Tuning niggles

[markg5150]

Hi everybody

I have a Suhr Standard with a "strat" style bridge. I have a problem when using the trem bar to a bit of a dive, the return to pitch is slightly sharp and is most noticable on the low E and A strings.

Neck bow, action and intonation are all fine, and the bridge is set flush to the body. Machineheads are Sperzels

What should I do? Should I screw the trem springs in slightly to increase spring tension?

I know you guys are mainly Floyd/Edge/etc experts but any help is much appreciated.

Mark

[Gex]

98% of the time, when I encounter some tuning issue with a strat style bridge, its the nut's fault.

On the strings that go sharp, bend behind the nut a little, and see if they remain sharp. If they go back, it means that the strings are being pinched a bit by the slots being a bit to narrow for your current guage.


Or. .the string tees. . .those can be bothersome, especially the vintage style ones. But. . your problem is on the low strings. . .no string tees.. . so its likely the nut.

[David McCarroll]

Yep - totally agree with Gex - no string trees, something like a GraphTek nut and locking tuners - minimum winds around the machine head post on the lowest strings could also help - the less angle over the nut, the lower the chance of the string binding in the nut slot - don't expect a vintage trem to behave like a Floyd though - with patience you can get them pretty good, but not really strings flopping loosely across the fingerboard good! Funnily on vintage style trems, it's normally the G which returns sharp when the trem is set up floating.

Cheers,

David

[jaxadam]

Huh, that's strange to me, because on my guitars that have a trem without a locking nut, whammy bar use usually results in my strings going flat, due to them binding at the nut. And it's usually my low E.

[markg5150]

Thanks guys I'll have a look at the nut, I hadn't thought of that