I have 3 players....2 strats and a tele. They all had tuning problems.... I put in a roller nut, set to the proper height and moved the touch point up to 1 1/8 inch from the first fret wire, roller string tree, locking tuners and 5 springs on the tremelo. END of tuning problems. I gig mine and they are all very close to perfect. Moving the nut up a touch and having the right action at the first fret FIXED the tendency to be sharp at the 3rd and 5th fret if tuned at the nut (open strings). Intonated and set up right and they're damn near perfect all over the fretboard now. I also tune at the fifth fret just for good measure....sweet sounds everywhere. I added a 9 volt EMG booster for great gain and a touch more volume for leads and could not be happier with my players.
Raising the string tree will reduce binding. Stretching new strings will also check binding at the nut. Proper setting of the tremlo bridge usually isn't the source of going out of tune.
Depends, the bridge saddles can also pinch the strings. I’ve played strats for over 35 years. Fanatic guitars, but they need a real good set up on the bridge and nut side of the guitar. And I only play the custom shop models now, they’re what off the shelf strats felt like pre cbs era.
It is a system the vibrato alone is no guarantee or sole source of tuning stability. How you use and setup is also part of the equation. Bend a string it will go flat afterwards.
I got a bex gears kit guitars it was literary 55 bux on amazon. Set up the trem to the fender specs since its a model of a strat. Havnt had any tuning issues when i use the trem syste. It actually plays great for being a cheap little thing
how much should it float? how sharp should it go when you go up? I just adjusted it a bit, when swapping string gauge, but I think I might have floated it a bit too little right now. I don't think it goes sharp enough when going up, so I'm going to adjust it again, which means I'd have to check the string height and intonate it again i suppose!
Man my wife bought me a Squier Affinity Strat for Christmas and when I pulled it out of the box it was in tune, the nut was properly cut, the frets were finished properly, the bridge was floating with two springs. The tremolo stayed in tune and still does whenever I use it. Mine is a two point bridge.
From my experience. If you are a heavy bending, typical lead player, only way to tune a strat is to bend the hell out of all the notes, tune, repeat until tuned. Then when you bend that g string, it wont go flat requiring you to drop the bar. BUT, the trade off is if you tune my way, the trem does not come back in tune as well. I been playing strats 40 years, and ive tried every tuning possibility trying to get rock solid tuning and that has been my conclusion I can count on ptobably 1 hand strat players who floated the trem and has some success, blackmore and malmsteen are 2, and they usually switch guitars every song, or other song. Most strat guys have it decked, maybe use it for a wiggle at the end of a song, then quickly bend all the strings before the next song starts and wala back in tune
Hi Gabriel. It stays in tune great bending any strings. You can see slight changes if you use something like my sonic research strobe tuner, but a light bump of the bar centers the note right back. Any change that is noticeable on the strobe tuner is imperceivable by the ear. This is a characteristic of any floating trem, even Floyds, but it's not a problem in real world playing and it is certainly no worse on a player strat than any other floating trem.
I have a modern player strat adjusted the tremolo screws slightly put some pencil graphite in the nut, wow, beautiful instrument so cheap!! they stopped doing the crafted in china fender stratocasters im sure its because quality was so good it it was eating into Mexican made strats sales
Hi . I have question for you mate. Why my Mexican player strat 2021 has more loud level of sound on 1st, 3rd and 5th position then on 2nd and 4th? Is that kind of normal occurence on your player Strat when changing positions on pickup switch selector. Also 2nd and 4th sound a bit as pinging though guitar set up is not too low. Thank you. Subscribed.
Thanks Bluesman. Honestly I have never liked the 2 or 4 positions. Yes it's normal on any strat for 2 and 4 to be lower in volume and thin/anemic compared to 1,3, and 5.
@@chriselliott980 If it's not available from Amazon, Sweetwater has it in stock: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PQL700400--graph-tech-pql-7004-00-tusq-xl-sleek-string-trees-with-chrome-screws?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999512&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=PQL700400&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9012939&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059670&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwg8qzBhAoEiwAWagLrJC9qjSIATuSMXgTHB1PdrKr0iPtYzzzvtN40yzVJpw28kE0ZhBkZxoC_0MQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Fender custom shop is the real mass production strat with quality you expect. Unfortunately they’re. A lot of money, got mine 20 years ago, best strat I ever touched (including a 1960) Even that requires a good set up. You need to cut the nut slots wide enough so the strings don’t pinch at the nut.
I had to grind my tusq tree down to the height of the original player's string tree. Every time I bent E or B strings they would jump out of their slots
Thanks for the comment Marek. As you know they come in two packs and I put one on my Player Strat and one on my brother's Player Tele and haven't had any issues with either of them.
It will go out of tune if you bend the string, which you’re not showing in the video. You’ll have to dive the tremolo bar after bending a string to bring it back to tune.
You can see it on my sonic research strobe tuner but not on my headstock tuner. It is so slight it is not audible. Btw, the same thing happens on all floating tremolos including double locked floyds -- check out Braun's video: ruclips.net/video/jFzf7pPRALM/видео.html The point of my video was really just to demonstrate that the MIM tremolo works as well as any other tremolo.
![The Perfect Stratocaster Trem / Vibrato Setup [Floating, Flat Or Blocked?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PjVXWyUGpwc/mqdefault.jpg)
I have 3 players....2 strats and a tele. They all had tuning problems.... I put in a roller nut, set to the proper height and moved the touch point up to 1 1/8 inch from the first fret wire, roller string tree, locking tuners and 5 springs on the tremelo. END of tuning problems. I gig mine and they are all very close to perfect. Moving the nut up a touch and having the right action at the first fret FIXED the tendency to be sharp at the 3rd and 5th fret if tuned at the nut (open strings). Intonated and set up right and they're damn near perfect all over the fretboard now. I also tune at the fifth fret just for good measure....sweet sounds everywhere. I added a 9 volt EMG booster for great gain and a touch more volume for leads and could not be happier with my players.
Raising the string tree will reduce binding. Stretching new strings will also check binding at the nut. Proper setting of the tremlo bridge usually isn't the source of going out of tune.
Thanks for posting Bryant. Yeah tuning issues are generally nut/string tree related. Also, the strings have to be "stretched" in properly.
Depends, the bridge saddles can also pinch the strings.
I’ve played strats for over 35 years. Fanatic guitars, but they need a real good set up on the bridge and nut side of the guitar. And I only play the custom shop models now, they’re what off the shelf strats felt like pre cbs era.
It is a system the vibrato alone is no guarantee or sole source of tuning stability. How you use and setup is also part of the equation. Bend a string it will go flat afterwards.
Spot on.
Great video! Subscribed!
Thanks Jay!
I got a bex gears kit guitars it was literary 55 bux on amazon. Set up the trem to the fender specs since its a model of a strat. Havnt had any tuning issues when i use the trem syste. It actually plays great for being a cheap little thing
how much should it float? how sharp should it go when you go up? I just adjusted it a bit, when swapping string gauge, but I think I might have floated it a bit too little right now. I don't think it goes sharp enough when going up, so I'm going to adjust it again, which means I'd have to check the string height and intonate it again i suppose!
Check out page 12 for Fender's recommendation: www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10001/leg_gtr_2003_Fender_Guitars_and_Basses.pdf
Man my wife bought me a Squier Affinity Strat for Christmas and when I pulled it out of the box it was in tune, the nut was properly cut, the frets were finished properly, the bridge was floating with two springs. The tremolo stayed in tune and still does whenever I use it. Mine is a two point bridge.
Thanks for the comment leogolive. It's amazing how nice the Squiers are !
Excellent vid man, very informative 👏 what brand tuner is that you are using?
Thanks. It's a Sonic Research ST-200.
From my experience. If you are a heavy bending, typical lead player, only way to tune a strat is to bend the hell out of all the notes, tune, repeat until tuned.
Then when you bend that g string, it wont go flat requiring you to drop the bar.
BUT, the trade off is if you tune my way, the trem does not come back in tune as well.
I been playing strats 40 years, and ive tried every tuning possibility trying to get rock solid tuning and that has been my conclusion
I can count on ptobably 1 hand strat players who floated the trem and has some success, blackmore and malmsteen are 2, and they usually switch guitars every song, or other song.
Most strat guys have it decked, maybe use it for a wiggle at the end of a song, then quickly bend all the strings before the next song starts and wala back in tune
I play this Strat all the time and use the trem all the time and bend strings. Tuning stability is rock solid.
Does it stay in tune when you bend the G string or does It go flat?
Hi Gabriel. It stays in tune great bending any strings. You can see slight changes if you use something like my sonic research strobe tuner, but a light bump of the bar centers the note right back. Any change that is noticeable on the strobe tuner is imperceivable by the ear. This is a characteristic of any floating trem, even Floyds, but it's not a problem in real world playing and it is certainly no worse on a player strat than any other floating trem.
I have a modern player strat adjusted the tremolo screws slightly put some pencil graphite in the nut, wow, beautiful instrument so cheap!! they stopped doing the crafted in china fender stratocasters im sure its because quality was so good it it was eating into Mexican made strats sales
Hi . I have question for you mate. Why my Mexican player strat 2021 has more loud level of sound on 1st, 3rd and 5th position then on 2nd and 4th? Is that kind of normal occurence on your player Strat when changing positions on pickup switch selector. Also 2nd and 4th sound a bit as pinging though guitar set up is not too low. Thank you. Subscribed.
Thanks Bluesman. Honestly I have never liked the 2 or 4 positions. Yes it's normal on any strat for 2 and 4 to be lower in volume and thin/anemic compared to 1,3, and 5.
@@hoganshideout : Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Hey old friend great job I always new we would be great luthiers not just players
Hey man, I hope you are great!
Hey, nice video. What kind of replacement string tree did you use? The nut was pictured but not the tree. Thanks.
Thanks Chris. It's a Graphtech. www.amazon.com/GraphTech-PQL-7004-00-Sleek-String-Trees/dp/B0051Y0S6Q/ref=sr_1_2?crid=37SVMB6U7VGLF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qkyDW7Erp-hJVCKcPtLq0b0N5pjXvZE99jeUrP8WSePrNPMZT1_sJ_WA9DSjCGjdhR4FbqVIsP6z6cglHZMrfDoMenI4ehERzmkWDT2vsd7Oy5KBv5-YidDFscI37ShMmtrs3DoNoC9hrQCkjcMZltoBgGTxP0DBvrWNkGVSkrn-eoyrZ9sqIOeyXlC7iZZkY6ASBApdDamXgLBYSVPmDuwnxtiP1ucqEUh8EBzIxDuwQMYBypdSVSBEfhw6jLqiby4qW9EuDSQOoPgrLHvsxRmQq1tA2YOD57Dckau23fI.ZCuzBStnj2K5Rlr2okHXENsHxpF_Ofb7-OdPLYDbXu4&dib_tag=se&keywords=graphtech+string+tree&qid=1718846348&sprefix=graphtech+string+tree%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-2
@@hoganshideout awesome, I'll check it out now. Thanks!
@@chriselliott980 If it's not available from Amazon, Sweetwater has it in stock:
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PQL700400--graph-tech-pql-7004-00-tusq-xl-sleek-string-trees-with-chrome-screws?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999512&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=PQL700400&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9012939&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059670&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwg8qzBhAoEiwAWagLrJC9qjSIATuSMXgTHB1PdrKr0iPtYzzzvtN40yzVJpw28kE0ZhBkZxoC_0MQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Hello James,❤
I am a new subscriber.
Fender custom shop is the real mass production strat with quality you expect. Unfortunately they’re. A lot of money, got mine 20 years ago, best strat I ever touched (including a 1960)
Even that requires a good set up. You need to cut the nut slots wide enough so the strings don’t pinch at the nut.
Did you have to float the tremolo yourself or did it come like that. Thanks.
Hi accentontheoff, yes it came floating from Fender. I have a Strat setup video that goes over everything and that might be helpful also. Thanks.
@@hoganshideout Will check out that video, thanks. So I am guessing that even if it came floating, there was some work involved.
I had to grind my tusq tree down to the height of the original player's string tree. Every time I bent E or B strings they would jump out of their slots
Thanks for the comment Marek. As you know they come in two packs and I put one on my Player Strat and one on my brother's Player Tele and haven't had any issues with either of them.
Good looking strat , lake placid blue ?
Thanks MrThomasv, yes lake placid blue!
String tree angle on my Mustang sonic is kind of severe, I just don't use it, seems to work better.
❤😊
And if you change the darn strings. People that change strings once a year have no hope at staying in tune
I run NYXL and build live loops primarily, and I feel attacked lol
It will go out of tune if you bend the string, which you’re not showing in the video. You’ll have to dive the tremolo bar after bending a string to bring it back to tune.
You can see it on my sonic research strobe tuner but not on my headstock tuner. It is so slight it is not audible. Btw, the same thing happens on all floating tremolos including double locked floyds -- check out Braun's video: ruclips.net/video/jFzf7pPRALM/видео.html The point of my video was really just to demonstrate that the MIM tremolo works as well as any other tremolo.