My brand new JEM7V WH needs a new bridge!!

[intini]

I bought my JEM7V WH in November 2007 - but read on. After I regulated the height of the bridge and played for a very short while I had to put it back in the case until today - I was finishing my studies and had absolutely no time to play it at all.

I have now recently finished my studies and decided to finally take my guitar to be set up properly and start to play it! When I got to the shop to set it up I was told that the knife edge of my bridge was damaged. The person of the shop showed me that when pulling the strings up, then letting it rest would cause a change in pitch of 30 cents. I told him that all I did was to regulate the height of the bridge and that the guitar was absolutely brand new. He explained that to regulate the height I should have first removed all the load on the bridge to avoid damaging the knife edge of the bridge. I read the manual before I did it (and again today) and I could not find anything mentioning this. I now have to buy a new bridge (£200 at least) for a brand new guitar! How on Earth does Ibanez not put this in the manual with a warning? I am deeply upset and disappointed. I was expecting to soon play my new (!) guitar but instead it lies disassembled in a repair shop. How can it be so fragile? Why it is not in the manual? Can anyone tell me anything about this? Please!

Thank you so much and I apologize very much for not being around the last year (+) and I also apologize if this post is in the wrong place (please correct me if this is the case).

Intini

[helltone]

Just the knife edges can be replaced,or take a file to the existing ones if they have been rounded.

[Rich]

The reason it's not in the manual is because it shouldn't be. It was designed to be adjusted at full pitch. There is no way the knife is damaged, unless it's one of the few I see that are more like sabatoge than damage, all curved side knives.

Otherwise, it's probably not your problem at all.

[intini]

Originally Posted by Rich

The reason it's not in the manual is because it shouldn't be. It was designed to be adjusted at full pitch. There is no way the knife is damaged, unless it's one of the few I see that are more like sabatoge than damage, all curved side knives.

Otherwise, it's probably not your problem at all.

Thank you so much, Rich, for your reply.
The person at the shop actually removed the bridge and showed it to me. We looked at it with a magnifier and I could see that both knife edges were not perfect: there was a very, very small, but visible rounding in the place where it touches the posts. But the knife edges were in no way all curved.
At the moment the person at the repair shop is going to call Ibanez in the UK to ask the price of a new bridge.

I must say that the tech guy is a very nice guy.

Originally Posted by helltone

Just the knife edges can be replaced,or take a file to the existing ones if they have been rounded.

Thank you, helltone. How can I replace the knife edges?? I saw that there is an insert where the knife edge is but I was unable to remove it from the bridge.

[Rich]

One side is curved, the other flat.

If you had to use a magnifier it is absolutely not your problem, and I can't believe this guy actually thinks it is.

30 cent sharp or flat?

[intini]

Originally Posted by Rich

One side is curved, the other flat.

If you had to use a magnifier it is absolutely not your problem, and I can't believe this guy actually thinks it is.

30 cent sharp or flat?

Thank you so much, Rich. Using the magnifier I could see that the painting had gone around the region where it touches the posts and that there was a very, very small rounding in that area.
Answering your question, it was 30 cent sharp after pulling and if afterwards I push all the way then it goes back to the original tuning. It is pretty repeatable.

Thanks again, I appreciate very much your help.

[Homebake]

sounds like studs wobbling? i'm no expert though.

[Rich]

Thin the knives
Lube the pivot points
If still not satisfactory do the locking stud mod.
Your present "tech" is not the one to be doing this obviously.

[intini]

Originally Posted by Rich

Thin the knives
Lube the pivot points
If still not satisfactory do the locking stud mod.
Your present "tech" is not the one to be doing this obviously.

Thanks again, Rich. How can I thin the knifes? Do they come out or not?

[Andy43]

Originally Posted by intini

Thanks again, Rich. How can I thin the knifes? Do they come out or not?

http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/sharpening.htm

You might want to look at the other setup guides on that site as well. Best JEM setup guide there is.

[intini]

Originally Posted by Andy43

http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/sharpening.htm

You might want to look at the other setup guides on that site as well. Best JEM setup guide there is.

Thanks a lot! What a great guide! I feel I can do it myself and I guess it is time that I learn how to setup and maintain my own guitar...LOL!

I called my tech guy today and said that I don't want to change the bridge and that I just want the setup and I asked what the setup would be. He said he is going to regulate the intonation, bridge balance, check the rod, and also check the electronics to make sure it was alright.
My guitar is with the tech guy until next Thursday (a long waiting).
Again, please, the tech guy is a very, very nice and competent guy. He may not be keen on the idea of filing of the knife edges but I am sure he is very good. I respect his opinion. I would not like to leave the impression that he is not competent, please! He does look extremely good and I am sure he is extremely competent. In fact he may (and possibly do) read this forum!!!! :-)

EDIT: Please note that I had problems with tuning stability right after I regulated the height of the guitar back in 2007. At that time I posted that "using a tuner I can see that when I play a note (5th string open A) that is 100% in tune, then I use the whammy bar to make it flat all the way down (the strings go really loose), then I check the tuning and it is down 12 cents. Without retuning I use the whammy bar again all the way UP until it can't go anymore and then I check again the tuning and it is 9 cents above the center. It looks pretty repeatable." I also mentioned that I heard some cracking sound when using the whammy bar, probably due to neck bolts not being tight enough.

[jacksonphreak]

As having looked at this particular Jem and associated tuning problems, I wish to express my side of the story. Having used and setup Floyd Rose equipped guitars for the past 20 years, I feel that I am perfectly qualified in the field. However, I am always open to new ideas etc, Rich, your tutorial on sharpening the edges is excellent.....something I tried many years ago on a Jackson JT-6 unit but after much messing about with it, failed to improve the situation. I do though, have a flattened Edge Tremolo to experiment once again on in my workshop. I've also tried oiling and replacing studs but to no avail (I will give your Chapstick solution a try though....if it cures the problem, then fantastic).
Fortunately, as a Jackson/Charvel player, when my knife edges wear, I just buy a new Baseplate which are fairly inexpensive....something which frustrates me is that Ibanez will not supply such items. Where I have to disagree with you is that in the past, I have ruined a few of my own knife edges by adjusting the action under full string tension. I have, for many years, removed the tremolo springs, pulled the unit away from the pivot post's before adjusting their height before holding the trem unit horizontal to the body and measuring the action, repeating if need be. In my opinion, this eliminates unneccessary wear....you may disagree but it's just my experience.
Over the years, I have found the top end Ibanez Edges to be great performers (as long as they have not been misused)....I've owned a few myself at one time or another although, my unit of preference has to be an OFR/Schaller FR II due to build quality and feel, not to mention, the ease of getting spares.

Intini, if you are successful with your knife edge sharpening, do you want a part time job!!

Cheers
Steve

[Rich]

You've ruined the knives on an Edge or Lo Pro? Because is 12 years I've never seen a ruined set of Ibanez knives in 1000's of guitars. So you may disagree, but I've seen a lot of evidence to the contrary.

The 540R that was my main player for 8+ years and had 1000's of small action adjustments, still had perfect knives when I did a full prep on it for my son a couple years ago.

[jacksonphreak]

No, I did it to my Schaller FRII Baseplate which as you know, also has hardened steel knife edges. The tremolo worked fine until I adjusted the action. So, on this basis, I set my bridges up, the way I explained.

[Rich]

The advice I give is for Ibanez only

If they're hardened, they will not deform. The fact that they do tells you they are not hardened.