Who here never uses the trem bar on your Strats?

[faizal_rocks]

I hardly use mine even though my Squier Standard Strat comes with Wilkinson trem bridge, Wilkinson tuners and Graphtech nut. I find that even with one push on the bar causes it go sharp n when I bend strings, they go flat again. When I push on the bar, it goes back in tune. Strange haha

Now I know, why Jimi Hendrix, being a heavy Strat trem user, had to retune his Strat quite a no of times from the videos I`ve seen.

Is there a solution for this or u guys just ditch the trem bar as u find it useless?

 

[subversion]

i have assigned mt Strats to specific uses:

*when playing whammy stuff: 50th Ann Strat
*no whammy: ST72/ Highway1

 

[celahircelebrindal]

Pretty strange....happened to me when i change to new strings( new string needs to be stretched) but after a while it stayed in tune.Is it always like that for you Faizal?

 

[bin4christ]

i got the same prob too.. but my tuners r crap ones..

i hardly use my trem, being the playing styles i pursue are those of paul gilbert, slash and zakk wylde..

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

Hey Faizal, have you tried locking tuners? I'm using locking tuners and I don't seem to be having major problems (still goes a few cents sharp/flat occasionally) even though my nut/bridge/saddles of my Yamaha pacifica are stock. Mine's the Wilkinson manual locking ones which are quite cheap from Standard Value.

I'm gonna upgrade my nut and saddles to graphtech ones soon though...

 

[kahuna]

i got the same prob too.. but my tuners r crap ones..

i hardly use my trem, being the playing styles i pursue are those of paul gilbert, slash and zakk wylde..

thats quite normal, because you did not stretch the strings properly before you use them

 

[Jiterator]

there are quite a few remedies u can find on the net for making a strat stay in tune.. but most people recommend the guide on the official Fender website, which specifically tells you how to setup your bridge height etc.. i tried it and found it is quite effective! but only when the strings are relatively new.. haha

 

[Whitestrat]

When I have a whammy bar available, I use it. When I don't, I do without...

 

[Whitestrat]

I find that even with one push on the bar causes it go sharp n when I bend strings, they go flat again. When I push on the bar, it goes back in tune. Strange haha

Oh, and BTW, this is normal with most trems. Some trems are very stable, and some aren't. Many Ibanez Edge FRs have this issue, as do some floated trems on Fenders.

So the main thing to do is everytme you divebomb, just yank it up quickly to stablise the trem.

 

[faizal_rocks]

MadWereWolfBoy: I am using those Wilkinson ez lok tuners.

 

[faizal_rocks]

So the main thing to do is everytme you divebomb, just yank it up quickly to stablise the trem.

But when I do that n bend the strings, they go out of tune. And when I decided not to use the trem anymore, I took out the trem bar n re-stretch the strings (not new) n bending strings has no tuning problems at all. Strange eh?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

Is your bridge employing a 2 point contact knife edge?

 

[Ized]

my 57 strat stays in tune pretty well even with only 3 springs. prolly cos it was set up by master beez. he even set it so i could do pull ups on the trem and it would still stay in tune.

p.s heavier strings help too. I use .10s so it stays in tune better tham .9s

 

[KennethC]

my 57 strat stays in tune pretty well even with only 3 springs. prolly cos it was set up by master beez. he even set it so i could do pull ups on the trem and it would still stay in tune.

p.s heavier strings help too. I use .10s so it stays in tune better tham .9s

+1, If you're not doing divebombs or other heavy pulls on the whammy bar, a good setup and decent hardware i.e. tuners/nut/bridge/saddles/strings will allow for a stable floating trem config. I tend to incorporate some of the whammy into my playing at church - sometimes you want the shimmery or slightly wackier stuff too. I have mine setup to allow abt 1.5 steps of pitch variance.

 

[faizal_rocks]

Too bad I can't play .10s at all, I`m so used to .9s

Maybe my strat needs a resetup?

 

[Ized]

+1, If you're not doing divebombs or other heavy pulls on the whammy bar, a good setup and decent hardware i.e. tuners/nut/bridge/saddles/strings will allow for a stable floating trem config. I tend to incorporate some of the whammy into my playing at church - sometimes you want the shimmery or slightly wackier stuff too. I have mine setup to allow abt 1.5 steps of pitch variance.

im not sure what hardware is mine cos my strat is completely stock except for a orange drop cap change and a dimarzio fast track 2 swapped in the bridge position. I do know that my tuners are the Schaller F-tuners though, can be found on the japanese fender webby. I find the tuners rather stiff when doing turns, maybe this is incremental towards keeping my strat in tune? Cos i do abuse my trem bar quite abit......like ritchie blackmore or malmsteem.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

I barely used my tremolo (almost never, in fact) so I had it hardtailed :mrgreen:

But if I want to do heavy whammy stuff, I'd only trust an Ibanez ZR, EDGE or original Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo. I won't really trust a synchronized tremolo because there's no locking nut, no fine-tuning, etc.

 

[HIMYNAMEISARTHUR]

do you let ur bridge float?if it does u shld end ur whammy with a pull up or u could do wad i do flush the bridge to the body....i use 5 trem springs as well...

 

[faizal_rocks]

Mine`s flushed to the body..maybe I need more than 3 springs? haha

 

[HIMYNAMEISARTHUR]

yup no harm to try...its more stable...but if u have lighter gauge of strings try not to put too many...it would be damn hard to whammy..i use .11 or .12s..so its easier