agathis bodies, but I've never heard of it happening on an alder US Strat, even an original Am Std. from '86 that's almost 40 years old. OMG! A guitar from '86 is almost 40 years old! That makes me feel ancient! What are the current Affinities made from, is it poplar? It does seem to be softer than alder, like baswood, judging by how quickly PG screws get stripped from taking off the PG to change pickups. I think one or two of them on my CV 70s are like that from changing the pickups from stock to others and back to the stock ones. I guess maybe going to two point bridge from six screw ones on the Affinities wasn't such a good idea.

 

[surf green]

If you can live without use of the trem, I would say block it. 5 springs will hold it in position or you can use a wood block, or both. With an artists brush, fill all the cracks with epoxy first.

 

[Slacker G]

The body I bought from GuitarFetish also broke lose, but the whole center section broke away. I turned it into a bullet strat.


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[MAS Tequila]

Listen to Surf, the bridge is lifting because there isn’t enough spring tension to counteract the strings.

If you have 10s or larger strings, run 9s, they require less tension.

I hate to have to say this, but, a newbie pulling on a trem arm is a problem waiting to happen.

The damage is most likely self inflicted.

Deck and or block that trem and that will be a great guitar to learn on.

 

[2k5Bullet]

When it happened, you needed to take advantage of the 2 year warranty since it's 6 months old. When you went in & glued things back together was when you voided the warranty for repairs you are not the authorized Certified Technician & Center. I think the bold blue items you were covered, but taking it upon yourself to repair it and it was all your's at that point, even though the damage may not have been anything you did beyond using the guitar as it was intended ? It may have taken more effort, but they probably would've replaced it completely in the 6 months on a $ 249.99 Affinity. Otherwise they would've sent a new body and had their Certified Tech at Authorized Service Center swap parts to that new body. You'd probably want that done that way anyhow, that way Fender/Squier is on the hook for neck fitment & any grounding & soldering of trem claw, output jack/loaded pickguard.

End of the day, #11 almost reads that if you perform your own set up, truss rod adjustment especially, the warranty is voided.

https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10002/Fender-Squier%20Brands%20Electric%20Guitar%202%20Year%20Limited%20Warranty%20REV%20JAN%202017.pdf

Limitations and exclusions
The following items are not covered by this Limited Warranty.
1. Fret wear, saddle wear, nut wear, strings and batteries.
2. Checking, shrinking, sinking, discoloration and ware of lacquer finishes.
3. Setups, adjustments or routine maintenance of any kind.
4. Damage to finishes or cracks, splitting, or warpage of wood due to changes in temperature or humidity, exposure to or
contact with sun, fire, moisture, body salts and acids of perspiration, guitar straps, guitar stands/hangers made from vinyl,
plastic, rubber or other synthetic materials, any other chemicals or non-Fender/Squier-approved polishes.
5. Damage, corrosion or rusting of any hardware components caused by humidity, salty air, or exposure to the moisture, body
salts and acids of perspiration.
6. Any damage to an instrument resulting from customization or modification.
7. Normal wear and tear on any part of the instrument, case or gig bag including jacks, controls, switches, plated surfaces,
tuning machines, pick-guards, zippers, clasps, handles, latches, case hardware etc.
8. All other damage and deterioration due to normal usage, wear and tear, aging, accidents, neglect, abuse, or Acts of Nature.
9. Any instrument, whose serial number is missing, altered or tampered with in any fashion.
10. Any instrument purchased from anyone other than an Authorized Fender/Squier Dealer.
11. Instruments that have been serviced by unauthorized persons (any person other than a Fender/Squier Certified Technician at
an Authorized Fender/Squier Service Center).

 

[menac1ty]

I did take it to them when i noticed the posts lifting up and the misaligned bridge
they said it's okay

 

[DougMen]

Strat vibratos are not Floyds, and are not meant to be used in extreme ways, like dive bombs pushing all the way down until the strings are slack. They are meant for putting vibrato on a note by pushing or pulling the bar a little bit, or for raising or lowering pitches by a small amount.

 

[SoCalJim]

Welcome aboard, @menac1ty! I hope all your guitar issues are sorted quickly so that you can get to enjoying it.

 

[menac1ty]

If you can live without use of the trem, I would say block it. 5 springs will hold it in position or you can use a wood block, or both. With an artists brush, fill all the cracks with epoxy first. View attachment 256301

I don't really use the bar in my playing style, like i said, even tho it was "working" i may have used it for a total of 15 times maybe, in 6 months.
So if I find a piece of wood and put it there, i won't be needing repairs?
What about things like Break Angle of the strings and some other things that people say "can only be right if the 2point trem system is floating and not blocked"

 

[2k5Bullet]

I did take it to them when i noticed the posts lifting up and the misaligned bridge
they said it's okay

I would've been the adamant consumer and demanded better service at that point, even gone as far as sending a photo to Fender/Squier customer service and even relayed what their Certified Technician at the Authorized Dealer/Service Center indicated to you as a lame reason for doing nothing about the problem. A 6 month old guitar that was used like you played shouldn't split or crack for a location that's intended to have a floating tremolo bridge. Hey, Fender/Squier's 2 year warranty is pretty weak when it's stacked up against Gibson/Epiphone's lifetime of the original owner & not transferrable warranty for even the sub $ 300 guitar. That's not to say you won't find a retail/dealer outlet that doesn't try to avoid a warranty issue just the same.

Epiphone Warranty Information

www.epiphone.com

 

[menac1ty]

I would've been the adamant consumer and demanded better service at that point, even gone as far as sending a photo to Fender/Squier customer service and even relayed what their Certified Technician at the Authorized Dealer/Service Center indicated to you as a lame reason for doing nothing about the problem. A 6 month old guitar that was used like you played shouldn't split or crack for a location that's intended to have a floating tremolo bridge. Hey, Fender/Squier's 2 year warranty is pretty weak when it's stacked up against Gibson/Epiphone's lifetime of the original owner & not transferrable warranty for even the sub $ 300 guitar. That's not to say you won't find a retail/dealer outlet that doesn't try to avoid a warranty issue just the same.

Epiphone Warranty Information

www.epiphone.com

yea, a couple of things:
A) I simply thought it's okay cause they said so; I didn't know any better.
B) I didn't see the crack at that time

and most of all, the guitar plays well, sounds well, stays in tune so good, even now. I had no reason to suspect there's a failure like that underneath.

 

[kdm1218]

I don't really use the bar in my playing style, like i said, even tho it was "working" i may have used it for a total of 15 times maybe, in 6 months.
So if I find a piece of wood and put it there, i won't be needing repairs?
What about things like Break Angle of the strings and some other things that people say "can only be right if the 2point trem system is floating and not blocked"

There are tons of Strat players who deck and block their trem. If you don’t plan on needing the bar, I’d block it and move on. You can always buy a new body pretty reasonable if down the road you want a working trem again.

 

[dpang2836]

GC did the same to me on a $1400 Tele. Just a Switch problem that was Intermittent. Fender blew me off and told to go 61 miles round trip to GC. Of course it was working at the time and told they can't fix what ain't broke. I almost broke his face! Last time I bought anything American Fender! Glue it and Dock It! 😍 Here is a Post on Strat Talk about repair!

I need to fix 2-point tremolo attachment holes

Hello everybody, I have an S-Type Cort guitar with damaged holes, the ones for the tremolo posts. The posts have forced on the wood and the wood is broken. They are not firmly attached to the body, they have moved in direction of the neck. In fact they don't go further thanks to the...

www.strat-talk.com

 

[DougMen]

I would've been the adamant consumer and demanded better service at that point, even gone as far as sending a photo to Fender/Squier customer service and even relayed what their Certified Technician at the Authorized Dealer/Service Center indicated to you as a lame reason for doing nothing about the problem. A 6 month old guitar that was used like you played shouldn't split or crack for a location that's intended to have a floating tremolo bridge. Hey, Fender/Squier's 2 year warranty is pretty weak when it's stacked up against Gibson/Epiphone's lifetime of the original owner & not transferrable warranty for even the sub $ 300 guitar. That's not to say you won't find a retail/dealer outlet that doesn't try to avoid a warranty issue just the same.

Epiphone Warranty Information

www.epiphone.com

First of all, why are you showing a link to Epiphone's warranty info?
Secondly, Fender US will not be responsible for any warranty issues he has, the Fender distributor in his country will be, because he's in Iran, not in the US!