I have this problem with my MIM strat, whenever I try doing bends, the string goes out of tune for some reason. I find this annoying, especially when I play solos. So can you guys help?

Brand new strings?

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Nope, doesn't help

Make sure you wrap the string around the tuner post in a way that it will not slip. There are several good ways to do so, so learn how to do that properly.
Eliminate friction points all along the string length(tuner post, string trees, nut, saddles, trem block)with a good lube, many of which are available.
Properly stretch your new strings after installation. This will help a great deal.
If you do all these things, it should help tuning stability a lot.

thanks a lot

Good points by paisley. Tuning peg winding and stretching new strings !!
Some think having a heap of winds on the pegs helps keep them tight but that does more damage than good (slipping). You don't need much, you need to LOCK the string ends -- this is HUGE !:


http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

http://www.jazzguitar.be/how_to_string_a_guitar.html


Also on MIM Strats if you have trouble with the e and B strings tuning, put a couple of washers under the string tree. The string angle is too sharp (with it screwed down on the headstock) and can cause binding in the nut slots.

It's all about SET UP !

BRIDGE SCREWS:
Pull back (up) on the arm and adjust all but the two outer screws to 1/16" (1.6MM) off the plate. Keep it pulled back ( so the plate is touching the body in the back) and tighten the outer two screws so that they are just touching the plate. Now it will just pivot on the outer screws.

Tighten the spring claw screws so that the rear of the bridge plate is only about 1/16" (1.6MM) above the body. You will have to re tune a few times to get all this balancing act done. It is worth it in the long run believe me.

If you still have problems your could go to 4 springs, but give the above a try for a while.

Two very important things to these Strat animals:

When you tune (because of the unique tremolo), do it evenly, i.e. tune the low E then the high e, then B then A and so on, OR tune the G and D and work outwards so it's a straight, even pull.

LUBE the nut and string tree, even were the strings go over the saddles. use Teflon lube or graphite.

Doing this really won't be that bad and will take you less than 30 min.

Keep playing, use the trem some and re-tune a few times, the key is to GET THE BALANCE ! Strings tension ( pull) EQUILL to the springs counter pull. After that, if you find yourself out of tune a little when you play, try pressing the arm a couple times real good before messing around re-tuning and that can balance things out again and save re-tuning all the time.

Trust me, if everyone had trouble, there wouldn't be a zillion Strats out there.

Be patient it will work

Cool, thank you for taking time to offer me advice. Actually, I just got my MIM stratocaster 2 months ago AND add to the fact that I have little experience with setting up a guitar, I find it difficult to look for solutions regarding set up problems. Thanks again, I'll definitely follow your advice.

PS.
I'm from the Philippines and I'm only 15 years old so forgive my grammar and experience with guitars

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GEAR
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Ibanez GRG121
MIM Stratocaster
Roland Cube 15X
BOSS ME-50
Acoustic Guitar (from a local company)

Your welcome and you are doing just great ! Your english and grammer is better than some in the USA !


Just keep working with it you will learn the tricks and have it working fine.

Stratocasters do take some time if you want full use of the tremolo, which is worth it as that's what makes them unique.

MIM's are very good guitars ! I have several of them myself ( 2 of them Strat's)

Good luck and happy pickin' !

Bought a new set of EB slinkys and I think I finally solved the problem


I used graphite on the nut and string tree and I followed the directions on how to string properly and I think it worked. Now my only problem is the tremolo bar XD. It isn't really a big problem though since my guitar doesn't go out of tune as long as over-use the whammy bar.

Thanks for the help guys