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My custom guitar is nearing completion, and I've just strung up the neck to set it up in time for the final part im waiting for (scratchplate) arrives. The neck is a warmoth jackson style neck, 13° angled headstock, graphite nut (precut and installed by warmoth), standard compound radius fretboard etc etc. The bridge im using is a wilkinson vintage strat trem, and i had to drill and install the 6 mounting screws and the 2 screws underneath for the spring. The tuners are schaller locking tuners.

The problem is after I string it up to pitch, almost immediately after starting to play it, the guitar goes out of tune, sometimes flat, sometimes sharp. Is this normal for a new neck that's never been used? Is it just adjusting to the tension of having strings on it? If so, how long should I expect this to last, and if not, what else could it be? I don't think its the strings stretching...

Are the strings new...?
Sorry for asking the obvious, but eh you never know...

yep, brand new 9s, fender bullets

i dont think its the strings themselves at least though, new strings never fluctuate this much in tuning

Ahhh they need stretching, and depending on a lot of things it may take a while. Just play the heck out of them, bend them, pluck em' and pinch them. Take them and just lift them off the fretboard for a bit... It should make the tuning stability better. But the headstock doesn't make things easier due to the angle (or so I heard...)

I've tried doing all the string stretching, and ive played it a fair bit too, when you stretch in new strings they usually go flat and you keep tuning them up and repeating the process until it stops going flat, then the strings are pretty much stretched in. In this case the strings stay in the same tuning they were in when i try. If anything I would've thought they would stretch less with locking tuners, as you don't wind as much string round the peghead, so there would be less slack?

have you checked the intonation?

Warmoth sends necks with the truss rods almost completely loose. It will take a lot of gradual tightening before the neck is stable. That being said, I still have tuning problems with my Warmoth several months later because the nut isn't cut quite right. Hopefully you won't have the same problem with yours.

Is the trem floating? If so, it might need some adjustment.
Are you positive the six holes you drilled are perfectly in line and that line is perpendicular to the strings.
Do the strings appear to be binding in the nut?
Since you have locking tuners, I assume you don't have any wraps around the posts.I'm thinking the strings might be binding in the nut


Originally Posted by alecleeIs the trem floating? If so, it might need some adjustment.
Are you positive the six holes you drilled are perfectly in line and that line is perpendicular to the strings.
Do the strings appear to be binding in the nut?
Since you have locking tuners, I assume you don't have any wraps around the posts.1)nope, its resting against the body
2)not 100% exact, this is a cause of concern (thats why i asked here)
3)possibly, as whenever i use the trem it just drops straight out of tune all over the place (and i have heard slight 'chink' noises as i use the trem)
4) thats right, none of the posts have a full turn on them


Originally Posted by Curlyhave you checked the intonation?

not yet, i was planning on getting that done once the electronics were in so i could make it more accurate by plugging it into the tuner instead of using its microphone


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91Warmoth sends necks with the truss rods almost completely loose. It will take a lot of gradual tightening before the neck is stable. That being said, I still have tuning problems with my Warmoth several months later because the nut isn't cut quite right. Hopefully you won't have the same problem with yours.

ive tightened the truss rod enough so it plays properly but without fret buzz


Originally Posted by shredaholicand i have heard slight 'chink' noises as i use the trem)

That's often a sign that things are binding in the nut, but I wouldn't entirely rule out isses with the trem. I'd check the nut and follow up with the trem.
You might start by putting Chap Stick or vaseline in the nut grooves to help keep the strings from binding.


Originally Posted by alecleeThat's often a sign that things are binding in the nut, but I wouldn't entirely rule out isses with the trem. I'd check the nut and follow up with the trem.
You might start by putting Chap Stick or vaseline in the nut grooves to help keep the strings from binding.

should i really need to do that though if its a graphite nut? ive gotten the impression that graphite nuts are designed so the strings DONT bind...


Originally Posted by shredaholicshould i really need to do that though if its a graphite nut? ive gotten the impression that graphite nuts are designed so the strings DONT bind...

Not if they aren't cut correctly. Because of the softer material they can bind MORE than regular nut material if the slots aren't shaped right.


Originally Posted by shredaholicshould i really need to do that though if its a graphite nut? ive gotten the impression that graphite nuts are designed so the strings DONT bind...

You shouldn't have to do it but if it improves things, you've isolated the problem so you then know to take it to a tech and get the nut grooves expanded.

right ive stuck vaseline in the nut, ill see how it goes now

i was hoping i wouldnt have to take it to a tech or anything like that, because when you buy something from warmoth you kindof expect that their work should be working ok out of the box

doesnt seem to have made any difference putting vaseline in the nut

hmm....

if this helps, ive noticed when tuning it up it doesnt tune up normally, when you go through tuning each string, by the time you tune the last one other strings have gone out again, a bit like a floating bridge...


Originally Posted by shredaholicright ive stuck vaseline in the nut, ill see how it goes now

i was hoping i wouldnt have to take it to a tech or anything like that, because when you buy something from warmoth you kindof expect that their work should be working ok out of the box

Not true, they don't quot;finishquot; their products so they have room to be adjusted more. Most times the frets need to be finished and the nut grooved more accurately. That's completely normal. The first thing I'm doing when I get my warmoth neck is taking it to my tech to finish the frets and groove the nut perfectly.

ah right, well im gonna look into prices for guitar techs locally then to see if they can help me out

could the problem be the neck just adjusting to the tension though? i mean when ive tuned to different tunings before (ie, E to Eb), its taken a few days for the neck to settle in properly and get used to it and stop going out of tune.

yesterday was the first time i'd ever strung up the neck or used the trem system