Keeping a Strat In Tune
I recently read an article in Guitar World in which Ritchie Blackmore was interviewed. The topic came up about how he kept his strat in tune when he uses the whammy bar. He said it had something to do with the springs and if they were adjusted correctly, the bridge would always retrun to the same position. Is this true, and if so, how is this done?
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Yes, this is entirely true. When you purchase a Strat from Fender they are already set-up for moderate use of the tremolo... By moderate, I mean light vibrato and light to medium dives and such. This doesn't cause any tuning trouble for most people... However, the stock set-up is also set-up for a certain guage of strings... whatever the guitar comes with from the factory (most likely .9's) When you change the guage of strings to heavier strings you will notice that the bridge will feel a tad bit more loose. This is because the added string tension isn't equalized by the trem-spring tension, causing the trem to rock easier. Strat style trems aren't like floyd roses... they aren't designed to really be 100% efficient... if you use your trem A LOT... have it set-up by a pro to what gauge strings you like and so on... It will help in tuning stability and it will feel better when you play it. Trem set-ups aren't the easiest things to do... so I recommend going to a professional for this one... I could tell you how to do it, but knowing how and being able to are different things. I wouldn't want anyone screwing their guitar up on my account!!! Good luck, hope it answers your question.
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