So, I recently purchased this wicked sweet 2007 Deluxe USA Stratocaster from a pawn show for a hell of a deal, and I'm having some troubles with it. I must confess I'm new to the Strat world, and indeed have only ever played one other Fender guitar ever, and that's my jazz bass. The problem I'm having is this: I plug the guitar into a tuner, and tune up, starting with the low E and and going up. After I tune, I can play all the strings again and they're slightly flat. What's up with this? It's like as soon as I'm done tuning, it slips down. It's gotten to the point where I'm actually tuning sharp just a little bit so as that it plays correctly. I'm sure this isn't supposed to happen, can anyone help me out?

Also, it's got some pretty severe intonation problems that I'm probably going to have to take it into a shop to fix, but I'm not sure if those have anything to do with tuning on open strings.

First, the dumb question: are they new strings?

Second, the generic question: how is your bridge looking?

The strings are new, I replaced them as soon as I got the guitar.

The bridge is fine, as far as I can tell. It's got a little bit of float, but not too much.

Yes you could need a intonation set up first.

A good set up is the solution

Go to see a good luthier; be carefull about the guys in music store unless you know is very good

Aside from the utterly obvious of, are you using the locking machine heads properly. It's perfectly normal for a trem to flatten strings as you tune up.
Whats likely happening is that you're getting the low E to pitch, tuning the A. The increased tension of the A string causes the tremplate to rise thus flattening the E, and so forth all the way through the strings.
The simple answer is to read up on how to use locking tuners. It states clearly in the instructions to tune sharp through the strings, then lower to correct pitch. Same as you would with a Floyd. Tune up, clamp down, use the finetuner to lower to correct pitch.

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No no and no

Okay, so here's the deal. You likely have the trem on your guitar set in the "float" position. That means that the entire bridge is balanced on the two posts. By balanced, I mean that the tension of the combined strings is working against the tension of the springs in the rear cavity of your guitar. This is a common setup on a Strat. I highly recommend that you take the time to do the following:

Take the rear plate off your guitar, which will expose the springs. You'll see that the springs attach to the sustain block portion of the trem, and on the other end, they attach to the "claw", which is attached to the body with a couple wood screws. Those wood screws are intended as an adjustment point for the spring tension. Now that you have the springs uncovered, take a close look at how your trem operates. Wiggle the trem arm up and down and observe how the bridge moves and how it engages with the posts.
The only thing holding your bridge/trem on the guitar is the tension from the strings and the springs. If you ever remove all your strings and the springs in the back, the bridge/trem will easily drop right out of the top of your guitar. Don't stop fiddling with it until you grasp how it functions.

The point is, you will be rewarded by taking the time to understand how your trem actually works.

Understanding how it works will allow you to understand the problem you're having now. As you're trying to tune, each sting is dependent on the others, because of the way the trem floats. Let's say you're in perfect tune, and you decide to detune your D string by a whole step. By detuning the D, you have decreased the overall tension exerted by the combined six strings. Remember, the combined tension of the six strings is perfectly counteracted by the adjustable springs in the back, so now the springs have a small advantage over the combined strings. And what happens. Your E,B,G,A,and E strings will go slightly sharp as they're pulled on by the springs.

This will all become very apparent to you if you take the time to observe how your trem works and reason it out.

So, if you're tuning up from scratch, say with a new set of strings, you'll tune your low E, then the A, the D, etc., until you've done all six correctly per your tuner. Then, as you said, you go back to the low E, and it's FLAT. Of course....because after you tuned the low E, you proceeded to add more tension to the COMBINED strings by bringing the other strings to pitch. So, what you have to do on a Strat is go back and tune the low E, the A, the D, etc., and you'll end up closer. Then go back and do it again!!! I call it "chasing pitch". As you get the pitch of the strings in the ballpark, small changes in the tuning of each string will have a pretty much unnoticeable effect on the other strings.

A lot of Strat owners eliminate this whole problem by adjusting their trem so that it no longer "floats". They adjust the bridge so it's flat to the body and only allows diving (lowering pitch). With this setup, the strings are no longer dependent on each other. You'll find plenty of info online about this common setup if you want to try it.

There are pros and cons to "floating" your trem or having it flat to the body. Currently, I float mine and have zero tuning problems. Having your Strat stay in tune is another issue that is discussed widely on the internet and worth your reading. Mostly, it's a matter of making sure your strings are able to glide smoothly over the nut.

You intonation issues are unrelated to your tuning issues. I would suggest quickly gaining an understanding of your trem system and basic tuning of a Strat, and then either have a pro do your intonation with your preferred string gauge or do it yourself.

Bottom line is, a Strat can be a maddening beast when it comes to tuning. I've talked to guys who say they owned one and got rid of it because they're no good and don't stay in tune. I cannot overemphasize the importance of gaining an understanding of the system, and then going at taming it one step at a time.

Wow! Thanks, people. I've never owned a guitar with a floating bridge system, so I was unaware of how that worked. Thank you for all the information! I think what I'm going to do is take it in to an luthier and have them fix the intonation, while also flattening the bridge back and remove the float like some of you suggested.

Thanks very much.


By the way, I purchased the strat from a pawn shop, it didn't have the instructions.

Their readily available online.

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No no and no

I didn't assume this was a natural thing and as such had no reason to suspect that instructions were necessary.

I recently got the new 2010 american deluxe and have not had a problem so far

i have also recentely layed hands on a 2005 american deluxe and have not had any problems

definately take it to a guitar retailer and get it checked up it only cost about $50-$100 and a few hundred more if it needs to be repaired!

What I suspect it is (and this isn't proven fact), is that because you have as little wind on a locking tuner as possible. They are more prone to string stretch than they are string slip. In other words where a string would slip on the post, resulting in a flat open note. The string on a locking tuner will stretch with no slack to mitigate the effect.

(even reading that it looks silly)

Locking tuners are not normal tuners you gotta string em and tune em differently. Go sharp then lower to pitch.

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No no and no

Hah! Only. That's the plan, though.


Ah! Thank you. I'll look into it more than I have. I take it they're different than the Gibson Deluxe locking tuners? Cause those are what's on my Les Paul, and I don't have the same problems there.