Problem w/ Mustang Vibrato

Cillian

I'm sure there's a topic for this somewhere, but I scrolled and didn't see one so anyway.

I got my Japanese '65 Mustang reissue last year, and every time I use the vibrato it sends the whole thing out of tune. The weird thing is that sometimes it just drops the high e and b strings but then sometimes it actually brings the whole thing up, and that'd not depending on whether I push or pull the whammy.

I pretty much know nothing about bridges and tail-pieces, but I was just wondering if there's an easy fix or if I'm going to be saving for upgrades? Any help I'd be much obliged.

HNB

Cillian said:
I'm sure there's a topic for this somewhere, but I scrolled and didn't see one so anyway.
I got my Japanese '65 Mustang reissue last year, and every time I use the vibrato it sends the whole thing out of tune. The weird thing is that sometimes it just drops the high e and b strings but then sometimes it actually brings the whole thing up, and that'd not depending on whether I push or pull the whammy.
I pretty much know nothing about bridges and tail-pieces, but I was just wondering if there's an easy fix or if I'm going to be saving for upgrades? Any help I'd be much obliged.

Normally the fix for a mustang tremolo is making sure the nut is shaped correctly for the gauge strings you use. You might need to add a bit of lubricant to help the strings move freely over the nut. Upgrading tuners can help also to ensure the strings stay tight while using the tremolo. Last tremolo trick I have used is to tune the guitar with new strings, use the tremolo more than usual, tune it again, use the tremolo a bunch, tune it, etc until it holds it's tuning.

Cillian

HNB said:
Normally the fix for a mustang tremolo is making sure the nut is shaped correctly for the gauge strings you use. You might need to add a bit of lubricant to help the strings move freely over the nut. Upgrading tuners can help also to ensure the strings stay tight while using the tremolo. Last tremolo trick I have used is to tune the guitar with new strings, use the tremolo more than usual, tune it again, use the tremolo a bunch, tune it, etc until it holds it's tuning.

Thanks, I was thinking about changing the tuners for a while they're abysmal, but I never thought they made a difference to how much the vibrato sets it out. Which I suppose was pretty dumb of me thinking about it. xD

Can you get a permanent lubricant or would you have to lubricate the nut every time you play?

Thanks for the help 😀

HNB

Cillian said:
Thanks, I was thinking about changing the tuners for a while they're abysmal, but I never thought they made a difference to how much the vibrato sets it out. Which I suppose was pretty dumb of me thinking about it. xD
Can you get a permanent lubricant or would you have to lubricate the nut every time you play?
Thanks for the help 😀

People talk about using pencil for it. It doesn't have to be used each time you play.

Graphite Nut Lubricant

Cillian

HNB said:
People talk about using pencil for it. It doesn't have to be used each time you play.
Graphite Nut Lubricant

Great thanks, I'll try it out as soon as I've got a new set of strings 😀

nakim55

Tune, depress bar number of times. Repeat, untill it stays in tune. Worked on mine.

HNB

Yup! Has worked every time for me.