u/guitaruk

Hey everyone, I ran into a problem with my guitar.

I have a Fender Stratocaster Player II, and it doesn’t stay in tune very well.

I changed the factory strings from 9-42 to 10-46, and since I haven’t been playing guitar for that long, I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. But recently I started noticing that after using the tremolo, the tuning starts drifting, especially on the D, G, and B strings.

What’s interesting is that if I do a couple of whole-step bends right after using the tremolo (for example on the G string), the tuning comes back to normal. Another funny thing: when I use the tremolo for a downward dive, after releasing it, those strings come back slightly sharp, around 5–7 cents higher.

I already tried setting up the tremolo properly. There are tons of step-by-step tutorials online, and honestly it’s not that difficult.

I also tried lubricating the nut slots, the tremolo knife edges, and the saddles with special guitar lubricant. Then I even went back to the factory string gauge, and basically nothing changed.

If I don’t use the tremolo and just play normally, the tuning is mostly stable, only drifting a tiny bit. But since I play a lot of bends and use the tremolo often — I’m learning a lot of Pink Floyd stuff — I really want to solve this issue.

I ordered a new Graph Tech nut and a set of nut files, and I want to try replacing the nut myself.

And just to say in advance: please don’t tell me to take it to a guitar tech. I’m the kind of person who wants to learn and figure things out myself to gain a new skill.

For those who read all the way to the end: have you experienced something similar with your guitars? Was the nut actually the problem in your case, or was it something else?

Hey everyone. I’ve been learning guitar for 222 days now (kind of a milestone lol). I’m 34 and finally decided to go after a dream I’ve had for a long time.

I’m learning without a teacher, but I try to practice at least an hour every single day, sometimes more. Honestly, I spend pretty much all my free time playing.

There are a lot of experienced guitar players here, so based on this video, would you say this is a decent result for a little over 7 months of playing or not really?

I’m just trying to understand if I’m actually making progress, because lately it feels like I’ve hit some kind of plateau and I don’t really notice improvement anymore.

So I’m 34, and 221 days ago I decided to finally chase a childhood dream of mine — learning to play electric guitar. This video is a pretty honest look at where I’m at after 221 days. I’m completely self-taught, no teachers or anything, but I make sure to put in at least an hour every single day. And I mean every day😅

Hey everyone, I want to replace the nut on my Fender Stratocaster and I have a question — how do you calculate/measure the nut slot size?