Tuning Drop D on Strat w/ Locking Tuners makes other strings go Out!

[NeverTheMachine]

Basically like the title suggests. I basically can't use this guitar for Drop D on the fly because it makes all the other strings go out of tune. What am I doing wrong?

This guitar uses locking tuners. Pretty sure I tune it fine. Have had this guitar for almost ten years. Is it the whammy? I do set it to bend up a whole step. 

Is there a solution? or should I just keep drop D for the other hard tail / tunomatic guitars.

 

 

[skibob]

 

If the guitar has a trem, changing tuning on one string will effect all the others. This is because when you tune it, you are balancing the tension of the strings with the tension of the tremolo springs. If you break a string it will also cause all the other strings to go out of tune.

 

The only way to be able to retune on the fly and/or avoid problems when a string breaks is to set the trem up for "dive only". You do this by putting some kind of shim between the tremolo block and the guitar body so that you can still dive the trem, but you can't pull up on it.

[Bro Blue]

Unless you deck the trem and either block it or have enough spring tension to keep it stable, this will happen. When you change string tension on the low E everything changes as tuning stability is controlled by string tension vs. spring tension.

[mockchoi]

Well...yeah.  I mean, think about it.  The springs on the trem are pulling against the tension of the strings.  Change the tension on the strings and everything will be out of whack.  I don't think there's any way around this.