Tremolo Tension: The Secret to a Great Strat

pharmd07 said:
I’m not sure if I want to go through the process of making my own nut. I may just have to make the 4 hour drive to have a luthier take care of this.
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It's just widening the slots - running a hundred-bucks of files through them ...once ... :0) ...But if you get the angle wrong then you can get twang and other such problems.

I seem to remember that my last Strat came strung with 9s? I installed 10's straight out of the box and wasn't overly impressed with tuning stability (pretty horrible as I recall). I replaced the stock nut with a brass nut - but you have to shape and contour pretty-much all new nuts (even Fender nuts), which can be a PIA if you don't have the right tools and equipment, And size the slots.

Like you say.. You can forgo all the fun-stuff if you know a guy .. :0) ..

Best of luck with it.
 
Mark-B said:
It's just widening the slots - running a hundred-bucks of files through them ...once ... :0) ...But if you get the angle wrong then you can get twang and other such problems.

I seem to remember that my last Strat came strung with 9s? I installed 10's straight out of the box and wasn't overly impressed with tuning stability (pretty horrible as I recall). I replaced the stock nut with a brass nut - but you have to shape and contour pretty-much all new nuts (even Fender nuts), which can be a PIA if you don't have the right tools and equipment, And size the slots.

Like you say.. You can forgo all the fun-stuff if you know a guy .. :0) ..

Best of luck with it.
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One day I may give it a go and try to fix the nut. Maybe install a Tusq nut. For now I’m starting to feel like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick. I was happy with my Strat with the string decked and I don’t want to be obsessed with the floating trem option if it ends up costing me a ton of time and money.

Overall this has been a fun experiment. Thanks again for your help!
 
pharmd07 said:
One day I may give it a go and try to fix the nut. Maybe install a Tusq nut. For now I’m starting to feel like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick. I was happy with my Strat with the string decked and I don’t want to be obsessed with the floating trem option if it ends up costing me a ton of time and money.

Overall this has been a fun experiment. Thanks again for your help!
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Oh, You're most welcome. :0)
 
I need to know one string . if you bend it is it flat after the bend. don't do anything else or touch the trem.
 
THEN; one string hit the open g and press down the bar (only about a tone) when you let the bar back up is the not now sharp . Don't do anything else to mitigate.
 
pharmd07 said:
So how does one set up a Strat tremolo to stay in tune when it’s floating?

I have an American Professional Strat and its tremolo was floating when it was new. It constantly went out of tune. This drove me crazy and the tremolo was absolutely unusable. I just ended up decking it.

As an experiment, I replaced the stamped steel saddles with the new Wilkinson Locking Saddles (as seen on the Suhr Pete Thorn signature guitar). There was no real improvement in my Strat’s tremolo stability.

I have the two post American Professional tremolo (upgraded with locking saddles, as I mentioned) and locking tuners. The guitar is only about 1 year old, so knife edges likely aren’t worn.

So from what I’m seeing from you guys, the key is having a unique nut material, like Tusq or an LSR nut. Correct?

What about string trees? Did you guys remove or replace them to get your Strat tremolo to stay in tune? If you replaced the string tree, what did you replace it with?

Going to a luthier is a possibility for me, albeit a difficult one. The closest one is a long drive and I don’t have the time to make the trip. So I’m trying to figure this out on my own.
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I have a 2005 American Deluxe V-Neck with stock locking tuners, 2-post bridge, saddles and nut with very stable tuning. It has 3 springs, I noticed yours has 2, can't say that it would make that big of a difference but worth exploring. I also have my bridge more parallel to the body than the Fender specs recommend.
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Show a pic of that view as well because your two posts may be screwed down too much. That would screw everything.
 
Andy Eagle said:
THEN; one string hit the open g and press down the bar (only about a tone) when you let the bar back up is the not now sharp . Don't do anything else to mitigate.
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I don’t have the guitar nearby anymore, but I’m almost certain the note was still flat after pressing down on the bar.
 
Polish it with cotton and dental floss soaked in T-cut until the slot is shiny. Be carful to not round off the contact point on the fingerboard side much but do on the headstock side.
 
pharmd07 said:
Ok, just tried this. Didn't solve my problem.

I tune up every string. Then I bend ANY string and ALL strings go flat. Then I quickly jerk up on the floating tremolo and suddenly all my strings are in tune again. I'm not even doing large bends, only 1/2 to 1 whole step.

This has got to be a nut problem. I can't think of any other explanation. The strings are locked at the bridge and at the tuner. String tree present/absent makes no difference. Then again, I'm no guitar setup expert!
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Nut slots that are too narrow and deep, even if lubed, can often bind....
 
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