I'm a Strat native. When I first started I liked the way hollow bodies looked, but the sound I was ALWAYS drawn to- was Leo second brilliant design. What's funny here is I also have zero tuning issues, yet we do almost NOTHING alike when it comes to set up. I like my bars straight, flat against the body, and don't have a preference for the number of springs (how ever many it takes to balance the strings I use on that particular guitar (Yes, imo some guitars like different gauges - I have a parts caster with three humbuckers that likes heavy strings, but most seem to like the .09s or .10s). We totally agree about the nut, lubrication and string trees. So ok, Jeff - I really enjoyed your video.
I could have made this same video! You are speaking my language. Nothing feels like a properly set up strat trem. Heres a tip, cut a small piece of heat shrink tube and shrink it to the arm right where the arm enters the plate, before the threads. Do two layers and the threads will pull it down snug into the hole. I use a little thread tape as well, for good measure!
Thank you for doing this. Can’t believe no one ever talks about how to keep those floating tremolos in tune. Stayed away from floating tremolos for this exact reason until I learned how to do these same remedies. Cool tips and great video as always 🙏
Really enjoyed this video and the other one about setting up your Strat which I came across by chance. I’ve been playing Strats for over 40 years and by experience have ended up doing pretty much exactly what you do. Having said that I did have a Floyd put on my ‘79 Strat back in ‘86 and never regretted it. Still have that one and most of my other guitars since have had Floyds, either factory Floyd Classic Strats and Samboras or modified originals. A couple of years back I did get a ‘73 fairly cheap as it had previously had a Floyd which had been “reversed”. I got it and put a Floyd right back on because I’m used to them even though I don’t wang as hard as when I was young! However, I recently got hold of a Custom Shop 66 Strat with of course the regular 6 screw bridge, in this case a Callaham bridge fitted by the previous owner. Dug down deep and found an old syringe of nut sauce which still had some in and did all your excellent tips and it works just fine. I’m definitely a big headstock fan, always have been. Still got plumbers tape too but the Callaham has a nice snug feel, no wobble. Really like your playing style and the way you present your videos, so many people can be real loud and shouty which does my head in, you are smooth and easy like a well set up trem, glad I dropped by! 👍
These tips made an astronomical difference in my Strat’s tuning stability. Despite using 8s, my strings hardly go out of tune even when abused. Thank you!
Truth be told, having the springs in that triangle configuration, there is a chance of the middle spring popping off, it’s basic physics and vectors, theoretically you could remove the middle spring and tighten the claw to compensate and eliminate the possibility of the middle spring popping off…Just food for thought!
On string trees ... if your guitar buzzes without using them you may be able to fix this. Simplest part of the solution is, when changing strings, allow a bit more lenght for the 2nd and 1st string so when they are tuned up the windings go further down the post, giving you and increased break angle over the nut. Kind a "poor mans staggered height tuners" idea. That might be enough to allow you to stop putting the string under the string tree. The other thing that might aleviate buzzing without the string tree is the use a nut file to try to make sure the nut slot slopes the same (or a little bit greater than) the break angle of the string over the nut. I almost never use string trees.
Appreciate the video, Jeff. I've been playing for a long time but honestly wasn't aware (and I'm not joking!) about keeping the nut lubed. I never touch the nut (again, not joking!) or the string tree. It actually never crossed my mind. Thanks for the tips!
Love these tips-lots of experience compressed into a relatively short, accessible video. Thank you! I play a G&L S-500 with a really great 2-point, dual-fulcrum trem that was Leo Fender’s last trem design. Stays in tune perfectly as long as you set it up properly and make sure the strings don’t stick anywhere. I also loved your earlier video about dialing in a strat, especially your advice about the volume and tone pots. The S-500 has higher-output MFD pickups and PTB tone controls (other Leo Fender G&L innovations) that are super-versatile, but need to be dialed in very differently to get classic strat tones. You can’t dime or set-and-forget them. After watching your video, I spent some quality time exploring the full range of what that guitar can really do. So glad I did! Thanks again!
Great advice. One thing I look out for is if your string goes flat after you bend a note up it’s usually the nut. You’ve pulled the string through the nut and it’s not going all the way back. If you then push the string on the other side of the nut and it goes back in tune it’s the nut. Nut sauce helps. I brought a set of nut files years ago. It’s an investment but you only have to buy them once.
Wow 😮 what a great video. Tapping in to a lifetime of inside know-how here. I'm having trouble keeping my vintera roadworn 50s style MIM in tune. This is gold. First video of yours I've watched. Subscribed and looking forward to diving into your archive
I still feel that the Gretsch Bigsby is the over all best temolo system for this type of playing, but I’ve learned all these tips over the years really does make a Strat tremolo system work well also. Big bends nut sauce has made a world of difference for me keeping trem guitars in tune, the tape or spring works well also (although on my 40th Anny Squier Strat the springs don’t fit in the trem arm hole and almost buggered up the bridge where the arm wouldn’t even go in anymore, so have to use the tape for that guitar) on my new AVII 1961 Strat the little Fender spring that came with the guitar works perfectly, and I have backups (genuine Fender springs) in case I end up losing it. There’s just something to the tremolo and warbling notes and chords that is just a must for me, and now I don’t even want to play a guitar that doesn’t have either a Fender trem or Bigsby on it (like two great Tele’s I’ve had always just felt like they’re missing that ‘something’ all the time) Great video, and good tips here. Wish I had known all of this when I started out in the early 1990’s with my first guitar, a Mexican made Strat, would have made it a lot less frustrating with keeping in tune. Kids these days don’t know how lucky they are with RU-vid and many great learning videos like this one. 👍🏻🎸🔥
what about the little black spring that Leo Fender had inserted in the cavity of the whammy bar giving the whammy bar the tension on the thread, so many people forget this timelessly
I grew up in the early 60’s where almost everything came with printed instructions and diagrams on ‘how to use and take care of your…’ I could see Jeff working at Fender meticulously illustrating detailed diagrams and instructions for a hang tag on Strats. Simply titled ‘Lets Tremolo! Easy as 1, 2, 3’.
Hey Jeff. Just picked up a really good tip from you so I just wanted to say thank you! It was about thinking notes when you move around on the fretboard instead of fret 10 or fret 6. For whatever reason, that just didn't click with me until now. It's really made remembering notes and scale patterns a bit easier. Thank you! 🙏
Nice video. I love your playing and instruction, you are a true professional. You are 100% right . I have used the floating set up on my strats for many years. With a few tricks at setup you have a guitar that stays in tune great. It has its down falls when it comes to broken strings but worth it I think. As far as I can tell the floating setup improves tuning stability when done correctly.
Another way to "lock" the strings without locking tuners is to pinch the string on itself when you wind it. You start by letting the string on the first wind go over the top of itself, then under itself on subsequent windings. This causes the string to pinch itself under tension and helps reduce string slippage.
This is great. I must admit that I am surprised at the number of winds you have around the tuning peg posts. An engineer (and guitar player) friend of mine once told me that too many winds around the post creates 'spool slippage' that makes it harder to fine tune things, so I've always had only about one and half string winds on the post, even on vintage tuning machines. Next re-stringing I will try going all out!
Ive always wrapped 3 winds on the low e and up to maybe 5 on the high e. I do it very neatly, no overlaps, and ive never had any tuning issues, as long as the setup is correct. Ive found that a couple extra wraps pushes the string more towards the headstock which increase the break angle over the nut. Less friction from the string retainers helps the tuning under trem use, and ive never found that the extra couple of wraps causes any isues. Not saying your wrong, its just my 2 cents.
@@stevenpipes1555 how dare you! 😂Sure if I have no string tree I’ll wrap the high strings a bit more for the downward pressure. On guitars with a string tree like this one, it doesn’t matter as much. Thanks for watching and posting!!👍
@@JeffMcErlain Agreed ,mostly, but consider this. The string passes through the nut and breaks down to the hight of the retainer, but then needs to rise again to meet its final endpoint at the capstain. More friction is added as the string angle breaks again leaving the retainer. But if you wrap a little more onto the capstain, then the retainer can do its job keeping the break angle in check, but the angle is maintained after leaving the retainer to approach a lower target at the capstain. The capstain and retainer work together in other words, and not against one another. I have no scientific proof that this is the case however, but it makes sense to me and has worked for me for years. My friends used to think i had a special bridge until i set up their Strats too!
@@stevenpipes1555 all good points! What remains is that my gtrs never seem to go out of tune so whatever works I guess. 🤷🏻♂️ But THANKS for adding, and I’ll give that a shot too. Always up for learning something new. 🙌🏻
I would recommend as many winds as you can get without double up on your tuners. Stretch your strings out real well once you string up, retune and Volia- you will be good to go.
If your in a humid environment graphite gungks up and not usable but that tune it is great . Yes very little but not just the nut … under the string on saddles as well .. floating like Beck here !
Great video Jeff. Strats are great, as you mentioned, each problem has to be analyzed and properly addressed. Leo Fender was a genius. If guys like Gilmore, Beck, Knopfler and Clapton like it, why shouldn't I, a mere mortal.
I keep my Strats in tune by throwing 5 springs in, cranking in the claw screws, dropping a block of oak behind the sustain block and backing off the claw screws until it holds the block tightly. Easy peasy ;)
Great tips. My (non-vintage LOL!) Player strat has a 2 point bridge which I have set to floating - I do the nut sauce thing on the nut and string tree and it stays in tune perfectly. Whenever I take it to a tech, I feel I always have to warn them not to lose the trem spring :)
Heat shrink tubing works even better than teflon tape. Plus it lasts longer if you remove the bar often. It's also VERY cheap. A blow dryer will work to shrink the rubber tubing, or even a lighter, if you're careful. I use the Fender spring AND the heat shrink tubing. No more wiggle in the bar.
I’ve got a Trev Wilkinson tremolo bridge. It has one round hole and five oval holes. The neck is Fender roller nut. I also deck the bridge. The springs tension needs to overpower the string tension. No string tree because I’m using Sperzel graduated post tuners.
Great advice. Thank you. This should work with my 2 six screw teen guitars - PRS CU24 and Silver Sky. I agree about the naming of nut sauce. I have it and it is good.
Keep that nut and the string tree and bridge saddles lubricated and it should do okay. Amen on having a well-cut nut ... it if goes south, it's gotta come back all the way north. You are one of the few people who talk about keeping that string nut lubed ... makes a huge difference. And yes ... wind those strings straight down. And yes, the trem on a Stratocaster is half the fun of playing a Stratocaster! Love that kitty cat geiger counter!! I use five springs like SRV ... he liked to hit an open bass string and then bend the little guys, without changing the pitch of that ringing fat string. BTW: Put a 4 mm BB in the bottom of the gear shift hole, then a little Fender spring on top of it and screw in that handle (2-In-1 on those trem threads), and that handle will stay wherever you want it to stay! Also, Bill Callaham makes a great bridge block ... check his web site. And I also raise up those two bridge screws on the end. Thanks for helping people!
I bend my arms in a similar contraption, I do however heat up the bend for a while with a lighter to make the arm bend with less friction and not introduce fractions. FWIW. Sometimes you can also cut of 5-6 mm. of the end of the bar (that inserts into the bridge) so you have a lower set arm, and the you can bend it to get the height back up to your playing hand. That's my favorite set up for trem.
Excellent help here, Jeff. Thanks for this…Mick Taylor of TPS did something similar but each of you have added different insights. Neither of you mentioned that Beck used to set the claw holding the bridge to the body slightly offset, so that treble side of the claw is maybe 1-2mm less screwed in, if that makes sense. Anyway, he reckons it helped the tunability and I’ve done that. So, a full up on the bar is exactly one tone and full down is exactly one half tone. Now to fix one Strat of mine that I foolishly had decked and blocked! Silly me.
Another great way to lose the slop on the bar is to get a 10-32 thread die, run it all the way down to the bottom of the threads on the bar and go about halfway around this cuts just enough new thread into the end of the shaft for it to bottom out in the hole, and sit really tight. If it's too long, you can file off maybe 1/16" from the end of the bar. This works great, but of course don't do it on collector candy or a priceless vintage princess. Use an expendable bar.
@@JeffMcErlain yes. Works great. I used to do the Teflon tape as you suggested. This last years. I just cut a piece roughly the length of the threads. Heat it up and you are good to go.
Really cleared up a lot of questions I had about how to get a bar to work like you seem to be able. My nut was always fine but setting up the bridge I never could get that down, nor how the actual bar could be set up.
I’m not that good, but I feel like I can play single notes in tune by pushing or pulling the string or the bar. Mine are set up like Carl and you state by slanting the claw, thereby equalizing the spring force evenly on each string. Petersen strobe tuner clamped on the headstock start you in the right place and bending the shit out of new strings for a few minutes gets things pretty straight. Great video on such an important aspect of guitar, thanks!😊🎉
I wondered why one of my S-styles was quite a bit easier to use the bar on and I never could figure it out. Somehow I completely missed that one bar is like 1-2 inches longer than the other. Also, I hate Teflon tape. The threads cut it up and it's impossible to remove after that. I just use a spring. Much much easier.
*I don't stretch my strings because the elasticity helps them stay in tune longer; this is after I've adjusted the tremolo claw to the point when I bend the little E string the rest don't move when I'm bending the lil E; to me that's when I consider the tremolo block and claw balanced. I tune up and maybe twice or more I'll push the tremolo arm all the way down and va-la my strings are in tune, if not I tune the one's that are not but after that I'm ready to play. Also by not stretching the strings they seems to sound fresher, last longer, and don't break as much. I've use Fender Bullets 10-38 for the past 30 years an I can remember only 3 times a string broke. I have a bighead 1967 and 1970 Fender Stratocaster's. Here's a tip: On the tremolo arm where the bar tilts up, if you bend it up slightly (I use a table clamp wrapping the bar with a small towel while bending it with my hand) the bars angle at that area behaves like a block and tackle with all the strength and pressure being concentrated there instead of the whole length of the tremolo bar which usually results and the bar breaking off inside of the tremolo block. 🌎✌*
Ok, sorry about the stupid joke… as far as the trem moving when I bend the strings I use a “mag lock”. A magnet In place of one of the springs. It works for me. It took a little getting used to, but I’m not as good a guitar player as a guy like you, but it does work for me.
Played an SRV strat with the left handed trem. Kept the arm out of the way. My Beck strat , older one. bar used to fit now falls right in. I tried the tape. Ok for a while. Yeah, Carl V. has a great vid on trem set-up. He slants the screws in back. I now keep mine set like yours on your other strat. No bar, but I can heel it. No big dives of course but like you said about a half step. It Works great. Have to add in..Thanks again for the Jeff Beck tribute show. Very nice. Still can't believe he's gone. Did you catch that Tim Bogart passed the same day?
@@JeffMcErlain Maybe the day before. Ran same day in the news. Jeff had said they were working on older live B-B & A tapes for a mid-summer re-release. Carmen was interviewed after Jeff's passing but there was a pic with no sound. So That's all I found.
@@JeffMcErlain Gotta make it smell right so the riff-raff stays away... Miss my cats... just had to let mine go a week ago. He was a good ole cat. Lived a full 17 year happy life.
Ha! Just had this problem and this video solved it. You have to keep on trying and it finally came out. Took about 15 minutes. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T_gFQ_ZMhgU.html
The main thing that will get you out of tune is having the back of the bridge too high. How high is too much? high E string set to full step instead of half step. If you pull back on the whammy all the way G and big E always go out of tune. Stick to half step and you're golden.
I should or should try? I thank you for suggesting something I should try. Or are you suggesting the should the ball baring have been stock from the factory?
Great tips! What do you think about the Carl Verheyen method of setting asymetric spring lengths in order to compensate for the difference in tension between the bass and treble side?
Thanks! No treble bleed, but as to not get too much high end roll off I use a buffer before the amp. Really helps if the gtr gets dark too soon. Those are DiMarzio injectors in the neck and middle and a lead in the bridge. I like that whole series and it’s great in noisy rooms!
Hey Jeff, if you use the plumbers tape and screws to get rid of slop does it mean I have to permanently leave in the bar? Or can I take it out when necessary?
@@JeffMcErlain yeah I only have a gig bag so I'm a little worried about leaving the bar in all the time. I'll think about it. Also, my bridge is a Gotoh vintage replica so I'm not sure about the spring fitting.
