When i say strat i actually mean a Squier affinity ! ...anyway i just bought one and i have to say i quite like it (especially as they're only £120 !) but the problem is i only have to stare at it hard and it goes out of tune..:maddance:

anybody got some tips on keeping a non locking trem in tune ?

Stick a bit of wood behind it :D Or check that the strings are not binding in the nut, soft pencil lead can be used to lubricate them.

What SteveG said and also the lowerer cost Squiers generally have cheaper tuners that could be causing the issue as well.

erm... vaseline :eek: on your nut! and change the tuners, you can get locking ones quite cheaply which will be better than what you have now... And don't expect to divebomb it to much ;)

.... or buy and fit a F/R licenced trem ("Woody Customs", "CH Guitars", etc on ebay ... down as low as £25 to buy sometimes) :notme:

Cheers guys :thumb:

Cheers guys :thumb:

Block the trem if ya don't use it,...all my Strats are blocked. I have one Squier and it stays in tune with no problem! What's your string gauge! Most Fenders ship with 9s or 10s! Anyway,..I would just blocked the trem and your done! If ya waste cash on new tuners or a different trem,...you could have gotten a little better guitar for the price ya put into it to make it right! Just my 2 cents bro!
;)
Johnny

I'd say the nut is plastic, and plastic nuts are not great for keeping a guitar in tune, plus maybe there's a bit of string slippage caused by the tuners. You may need to spend a few more quid on getting locking tuners which will help but not solve the issue completely, maybe a graphite or non friction nut fitted. I've had this a lot with cheaper models I've bought, I even get it a little on my Ibanez Prestige SA, that's got a plastic nut and non locking tuners also. My Hamer I just got goes out of tune but the more I play it, the more it stays in tune, so maybe it just needs a bit of playing in.

I have a squire as well and I have no issues with it staying in tune as long as I don't touch the tremolo heh. Strats were not made for using the tremolo anyway and Squires are even worse because of the cheap tuners.

But if you aren't using the trem at all and are having tuning issues I would check and make sure the nuts on the tuners are all real tight and also, as suggested above, add some lubricant to the nut and saddles. I have this stuff called "nut sauce" that works great. I would stay away from things like vasaline and chapstick as they collect dust and can make things get gooed up over time and you will have even worse issues.

Thanks for all the suggestions...i like to use the trem a bit so i'll probably try the cheapest suggestion first (pencil lead) and just see what works:thumb:

Best way to keep it in tune is to buy a Les Paul! :lol:

Using a strat tremolo and keeping it in tune is more to do with the set up of the trem and the ability to pull it back in using the trem!.I have been using them for 25 years now and they are so unpredictable but i much prefer them to locking trems,Put a floyd rose on and you lose 50% of a strats tone!!Here's an interesting article on strat set up.http://members.tripod.com/~AFH/Tips.html hope this helps.:)

I have a mex strat and that was a twat to keep in tune until I got the trem looked at in a shop and its fine now
But the american strat I've just got has those locking tuners and they are great, trem as much as you want and its stays in tune.

I keep all my guitars in a room with around 38% to 41% with a humidifier, and have found that this helps allot in keeping intonation bang on.The other thing that will help is changing one string at a time instead of cutting all off at once.The saddles move around and twist when you take all off at once causing your intonation to go out.One string at a time will keep the saddles and neck rod from moving....i havent had to intonate my strat's for over a year using the combo of constant humidity and string change method....took me 25 years! to figure that out.

P.S the other guys are also correct in saying that the first upgrade should be locking tunners(Schaller are best imho) Stewart Mcdonald is a good web supplier.

I have a tex-mex too, I use (dont laugh to hard) Big Bends Nut Sauce... :tard:

LOL

I dab a little in each slot in the nut maybe every 5th string change and I'm good to go.. I put locking tuners (sperzel) and I HIGHLY recommend them! I also replaced the stock saddles with graphite saddles, this prevents string breakage, saddle burrs & changed the tone a little, made it a bit warmer.


Oh, by the way.. i think it's been 2-3 years since my last post, so.. Hi.. lol

Just fitted a trem-setter to my JS1200 and it works like a dream, I can dive as much as I want and it comes back rock steady... forget that trem-flutter effect but for a reliable tuned trem it works an absolute treat.

I previously had a tremol-no in there but that was great for locking it off or setting it to dive only but not good if you want to pull up as well.

Aren't Trem setters more for locking trem systems or can you fit them on a strat too ?

I'd like whatever it is steve vai uses for my IbanezRG, he does trem-flutters all the time practically !

heres a pic of the thing in his EVO

http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/EVO/images/large_images/body_bkLRG02.jpg

I dunno why Ibanez dont sell them...i'm sure TONS of people would want one..:wtf:

Aren't Trem setters more for locking trem systems or can you fit them on a strat too ?

I'd like whatever it is steve vai uses for my IbanezRG, he does trem-flutters all the time practically !

heres a pic of the thing in his EVO

http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/EVO/images/large_images/body_bkLRG02.jpg

I dunno why Ibanez dont sell them...i'm sure TONS of people would want one..:wtf:

No you can fit them to any guitar with a trem (which has a block and springs etc). On the EVO it looks to me like there are two tremsetters or something very similar...

http://www.trueguitar.com/tremsetter2.jpg

No you can fit them to any guitar with a trem (which has a block and springs etc). On the EVO it looks to me like there are two tremsetters or something very similar...

http://www.trueguitar.com/tremsetter2.jpg

Question; Isnt it better to block the trem with wood if you never plan on using it? I ask this because i was thinking about trying a tremsetter, or the tremel-no, but had heard some bad reviews. I want to block off my PRS

if you're never going to use it, yes just block it off. The tremol-no is handy for locking off for the odd song though.