Need A Really Good Quality Pic Of An Edge Tremolo

[kam_23ca]

2 thoughts:

1. You could also explain to him that the string lock screws should be parallel to the body (I believe that they are parallel to the knife edge insert)

2. Are your claw springs old/stretched? Sometimes their replacement, or the addition of a fourth spring can correct the abnormality shown.

[Jaden]

IbanezGirl, if you are new to setting up a trem like this then its easier to approach it this way.

1. get the trem on an even keel (knife edges parallel to the body) and get the guitar in tune. (im going to assume that the intonation is OK)

2. it could be playing like crap but... unlock the trem posts and get it to a good height, it dont have to be the same height from E to E - ususally the high E is a little lower. Wind down the trem until it buzzes every where and raise it bit by bit until its clear - even when bending.

3. take the guitar and look along its length from the bridge, look to see the angle of the strings in relation to the frets is as small as possible without being TOO small.... thats easy to see - believe me.

4. shim the neck, if required - small shims make a big difference, just try folding thin card or cooking foil until you are increasing (or decrasing) the shim by increments of 0.1 mm

5. when satisfied that the shim is good look at the truss rod adjustment, there should be about 0.5mm relief, adjust the relief if required - anti-clockwise turns = more relief and clockwise = less.

6. check all over the fretboard for buzzes while playing - bending to check for choking.

repeat these procedures until you either find your perfect playing setup or you cant take it anymore and will settle for what you have....

sorry im in the UK otherwise I would sort it for you....

Im no jedi master like Rich but that is the short and dirty way to setting up a guitar... before you start grinding nuts (ouch) or shimming trem saddles and using the force to bend each guitar to your will..

good luck - its not as hard as you think.

[IbanezGirl]

Wow, that's really weird that cam, whatisshredding and this post have appeared above my original post. That's the first time i've seen something like that happen....LOL!!!

whatisshredding, i had done all you suggested previously and just couldn't get it right. I did add a neck shim, which really helped with the action (btw, i've been told by the techie that he's taken it out).
Since i've paid some good dollars for this techie to set her up and he's prepared to redo it, i'm not going to touch it before hand.
I'm really hoping by taking the pics along, he'll get it right the second time and i won't need to do any of your suggestions, but just maintain it.

Joejoe, it's frightening huh!

I've learnt from previous experience with the couple of aussie tech's i've seen, they THINK they know how to setup an EDGE, and set 'em up on how they percieve it should be done (which is wrong) and they don't listen to what you have too say. I guess part of that problem could be because i'm female, and they know better and because they are techie's and i'm not. I also think, alot of them have never dealt with an edge trem here in Australia. Even now, trem guitars don't seem too sell as well here as other countries.

The most frustrating part for me is, from all the pics i've seen here on Jemsite and Rich's site and other sites, i do have a sense of how it supposed to look when it's setup properly - i'm just not good at tinkering, it never turns out right. But these guys are supposedly qualified and getting good money for their services.

An example of this is, the tech was kind enough to ring last night after i'd picked up the guitar to see how i liked it. I mentioned he did a really nice job on the fret dress, but the action was far too low and the guitar wasn't staying in tune. As soon as i mentioned
anything about the tremolo, i was quickly cut off and told the tunning problem wasn't caused by the trem, but by the neck, blah blah, blah.

[IbanezGirl]

Hi everyone,

As some of you are aware, about 4 months ago i purchased a RG750, and since that time i've had nothing but headaches and heartaches with this guitar.
It's now been through three different tech's, each time coming back very poorly setup.
I have gone through Rich's setup pages and Jemsites numerous times and the problems remain - guitar not staying in tune, problems with the tremolo, etc.

A few days ago, feed up once again, i decided to give the guitar to a new tech guy, i got it back today..........and guess what, it STILL isn't right. You'll see from the pics below.

He has done a lovely fret dress and he does appear to be a really nice guy, he phoned countless times while working on it and phoned me tonight too see what i thought of it.....no one else has done that. I told him the action is way too low for me, mentioned about the trem angle, and got told ALL the problems are coming from the neck, not the trem ( Why does it seem that aussie tech's are ignorant with Edge trems). He did say he'd take another look at it on tuesday, and make some adjustments.

Now, i'm at the point where i'm sick and tired of asking them to setup the tremolo so the knife edges are parallel to the top of the body. It seems to be wasted words, anyway.

So, as they say, a picture tells a 1,000 stories, which got me thinking. Why not take them a photo, plonk it in front of him and say this is how i'd like it setup.

If anyone has a very clear quality picture of a properly setup up Edge that i could print off, i'd be forever grateful

BTW, here's a couple of pics taken tonight, for your amusement, of the latest setup.





Sorry for the long rant, but i'm still annoyed and frustrated that the problems are still ongoing.

[Sabre]

Here you go. . .

http://www.jemsite.com/tech/1setup.htm#step1

The set-up section on this site is pretty damn good, there's plenty of trem info on it.

[IbanezGirl]

Thanks Sabre, appreciate it But i'd prefer a shot like my first picture above.

[crevis]

I'll post one in a sec, what guage strings are you using?

[IbanezGirl]

Thanks crevis. 9-46

[fettouhi]

Originally Posted by nuno

is that clear enough? ok it's not recessed but you got the right angle...

Nice!!!

Regards

André

[crevis]

This is my 570 set up for extremely low action, Most people wouldnt want it quite this low but its a good way of showing the techs that it can be set very low. Mine stays in tune very well too. I use 9-42, I cant go much heavier than that and keep the low action because the springs just arent strong enough.

Trem..


24th

[crevis]

its very hard to focus on a shiny guitar

[Sabre]

Cool Pics!

[IbanezGirl]

Thanks crevis, i'll print it out and see how it looks
It certainly is shiny.
Well my action now is the lowest it's ever been, and it's got a very bad buzz on the 6th string first fret, and the D string hits the 24th fret while strumming.
I've also noticed the guitar has lost some of it's tone, and it's not the easiest now bending on the higher strings. I like to be able to bend up and under.

[crevis]

I would normally have it a little higher but when i set it up i was trying to see how low i could go and then I've been too slack to set it up again since then.

Have you got your studs locked, i remember mine didnt stay in tune very well when i lost the tiny allen key for a week (aka couldnt be bothered going down stairs and getting another one ) and couldnt lock them.

[IbanezGirl]

That was the first thing i checked (they weren't locked), but as soon as i stretched the hell out of the strings and did a retune, i locked them.