Low Action Guitar Setup
Whammy bar throws my guitar out of tune?
I have a tradition guitar, offbrand, but still pretty good. And everytime I use the whammy bar/Tremolo bar, the third string go’s either way too high, or way too low, like out of tune. I’ve loosened the action piece, but still have the same problem.
I have a locking tremolo, but the only thing that happends when i lock it, is that it stops working completely. I’ve talked to numerous people, guitar center, etc. And everyone said it sounds like I need a setup, I’m not sure though.
can anyone help me? I’ve done everything I could to fix this problem except a setup, I don’t have the money for that. Any help would be great. Thanks!
Hi,
The answers you’ve had so far are good.
Since you say it is just the third string then look carefully at how that string sits in the nut. Does it sit right at the bottom of the groove? If not then the nut slot needs made wider but that is best done by a guitar tech. If you want to try it yourself then only make very tiny changes to it and then re-tune your guitar every time until it is right, too much at once and you need a new nut. Before you try that have you tried lubricating the nut with a little graphite (from a pencil will do)?
Check the third string saddle too.
What model of traditional guitar are we talking about here? If it is say a Fender copy you could see how much of Fender’s setup advice applies and do that yourself.
(see http://www.fender.co.uk/support/setup_guides.php)
Bill
Get To Know Your Acoustic Guitar
Themocracy