Stratocaster String Changing

[AznGuitarist112]

I changed my stratocaster's strings, 3rd to 6th string one at a time, but my strings keep getting out of tune, especially my 5th and 6th string and 3rd string. I kept tuning it. then i play with it more and it gets out of tune again. If i bend and use whammy bar, it gets out of tune even more. Does this have something to do with the issue of not giving the strings enough time to adjust its length?

[gu1tar]

First of all, why would you just change strings 3-6??

New strings are going to stretch some but shouldn't do so drastically. Of course with a tremolo without a locking nut there are other factors like whether the strings you used are the same gauges as the ones you replaced and how secure the strings are on the tuning posts, etc.

[Mystical Potato]

When I change strings, I make sure that I have stretched them fully several times - tune up stretch - tune up again stretch again - etc. I do this as many times as necessary to get stable tuning.

Apparently Hendrix used to have awful tuning after songs in which he'd used his whammy bar.

[Viper-sfm]

Well, there could be other problems. After changing strings on my strat I stretch them for a bit, tune a couple of times and it pretty much stays in tune. Stretch them out a bit more, tune them again and see how it holds up...

[ibanezcollector]

using the whammy on a strat is almost a guarentee to be out of tune.. its not like a floyd where it rests back in its original position, you dont have locking nuts, and even locking tuners wont completely solve it.

Its a downside to owning a strat, if you use it you have to really bank on the fact its not going to be in tune when your done..

Not the answer your looking for im sure but its the truth and sometimes the thruth hurts

[Rotti]

Many people have strat setups that stay in tune with heavy trem work. Not quite as good as a floyd but damn close. My strat has a vintage style trem, graphtec nut and string tree (one string tree) stock tuners, and I have to get prety crazy with the trem arm to get it out of tune.

[Viper-sfm]

Yeah, my strat might go out of tune after a couple of hours of heavy playing, but not after a song, most definately...Still a string never gets half a step flatter in mine...

[David McCarroll]

Originally Posted by AznGuitarist112

I changed my stratocaster's strings, 3rd to 6th string one at a time, but my strings keep getting out of tune, especially my 5th and 6th string and 3rd string. I kept tuning it. then i play with it more and it gets out of tune again. If i bend and use whammy bar, it gets out of tune even more. Does this have something to do with the issue of not giving the strings enough time to adjust its length?

What sort of Strat - as mentioned here a few times, Graphtec nut and string trees, along with locking tuners will certainly help a great deal with a vintage style bridge - BTW, the correct way to set the six screws that hold the bridge to the body is to screw them down one at a time until the bridge starts lifting, then back them off just until the bridge sits flat on the face of the guitar (do this without strings or springs installed) - this is correct whether you want the bridge to ultimately sit flat on the face of the guitar or float - if they are set up any other way you may have tuning issues from this alone - ALSO - have a look around the bridge and springs - if the scratchplate touches the bridge, the bridge scrapes on wood, or if the springs hit the body or even the earthwire you may have tuning issues from this alone.

Good luck,

David

[bammbamm]

Other thing that could cause problems is binding at the nut.
Use a small amount of graphite where the strings rest on the nut.
If you're changing strings, it typically is best if you change the whole set, you'll have a mismatch in sounds when playing single note runs from one string to the next if you have half old and half new strings on your guitar.

Bamm

[jim777]

Also, the fewer wraps around the posts the better on a strat. Locking tuners may help a bit here, as has been mentioned.

[Earthrug]

NON-locking trems can be a nightmare to keep in tune under whammy use. Good suggestions so far. What I ended up doing was buying a used RG770 and blocking up my regulare strats trem. Worked for me!