Recently I bought my first Fender American Special Stratocaster. Loved it instantly but after playing it for a few hours I was ready to upgrade it.

I found that the G string had issues staying in tune. I tried everything but it still wouldn’t stay in tune.

Finally, I decided to upgrade some key components that help keep every guitar in tune. The nut and the string trees. I ordered the GraphTech nut and string trees that Kenny Wayne Shepherd uses.

• GraphTech PT500000 TUSQ XL Black Self-Lubricating Slotted Nut, Fender Style
• Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL Sleek String Tree

It seemed better but still wasn’t perfect so I upgraded the tuning keys to Fender locking tuners next.

• Fender Locking Tuners Chrome

The combination of the nut, string trees and the Fender locking tuners did the trick.

By chance, I saw a video of Kenny Wayne Shepherds touring rig from 2010 (I think that was the year). He mentioned the GraphTech saddles he used to keep from breaking strings.

It just so happened that I had broken 3 in a week so I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to the GraphTech saddles too. So far so good!

• GraphTech PS-8000-00 Electric Guitar String Saver Saddle

This video is an overview and demo of the upgrades on the Fender American Special I bought from zZounds.