| Title: | GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion |
| Notice: | Discussion of the finer stringed instruments |
| Moderator: | KDX200::COOPER |
| Created: | Thu Aug 14 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 3280 |
| Total number of notes: | 61432 |
I put my tremelo arm on my Japanese Strat the other day for the first
time in months. I first suspected something was wrong when I found I
could screw the arm in without removing the jack lead (Normally the
tremelo arm fouled the jackplug as you turned it through 360 degrees).
Then I found there was virtually no tremelo to speak of (ie there was
no movement or very little). Then I noticed the whole tremelo unit
seemed to be angled unnaturally up out of its 'slot' in the guitar
body.
I took the back plate off and was surprised to see only two springs
when the slots etc on the mechanisms seemed to suggest five springs
would fit. This guitar was bought brand new 4 years ago and has only had
moderate use.
My conclusion is that the springs have lost their springiness and some
of their tension thus allowing the tremelo mechanism to rise up out of
the body. This seems to suggest that some new springs would solve the
problem. So, here are my questions.....
1) Does this sound like a correct diagnosis?
2) Is this normal? Do tremelo springs lose their tension etc after a
time.
3) Is it simply a case of buying some new (approved) springs, loosening
the strings and refitting the new springs?
4) How many springs should it have?
5) What about setting the whole thing up? I can find precious little
info on how to do this even though I have a number of guitar 'manuals'.
The tremelo unit is a standard unit as fitted to most standard strats
from what I can see.
Richard
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2833.1 | MVDS02::FRASER | Mobius Loop; see other side | Mon Oct 18 1993 06:22 | 22 | |
Richard,
Two questions: Have you changed strings lately, and if so, did
you change to a heavier gauge? Is the guitar in tune at
concert pitch?
Whichever, the basic set up for a ~10-46 set will happily use 2
trem springs for a lighter arm action, so you should be ok
there with 2.
Quick&Dirty set up:
Tune the guitar to concert pitch and look at the trem block.
If it's tilted forward (as if you were applying 'down' trem),
then detune all strings and screw IN the spring holding screws
in the trem cavity a couple of turns. Retune the guitar and
check the trem again. It'll take a couple of iterations to get
the bridge properly balanced such that the travel is about
equal and the arm is where you want it.
Andy
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| 2833.2 | LARVAE::BRIGGS_R | Mon Oct 18 1993 09:42 | 23 | ||
Andy, I am using the exact strings you mentioned (I always keep the
size in my wallet for when I buy replacements) and I havn't changed
recently.
The other thing that confuses the hell out of me are the six screws
(see below indicated by *) that go into the body just forward of the
trem assembly. These seem to be some sort of adjuster screws as some
appeared loose so I screwed them all in and the trem wouldn't work at
all! It seems they limit the amount of movement of the trem assembly
and yet it seems really crude.
! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! !
!* !* !* !* !* !*
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Guess these things are more complicated than they seem!
Richard
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| 2833.3 | MVDS00::FRASER | Mobius Loop; see other side | Mon Oct 18 1993 11:46 | 19 | |
Richard,
I just set one of those bridges up as part of a refurb I did
for one of the pros I tech for - try snugging the six screws
down, just tight, and then unscrewing them all the same amount,
maybe half a turn or so and see how the trem feels. Too much
travel=screw them all in a small amount etc. Not exactly knife
edge bearings :*) Probably best to do this adjustment first and
then balance the bridge as in .1. If the trem travel is too
much/too little, readjust the six screws a small amount and
rebalance the bridge using the trem tension screws at the back.
Once you've set that up, you can do the string height and then
the intonation. The more you do it, the easier it gets!
Let's know how you do and if need be, feel free to send mail
and we can go into more detail
Andy
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