Just saw this on Youtube - amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Oyc6slYRc

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Stretching the strings is the single most important thing you can do to keep your guitar in tune. I've never had any real tuning problems with my Strat. I used to use the trem so much that on my 72 Strat that I have grooves worn into my saddles. All I do while changing strings is use the graphite from a #2 pencil on all the string friction points. I do the same thing on my non trem guitars too.

I guess that pretty much proves that the vintage tremolo can actually do a decent job!

I'm glad that Galeazzo is a "floating trem" man!

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My other guitar is a Strat.

Clearly this technique works if you are not bending. The moment you bend any string your entire tuning goes out of the window and in a big way. Not only that, your entitre phrase AFTER The bend will be out of tune until you use the tremolo again.

The YouTube guy makes it sound simple to tap the tremolo to retune the guitar, but in practice this is nearly impossible unless you develop a technique where you have the tremolo arm in your hand constantly and use the tremolo immediately after each bend.

very important point there.

I really think that return to tune thing he did at the end of the vid was for effect. I've used pretty much the same method for years (spring tension=string tension) and never experienced any slip that bad. Also he didnt pay enough attention to the strings seating on the posts in the vid. I suspect it was a rushed setup on a brand new set of strings. A tad more stretching and attention to seating and it would be ok.

I was really impressed with his ear and him getting the guitar straight to concert pitch, until i seen the tuner.

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Yeah, his "perfect" ear nearly fooled me as well... Then the tuner appeared in the background...

I also noticed that he didn't use a block in the cavity when tuning, yet his tuned strings remained pretty much at pitch despite him tuning the other ones from slack (with a floating trem, the previously tuned strings would go much flatter due to the bridge raising).

So Nikki, what do you mean by attention to seating in the post?

While he seemed to stretch the strings really well, he didnt pay much attention to the headstock end of the string or the string winds on the post. I pull my strings starting at the post, back towards the bridge. Pulling the string towards the bridge and slightly up, not straight up. The guy was bang on correct to get the guitar intune then leave the machineheads alone. If possible never flatten the string by turning the tuner. (one of the reasons i dont like locking tuners, pulling the string does little and you have to loosen the tuner to flatten a strings tuning). There is absolutely no way on the planet that those strings would be stretched by pulling them a little bit as soon as their on and intune. It takes atleast a hours play to get the strings bedded in. Thats what i believe caused the guitar to go so far out of tune, the strings simply werent stretched in enough.

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I am really impressed with Kluson tuners you can score them new for 40 bucks and they are better than stuff worth 3 times as much maybe thats why the old Fenders used them. I have a set from the seventies which I am about to put on a strat I am building. They are very firm to twist and hold the tuning great.

Just out fo intersst (and pehaps a tad off topic) - do you guys string up the traditional way by poking the string end into the safety hole of the Klusons or do you use the locking method, whereby you kink the string and then pass it up and over the kink and then working downwards (thus trapping the string in)?

What stringing method do you find to hold tuning the best when using the tremolo?

I found the best way for me is wrapping it round the pole a few times then passing it through the keyhole, this works a treat for me.

do you like gibson les paul model guitar?I love it very much

The only thing I can say to that eight minutes of is right!!!!!

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A Les paul is a great guitar but doesnt have the character of sounds like a strat. Its got a big fat sound but thats about it. Rock n roll was born with the strat Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Pink Groin and Vinny Pop hahahahahahahahahah

Normally when I put a new set on, I tune them to pitch then stretch them from the bridge to just past the nut. Once they are really loosened up, I tune it to pitch again and it stays pretty well.

I still have one of those cheap string stretchers that Fender used to include with their strings back in the 90s. For such a simple piece of plastic, it really works well.