Keeping Stratocasters in Tune

 From: Dennis M.
".... what is up with your intonation? Jeez, we saw you up in Portsmouth, NH, and you were winging the daylights out of that Strat, and then playing tightly voiced chords, and everything was in tune....

I get quite a few comments on how well my Strats stay in tune and my answer is usually something like “I’m lucky tonight” or “It’s an illusion.” I’m sure many more of you have seen me constantly tuning throughout the evening. However, when the stars line up, my guitars do stay in tune fairly well so I’ll share a few hints with you.

The two main concerns with whammy bar usage are friction and balance.

To avoid friction:

  • Be sure your nut slots are properly filed to support, but not bind, your string gauge. This should be done by a qualified guitar tech.
  • Keep your bridge saddles clean and free of grooves.
  • Make sure your strings pull straight over the nut to the tuners.
  • Use a neat and efficient means of securing your strings. Every guitar tech seems to have their own idea about this. I use the vintage “safety post” style tuners and just wind the strings straight down for the low wound strings. On the unwound strings I wrap one turn above and the rest below with quite a few wraps on the G string to give adequate downward pressure over the nut for clear tone. Locking tuners can be nice but they will change the mass at your head stock and, therefore, your tone.
  • Do not use a string tree for your G and D strings.
  • Use a spacer below the string tree on the high E and B strings.
  • Some people use a dry lubricant in the nut and bridge. Though it can help, I usually avoid this as the lubricants can discolor the finish of your instrument, especially if it is old and thin.

Balance:

Balance refers to the equalization of tension between your string gauge and the springs in the tremolo mechanism. In my experience there is no right way to achieve this. Every guitar seeks its own level and the amount of range you desire is dictated more by the individual guitar then any set formulae.

There are also different tensions of individual springs, some of which are more suited to certain systems. For example the low tension black trem springs are typically used in the two pivot “American Standard” style systems while higher tension silver springs (there are several variations) are used in the “vintage” six pivot bridge.

Though the two pivot systems function better mechanically I use vintage six pivot systems because they sound superior. The height of the pivot screws is critical - too high and the bridge will travel vertically and adversely effect the tone of the guitar because of reduced contact with the body, too low and it will bind and pull at the screws, creating tuning issues and eventually stripping the holes.

For my floating trem guitars I set the up pull range around a Major 2nd on the low E string as starting point. My string gauges are .011 -.050 so I use four of the heavier springs.

One of my Strats is set flush for no up pull. On that guitar I use three springs set very tight which seems to make that particular guitar ring better

I find that my floating tremolo guitars hold tune better than the one that is set flush - not the result most people would expect.

Warming up on the guitar with some good string bending and whammy bar stuff helps too. Letting the instrument sit for just a little while causes just enough corrosion to lightly bind the strings to any metal part they come in contact with so a little playing helps to loosen those points.

Good luck and keep experimenting.

— Julien

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Julien in Wrentham, MA
Photo by Tae Joo Hoon

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Lesson

Here's a link to a lesson from Julien that is currently available on the TrueFire.com website.

It isn't free, but it is inexpensive — around $3 gets you an audio version (mp3) of the lesson recorded by Julien for Guitar Player's "Notes on Call" series as well as a .PDF version of the lesson as it appeared in the September, 1998 issue of Guitar Player magazine.

Pentatonic Double-Stops Lesson