My buddy's '78 Strat has the same block of wood that he placed in it back then.
What's that... 33 years!

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

Neither my strats or tele go out of tune. It's one of the benefits of having a well set up guitar (JK)

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No no and no

That made me think of the one stringed, upside-down washtub thing from Hee-Haw. That thing probably has the least amount of tuning issues of anything, no nut, bridge or tuners to fuss with.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

To float or not to float. That´s the question.

In my opinion, the ones that says "You can´t float a stratocaster tremolo without tuning issues..." is a phrase for the weaks that do not know how to properly set it up with perfection.

I too had issues when I first minded that I wanted to float my trems. I´ve even gave up for a few weeks. But every string change I´ve learned something new, from theorys on the web to youtube videos and here at the lounge.

Today I can setup my strat floating very well with the carl verheyen method, you gotta understand and feel the physics going on your instrument, then it will be all a matter of time till you can setup yours perfectly without detuning it for weeks under heavy use.

What I´ve found crucial on the setup:
1 - Nut lubbed and properly cut.
2 - The less string trees on the way, the better.
3 - The balance between strings and bridge springs.
4 - The "musically" height of the tremolo (about 3.2mm gap)

And of course the basics, how to restring properly, lubbed contact points, string height and intonation.

When I first bought my strat I too took it to a tech to set it up. He said the same to me. But when I got back to him a few months ago with my strat, then he asked me for directions on how my setup was made with the floating tremolo. I showed him. He was amazed and said there was no need for me to take my strat to him anymore. Nowadays he doesn´t say that about flush tremolos anymore. Got that ?

The stratocaster is a personal object, like an extension to yourself, learn every hence of it, and it will love you right back!

Mdred85:

While everyone is arguing about trems, here is how to set your guitar up yourself. It isn't hard and will give you a baseline on where else you might want to go. There are also a lot of good You Tube videos. Do a search for Carl Verheyen's trem setup video. In the interest of full disclosure, my trem is fully blocked. Good luck.

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide

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Bill

Thanks for all the feedback. I definitely want to float my trem and this info is very useful. Again thanks.

I deck all my trems and have no tuning issues when doing bends or dives.The secret is to have all contact points well lubed to minumize friction and to stretch the innards out of the stringss when you put them on.

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'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 can assure you have done something wrong with the LP... The strings have a way of wrapping around the tuners when you install them. If you do it anyway you like, the guitar will not stay in tune. If you follow the instructions by Gibson on how to install new strings, plus add a bit of pencil bits on the nut (to reduce friction-i.e. graphite) then the only reason the guitar would go out of tune is the temperature. They are sensitive to temperature changes. It happens with some types of wood, especially the ones Gibson uses.

Mine floats, and it stays in tune much better than when i had it flush. I dont know why, but it does. A properly setup guitar, with the nut cut properly, and lubricated if need be(though shouldnt need to if it was cut properly), will stay in tune.

Mate it's got nothing to do with tuner windings. Which I'm anal about at the best of times. But everything to do with straight string path which is woefully absent from the design. Look at the G&D slots. Their not even cut straight. It's downright shoddy design.
As for pencil lead, graphite or vasceline, no thanks. Horrible ugly, messy solutions that are just a cowboyish bodge that doesn't address the problem. Dental floss works much better and doesn't mess up the nut slots.

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No no and no

I have all my trems floating. I have no tuning issues because I learned that when you make the string tension equal on the springs then you will have no tuning problems. Here is a great video that will help explain and take away any confusion! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-F7iSIopA

Hope this helps!
ABS

I followed the instructions in the Carl Verheyen video and now my guitar is much easier to handle. Does it stay perfectly in tune after trem bar use? No, but like others have said a little nudge and it's fine for me.

I have heard the "trem needs to be decked in order to stay in tune" and that is what I had done. The tips and tricks in this thread helped me learn about my instrument and add a lot of fun to my guitar playing.

Thanks

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'09 Am Deluxe Ash Strat
'09 Mex Standard Strat
'10 Mex Standard Tele
Champ 600
Blues jr.
'65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

The secret to getting your Six Screw Vintage Style Tremolo to float comfortably is in the two outer most screws.

The secret to getting your strings to come back from a tremolo is lubricating the nut, whether you use Graphite, lead, paraffin wax, or floss (first time I heard that one, have to try it).

On a personal note, a "Decked" tremolo just feels wrong to me. It puts the saddles at the wrong angle.

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"Persistence Is The Father Of Invention"
-Crazy Old Man In Training

Firstmeasure, I much prefer floss. Stops all that grey staining and gunk build up. Use a very waxy floss. I use OralB. Leaves the nut slots clean, tidy, lubed and smelling fresh. Also you get the wax exactly where you want it. I've always suspected pencil lead not to get into the high E and B slots.

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No no and no

Out of curiosity,does anyone know how Hendrix had his trem set?