I just bought my new Fender Deluxe Strat and it's amazing! Just the quality and the sound is astonishing and beautiful! But... I recently adjusted the trem because the bar was a little too close to the guitar and it didn't bend the way I would have liked it to. Now, occasionally when I'm tuning the guitar the G-string tuner has a lumpish sort of thing in it. When I turn it, it isn't smooth, the tuner jolts when it turns and sometimes it will tune down and then go back up. It's really weird and nothing on top seems wrong, but it won't turn smoothly and sometimes the string tunes down for a second and comes back up. What's wrong? Should I get it checked or is it simple?

It's only the G-string tuner by the way, none of the others jolt or tune weird. Other than that, the guitar is just stunning.

I found that when the neck isn't setup correctly all the way around (relief, angle, nut), tuners do that. When everything's perfect, the tuners are nice n' smooth! Also, don't over-tigthen the tuner screws, but they need to be snug, and make sure the tuner nuts are nice n' tight, but...not too tight.

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

Intonnation are right ?

The saddle could have a bur, the string could be binding in the nut, the tuner may be going bad, a new setup may be needed... Lots of things to check. To fix the binding in the nut, put some pencil shavings in the nut slots (remember, pencil "lead is actually graphite). Take a bit of dental floss to the saddle, rub it back and fourth like your flossing it. If it gets shredded, you want to have that fixed or replaced. I've always disliked locking tuners anyway, but yours maybe faulty or needs to be oiled. Personally, I string up my Strat and tune UP to pitch, with three to five wraps around the post so the string nor the tuner slips...

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Hi Azawi. A new guitar, and a Deluxe at that? Take it back and have it checked. That's what the warranty is there for.

Tuners don't often have manufacturing errors, but if yours has it won't be the first time we've heard of it on the Forum. It's a simple enough thing to correct if there's something wrong with it, so for the money you paid you should not be having to put up with glitches.

Have a word with the seller.

Cheers - C

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While fiddling around with the setup on my Hwy 1, I noticed the tuners got the jumpy and lumpy feeling when the bridge is floated above 3.2mm, and get smoother at 3.2mm and under, with the smoothest, most precise operation when the bridge is decked!

Also, string wraps effect the tuners too. 2 to 3 wraps on the wound strings, smooth, 1 wrap or 4 wraps, jumpy. 3 to 4 wraps on the unwound strings, smooth, less than 3 wraps, jumpy.

It seems to me like tuners work best when within setup specs and best when the bridge is decked and the wraps are right.

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

Locking tuners should be tuned slightly sharp, then down to pitch on a restring.
Use only minimal winds on locking tuners. They are often misunderstood. They are not there to replace a locking nut, or do that job. The only bonus they offer is that you can pull the string as tight as possible, lock the tuner and have the minimum amount of turns to get the string to pitch.
In doing so, and having less winds around the tuner post, is where you gain in tuning stability.

I've experienced similar problems having a few winds around the post. Or it could be that the tuner button is too tight or too loose. If so, it's a bit of a turn of a screwdriver on the tuner button.
Or it could be that the cog has lost a tooth. In which case, definite warranty claim.

If not those, I'd suspect the nut having a bit of grime in it. If you floss it with waxy dental floss, it can work wonders on a dirty nut slot.
I wouldn't suspect the saddle. If it were burred enough to cause a huge difference, you'd snap strings on it before you got them to pitch. Also it's a new guitar and those Deluxe saddles are pretty tough.

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nikininja ,

I always read ( on tuner manual ) that locking tuner don't need any turn . That's what I do on mine and work fine.

On standard tuner you NEED many turns, but these turns could also change string's tensionning too. That's why they build locking tuner ; no turn needed.

You don't need many on a normal tuner either mate. I have about a turn and a half on my bass strings and they don't slip. My guitars are gigged weekly and there is never any more than a couple of cents out in between gigs.
My treble strings get about three winds round the post.
Thats with normal tuners.

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hmmm...then, maybe the break angle at the back of the nut when cut for non-locking tuners dictates how after market installation of locking tuners work?

Also, a torque wrench # for tightness of the tuner nuts might be helpful! ...too tight, not too tight, what's the number!

The way I clean nuts is to slide a clean cloth with a string over the nut slot, then apply Nut Sauce when the strings are fully s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d and up to pitch!

I haven't tried waxed floss yet, I'm gonna give that a try!

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

Deluxes have minimal break angle anyway. No string tree to speak of. The one they do have is so high, it's more of a guide.
Nut sauce is a no no in my book. All it does is attract grime after a while. Far too wet.

If you could get that fast fret stuff on a piece of cotton thread it would be ideal. Because it goes on pretty much dry and lubes better than floss. Floss is very good for cleaning nut slots and not bad (but not great) for lubing.

It does make the guitar smell nice though.

I despise that fast fret stuff on the fretboard because of the residue it leaves, it bothers me. Not that it's bad for your guitar or any of that stuff. It really is a personal preference thing.

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I did notice that Nut Sauce will gum up the slot if too much is used *and* the nut slots aren't cleaned often. When a set of strings is working real well and don't need changing, I'll use it sparingly and clean out the nut slots when it gets gummed up with dirt which is about once per week.

Have you tried Gorgomyte on the fretboard yet??? On rosewood, it does not gum up at all if you rub the board after the treatment until a white sock comes up clean, and the board stays hydrated for a long, long time, and the frets are way shiny and smooth afterwards!

When I use gorgomyte to polish frets on maple, I tape off the board as gorgo says it will darken wear spots, and maple cleans well with a moist, distilled water infused clean, clean cloth!

I love the smell of Gorgomyte! It smells like a baseball glove after saddle soap!

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

I don't really pay attention to my rosewood fretboards. I just find I don't need to. Whether that is because there is something missing from my finger sweat, or the fact that I live in the UK and don't have to worry about humidity ever, I don't know.

When I do oil my fretboards, I use bore oil. I thought to myself, "What would you rather trust. Something that Dunlop will sell you with a load of promises. Or something that a bloke who plays a £20K clarinet or bassoon uses?"

Haven't looked back.

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The rosewood boards I used gorgomyte on were heavily used or heavily neglected, grimy, ...bad, good as new now!

I'm about to use it on a new rosewood board cuz it's a little dry.

Try gorgomyte, it's non-toxic and will blow your mind, what it does to frets is ah-mazing!

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

Bore Oil is mineral oil, which is also the main ingredient in all the overpriced fretboard treatments.

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