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John Myung Bongo 4

Sabre - out of tune when using tremolo - Help

G

gcastbr

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2024
Messages
33
Location
England
I’ve had a Music Man Sabre HH for some time, but only recently started studying/using the tremolo arm. What happens is that as soon as I use the tremolo, the guitar goes out of tune — several strings, sometimes all of them.

What could this be? Is there some adjustment I need to make? Bridge springs maybe?

I’d appreciate any tips or help.
 
Temfest
Just do tremolo work for 20 minutes at a time. Practice 1/2 step and whole step drops. I find they sometimes need work to break them in.
 
DrKev said:
You have to start with new strings, well installed and stretched in, and good lubrication. Here's an old article of mine that's a good start..

Click to expand...
Hey Thanks - I was checking your Video as well @DrKev really nice. You mention about lube on nut, saddles etc, do we also need to lube the pivots where the bridge is attached, or it's not necessary? It has new strings so I think it may be the lube -
 
@gcastbr : The tremolo on your Sabre is floating ?
In this case, you have to find the good equilibrium of tension between the strings (thus it depends on the gauge) and the springs.
If you trem goes flat, it means that the springs are giving to much tension (thus unscrew them a little bit).
 
For lubrication my favorite is a teflon spray. I have favored the Remington brand in the past. Trem posts and knife edges are the main calls for this product
 
For lubrication I personally use TriFlow Lubricant and put a little drop in the nut slots, on the pivot posts and on the saddles with string changes. Little goes a long way. If I need something heavier, than its Big Bends Nut Sauce
 
I absolutely swear by lubricating the nut. I've used several different things. Currently using graphite but any of the above recommended substances would be better than nothing.

If you're using unusually large gauge strings? That can contribute to binding at the nut.
 
Great, thanks a lot - will buy those products and test and see how it goes! much appreciated everyone.
 
gcastbr said:
I’ve had a Music Man Sabre HH for some time, but only recently started studying/using the tremolo arm. What happens is that as soon as I use the tremolo, the guitar goes out of tune — several strings, sometimes all of them.

What could this be? Is there some adjustment I need to make? Bridge springs maybe?

I’d appreciate any tips or help.
Click to expand...
a solution to that is that you need locking tuning heads and that will stop the problem right away. There's other things you can do. You can use graphite in the net, but I'm telling you the locking tuning heads upgrade them. You won't have that tuning problem
 
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