Ibanez JEM Forum banner

S 7 string bridge problems - help!

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  jemsite 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,
a good friend of mine just bought a 7 string S series guitar ( I forget what the model number is) off of someone on ebay.  He emailed the guy about the condition of the guitar (this is before he won it), and the seller told him the body had a few dings in it.  He wound up getting the guitar, only to find a few interesting things:
first, the pickups aren't "parallel" with the body of the guitar, and I don't mean as in the bass side is higher than the trebles die, I mean they are slanted inwards into the body.  I have a feeling the mounts are a little bent, which shouldn't be a problem.

Second, and this is the weird thing.  The guy had 4 springs on the trem instead of the usual 3 (LO-TRS 7 trem by the way).  So, we take the extra one out, set up the springs as they should be.  The guitar has 9's on it, and we tune it up to E, and try to set up the spring tension accordingly.  THe end result is that the spring screws are really close to the wood now to the point where we don't want to screw them in any further, but the bridge is still sticking up out of the body, as in the springs are not pulling enough.  I've set up springs on my own trems billions of times, so I know it's not something we're doing wrong.  This leads me to believe that maybe the springs are worn out?  THat would be weird, because they haven't even been making this guitar for very long, the springs couldn't be old enough to be worn out...I think.  Anyway, any insight would be appreciated.  Glen?

Bobby
 
See less See more
#2 ·
S 7 string bridge problems

He wrote earlier when I was busy, I told him to let it sit for a day, springs do not like to have many changes to them made at one time. The second part of your problem is probably how it was retuned, and I'll type this verbatem from the Ibanez "How to tune your floating tremolo system"

1. Tune your guitar. However, there is a trick to it at this stage. With both non-tremolo and 'vintage' tremolo guitars you can bring each string to pitch independently of the other strings. This is not so with a floating tremolo! Though each saddle is separate from the others, they are all mounted together on a single, large plate. In order to get your strings evenly in tune, you will need to tune in "stages". What we mean by this is this: start with the low E string. Turn the tuner until the string is no longer slack, and then move on to the A string. Do this with all the strings. Remember, you're not trying to achieve any type of tuning yet - you're just pulling up all the slack. After this is done, begin with the low E again, and turn the tuner about half a turn, then move to the A string. Do this to all the strings. Then repeat it. Check yourself with a tuner. Eventually, you will get close to being in tune. When everything is close, go ahead and finesse your tuners so they are in tune. *Why is this lengthy process necessary,* you might ask, *and why can't I just tune normally?* Good question! The answer is that attempting to tune "normally" will result in a tremolo unit that has pulled up from the body to such an extent that the action is now about half an inch high, and totally unplayable. Doing it this way will keep your action low and tremolo in the right place.

Of course I cheat quit a bit when I work on guitars, I have a feel for what I can get away with, but every now and then I'll get the trem all whacked out and slacking the strings and a few hours rest before starting again is the answer.
 
#3 ·
S 7 string bridge problems

Oh yeah totally Rich, youre right. We did that though (all my guitars have floating trems, so I'm used to that too)...I think maybe the former owner just didnt take care of it and wound up somehow stretching the springs out too much to the point where they dont have the proper stiffness to them any more (the setup on it was pretty sad). We did try checking it out again today, and its stil whacked out so we're switching out the springs for starters...I was just curious why that would happen. Could just be crappy springs. Anyway thanks for the input.
 
#4 ·
S 7 string bridge problems

you might have to replace one spring. Sometimes this will happen, where you can no longer tighten the claw springs to get more tension on the springs. Maybe this is why they added the 4th to begin with? I like to replace one at a a time (along w/ fresh strings) and see if that allows more range. The TECH section has tuning info :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top