I have a 2008 Fender Deluxe Strat (USA). My knowledge of guitar hardware is very limited.

I'm wondering when replacing my strings or tuning my guitar I have to repeat each string several times until I get all the way across?

I have to tune the low string, once I do this it must put tension on the bridge and puts the rest of the strings out of tune. I can get it to a usable state if I tune over and over again when the strings are fairly equal in tension. Is there any way to fix this? Makes it difficult to down tune the guitar.

Thanks in advance!

That's the nature of the beast when dealing with tremelo equipped guitars. I have never found strats a particularly good guitar for tuning back and forth. You can do a couple things to address your situation. Block or increase the number of tremelo springs to hold the bridge hard against the face of the guitar and allow for changing the tuning. Or after you have your strat properly setup, buy a telecaster for alternate tunings.

You should manually stretch your strings while tuning. While you are tuning, the strings stretch natually until they reach equilibrium. Manually stretching them (I stretch and tune about three times to reach steady tune) will help them come to proper tune faster. Do a search on You Tube for proper stretching methods.

_________________
Bill

Hi bluesky636: absolutely right - but I've a feeling that as Rob Millette indicated the OP is having problems with the nature of a floating trem - tuning one string to pitch throws the others off.

aacajo, welcome to the Forum. What you have noticed is an inevitable consequence of the vibrato bridge. Increasing tension on one string by tuning it up causes the bridge to pull forwards and in so doing to slacken the tension on the other strings, detuning them.

A simple way to avoid that which some people use is to change the strings one at a time. Bring each one up to pitch before removing and replacing the next. However, that means you don't have all the strings off at the same time, and that makes cleaning the fingerboard more difficult.

So the other way is to roughly tune all the strings near to pitch, and then as you bring each one to pitch the first time you take it slightly sharp, so that when you tune the others it drops but only goes a little flat. Just as you say, you will still have to tune each string two or three times to get them to end up all in tune together, but as time passes you will get better and better at it and it will bother you less.

It is true that there are other procedures involving wooden blocks temporarily inserted in the back of the guitar, as Rob mentioned. But I suggest you don't worry about those for the time being: you need to just concentrate on learning to tune a vibrato bridge for now.

And, like bluesky says, you must also stretch the strings in as you go, or you will have problems for days with a new set.

Good luck - C

_________________

...has anybody ever tried robo-tune on a floating strat?

Once my strats are tuned to pitch, I leave them there, it takes too much time to retune and then the fine tuning is out of whack...intonation, string height, neck bow...everything changes when you tune up or down.

What killed tuning issues for me is Nut Sauce and playing the gauge string the guitar was originally setup from the factory. If I'm using heavier or lighter gauge strings, the nut has to be adjusted or the strings will pinch or flop around, respectively.

Also, never do the winding method of stringing a string. Use the tie method, it eliminates binding and twisting and slipping.

And, for my tastes, even a tele can't really be radically tuned up and down without sounding off. From concert pitch to drop is easy, half-step down improves the sound, a whole step down and the setup needs to be re-done or sounds off.

And, when you stretch strings, do not stop stretching one string until it fully settles, then move onto the next string. If it changes pitch after a bend or a whammy, the string still needs to be stretched, don't even bother trying to tune the next string until the previous string is fully settled.

What I do is re-string a guitar, fully stretch the strings, let it sit over-night, play it out, the day after that, I do the fine-tuning setup.

A good sign your strings aren't stretched is when you play the guitar in tune-while it's warmed up, you put the guitar down over-night and you come back and one or all strings are unequally flat. If you take a guitar that is perfectly tuned, fully stretched strings, put it down and let it get cold, you should see the strings go a bit flat/sharp (Dean Markley Blue Steel will shrink a lot and go sharp sometimes, depending up the temps), or just stay in tune, period.

If the strings are stretched and the guitar still doesn't hold tune, your tuners or bridge or nut has an issue, whole nother story!

Hi RCB-CA-USA: not myself. But recently I was present to see Trev Wilkinson demonstrate his new Super-Matic tuning system for Strat type bridges. Probably not for me, but I must say it was very impressive indeed. You have to stretch the strings yourself - it then does everything else for you. Including mid-song retunes, broken string compensation and a whole array of instant alternate tunings. And easily retro-fitable to any S-type guitar.

At this moment, the best thing of its kind on the market, far as I can see - though it is currently hardtail only; he said a whammy version will be coming along shortly. More info here:

http://www.whamster.com/viewProduct.php?ID=523

Cheers - C

_________________

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions! I'll just use my other guitar as a lower tuning and use my strat for standard tuning. Great suggestion about string stretching and changing one at a time...don't know why I didn't think of that.

If you are removing all strings to clean the frets and fretboard, take one from each side and work towards the middle removing the rest (don't start at one end and start cutting, pulling). Supposedly, the neck bow can change due to sudden, hard tension changes, which makes sense to me and explains why when I didn't use the method, everything was a little or a lot off when I pulled strings off top to bottom, instead of towards the middle.

Every since I followed all the info I shared above, tuning has become very quick, very easy, *very* predictable and now I can focus on intonation issues and string brands and pickups without the tuning issue sticking its b-ugly head into every setup.

But, the clincher is Nut Sauce. I tried everything else. Nothing else works and lasts as long.

Oh, and for the finishing touch...Gorgomyte to clean rosewood and ebony fretboards and all frets. When I do my maple necks, I tape off the maple and just polish the frets and then use a moist cloth to clean off the maple fret board.