So I just bought a new stratocaster. I immediately put new strings on it, Dadarrio 9s. apart from the tuners being awful I got the strings to quit stretching out pretty quickly. So now I've intonated messed with the height yada ya, every time I use the vibrato arm all of the strings sharpen. I am perplexed. All I can think is that the springs need some time to break in and they pull harder when I let off of the bar? what the heck is happening is it normal?

First, why do you say the tuners are so awful?

Second, from your "yada yada" description, Im not confident you set it up properly. If you feel you know how to properly, OK. If not, we can go through that or you can look it up on this website.

On your strings going sharp with vibrato use, Its interesting that they "all" go sharp. This would imply that either all strings are binding somewhere or something isnt providing enough tension to return the bridge/trem to its original position.

A couple quick things to check.....first, do you hear anything "ping" occassionally? If so, you might lubricate the nut-slots. Add a little beeswax or graphite in each string slot on the nut. If those slots are binding, the string may not draw back to its original position after trem-use, leaving the strings sharp. Its odd they all sharpen, though. If its a new guitar, you should need to cut the nut-slots, but that may be something to consider down the road.

You also might check your saddles to ensure the strings are seated properly and drop a little beezwax or graphite or machine oil (a tiny drop) where the strings hit the saddles.

_________________
BigJay's Custom '69 Kickassocaster
'90 Les Paul Standard "Vintage"
'00 MIJ '62 Tele RI
'76 Fender BandMaster Reverb
'71 Acoustic Control 2x12 w/Celestion V30s
'71 Martin D18
Mesa Mark IV
'65 Deluxe Reverb RI

Yup, your nut slots aren't cut right. pay the $50, and get a proper setup done. With a properly dressed nut, you shouldnt even need to use any kind of lubricant at all. I have locking tuners, and I play for hours, and while I dont do dive bombs; I do deep bends, and use the trem regularly. When I check my tuning an hour or so later, maybe one string is just a little out of tune. I do probably 12-20 setups a week, and i only do it part time. I cant tell you how many seasoned players dont even know enough to get a setup done. That's why you need to wary when reading consumer reviews on websites. Out of every 20 bad reviews, or issues they claim to have with a guitar, 19 are because I know they didnt get a setup especially when they say "it wont stay in tune, the actions too high etc.". Like I said, its not just people new to guitar. Im going to my friends to prepare his gear for a European tour. He went to Berkley, has been in a signed band for 15 years, and knows NOTHING about how to take care of his instruments. He told me he had problems with his Wah, when i got there I took one look and said; "you do realize that a wah goes in the front of your chain, not last right?" I read an interview with BB King, and that guys lucky he can change his own strings. Geta setup, and try pure nickel (not nickel plated steel) strings. I use them, and they stay in tune much longer than Slinkys or other nickel plated steel.

I'd try increasing the spring tension by screwing the spring claw screws in further and then putting graphite in the nut slots.If all this fails that's when I'd decide to go through the expense of a nut recut.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I don't know what type of strat you bought. I'm going t assume it has the six screw trem. Whatever it is. A proper professional set up is well with the money. If you're not familiar with doing them, and are just following the manual, there are things that are notbgettng done. Believe me when I say its well worth the cost, and getting the nut slots correctly cut is part of a setup.If you don't have the funds to do it right now, here is my suggestion, it should help in the meantime; if you still have the excess string ends you cut, LIGHTLY run them through their corresponding slots; low E string through that slot and so on. You want to make a slight bow in the piece of string you are using, and lightly rub it back & forth. The idea is to take any shart corners off the slot. Try nnot to go into the slot too deep, you don't want to make the slot deeper, that's something for an experienced repair tech to do. Then go out and get graphite grease. Rene Martinez puts it out through GHS, its cheap, about$5 and a. Bottle should last you a couple years. What I think is happeninge is that the screws that hold the trem to the body are getting caught, this is a more likely scenerio than the strings getting caught in the nut, sepecially if you're using 9s. If you went from 9s to 11s or 12s then maybe, but even then at least 1 string would go back to pitch. Remember if its a 6 screw tremolo, the gap between. The plate & the body should be no more than 1/8". It should only be able to raise the pitch a half step or so, any more and you will always have tuning issues, 6 screw trems are actually designed to be flush w/the body, but a half step float is fine. You then want to loosen the strings enough to be able to get a small screwdriver in so you can raise the screws. Do it one at a tine: with a Qtip, appyly a small amount of the grease around the top of the screw post, where the plate will meet the screw. Do this for all of them. When you loosen the strings, if you have a capoclamp the strings down @ the 1st fret so they don't move all over the place, with the capo in place slide your hand under all the strings and pull the slack out so its after the capo, this will give you the lose of string tension to do the job. After all the screws have the grease on them, its time to tighten them back down. This also may be where the problem is. The correct way to do it is to start w/the 2 outside screws; tighten them down just to the point where you see the plate raise back up, then scfew them out just enough for theplate to lay flush again w/the body, then loosen them just a little ways more; about 1/4_1/2 a turn, then you're set. Tighten the rest back down, but leave them just a hair higher than the 2 outside screws, those 2 are doing all the work anyway. I've done setups where they want only those screws left in. Now retune the guitar to pitch and restretch them like the first time. You may have to work the tremolo a several times for the grease to work its way around the inside of the holes in the plate. Remember that some trems have a sort of break in period, and when you use the trem, you mau hage to give it a little shake or wobble of the arm to get it to go back to its zero point. Because all the strings are going sharp, I'm confident this is your problem. If it doesn't work, contact me at whitenoisesfc@gmail.com & ill walk you through some other steps. Good luck, Tim