Stratocaster Whammy Bar Detuning

I have a Squier Stratocaster, and I started using the whammy bar for some parts. But sometimes, when I use the whammy bar, it detunes the guitar. Has this happened to anyone else?

I have a Squier Stratocaster, and I started using the whammy bar for some parts. But sometimes, when I use the whammy bar, it detunes the guitar. Has this happened to anyone else?

If you told me you were able to use the vibrato on your Squier Strat WITHOUT taking the guitar out of tune, I'd be shocked.

There's a reason Jimi Hendrix had to tune his Strat after pretty much every song, and sometimes even during the song.

I haven't owned a guitar with a floating bridge in decades, but I remember the nut being one of the contributing factors... if your strings can't slide smoothly through the nut, they can get "caught" during such a maneuver and you will definitely be at least a little out of tune after it happens.

Nuts are easy to ruin and expensive (in Squier Strat dollars, at least) to replace, so I wouldn't recommend doing any filing or re-shaping of the nut yourself, but Googling how to check your nut action/setup and apply more graphite as a lubricant (if needed) would be a good first step if you're not already an expert on that front. Improving string-slide through the nut won't be a magic bullet to never going out of tune, but it will make a difference and is a good thing to learn about regardless of guitar type or playing style.

It happens to everyone else with a strat ;)

There are lots of youtube videos that walk you through strat vibrato setups that minimize the issue. Theres also a special way of using the strat whammy, you can't just expect the springs to return to exactly where you started without some opposite force from you unless you'redoing really subtle stuff. A bold push needs a gentle pull back up and vice versa. It's really one of fender's worst mechanical design but it's one of the earliest vibrato systems so you have to just deal.

There's always a chance a string will catch and go out or break but putting graphite in the slots if the nut, de-burring your saddles and floating the bridge with proper spring tension helps. There are lots of ways to tension the springs. You should do some research, try them all and figure out what works for you.

I'm probably just gonna save for an Ibanez. Herman Li uses the whammy bar on those things a lot without them getting detuned

I'm probably just gonna save for an Ibanez. Herman Li uses the whammy bar on those things a lot without them getting detuned

Is DragonForce a good benchmark for the kind of stuff you're learning to play?

I'm a big fan of them, so it would definitely help if I could mimic their style. I'm still learning, but I want to be as good as them one day.

I'm a big fan of them, so it would definitely help if I could mimic their style. I'm still learning, but I want to be as good as them one day.

Excellent... and brave.

I'm sure you already know this, but if you gave Herman Li a few hours to setup your Squier himself, he could shred on it all day and sound just like Herman Li. This is something that is just generally true of most any decent musician -- they can sound amazing and sound like themselves with any PoS instrument. I didn't need the following video to understand this fact (I learned the hard way), but the fact that he's shredding on a $150 Squier helps drive the point home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwztSlWXcfM

What is also true, is that there are guitars on the market that are better suited to shredding than a standard-spec Stratocaster. I didn't see Herman do too much with the whammy bar in that vid, and I'm sure that's a deliberate choice based on the limitations of the instrument AND what he feels is important for earlier-stage players to focus on. I love that he makes it clear: "you're not going to be playing Dragon Force songs if you're just staring out".

As to when is the right time to move on from your Squier and get a guitar with more shred-friendly specs, that's a personal decision -- don't let strangers on a forum steer you.

That said, my 2 cents is that you take the time to understand your current instrument as best you can before you go shopping for your next guitar. You'll need this understanding in order to make a good purchase decision. The fact that Herman goes right to his workbench and shows you how to do a full setup on the guitar, in a video aimed at beginners, is 100% on-the-money. Please don't skip over this stuff, it's essential to learning the instrument. Herman is a Gen-Xer like me, and had to learn the hard way: reading Guitar Player Magazine, watching tedious instructional VHS tapes, and playing along to Dave Mustaine on cassettes and CDs. Rather than telling new players to suffer like he probably did, he's trying to make things faster and easier, which tells me he's probably a pretty decent dude.

The fact that you're asking about your Strat going out of tune leads me to believe that you're still learning the differences between a standard-Strat floating-bridge tremolo and a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system like Herman has on most of his guitars. Herman has teachings on this topic too, of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyzTJ-R89KI

A more shred-focused guitar isn't going to make you a better player in any way, of course, but if the instrument makes practicing the kind of music you want to play easier and more enjoyable, it might be worth it. Most of your tone is going to come from your amp & FX in these styles, your instrument's job is to fit your hands and playing style like a great pair of shoes.

So, at the risk of being wayyy too presumptuous, and a huge windbag, I'm going throw this out there:

When you can walk into a guitar shop, and tell the person working there the following, and you're comfortable with what each of these things means, I think most would agree that spending $$$ to upgrade is warranted. You may already be at this point now, but here it goes:

"Hi there, I'm looking for my next electric 6-string. Among other styles, I play a lot of Power Metal, and I want something that's more shred-focused than my current standard-spec Strat. I'm looking for something with:

• A Floyd Rose-style locking trem system, or similar, as I intend to use the whammy bar A LOT, and my Strat's standard trem goes out of tune too fast
• 24 frets with good upper-fret access
• A flatter fretboard radius and jumbo frets to make it easier to play high up on the neck
• At least one humbucker, for a chunkier tone
• Most importantly, I want a well-made guitar that can give me lower string action with a minimum of fret buzz, so I can move around the neck faster

I'm pretty set on Ibanez, because Herman Li is an influence of mine, and he's been happy with a whole range of different Ibanez guitars throughout his career, but I'm open to anything that is geared towards this kind of playing.

I realize the player's hands, talents, playing style and amp/FX choices dictate tone way more than the guitar itself, but I practice every day and I want my practice time to be more comfortable and enjoyable for the kind of music I'm into.

Also, as this will be my first guitar with a locking tremolo system, I hope your in-house tech can show me how to re-string and tune the guitar. I've watched videos and know what's involved, but I'd appreciate a hands-on demonstration too, if possible."

If you're all set one what each item above means, and you're confident a better guitar would enable you to practice more comfortably, you're ready for that next step, IMHO.

... but, again, I'm just some forum stranger who types too much. I haven't even owned a 6-string in this century. Take my words with a grain of salt.

I got also an old 90ties Squier Strat, using the whammy bar does just detune my guitar when doing it too intense or over a longer time and I did set it up as a Floating Tremolo. You might check your Nut where the String are sitting in , watch with a magnifying glass if the plastic rubs against the strings and the plastic has very unsober done and stressed out holes, when yes.... better clean the sides of the holes just a tiny tiny tiny tiny bit, beware do not make them deeper and do not make your holes wider, Sandpaper that does not take off much and polish a bit the sides, be carefull and take a look if they are already sober, it just takes tiny moves without much pressure, its just to make it a bit rounded on the edges and get rid of plastic brushes/spikes on the left and right edge side only , in the holes. And after that a bit Graphit into it with a pensil. When Strings can not slip there free , the strings get stuck and sometime slip very aggressive, what has a much harder impact on the Tuners, so they can detune very fast, even more when using a whammy bar, when the strings can slip more free, the energy of the impact is smaler to the tuners and the detuning does take longer to happen. Also when you set new , fresh strings on, do loose them a bit and bend them, but do not deform them, do not make kinks into the strings, with new strings not bended the tuners also suffer to stay in tune.

A common issue with Strats in general, I also used to get this issue a lot on mine... anyway, I found this guy on YouTube with a useful hack for this, he has several videos about setting up Strats in fact, I haven't had any major tuning issues with it since!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Oyc6slYRc&t=305s

I forgot to mention string trees. If you haven't replaced the stock string tree with a $5 roller string tree from all parts, then that's step 1. The string tree binds up more than any other string contact point on a strat. Even if your vibrato still needs fine tuning after installing the roller tree you'll find it easier to tine up when your plain strings aren't binding up on the stock, pressed metal tree :)

EDIT: apparently you can't get them directly from allparts anymore and they're more than 5 bucks, but amazon carries them and so does stewmac...

This is an unglamorous but excellent upgrade. There are all metal ones out there but the allparts version with the black plastic body rolls most freely. I've tried lots of versions, you want the ugly one.

Good vid. I like that he gets impressively aggressive with the whammy at the end ("like a Floyd Rose" he says) , and then shows that he's still more or less in tune.