Vibrational characteristics and tension fluctuation of a translating wire in WEDM are the main problems to deteriorate the cutting accuracy and processing performance. In this paper, we analyze natural frequencies of the wire used in WEDM, both theoretically and experimentally. To reduce the tension variation of the wire, which directly affects cutting performance, we have designed a simply tension reduction device using springs and rollers. It is shown that tension fluctuation is reduced about 35% using the passive tension controller.