Look Who it Was Random video

Keeping Your Strat Tremolo in Tune - Part II

3,125 views · Published 29 January 2018 · 12:59 · Indexed 4 November 2026

Channel: millstap · 2018 · Music

Watch on YouTube

This is a little more detailed than the first video.  I throw in a trick Stevie Ray used to keep from breaking strings but I think it might also help in keeping the tremolo in tune.  The links to the dry lubes I used are at the bottom here.  

Here are the three reasons I don't like to float my tremolo bridge off of the body as per Fender specs:  

1) If I break a string during a song, I can still finish it without sounding completely out of tune
2) If I bend my G string, then hit the B and E strings, the B and E strings stay in tune.
3) It gives me the full range of movement of the bridge for maximum tension drop during dive-bombs.  

I have two other Strats set up with a little float for songs like Lenny.  Notice that SRV played different guitars for different songs not only because they sounded differently, but also because the tremolos were probably set up differently too.  

The Hendrix song I played at the beginning is "Somewhere" from "People, Hell, & Angels."

I recently switched to this lube and it works much better than dry lubes: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-92003-Lubricating-Translucent/dp/B0081JE0OO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543247257&sr=8-3&keywords=super%2Blube&th=1

Also, check out this video from John Cruz that shows the buffing process I go through at every string change.  My string grooves get too deep to be buffed out completely so I need to change my saddles every year or so, mainly the G, B, and E.  https://youtu.be/eDU8nqQdXfw

More from this channel