As i said before. Get that trem balanced its obvious that the claw isnt in optimum position if loosening it has allieviated the problem somewhat.

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No no and no

Based on all the test carried out so far, I agree that the problems seems to be either in the claw or may be in the posts as suggested by Ceri.

I have followed the video's instructions and have angled the claw, but that doesn't seem to solve the issue. I will keep trying...

Just out of interest, does your pitch always come back bang on? Do you get no change at all in pitch if you bend after the use of tremolo?

Its not entirely down to the angle of the claw the entire thing has to be set so the springs dont exert more force than the strings. They are at the moment which is whats causing your sharp pitch.

Heres how to allieviate the trempost/baseplate problem

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No no and no

thanks for the tip

I removed the posts and they seem fine, although the plate looks a bit worn in the area where its edges meet the posts.

What sort of lubricant would you suggest for that area - something I can find in B&Q in the UK?

vasceline is the only lubricant to use. Though i think your problem may well be more to do with string to spring balance. It really sounds like your springs are pullling back too much.
The plate knife edges can be smoothed with an emery board out but its a delicate task. If you take too much off you can get real intonation troubles.

Where in the UK are you?

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No no and no

Thanks, I am in Windsor

So what are you saying that my springs are too open, meaning too stretched? Actually they look kind of close. If I un-screw in the trem claw more, the back part of the brigde would be way higher than Fender's reccomended 1/8 ''...

Worth trying I guess...

Hmm... Actually, you're not quite getting it.

Tremolo arm, as Niki suggested much earlier, I think it's time to take this guitar to a good tech and get it set up properly. If the guitar is new (I think you said that?) you may have an argument for getting it done under warranty, on the basis that it hasn't played properly since you got it.

If for some reason you can't or don't want to get it done under warranty, why then in Windsor you are within easy striking distance of one of my favorite guitar shops in the country, Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience in Hampton Wick, West London.

A whole bunch of very famous guitarists live in that Richmond/Hampton Court part of town and frequent Charlie Chandler's shop (or their techs do). He's about as good as it gets at guitar maintenance. Highly recommended. He seen it all and will get your Strat playing perfectly with ease.

You asked earlier whether others could use their trems without tuning issues. The answer is yes. Of course, a Fender type syncronized trem won't do the full on Eddie Van Halen stuff, which is why Eddie switched to Floyds. But everthing short of that should work without problem.

Your Strat ain't playing as it should. Get it sorted so's you can enjoy it properly.

Good luck - C

Allow me to resurrect this thread after following the advise given here...

As suggested here I went to the Charlie Chandlers Guitar Experience in Hampton. I was very lucky because the man himself was in teh shop, so I got to speak to him personally. I have to admit, I got the chills when I thought the man standing in front of me had set up Gilmour's Black Strat!

I explained the issue, i.e. g-string returns sharp after using tremolo, but back in tune when bent, blah, blah, blah.

His first question (before seeing the guitar) was "is this a 2-point or 6-point bridge"? I said it was a 2 point and handed him the Strat. He then asked if the low E was also showing the same problem and I said no - the problem is confined to the G-string and sometimes the B string (randomly).

Without even plugging the guitar into a tuner he proceeded to inspect the working of the bridge and after a while said the following:

- 2 point tremolos generally feel smoother to operate (compared to 6 point) but are generally less accurate in terms of holding correct tuning

- Every (and he repeated EVERY) 2 point bridge without exception will have this issue - some more and some less. He was absolutely adamant that he does not believe people who tell him that their Strats return to perfect pitch when using tremolo followed or bending irresepctive of each other. One should correct the other (more on this further down), but the two don't work separately.

- Gold plated hardware is more prone to trouble because of loose coating causing friction over time.

- He said that he could have a go at setting up the guitar, but he was very sceptical that the issue would go away completely.

- He said that the issue was in the nature of the 2-point bridge and problem resides solely in the bridge. He said that the nut (when cut correctly) should not have any influence over this.

- He said that the main problem is typically the coupling of the bridge plate and the two posts.

And this is what he suggested:

He said that rather that searching for a mechanical solution, I should try to use my hands during play to alleviate the issue.

What he meant by that is the following:

Detune the guitar and tune back using the tuners and tremolo to zero in on the correct pitch (no bending). The guitar should play in tune when using the tremolo but will probably go out of tune if strings are bent. And here is the important part - If string are eventually bent (and the guitar goes out of tune as a result of this bend) rather than tune using the tuners, just hit the tremolo arm to get the pitch back to the correct value. So, essentially the hand should be on the tremolo to compensate for every time you bend a string.

The other technique is to tune the guitar using bends to stretch the strings (no tremolo during tuning) - this would keep the guitar in tune during solos / bends, but would send the pitch sharp (i.e. my original issue) as soon as the tremolo is touched. To bring back to the correct pitch, the G-string should be bent after the use of the tremolo. That's it.

He was adamant that there was no other solution to this - no graph tech saddles or nuts or LSR would ever do it. So that pretty much answered it for me.

Not sure what you guys think. I guess most of this is just common knowledge I guess. I certainly would like to hope for you guys that you have your Strats set up so that they don't have the issue I have, but accroding to Mr. Chandler himself no 2-point floating bridge would enable you to use tremolo and bending (irrespective of each other) and keep in perfect concert pitch...

Surely what he meant by bending and tremolo use is that you cant bend on a tremm'd guitar without pulling the trem plate up a bit.

As far as not getting strat trems to return to pitch, theres 3 here going to his shop soon that return within 2 cents on strobosoft. Even a goldplated 2point on my deluxe. Who knows i may get some work from this.

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No no and no

That sounds, frankly, like a load of BS or a brush-off, and I don't care whose guitars he's set-up. I know Strats can stay in tune because mine does.

With a cold rolled steel inertia block like a Callaham, my Strat-style guitar stays in rigorous tune despite bending and vibrato use, and I can even do bends against open or unbent strings without the unbent string dropping in pitch (well, not enough to hear). It's a 6-point trem, but I'm not buying that the two-point can't be equally well balanced.

And I'm a nutcase about intonation and tuning (in fact, I was a beta-tester on the current version of StroboSoft).

Maybe you should have Niki set up your guitar.

Well, you can all shoot me down in flames, but as far as I am concerned it's the opinioin of one expert (Mr. CC) versus the opinion of a panel of experts (you guys). I can't judge because I still have the problem.

As I said, I am happy for all of you who claim to have perfect functioning Strats. Sadly, mine isn't.

Frankly, I've had three Strats with floating bridges (one Khaler and two 2-point) and none of them returned to perfect pitch after tremolo use. May be I am wearing a "good pitch repelling deodorant", but that's the truth.

As for Niki, well I offer you £50 here and now (and the entire forum is a witness) if you can fix mine. I live in Windsor but can bring the guitar to you if you are nearby. Deal?

Unfortunately i live just south of lincoln some 130 odd miles from you. I wouldnt accept money to sort your trem out. I'd do it simply for your enjoyment. After all you are a reasonable guy in light of my less than reasonable post above.
next time i take the kids to legoland (probably this summer) I'd be happy to call in, but will have the tribe with me.
Please bare in mind that no-one is infaliable, no matter who's guitar they work on or what they claim. That includes anyone on this forum. Charlie Chandler is a greatly skilled guy but like everyone else he doesnt know it all, just a lot more than most.

I'd be interested to see that kahler too. Their cammed trems have the best return to pitch i've ever heard.

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No no and no

LSR doesn't work for string gauges past 8 or 9? Funny, the strat pro ships with tens. I wonder why the Custom Shop would do that.

I was mistaken about that... after doing some research:

The LSR replaced a roller nut that didn't work well with thicker string gauges. The LSR, as I understand now, was created to fix the problems associated with Fender's first roller nut, and it did.

Niki,

You are welcome in my house. I have a 2.6 old little one myself, so I'm uses to having tribes of monkeys

Give me a shout when you are down here. Legoland is literally 10 minutes from here.

As for the Khaler - it was fitted on a MIJ Strat which I let go about 6 years ago to make space for the 50th Anniversary Deluxe.

All the best for now and thanks for your contribution and patience