Tremolo Bar

[barry68]

Hi,

I play electric guitar on a cheap beginner guitar

the issue is when I use the tremolo bar, the bottom 3 strings get out of tune almost immediately, I was wondering if I buy let's say a £500-600 fender guitar would that issue be resolved or it happens to all the guitars?


________________
2015 Taylor 414ce

[Oldguy64]

There are a number of fixes for this.
The cheapest would be to install a set of locking tuners.

[Buc-a-Roo]

The trem on a "cheap beginners guitar" may or may not be made to work properly. I'll guess it's a Fender vintage-style tremolo, which at best is tricky to get right and in a stock configuration is not intended for Rhodes-stlye dive bombing.........if that's what you're into get another guitar. Setup properly, a vintage trem is a fine piece of gear and there are many tricks to make them function well without tuning issues........locking machine heads is not one of them. Sort out what it is you expect from a tremolo system and proceed accordingly. G'luck!

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

There are a number of fixes for this.
The cheapest would be to install a set of locking tuners.

Locking tuners don't really affect tuning stability, they just make string changing very fast and easy.

A locking tremolo is the answer to stay completely in tune...which requires major surgery.

Fender strat style trems aren't the best for staying in tune, if you use the bar heavily. The Jazzmaster trem is a much better design, but allows for much less "wiggle room"

The best thing to do is make sure your nut is properly cut and lubricated with a bit of graphite or something. String binding up in the nut is the number one cause of going out of tune with a trem bar. But an imperfect design will always yield imperfect results.

[barry68]

It's not worth making any surgeries on my current guitar as its a cheap beginner guitar what I want to know is if on the more advanced guitars, will I have the same problem?

[FrankHudson]

Since we know such few details about your current guitar, its tuning stability problems, and how you use it and string it, it may be hard to tell you if a new more expensive guitar will likely fix things. Some problems these questions are asking about could follow you to your new guitar.

Here are some questions that may help us help you.

What model/kind of guitar do you have the problem with?

Can you tell us what kind of trem it has? A clear picture or link to the model may help if you don't know the terminology.

Do you use the trem to bend up and bend down in pitch?

When you bend, what is the extent of the pitch change?

How do you restring/string up your guitar at the tuning pegs? How many string wraps? What kind of strings? Do you string-stretch after putting on a new set of strings?

If you slack your strings a down a note or two, and then tune up slowly using a tuner, do you hear a "ping" sometimes, or does the tuner show a "catch" where the string doesn't increase in pitch and then does a non-linear jump up in pitch?

Does your guitar go out of tune sharp or flat or both?

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by barry68

It's not worth making any surgeries on my current guitar as its a cheap beginner guitar what I want to know is if on the more advanced guitars, will I have the same problem?

Well, like others have said, it depends on the design of the trem.

A 3k strat with a vintage style trem will still have tuning issues.

[barry68]

below is a link to the guitar I bought. I originally paid £100.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lindo-Elect...ct_top?ie=UTF8 something very similiar.

I don't use the tremolo bar a lot but those few times I use it, it goes flat.

I use the trem to bend down.

and it wraps around 2-3 times.

[Dru Edwards]

Hi Barry, Welcome to the AGF.

I'm guessing that the issue is with your tremolo and an upgraded guitar would be better.

Another thought - is your tremolo setup correctly? Is it floating too high? Are the springs pulling too much on one side of the tremolo? That could impact tuning stability.

[blue]

Setting up a "vintage" 6 screw trem, especially the nut, is an art form. And experts disagree on the setup, which doesn't help us at all!

But using one is an art form too! It rarely works to just let go of the bar after using it, except on the best setup. Notice I didn't say "except on a very expensive guitar".

Bringing the bar back to "in tune" instead of just letting go is the best approach, but if you have a cheap (sometimes hollow) plastic nut, or even if you just put too many winds on the string post (that steepens the angle the strings pass over the nut and introduces friction and grabbing) Bar manipulation doesn't matter.

Setup first. Then learn how to use it.

[JeffreyAK]

Originally Posted by barry68

It's not worth making any surgeries on my current guitar as its a cheap beginner guitar what I want to know is if on the more advanced guitars, will I have the same problem?

Try some and see! Cheap tremolo systems can be horrible, and the vintage Fender systems can be bad too, which is actually why I bought my hardtail Strat in the first place, since back then it was either vintage Fender tremolo or hardtail, and locking systems weren't around or at least weren't widely available. I understand the stock Fender systems nowadays are much better, but I haven't tried one. The ultimate system for dive bombing and staying in tune is a locking tremolo, and some guitars come with them from the factory.

[posternutbag]

To directly answer your question, IMO, no. Really, the trem on a strat is pretty useless until you get up to the Am. Standard/Professional level. I don't think the trem on the MiM strat is much better than what is on a Squire. The trem on the Am. Std/Pro level strats are much better, but as Mr. B said, there will still be issues, even with a very expensive, custom shop strat because, quite frankly, it isn't a very good design.

There is a reason that 80's shred-tastic guitars came with Floyd Rose locking trem systems. If you are going to engage in dive bomb whammy bar abuse, it is a much better system. I am in no way saying that is what you are doing, I am merely illustrating that for heavy trem use, there really is a better mousetrap.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by barry68

It's not worth making any surgeries on my current guitar as its a cheap beginner guitar what I want to know is if on the more advanced guitars, will I have the same problem?

My PRS 24 CE stays in tune even with a fair amount of trem bar usage, so my guess would be no (depending on the design )

[Wasper]

If you can, try to seek out a G&L Tribute Legacy in that price range. I tried one side by side with a MIM Fender Stratocaster and the G&L had a much more robust tremolo bridge equipped on it.

Look at the difference.

Fender:
http://shop.fender.com/en-US/electri...144600502.html

G&L: -
http://www.glguitars.com/instruments..._new/index.asp

The G&L's tremolo was made of thicker metal and looked to be of a higher quality in terms of fit and finish. In person, the Fender's system looks and feels cheap.

They look to be around the same price in the UK, at least on Amazon. You linked a left handed model earlier and these are right handed , but they are good for examples.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...odL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...H-L&ref=plSrch

[perttime]

Even if the tremolo (vibrato, actually) works perfectly, you can still have issues at the nut, or between nut and tuners. Doing dive bombs, and also less drastic moves with the bar makes the strings move over the nut. If there's any stickiness there, you have tuning problems. That is why locking trems like Floyd Rose have a clamp at the nut. Then nothing moves there.