Strat going out of tune solutions?
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
graphite or nut sauce can work wonders.
some of it can be the way the trem was set up, as well.
if U have the springs slacked off to the point that U like, what U have to do is this...
measure the space between the back of the trem and the body of the guitar. this presupposes that U are using a free floating setup like leo intended the strat to be used and like U never see strats come from the factory. so, measure that space and then make a block that is that same dimension. place the block under the back of the trem and tune the guitar. remove the block and then note how much the guitar has gone out of tune and which strings have gone out of tune the most. for example, if U take the block out and the guitar goes sharp a little more on the treble strings than the base strings, U have to loosen the treble side springs a little more than the bass side strings. U then place the block under the trem again and put the guitar in tune and then take it out and check the tuning again and adjust the springs as indicated. U wanna do this several times until U can take the block out and the guitar is perfectly in tune. with this setup and proper nut lube anything short of dive bombing will allow U to use the trem bar w/ impunity.
i have mine set up fairly high so that the trem bar is very loose feeling, somewhat like a bigsby in the way that it responds. no, it doesn't respond well to bending strings, but part of the technique that i use on the strat is that when i do bend strings i wobble the arm back and forth to blur that 'harmonic inconsistency'. i also like occasionally pressing the heel of hand on the bridge to bend notes and chords 'up'.
if i want to use a lot of bends w/o the tuning problems from a floating trem, i play a tele.
some of it can be the way the trem was set up, as well.
if U have the springs slacked off to the point that U like, what U have to do is this...
measure the space between the back of the trem and the body of the guitar. this presupposes that U are using a free floating setup like leo intended the strat to be used and like U never see strats come from the factory. so, measure that space and then make a block that is that same dimension. place the block under the back of the trem and tune the guitar. remove the block and then note how much the guitar has gone out of tune and which strings have gone out of tune the most. for example, if U take the block out and the guitar goes sharp a little more on the treble strings than the base strings, U have to loosen the treble side springs a little more than the bass side strings. U then place the block under the trem again and put the guitar in tune and then take it out and check the tuning again and adjust the springs as indicated. U wanna do this several times until U can take the block out and the guitar is perfectly in tune. with this setup and proper nut lube anything short of dive bombing will allow U to use the trem bar w/ impunity.
i have mine set up fairly high so that the trem bar is very loose feeling, somewhat like a bigsby in the way that it responds. no, it doesn't respond well to bending strings, but part of the technique that i use on the strat is that when i do bend strings i wobble the arm back and forth to blur that 'harmonic inconsistency'. i also like occasionally pressing the heel of hand on the bridge to bend notes and chords 'up'.
if i want to use a lot of bends w/o the tuning problems from a floating trem, i play a tele.
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13,262 Posts
I noticed recently with an ultra cheepy guitar ( found in the garbage on Borden St. in Toronto by the way) that the strings sometimes go slighty out of tune, but up, not down. A good bend and they're back. This tells me that the problem in this particular case is the string getting stuck in the nut. I've noticed this to a far lesser degree in my semi hollow body.
Plan A - get some nut sauce or an HB pencil or whatever.
Plan B - I'll think of one if plan A doesn't work
Plan A - get some nut sauce or an HB pencil or whatever.
Plan B - I'll think of one if plan A doesn't work
If only I knew what I know now before I carved up some nice guitars to install floyds and kahlers.
What's tuning without tone??????? radio in 2006, but that's another issue.....
I never believed that a traditional trem could work until we started selling high end strat type guitars.....we get Vigiers shipped from France via FedEx that come out of the bubble wrap in perfect tune, same with the Suhrs from California and a Callaham trem equipped Frankenstrat arrived via Canada Post, perfectly in tune. The Callaham is beyond belief and a tribute to Leo's genius.
The key is a proper setup,....which is a rare thing at some music stores. Nut sauce helps but here's a few other things to do...... the folcrum must be properly set up and not worn, string trees may best be replaced either by rollers or better yet, staggered tuner posts (check out the Fender Eric Johnson). The trem block must not allow the string ball end to shift and the strings can't be shot......between forums and google, all the 'trade secrets" are there for free!!!
That being said, I hope to report back on a Hamer I dekahlered and replaced with a Ghost/midi Stetsbar system .....that into my Polyevolver Rack is going to be sick.
Andy
What's tuning without tone??????? radio in 2006, but that's another issue.....
I never believed that a traditional trem could work until we started selling high end strat type guitars.....we get Vigiers shipped from France via FedEx that come out of the bubble wrap in perfect tune, same with the Suhrs from California and a Callaham trem equipped Frankenstrat arrived via Canada Post, perfectly in tune. The Callaham is beyond belief and a tribute to Leo's genius.
The key is a proper setup,....which is a rare thing at some music stores. Nut sauce helps but here's a few other things to do...... the folcrum must be properly set up and not worn, string trees may best be replaced either by rollers or better yet, staggered tuner posts (check out the Fender Eric Johnson). The trem block must not allow the string ball end to shift and the strings can't be shot......between forums and google, all the 'trade secrets" are there for free!!!
That being said, I hope to report back on a Hamer I dekahlered and replaced with a Ghost/midi Stetsbar system .....that into my Polyevolver Rack is going to be sick.
Andy
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5,740 Posts
...andy has opened the proverbial can o' worms. there is no quick and easy solution to getting a strat to hold its tuning, and if you're using a six-screw trem, you have years of research and trial and error ahead of you, although i have been told that the prs style trem works quite well. it has six screws, but i'm not sure that it is a floating system.sysexguy said:If only I knew what I know now before I carved up some nice guitars to install floyds and kahlers.
What's tuning without tone??????? radio in 2006, but that's another issue.....
I never believed that a traditional trem could work until we started selling high end strat type guitars.....we get Vigiers shipped from France via FedEx that come out of the bubble wrap in perfect tune, same with the Suhrs from California and a Callaham trem equipped Frankenstrat arrived via Canada Post, perfectly in tune. The Callaham is beyond belief and a tribute to Leo's genius.
The key is a proper setup,....which is a rare thing at some music stores. Nut sauce helps but here's a few other things to do...... the folcrum must be properly set up and not worn, string trees may best be replaced either by rollers or better yet, staggered tuner posts (check out the Fender Eric Johnson). The trem block must not allow the string ball end to shift and the strings can't be shot......between forums and google, all the 'trade secrets" are there for free!!!
That being said, I hope to report back on a Hamer I dekahlered and replaced with a Ghost/midi Stetsbar system .....that into my Polyevolver Rack is going to be sick.
Andy
i bought a strat plus as soon as they were introduced. it has a (floating) two-point fulcrum. i spent a number of years researching and doing considerable trial and error, and the result is that i have a guitar that stays in tune as well, or better than, any non-trem guitar i have ever tried. here's what worked for me:
1. sperzel locking tuners
2. lsr roller bearing nut
3. graph tech saddles
4. proper trem bridge set up, angle (parallel to body) etc
5. most important: "stretch-tune-stretch-tune-stretch-tune until stable" tuning method. first i do a few dive bombs. then i physically stretch the strings, then give the bar one more wiggle, then i tune. i repeat this procedeure again and again until every string is perfectly in tune (or damn close).
finally, i doubt that you will get a cheap guitar with a floating trem to stay in tune, although i'd be happy to be proven wrong.
-dh
sysexguy said:
+1000
:food-smiley-004:Dont be afraid to mess with your guitar, try the things I suggest in this thread: http://guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=1647 and dont give up untill it stays in tune, it may take a week of tweeking but no one else will spend that kind of time on YOUR guitar. What is the point of having a trem that doesn't work??? If you cant get it to be perfectly stable you can at least make it usable.
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319 Posts
Strat Tuning
Another thing is that strings do a twisting motion while you are tightening the tuners upon installing a new set of strings. what I do with my strat is actually hold the ball end and twist it the opposite or counterclockwise for every couple of turns of the tuning key. Of course the less string wrap you put on the post the less you have to do this but my preference is to put a lot of string around the post. Ive seen guys tie their their strings on use only one wrap or two.......which is a "to each his own" type of thing but there has to be a lot of wraps I think. I pencil lead and 3 in 1 oil the nut.........and its a vintage type six screw bridge but i remove the four inner screws so its the low and high e that are the main contact points. Its floating and if it goes out .....i just pull it sharp or flat depending on which strings...........i'm not in perfect tune but i'm close
Ray
Another thing is that strings do a twisting motion while you are tightening the tuners upon installing a new set of strings. what I do with my strat is actually hold the ball end and twist it the opposite or counterclockwise for every couple of turns of the tuning key. Of course the less string wrap you put on the post the less you have to do this but my preference is to put a lot of string around the post. Ive seen guys tie their their strings on use only one wrap or two.......which is a "to each his own" type of thing but there has to be a lot of wraps I think. I pencil lead and 3 in 1 oil the nut.........and its a vintage type six screw bridge but i remove the four inner screws so its the low and high e that are the main contact points. Its floating and if it goes out .....i just pull it sharp or flat depending on which strings...........i'm not in perfect tune but i'm close
Ray
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565 Posts
Hey guys,
I've been having the same problem on my Strat. I was wondering if the amount of tremolo springs has any effect on the guitar going out of tune. I currently have 4. Anytime i use the whammy bar it goes out of tune badly, more so the G string.
I've been having the same problem on my Strat. I was wondering if the amount of tremolo springs has any effect on the guitar going out of tune. I currently have 4. Anytime i use the whammy bar it goes out of tune badly, more so the G string.
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1,381 Posts
David Henman has posted all of my solutions save one,
Make a metal plate to go under your bridge. It sandwhiches between the bridge and the body of the guitar (it will have 6 holes in it of course), and it provides a more consistent surface to allow the bridge to return to the same neutral position after use. You can always take it out to return to stock as it mounts using the bridge screws.
I have recently done some R&D on this problem and other than using a locking, graphite or roller nut (as most binding problems seem to happen at the head end) and roller string tees, this made the second best improvement over all. If you are noticing pinging from the headstock area when using the bar, concentrate your efforts there first.
However, I woud sumize that if your body was made of some realy solid hardwood, this would make little difference (the plate that is).
In the end I chose to abandon these types of bridges in favour of post mounted bridges, as in the end they are cheaper and easier to deal with in the long run.
At best, I could only get these bridges to stay in tune under light to moderate bar use, which is probably good enough for those who are fans of these bridges in the first place.
Make a metal plate to go under your bridge. It sandwhiches between the bridge and the body of the guitar (it will have 6 holes in it of course), and it provides a more consistent surface to allow the bridge to return to the same neutral position after use. You can always take it out to return to stock as it mounts using the bridge screws.
I have recently done some R&D on this problem and other than using a locking, graphite or roller nut (as most binding problems seem to happen at the head end) and roller string tees, this made the second best improvement over all. If you are noticing pinging from the headstock area when using the bar, concentrate your efforts there first.
However, I woud sumize that if your body was made of some realy solid hardwood, this would make little difference (the plate that is).
In the end I chose to abandon these types of bridges in favour of post mounted bridges, as in the end they are cheaper and easier to deal with in the long run.
At best, I could only get these bridges to stay in tune under light to moderate bar use, which is probably good enough for those who are fans of these bridges in the first place.
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