tremelos

[jaycee]

Hi all, can anyone help, i have a not too expensive (£250) yamaha with a trem, its not a locking head system, and it keeps going out of tune when i use the tremelo arm, anyone got any tips to stop it doing this? Ta!!

[metalprep6969]

Unfortunately, no matter what you do, standard trems will always go a little out of tune. I've heard about lubricating the nut or something. You can also get locking tuners, though that won't do anything for the trem. You can also make adjustments to claw screws inside the trem cavity.

\m/

[Bizarro]

There are several things you can do:
1. Tie the strings onto the string tree better. String slippage is one of the biggest problems with an unlocked system. Locking tuners will (duh!) lock the string onto the tuner and prevent this.
2. Lube the nut with some graphite from a pencil when changing strings.
3. Lube any points where the string rubs with chapstick (like on the string tree).
4. If you don't raise the pitch with the bar, consider having it rest against the body so it doesn't float. This is done by tightening the springs in back.
5. Use good strings, like Fender Bullets, if they fit. They work better with vintage style tremolo systems.

Remember, the first Van Halen album was done with a vintage, non-locking Fender tremolo. It is possible to minimize the tuning problems, and occasionally eliminate them once you figure it out! Good luck! :)

[oRg]

If you don't mind doing some guitar trem modification. EVH cut one of his tremolo's in half. Thay way he could still bend the hell outta his higher string and his lower strings would still stay in tune. Another idea if you wanna spend a little more money is put a new tremolo in it. I've always been one to think no matter how cheap the guitar is you can make it sound as good as an expensive guitar. New Neck, new pickups, and new tremolo can change the sound of a guitar totally.

[EricV]

The three points where the friction ( which causes the tune instability ) occurs are:
- Tuners
- Nut
- Bridge

With a double-locking-trem such as a Floyd Rose, those points are "eliminated"... no friction at the nut and bridge, and once the nut is locked, the tuners won´t cause friction either.

If you don´t mind slight modifications, you might increase tuning stability by replacing the regular nut with an LSR roller nut ( Each strings runs between two ball bearings, which eliminates friction ). A luthier should do that for you do, cuz it usually requires cutting away a piece of wood, and you need some tools like a really thin drill bit.

The tuners could be replaced with either Schaller or Gotoh locking tuners... there are even more on the market, but those are the ones I tried. Both are good, I prefer the Schaller ones though... there´s a screw at the bottom of the tuner which you use to lock the string ( no need to wrap the string around the tuner anymore )

You could also replace the standard bridge with a FR-bridge ( there are some withou fine tuners, looking similar to Wilkinson bridges )... the Fender Strat Ultra had that setup.

Question is, do you wanna invest that kind of time and money ? Cuz eventually, for the really wacky trem-stuff, a Floyd Rose would be best, so maybe it´d be a good idea to save up some money and get another guitar with a Floyd Rose on it
Eric

[Metalliska]

Yeah I got a £250 vintage VRS (a cheap PRS copy), i had it set up professionally and had two new pickups fitted, sounds great for a cheaper guitar more like something which should cost twice the price, tho all that said, its got a strat style trem and it really screws my tuning if I use it, great guitar, but the trem aint no use to man nor beast and I have played with the tuners and stuff. I even had to take the arm off so that other people wouldn't get creative with it. I've tried playing with the tuners and the bridge but in my experience unless its a full floyd rose with locking nut your p*ssing in the wind.

[jaycee]

thanx guys for your help, me thinks i need a new trem, can i get a floyd thingy fitted?

[Bizarro]

Metalliska, my 80's Charvel with Floyd has bulletproof tuning stability. I can beat the crap out of it and it is always in tune, for months and sometimes years!

But... it is possible to get a Strat tremolo to be decent enough to stay in tune for a whole set with occasional use. But you're right, it'll never be like a Floyd setup.

[Metalliska]

Yeah Bizarro, I know there are good systems on guitars out there with rock solid tuning, my brothers got a cheap yamaha, jackson style guitar, it has a feed through floyd rose and a locking nut and it's steady as a rock, mine isn't though and I'm not a huge fan of the whammy anyway, I'll be honest I could never really get the hang of it.