Critical But Stable - Tremolo Workshop

New strings always require a settling down period before they’ll stay in tune. You can hasten this process dramatically by giving new strings a thorough stretch. Don’t go too crazy, because you’ll snap them. Just stretch a little at a time, with your fingers under the strings, pulling away from the fretboard. Work along the length of each string, check the tuning and repeat until the string has stopped stretching.
 

Tuners have often been unjustly blamed for unstable trems. If you have diecast tuners, tighten up the screws holding the buttons on to stiffen them up. Vintage-style tuners tend to be pretty stiff, so they should be fine. 
 

The break angle over the nut is important. The well-known US luthier Dan Erlewine recommends an angle of between 5 and 12 degrees. If the angle is too steep, the strings may catch in their slots; if it’s too shallow you may experience buzzing sounds from behind the nut, and open strings won’t ring cleanly.
 

You can set the break angle by wrapping the string around the tuner post. If you take it all the way down you can increase the angle, which may allow you to dispense with the string trees. You can also wrap strings upwards to shallow the angle (see pic below).