Looks and feels like the tuners are shot. Lots of play in them.
...doesn't really help that I dig in pretty heavy when I'm playing my BLS/COC knock off stuff. When I do black or death, the alt. picking will do it after a while.
PS...I hate playing with a whammy bar. Any guitar I get that has one gets it blocked, and the bar comes out. The 7 string I had came with a floating floyd rose... The fine tuners were great, but the action got blocked asap.
*edit.
@chefdave The guitar is a mid to late 70s Les Paul knock-off. Age has taken it's toll on her already. Half the wiring in her was beginning to dry rot when I first got her. Two more things left to do on her before I say she's done. 1) New tuners. 2) Re-wire the pick-ups like an American '59 goldtop, Instead of a Japanese rat's nest. Annndd and optional 3)Paint "Show me your boobs" on it in clear coat, So the words only show when the light hits it a certain way.