Strat Tremolo question

[CaboWabo]

Hey guys recently i've been starting to use my tremolo on my strat quite a bit and i noticed that when ever if i were to use the trem be it wanking it like no body business or using it slightly the tuning tends to sharpen
any idea how i can fix this?

Fyi I do stretch my strings

 

[Lolcakes]

rub graphite into the nut slots the next time you change your strings

 

[CaboWabo]

dont mind sharing why graphite? im pretty curious

 

[mightyboy88]

graphite is kind of like a lubricant.

strings go out of tune sometimes when there is friction with the string against the slot of the nut.

by applying graphite you can "lubricate" the nut, no pun intended, so that when your string slides along the slot of the nut(as you whammy) the string returns to a neutral position everytime and hence stays in tune

U can buy professional graphite paste or make your own by shaving pencil lead into a powdery form and mixing it with abit of lip balm paste to create your own graphite paste alternatively you can change to a graphite nut e.g. tusq nut which is made of graphite so the nut is permanently lubricated

 

[Vax]

Carl Verheyen has an excellent setup tip that works for me, if you wish to explore this option instead of buying stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-F7iSIopA

It's pretty self-explanatory and straight-forward.

 

[mightyboy88]

great tip!

perfectly make sense to have a consistent spring to string tension

@vax bro, how do you make a strat floating though? mine is the vintage bridge with 6 screws. to float it do you raise all 6 screws? or anchor it on the 2 far end screws?

Carl Verheyen has an excellent setup tip that works for me, if you wish to explore this option instead of buying stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-F7iSIopA

It's pretty self-explanatory and straight-forward.

 

[Vax]

I think all that's required is to loosen the springs to a point where the strings pull the bridge off the body, it can be done with any bridge (my strat also has a vintage bridge). After that, it's a matter of preference depending on the string gauge. I play with 9's and maybe that's why it was easier for me, I haven't tried with heavier gauges which will have a stronger string pull.

 

[zac89]

I do the same carl verheyen thing on my strat as well, and it never goes out of tune. I generally leave the 4 middle screws on the bridge loose, and the 2 outer screws are tightened. i'm using 10's. It did take me quite a while, but once you have it down, its really worth the time.

 

[CaboWabo]

ahhh this is really a pain in the neck
i managed to get it to stay in tune when im using the trem but the problem now is that it goes outta tune seconds after i do a few bends here and there thn i gotta get it back to tune by wanking the trem bar which is freaking not practical at all argg any idea what went wrong?

 

[zesn]

^ like my ibanez rg. >.>
hopefully yours not a hardware prob.
if not damn sian

 

[CaboWabo]

Doubt so it's not that old, and besides i didnt really used the trem much up till now...
I was thinking maybe its the friction problems with the saddles like the few goodfellas above posted but thn again i dont wanna buy a new graphite and pay for the installation and at the end of the day the problem is still there
I tried adjusting the claw springs but simply ended back at square one...
dam it i think i'll just bring it to a tech when i have the spare cash

 

[mightyboy88]

Doubt so it's not that old, and besides i didnt really used the trem much up till now...
I was thinking maybe its the friction problems with the saddles like the few goodfellas above posted but thn again i dont wanna buy a new graphite and pay for the installation and at the end of the day the problem is still there
I tried adjusting the claw springs but simply ended back at square one...
dam it i think i'll just bring it to a tech when i have the spare cash

The claw spring adjustment tip would probably only work if you work on it really meticulously. aka set it up at a point where you pull the trem up and tuning is a one semitone higher than the neutral position . if u only adjusted the claw springs to have a slanted shape it probably wouldnt have much improvement over your initial setup.

You can try the 2B pencil+lip balm mixture tip as a cheap alternative to installing a graphite nut