What is a good vibratremolo for an SX SST 62 strat

[Duffy]

I have a SX SST62 strat copy with a stock vibratremolo that needs to be replaced with something that won't send the guitar out of tune as easily.

GFS has a direct drop in for imports but I'm not sure if it is any better than the stock one? Anyone have experience with the GFS import v/tremolos?

Also, I've been thinking of putting on stainless saddles and using the stock bridge. Or is it that the quality of the bridge itself is what needs to be beefed up?

I have not had a v/tremolo guitar before. All mine are stop tails. I bought my wife a hot pink strat copy with a v/tremolo and I really like to play it for the various effects I can get. So I now have one and want to make it better.

I would really like to put on a graphite nut but it is in a groove and I don't want to crack any wood. I'm thinking of having a shop do it but I can see this as being expensive because they will want/have to do a complete set up too.

Also, are locking tuners essential? I can probably get my guitar teacher to put the nut in and do the set up. He used to do that type of thing and still does on the side.

Since I don't perform on stage, tuning is not a problem; but continuous tuning would be a major problem if every time I use the v/tremolo it throws it out of tune.

My new guitar will be here in a couple days so I will be able to tell more then but I already know that it has a cheap plastic nut that should be replaced and I want to replace the strings.

What is the best nut for a v/tremolo? What is the best guage strings? Anyone use 11's? I suppose 9's are the prevailing guage.

I know I have a lot to learn as far as the vibratrem goes and appreciate any advice any of you have, especially those of you that might be familiar with SX guitars.

Thanks in advance,

Duffy

[sumgai]

Duffer,

OK, you've only been here a few hours, and already you have four posts under your belt. Keep that up, and people are gonna start accusing you of being a GuitarNut! And that's your official Welcome to the NutzHouse. ;D

Most of Guitar Fetish's line of accessories are pretty good, I don't think I've seen but one complaint in the last few years about anything they've sold, and that was somebody not liking the tone of a pair of pickups. I'd be comfortable with having their vibrato on my axe, should the need arise.

However, for about double the price, you can get 5 or 10 times the quality, by going to Callaham's website, specifically the Strat Vibratos page. You should check out the rest of his site while you're at it.

There are many other makes and models out there, but at your expressed price-point, Guitar Fetish will make you a happy camper. You can always upgrade later, should you feel the desire to do so.

I'd have the nut replaced immediately, that's one of the prime culprits for tuning problems. I would not install locking tuners (or a locking nut) until I've tried everything else to keep it in tune. I'm not against them (I have a set on my Strat, but they come stock, not optional), but they are a bit more expensive, and may not be the actual solution.

What I'm saying here is, try the cheaper stuff first, working your way up the list of possible solutions in order of cost.

HTH


sumgai

[hammeroff]

I too, must talk up Bill Callaham. It really is the best Strat bridge money can buy.

Regarding keeping a Strat in tune, careful work in the right spots will go much farther than expensive parts.

First of all, make sure your bridge isn't floating, tighten up those springs!

A cool trick I've learned is to have a machine shop taper the 6 holes in the bridge so a knife-like edge touches the 6 screws. This helps a lot!

At the nut, make sure the slots are big enough for the strings. A set of files goes a long way here, a square cut file helps insure free motion at the nut. Graphite works good for nuts, but any material cut right and lubricated with graphite, is fine.

If you need string retainers, keep them lubed up with chap-stick and graphite from pencils.

You can avoid string retainers by investing in staggered height tuners (Sperzel, Schaller) or by tapering a shim behind your tuners to lower the higher strings.

Three final things you can do:

1) Eliminate all string slippage with locking tuners and "tinning" the strings by the ball with a bit of solder.

2) Use higher gauge strings. They fight friction with their increased tension.

3) Lubricate every screw on your bridge with 3 in 1 oil.

I'm a firm believer the electric guitar was perfected by 1959. ;D

[Duffy]

Great, information filled, responses. Thanks a lot. It seems like the trick is to keep the entire string path lubricated so that it can move back and forth and come back to the original place when you are done. The trick about the string trees sounds like a useful thing.

I don't understand why you would want to put solder on the string by the ball. How much solder goes on the string (thickness) and how far up the string do you go with the solder (a half inch)? I don't understand the purpose of this.

[hammeroff]

Just put a dab somewhere on it where it wraps around itself a bunch.

This really doesn't do much of anything, besides convince yourself you're in tune...which at times can be half the battle.

[Ripper]

Duffy...

First, let me welcome you. Duffy sounds Irish. If so, well talk over a pint o' Guinness!

Being an Irish Libra ( in Canada )...I have to correct your quote underneath your Scotty-dog
avatar.

It should read "BD "....Bob Dylan, not Jimi Hendrix.

Call me fussy....im just lookin out for ya boy o'....dont want you being sued by Dylans army! ;D

[dunkelfalke]

i prefer wilkinson vibratos with added graphtech saddles, they just stay in tune.

installing a graphtech nut is actually very easy. just be a bit careful and you won't crack any wood.

locking tuners almost always make sense and are very handy anyway. they are also usually better than stock tuners. i don't see why you would need another person to put them in. as long as they are the same size as your present tuners the installation goes like unscrewing old tuners and just screwing the new tuners in.

you can do all the modifications by yourself and would need about half an hour for all three modifications alltogether.

[jkemmery]

I'll second the opinions of dunklefalke regarding the Wilkinsons. I'm also a big fan of the Hipshot trem. I can't speak from experience regarding Callahams, but these dudes never steer you wrong. (BTW, I'm the guy who isn't a fan of GFS ... a big part was them taking a loooong time to ship my pups off backorder. The tone of their standard pups is just fine, but, steer clear of any "discount, blowout" pups as those are basically surplus cheapos ... but I still use them as testbeds for new wiring ... and the tone still sucks) I can't speak about GFS bridges either, but, if staying in tune is your goal, my advice would be to go with the better quality bridges, as much as your budget will allow.

Before you remove your old nut, get some feeler gauges from a hardware store and measure the distance from the fretboard at the nut to the bottom of the strings using stacks of guages at both the high and low sides. Write down your findings.

As far as removing your old nut, I like a razor blade, one of those small eyeglass style screwdrivers, standard, not philips and an exacto knife. Carefully push the razor blade in between the nut and the neck on each side to loosen any glue in that area, making sure to push it all the way down to the bottom of the nut. Then using the exacto knife carefully press it in the the slot at the bottom of the nut. I tend to go with the high string side, but I guess that doesn't matter. Once you have a large enough gap to fit the small screwdriver in, slide that in and begin to slowly and carefully pry your old nut out. Once your nut is removed use a strip of fine sandpaper or better emory cloth of about 800 to 1000 grit, cut in a long strip that will fit inside the nut groove to remove any glue residue inside the groove. I like to use a cutting board, a metal ruler and the exacto knife to make my strips. Be very careful not to expand or round out the groove. Graph tech nuts, IMO, stay in tune very well and I prefer the solid bottom variety (as opposed the the kind that are rounded to fit old style strats but have a tab in the middle so they can fit newer style guitars with flat bottom grooves - you remove the tab to fit arched nut grooves). When you fit your nut, put it in to the groove then take a peice of string and use your findings from the feeler guages to see how close your action should be to your old settings. Most likely you will need to sand the bottom of the nut some, use fine sandpaper at like 600 grit for this. Once the height of your new nut is how you want it, you will want to glue it in place. Elmer's wood glue works perfectly if you ask me, just use it sparingly along the bottom. I like to apply a drop to a toothpick and kind of work that around the bottom of the groove. Don't apply it to the nut itself as you wind up getting it on your fingers and making a mess. The glue helps will keep your nut stable and minimize string buzz while maximixing tuning stability. Hope this helps, good luck with your project.

[Duffy]

I can't express my appreciation enough for all the great info you guys have provided.

I got the guitar and it plays great, as is. You can see that the saddles are cheaply plated with chrome and not a nice even application. The Wilkinson ez lock tuners also look like an improvement over the stock tuners, however the stock tuners are working fine. I might put the Wilkinson ones on my other car sx sst62 stop tail. The tuners on that don't work nice and smooth like these. Next time I put strings on the new guitar I will put on the stainless saddles that I have also received along with the Wilkinson locking tuners.

I am still reluctant to do the nut replacement. The sx sst fretboard has a bevel just above the nut that looks like it could chip out if you are not very careful.

One thing that would be a great help is if the graphtech nuts have the string grooves pre cut in the right places and if I can order one that is the exact same width, depth, and height. Am I asking too much here? The nut on the new guitar does not stick yet. The nut on my stop tail sticks and I need to put some graphite in the grooves. I could try putting one on the stop tail where it would be of immediate benefit. I think my other two guitars could use graphtech nuts as well, a Schecter Omen Six and an Epiphone LP Standard Limitted Edition Birdseye maple top in deep wine red. Maybe they just need some touching up with some super fine sandpaper. I KNOW I don't want to screw the nuts up on the guitars by sanding down too deep, etc. That would mess up the action.

By the way the new guitar came with really nice action, very low with no buzz. The fretboard was super dry and I gave it a dose of premium fingerboard oil. The first application was absorbed directly into the wood. I imagine the trip from China to here involves a lot of temperature and humidity changes. It is surprising the necks don't warp. Both of my sx necks are really straight which makes me happy, buying a guitar sight unseen.

Thanks again for all the great ideas and sharing the great expertise.

Duffy

[jkemmery]

Graphtech nuts do come pre-slotted ... this one should work for your guitar

www.allparts.com/store/nuts-saddles-tusq-graphite-ebanol-nuts-bn-0823-00g,Product.asp

Just check that the width of the nut is 1-5/8, if it's bigger, you'll probably need this

www.allparts.com/store/nuts-saddles-tusq-graphite-ebanol-nuts-bn-2219-00g,Product.asp

As opposed to replacing your nuts, you might want to try Big Bends Nut Sauce. I don't have any experience with it, but it may be what you need.

And I just have to point out, as much of a Hendrix fan as I am, it was actually Bob Dylan who penned "All along the wathctower" although I don't have a problem with you attributing the quote to JH. If I'm not mistaken the lyric is acutally "So let us not talk falsely now, the hour's getting late" (While Hendrix was gone long before I was old enough to catch him live, I have actually seen Bob Dylan perform the song live twice. Hendrix's version is among my favorite tracks ever recorded.)

[axekicker]

Wilkinson bridges are all quite good, and of course, an original Fender bridge should do the trick. How do you like your SX BTW (besides the lousy bridge which is a hallmark of Chinese strats)? I have an SX mini Fat Strat and I'm blown away by the quality of the thing, jumbo frets, alder body, vintage neck. Unheard of in Chinese clones.