Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

ESPRockBeast

ESPRockBeast

New member
Anyone got any tips, for getting your Strat to stay in tune after using the trem-bar? I know I could throw sum "nut sauce" at the nut and bridge, or even get get some Graphtech saddles and nut. Maybe locking tuners. But I swear I've seen guys playing their axe with stock parts without the the G and B going sharp.

10-46 and 4 springs.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Here are a few tips from EVH circa 1978: Set up the guitar so that the bridge rests on the body (bar only moves down), and use a brass nut with the slots cut extra wide. Or you could use nut sauce and locking tuners. I have a Charvel model 4 with a Kahler Pro set up with a graphite nut, nut sauce, and locking Sperzels and I never have tuning problems.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

i've yet to find a way to keep my strats in tune... as close as i have come is Warmoth strat i have that has a Fender American Standard bridge, bone nut and some locking tuners.. But even then some other things help... like not using string trees at all.... some pencil lead... One thing that helps too is E Flat tuning.... less pressure on the nut... I've tried the EVH wraping the strings up the tuner to take some pressure off the nut too...

In the end a non-locking trem will not work like a floyd..... or at least as well... I've seen some famous Strat players using their stock strats like Floyds and they can stay in tune pretty good... How i have no idea..
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Tune your guitar with your bar. Like tune, give it a couple hits, tune etc. After 2 or so times it should stay in tune nicely! Get used to your guitar and know it's limits and how it like to be tuned.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

The biggest factor is a properly cut nut and use Nut Sauce at all string to bridge and string to nut and trees to lessen friction points...After that it's learning to live with the quirks of a strat...
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

There are several things you can do.

Locking tuners or properly wrapped tuners
Properly cut nut - probably the BIGGEST factor
Properly machined and adjusted pivot points for the bridge (if it's a trem)
Proper breakover across the saddles

There are a lot of tricks - some work well some don't. None are really acceptable substitutes for a good setup.

My two strats stay in tune pretty well. Not like my Jackson, though. ;)
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Probably the best thing you could do is to take it to a reputable tech and have a proper set up done, specifically asking for nut work.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

some times it seems like it's a real crap shoot ... I have strats that stay in tune pretty well, and others that don't .. and they're all set up well, with properly cut and lubed nuts

I like to set the trem floating, more or less to Fender specs.
besides the things mentioned, lube all moving parts, and develop a light touch on the trem

sooner or later, you'll be retuning though

BTW, one of the best articles I've read on this was something that SRV's tech, Rene Martinez wrote

http://www.tangledupinblues.com/setup.html
 
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Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Curly said:
some times it seems like it's a real crap shoot ... I have strats that stay in tune pretty well, and others that don't .. and they're all set up well, with properly cut and lubed nuts

I like to set the trem floating, more or less to Fender specs.
besides the things mentioned, lube all moving parts, and develop a light touch on the trem

sooner or later, you'll be retuning though

BTW, one of the best articles I've read on this was something that SRV's tech, Rene Martinez wrote

http://www.tangledupinblues.com/setup.html
Click to expand...


I'm like you buddy,in that I Like the bridge to be at about 1/8 to 3/32" measured from the bottom of the bridge to the body and I Like 3 springs in a fan pattern in the spring cavity...To me a strat feels right with the bridge floating...As long as I don't do EVH dive bombs,my strats return to pitch pretty well,especially after you bend a string after using the whammy bar...I too find the G string to be the one that causes me the most grief but I get by and live with it....I do most of my vibrato with my hands and fingers anyway and only use the vibrato bar on occasion,in fact most times I leave the bar off cause it gets in my way...
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Most of my problems with tuning went away after one or the other (or both) solutions:

1. Suck it up and get better saddles (despite my lack of belief in their importance, I found a major shift in tone and reliability once I spent some decent money on this inconspicuous part...I bought titanium ones)

2. Ditch the string tree (I tried graphite, metal, etc. Nothing ever helped until I took it off. The problem was that I then needed to get staggered tuners that took care of intonation issues...I got the cheap W's from guitarfetish.com and they worked for me...YMMV)

I hope this helps.

Z
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

I've never had much luck, then I realized I NEVER use the whammy bar, so i had it blocked. I don't mind the way it feels so for me... problem solved. If I ever get in the mood to play music where I would use a whammy, I'd probably go with a floyd equipped guitar.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

PaulReedSmith said:
take a pencil....grind off some graphite....place it UNDER the strings in the nut
Click to expand...

I hear that.

Everybody has there own mojo and specifics that works for some and not for others.

I do what PRS says and it works great for me. Maybe it's how you set up your bridge too. I use three springs, bridge flush to body, and the screws from A to B backed up and slackened from the bridgeplate while both E screws are adjusted to taste. I also use Callaham T-bar systems, or a combination of Fender Vintage & Callaham units and my wiggle stick stays in tune really well, even with heavy dives (I have to stretch it back with a slight bend every once in a while but it's become so natural that I rarely make notice.) Oh yeah, I also make sure that the underside to the string tree is sanded/filed smooth for less friction, and use bone nuts as well. It may be a combination of factors, but stay on top, you'll get it.

BTW, make sure your strings are stretched well, and it may work for ya too.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Since I put locking tuners on mine, they've been keeping tune really well. They spend most of their time on 'wall hangers'.

Always stretch your strings well when you put them on, and give them a while to settle in.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

On my Squier, I put on a graphite nut, a set of GraphTech Ferra Glide saddles, and I skip the string trees when restringing. I also found it helpful to turn the bar around in circles until it falls off, and then put it in a drawer.
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

Get the nut cut right, if using stringtrees I relocate it to the G-string post, using those newer Fender guides instead of the vintage ones...if keeping the post the same place, I then get some staggered tuners, that is the best sollution, no tree to drag the string, using Gotoh bridges only.
Their saddles are great, I am getting a VSVG bridge for my HW-1 strat, right now I use an old 80's Gotoh vintage bridge with old ESP steel saddles...but those are close to being worn out now...once in a while I sand them for small grooves.
I always keep my bridge floating on normal strats....I like to do the Beck thing, raising the pitch and so.
I only use to springs(hard ones)
That is how they have for almost 2 decades now, and use the same string brand as well.
Never save on strings....it is no good!
 
Re: Tips For Keeping Your Strat in Tune??

oh btw...the best pencil to use for that sort of thing I mentioned is a 2B or softer pencil.
 
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