Whammy Bar To low help

eatsleepplayguitar · #1 10-20-2007, 03:30 PM

After i set my guitar up to how i like it, the whammy bar seems pretty damn low.

Do people bend the angles of there whammy bar?

how far should the bar be from the pick gaurd?

Dee · #2 10-20-2007, 04:33 PM

First of all, what trem do you have? Secondly, what gauge of strings are you using?

Adjustment of the bridge angle is a matter of adjusting the tremolo springs. People don't bend the actual bar because they break.

Click here: http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

JJEMMER777 · #3 10-20-2007, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee

First of all, what trem do you have? Secondly, what gauge of strings are you using?

If I can recall, it's an EP, and he's put 10's on.

Thirdly, how far down are you pushing the bar into the Arm Holder??

How about a pic of your trem as you have it set????

Dee · #4 10-20-2007, 04:55 PM

OK, so if the gauge has been changed to 10's (from the original 9's) you need to do this:

Unlock the lock nut pads
Remove the spring cavity cover on the back of the guitar
Tighten the screws (not a huge amount, work in half-turns or so)
Retune
Check the balance/angle
Continue making small adjustments until the angle is where you want it.

Bear in mind that the top of the baseplate of the EP should be parallel with the body top, unlike the Edge and Lo-Pro which are supposed to be angled.

eatsleepplayguitar · #5 10-20-2007, 05:49 PM

Its a jem 7v, the whammy bar hits the selector switch its so low.

i put 10s on it and had to tighten the screws under the plate quite a bit.

does someone have a pic of there jem 7v? maybe i have my set up wrong

JJEMMER777 · #6 10-20-2007, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatsleepplayguitar

Its a jem 7v, the whammy bar hits the selector switch its so low.

i put 10s on it and had to tighten the screws under the plate quite a bit.

does someone have a pic of there jem 7v? maybe i have my set up wrong

Can't you take a pic of yours?? Is the trem parallel to the body of the guitar??

Dee · #7 10-20-2007, 05:56 PM

I don't understand why you are having problems. If you have followed the simple instructions I typed out earlier you should be fine mate.

Check this page anyway: http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/angle.htm#EP

It shows the angle of the trem right there. See how it's parallel with the guitar's top? That's how yours should be set.

ryanb · #8 10-20-2007, 06:31 PM

Add a neck shim so that you can raise the trem without raising the action.

eatsleepplayguitar · #9 10-20-2007, 07:10 PM

Ok I got it now! I cant believe I had my jem set up wrong since i got it. The whammy bar clears the selector switch now. The bridge is parallel, that even cleared up some of the fret buzz.

Problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like my bar to stay where i place it, but it tends to slightly fall down a bit?
Is this normal?

Dee · #10 10-20-2007, 07:17 PM

Unfortunately, yes. If you remove the bar and look at the end of it you'll see two white nylon bushings. After a short time of use, these wear down and the arm becomes sloppy. You can either buy new bushings (ridiculously expensive considering what they actually are and how often they need replacing), or you can do what many of us do and buy yourself some plumbers tape (PTFE).

I have always been angry with Ibanez for making the bushings so expensive. There is absolutely no reason why they should cost so much and to be quite honest they really need to look into a better solution. The Edge trem is 21 years old and to rely for more than two decades on such an obviously flawed piece of hardware is nothing short of ridiculous.

Regarding the plumbers tape, read on.

Remove the bar, remove the bushings, and cut yourself a couple of inches of tape. Wrap the tape tightly around the area where the bushings live, then replace the bushings. You should now find that the bar feels good and stays in place for a while, but you'll soon be repeating this procedure because the tape also wears out.

eatsleepplayguitar · #11 10-20-2007, 07:23 PM

I didnt even use the whammy bar and it was doing that? It came with a spare set. How much are they? Does that tape get stuck inside anywhere?

Could you do this?

take the bushings out, wrap one wined or tape around and put the bushing back on?

Dee · #12 10-20-2007, 08:04 PM

Cost of the bushings is cheaper over there in the USA, I think, but over here it's about £12 for a dozen of them ($24). I think Ibanez should offer them in bags of 100 for the same price or less. They are not worth more than that. They are just stupid bits of plastic!

Yeah, that's exactly what you do with the tape. It may need more than one wind.

JJEMMER777 · #13 10-20-2007, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatsleepplayguitar

I didnt even use the whammy bar and it was doing that? It came with a spare set. How much are they? Does that tape get stuck inside anywhere?

Could you do this?

take the bushings out, wrap one wined or tape around and put the bushing back on?

Yes exactly - wrap it in the slot! It's very easy and works very well. Heck half of the new bushings I get don't hold the bar anyway

A quick fix that works as well is to use a D'Addario string bag, just cut a bit out, put it over the trem slot and push the bar into the holder. Works quite well actually until you can wrap the PFE tape in the bushing slots

WOO HOOOOO!! By George, he's nearly got it

~ROCK~

BozTheK · #14 10-20-2007, 11:07 PM

I tried that plumbers tape thing recently and it worked very well, but then I removed the bar and the tape not covered by bushings had been "smudged" (couldn't think of a better word). I was worried that this would get stuck in the holder and cause damage so I tired to scrape some off with a Knife, and it has come a bit looser now. So I ask, it a problem to have to worn tape on the bar, where it could potentially get stuck in the holder?

Also, I tired it with normal tape first because I didn't want to leave the house to get plumbers tape (lazy, I know, but I'm always looking for a quick fix) and the bar was so tight that it wouldn't go back in. Stupidly, I thought the best idea would be to file down the bushings, rather than removing them and putting less tape on them. When I replaced the normal tape with the plumbers tape, without changing the bushings, it was still very tight, but not too tight. So does this mean that even with the plumbers tape, it may still be too thick?

All that trouble, and I even have spare bushings anyway!

PS. sorry for probably hijacking the thread

Dee · #15 10-20-2007, 11:16 PM

The tape does get "smudged", but it's never been a problem for me and I haven't noticed anything getting stuck inside the trem arm holder. I wouldn't worry about it at all man.

Getting the tape thickness just right can take a couple of attempts. I tend to overload it and the bar just won't go in, then I gotta take it off and start again. As I said in my first reply, a couple of inches of tape is usually about right.