SE Santana won't stay in tune

[BlueHugh]

I have played mostly Strats, but recently bought one of the new SE Santanas for the humbuckers, and just to check it out. I like it a lot, the neck, the tone, how it looks. I use the tremolo but not super aggressively.

I couldn't keep the stock in tune, changed the .010 strings twice, so I installed locking tuners. That didn't help so I installed a graphite nut. Maybe a bit better, but nowhere near the stability of my Strats. I still have to tune after every couple songs if I use the tremolo.

This is a shame, as I was looking at the American PRS, the new CE24 in particular. So I'm wondering, is there a big difference between American and Korean, or is this just PRS tremolos, or maybe I got a lemon? And if the latter, what would cause it?

 

[CoreyT]

They come with 9s on them, the 10s may be binding in the nut.
Oh, hey, welcome to the forum!

My introduction to PRS was back in 2012 with a 2012 SE Santana.
For what it is worth, my Santana pretty much stays in tune.

 

[AP515]

It should stay in tune at least as well as the Strat. My guess is the Trem's knife edges are not set well in the grooves of the screws. Can you take a photo of the Trem with the screws into the wood showing? We might be able to see something.

 

[BlueHugh]

Wow, active forum I will post a photo...but I'm leaving on vacation this evening, but will when I return in a week. Guess I could have waited. Thanks for the replies

 

[bodia]

It should stay in tune at least as well as the Strat. My guess is the Trem's knife edges are not set well in the grooves of the screws. Can you take a photo of the Trem with the screws into the wood showing? We might be able to see something.

This. I've never had a problem with a PRS trem. Granted, I don't have one on an SE, but CE's, DGT, and Cu24 have no issues. As a matter of fact, PRS are known for the stability of their trem. Hope we can help you get it straightened out. The weak point on the SE's is the nut, but you've already taken care of that.

 

[bodia]

Wow, active forum I will post a photo...but I'm leaving on vacation this evening, but will when I return in a week. Guess I could have waited. Thanks for the replies

Enjoy your vacation! When you get around to posting pics, they have to be hosted on a 3rd party site like Photobucket, Flicker, etc. Then you can just cut/paste or use the Insert Image.

 

[swede71]

Do this minus the installation part,in other words readjust your trem.After adjustment use a tiny tiny bit of light machine oil on every screw.I had that problem on my DGT,now it works perfectly.

 

[gasmansteve72]

Check that trem is sitting in the knife edges properly as had same trouble on Santana se Standard..
Was about 3weeks after buying it that I was going to get it looked at by a friend guitar tech when I got a call at work off misses saying the guitar went twang an a screw was lying on floor..
Got home to find the screw under the high e on the trem had sheered off at the knife edge an 2 others were not in the knife edges right..
Took I back to guitar guitar in Newcastle an had it fixed under warranty in about 2weeks ..
Set it up with 10's with a bit of nut work on standard nut an now works fine.. Took a while to set up knife edges as there slots under heads of each screw ,but it pays in long run doing carefully an right first.. Also upped trem springs to 4 for a more stiffer feel but I like a stff feeling trem ... Bar that everything else is stock an it holds pitch an tuning perfect....

 

[dogrocketp]

I have 4 with trems, all using 4 springs. All have locking tuners, and have nuts installed by a professional luthier. All of them stay in tune as well as my CE24. Is the SE Santan a Standard or a Korean one. I had an SE Standard 24 for a hot minute. I think the edge where the screws were was thinner than my Koreans. Anybody refute or confirm?

 

[Brooksbd]

I have played mostly Strats, but recently bought one of the new SE Santanas for the humbuckers, and just to check it out. I like it a lot, the neck, the tone, how it looks. I use the tremolo but not super aggressively.

I couldn't keep the stock in tune, changed the .010 strings twice, so I installed locking tuners. That didn't help so I installed a graphite nut. Maybe a bit better, but nowhere near the stability of my Strats. I still have to tune after every couple songs if I use the tremolo.

This is a shame, as I was looking at the American PRS, the new CE24 in particular. So I'm wondering, is there a big difference between American and Korean, or is this just PRS tremolos, or maybe I got a lemon? And if the latter, what would cause it?

I had MAJOR tuning stability problems with a Tremonti SE Custom. I was getting really frustrated with the guitar. I filed the nut slots, and that helped a little. I finally changed the nut to a Tusq (PT664300), and it completely corrected the problem. And, it only cost around $10 to fix. I would recommend trying that before you start messing with the bridge and/or trem.

 

[rugerpc]

Your guitar was setup stock with .009 strings. Changing the strings to .010 means a couple of things need to be addressed.

First, the nut must be recut so the strings don't bind. When you replaced the nut, did you buy a precut one? Was it cut for an 'SE Santana'? If so, it too was cut for .009 strings.

Secondly, .010 strings require more tension to tune to pitch than .009s. That means the trem is probably out of balance and sitting higher at the back edge when at rest. The claw holding the springs in the trem cavity on the back may need adjusting.

And a question: When the guitar goes out of tune, is it all or most of the strings by about the same amount? that could indicate a trem adjustment needed. If it is different strings by different amounts, that tends to point to nut binding.

Lastly, are you stretching your new strings?

 

[Mixstar]

Save yourself a lot of effort and do it logically, hardtail it temporarily and see if it stays in tune. If it does it's the trem if not it's something else.

 

[rugerpc]

Save yourself a lot of effort and do it logically, hardtail it temporarily and see if it stays in tune. If it does it's the trem if not it's something else.

This will work IF he does some serious bends.....

 

[BlueHugh]

Hey folks, thanks for all the great advice. I brought it into a local guitar tech, and...you're all right! Sort of, but seriously, it was a little of everything. The tusque I put on was way too high, which was causing intonation problems, so he filed it down. The trem was out of balance, so he's got it riding perfectly parallel. And he evened the action. I've been playing it for two days and it's dead on, and only a few cents out of tune. Feels like I've got a new guitar.

So thanks again

 

[BlueHugh]

... I should say, only a few cents out of tune after a session or two, not consistently

 

[RonnieD]

Is that you buddy ol pal??
RonnieD