I bought an Amerian Special 1 month ago and it will not stay in tune for more than a couple of minutes. The strings should be broke in by now. I'm using my tuner on a G-DEC 30 and also A Chromatic Korg tuner. Any ideas ?

stretch the guts out of the strings, start low and tune up to pitch....do you have at least 2-3 wraps around the post?

Swich out your strings for ernie ball extra slinkys, those will do you good.

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You cant always get what you want

Have a luthier look at it. It's usually a one of two things; poor set up or poorly shaped nut. Also how you put strings on the guitar makes a difference.

I will strech those strings and if that doesn'twork I'm taking it to a Luthier, I've been pondering doing this anyway .Theres to much enjoyment being lost dealing with this any longer. Thank You.

Fender has a great 5 year warranty. They replaced my amp with no problems.

A good setup is a must for any new guitar .It saves alot of frustration. Well worth the money spent. Eventually a good idea to learn to do them yourself.

I was going to suggest a set up from an authorized Fender shop. It should be done at Least once after buying a guitar. A lot of Musical Instrument Retailers do not do this these days, at least not properly (I'm not naming names) but to get your guitar in proper working order, It needs a good setup.

Having an experienced, COMPETENT tech completely (re)set it up the first time around will not only do wonders for your playing enjoyment but will help the instrument break in correctly. After this, it's just maintenance.

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You dig?

Hi Colorman.

With respect, you sound like someone very inexperienced around Strats.

There's a wealth of experience in these Forum pages, specifically posted to help people deal with rogue tuning issues. So as not to repeat it all yet again, I suggest you look back through some posts.

Basically, look for anything that relates to nut lubrication, string winding/stretching and trem set up. I'm sure the answers you need are all here somewhere. You could of course take the guitar to a tech, and I don't doubt that he'll get it playing sweetly with tuning you can have confidence in, but it really is worth picking up some of this info/experience for yourself. You don't want to have to run to an (expensive) tech every time you need to change your strings!

Good luck with the Strat - I personally love those American Specials.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

Make sure your tuners and neck are tight.

Did it stay in tune at first?

One month is way too long for a set of strings. Especially if you are playing a lot, which i will guess you are since it's a new guitar.

Change your strings!!!

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Great ideas from all replies I will try myself if I can't get in set-up properly then I'm taking it back to ( big retail Guitar store), I bought it from and give them a shot. I do have concerns about them getting it done correctly. If all fails I will locate a Luthier which is what my gut tells should be first but I have a great warranty and believe I best start with the Guitar store. I will post the results when available. I love this forum what a great tool my hats off to Fender. I'm retired at 57 and my ableton is waiting to give me an education it's like a dream. Thank You for all replies

If that big retail place is what I think it is, don't bother taking your guitar there for a setup. Find a good competent local luthier. You wouldn't take your car to Wal-Mart to get extensive work done in their auto section would you? Don't take your guitar to the Wal-Mart of guitar shops, where most of the time they don't even know the difference between a p90 and a humbucker.

+1 .Take it to a competent guitar tech.Ask around to where gigging musicians are taking their guitars to.Funny you mentioned the p90s .I had that same discussion at a big box store that shall remain nameless.He said they were mini humbuckers.I said ,um no they are single coils.If you ask some deeper questions about some of the equipment ,it becomes obvious how little they actually do know.