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Strat Trem Set-up


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Looking for tips for adjusting the trem on a strat. I've changed to heavier strings and adjusted the trem to spec, the back elevated 1/8" off the body. Adjusted the truss rod after a settling in period, then let it settle a few days again for good measure. Neck relief is where I want it. The action and pickup heights are right at Fender's specs, at least for a starting point. I adjusted the intonation and it's spot on. The trem is good except two strings don't come back in tune after using it. The low E is a little flat, and the G is a little sharp. I'm guessing I may need to slightly tighten the claw screw on the bass side, and slightly loosen the one on the treble side. However, I'm thinking that may mess up the 1st and 2nd string tuning. I may wind up setting it flush to the body, and that would probably make things easier, but I'd like to try and get it right floating first. I probably need to have the string slots in the nut widened as well, but I don't have the right files for that.  Any thoughts?  

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Are the springs in the back straight .are is one straight and the other two angled. you might have to make the all straight and tighten up the high side a little bit more

Edited by Blue Dog
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The center spring is straight and the two outside are angled. I'll change them to all straight and see if that helps. Thanks very much.

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You might have to pencil  the nut to get some graphite on it. and set the trem  flush with the body and set it back by turning the screws the same amount of turns each side.  They say that the trem should when pull out or up should change the note played up one note and some people say two notes. mine is set one note about a 1/8 inche.  if that don't fix it then is probably the nut. Good luck.

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I changed the spring configuration to where all three are straight and put some graphite in the string slots. It's better, but still not there. The G comes back just a little sharp, and the B a little sharper still, but the high E comes back in tune, so that's a little mystifying. I'll give it some more playing time and see if it improves. Thanks again.

Edited by Mike Hoodenpyle
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Set the G and B string Back to the right tone. are flat and see if it come back up to sharp are right tone. when they are sharp are they sharp at the 12th fret to. if not then the intonation is off. you might have to set the intonation a few times to get it right as the guitar will adjust to the climate. Good Luck.

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Double checked the intonation and it's good to go. The B string, however, is now going back in tune and only the G string is a little sharp. 

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As blue dog says ...it more than likely the nut. Similar things happen on my strat if i dont lubricate the nut enough. It may be sticking slightly due to you going up a guage. You might need to make the slot just a tiny bit wider on the G string.

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I widened the strings slots slightly with sandpaper, very carefully. They may still be a little too tight, but I didn't want to go too far. Then I lubed the slots with graphite. Spent a lot of time trying to balance the tension and I probably have it as close as I'm going to get it. Sometimes it comes back in tune, others times the B is just a little sharp and the other five are good. It seems to me this type of platform would be nearly impossible to stay in tune all the time. I'll play it a while as is, but will probably wind up setting the bridge flush to the body in the long run. Thanks for your help guys.

 

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I still suspect that the nut is to blame. It might be worth putting the original  guage strings on just for an experiment to see if it cures it. If it does then its just a 10 minute job for a luthier to adjust it for heavier guage strings. My favourite guitar is an 89 squier with a floating trem and it stays in tune very well. One thing i find helps quite a lot when im tuning it is to pull/push the trem a few times ... and also a few bends on the G string before I start to tune. Once its dialled in it tends to stay pretty stable.

Edited by Ice9
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Hi Mike , Here is a tip you can use mite help with the nut. Loosen up the G and B string. Clean the graphite off and take the D string or the A string of the old set and run it back and forth  in the G and B groove a few time and it should widen it out. try not to pull down lust straight back and forth. Re graphite back up and replace strings

 

 P.s Check the tuners and make sure they are tight even the screws that hold the knobs on if it has them and the two  metal tabs that hold the strings down. make sure they are straight. when changing string check tuner a see if they are loose. I have took my tuners a part and greased them with a Q tip.

Edited by Blue Dog
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I'll work on the nut some more next time I change strings. The set that's on it now are virtually brand new, so I'll just play it as is for a while. Fender claims their Bullet strings help with tuning stability. Is there any truth to that?  I have locking tuners and I've checked them out, so I don't think they're an issue.

Thanks again guys.

 

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Hey guys,

The nut is usually the culprit for strings going out of tune. If the strings happen to go sharp, I would check the 6 screws that anchor the trem or keep it slightly floating. The bridge must have a zero point to come back to at all times; if its not the case, the screws hang/hold up the bridge in slightly differing areas after its used causing it to go sharp or flat. With that said, the nut gets the attention first. Also, if the nut is cut properly, there should be no need to lubricate the slot.

Best,

-Greg

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Thanks, Greg. I'll work on the nut some more when I get a chance and see how it goes. This guitar has a two-screw bridge.

 

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I use Nut Sauce every time I change the strings. I agree with Blue Dog, you should tighten everything and check occasionally. 

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Hope you get it working like you want.

FWIW, I just set the trem on my '95 AmStd Strat to float from having it decked for the past several years.  I first set it with the springs straight and was impressed with how well it went back to tune even after some crazy dive bombs.  Then I angled the springs to see if there was any difference.  The strings were all a touch sharp from the added tension but once re-tuned to pitch, the guitar again had pretty good tuning stability, Knock on wood, I don't jinx myself and start having problems!

 

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Hello folks,

My 2 cents,

If your strings ever go sharp after trem use, the culprit is usually the nut slot not being cut properly for the string. The nut hangs up the string on its way back to its neutral/zero marker. That would be the natural position after the strings are tuned to pitch and the trem screws at the claw or springs are adjusted.

-Greg

 

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My apologies!!

Still working on navigating the site..

I hope the fix was easy enough.

-G

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