Edge Pro - Loose whammy bar

axes · #1 03-22-2009, 10:24 AM

Hey!

I bought a brand new JEM7VWH in January, and I started playing it frequently. After about a week, the whammy bar came totally loose. It just won't stay in it's place but start turning all the time. I tried replacing those teflon rings with the ones that came with the guitar, but it didn't solve my problem. What should I do about this?

Thanks in advance!

Axes

callen3615 · #2 03-22-2009, 11:29 AM

First things first, dont call it a "whammy bar". Its a tremolo arm, or trem arm. Anyway, I just wrap tape under the part where the ring clips, effectively making them wider.

jb4674 · #3 03-22-2009, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

First things first, dont call it a "whammy bar". Its a tremolo arm, or trem arm. Anyway, I just wrap tape under the part where the ring clips, effectively making them wider.

With those instructions you're bound to mess a whole bunch of trems......

Jimmy

jb4674 · #4 03-22-2009, 11:56 AM

1. Get some teflon tape (plumber's tape) from your local hardware store
2. Remove the nylon bushings from the trem bar
3. cut about 1/4" to 1/2" of tape and wrap it around both grooves on the bar where the bushings go. There should only be 1-2 turns of tape, if you wrap more, you may not be able to fit the bar on the trem once the bushings are on.
4. Place the nylon bushings back on the trem arm.
5. Pop the arm into the trem and abuse to your heart's content.

Jimmy

P.S.: The ability of the bar to stay in place will vary depending upon your bar usage (abuse).

callen3615 · #5 03-22-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb4674

1. Get some teflon tape (plumber's tape) from your local hardware store
2. Remove the nylon bushings from the trem bar
3. cut about 1/4" to 1/2" of tape and wrap it around both grooves on the bar where the bushings go. There should only be 1-2 turns of tape, if you wrap more, you may not be able to fit the bar on the trem once the bushings are on.
4. Place the nylon bushings back on the trem arm.
5. Pop the arm into the trem and abuse to your heart's content.

Jimmy

P.S.: The ability of the bar to stay in place will vary depending upon your bar usage (abuse).

DUDE, that what I was telling him. Tape under the rings. Not in the trem.

Jem7RB MK · #6 03-22-2009, 05:01 PM

Man, i just love a sloppy whammy :P the tape is PTFE if that helps a bit

superhairycamel · #7 03-23-2009, 04:51 AM

i tried that and the tape got all chewed up within a week

ive got used to the slop bar but i dont like it

btw i used PTFE teflon plumbers tape

eviltwin · #8 03-23-2009, 06:26 AM

PTFE = Teflon(TM)

Also make sure the nylon washers are inserted right-side-up. They are tapered: thin end points towards the tip.

If it goes sloppy within a week, you're doing something wrong. As it says it the Edge manual:

Quote:

This is a precision engineered instrument.

Any error in setup may result in unsatisfactory performance.

Jem7RB MK · #9 03-23-2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eviltwin

PTFE = Teflon(TM)

Thats not how it is marketed in the uk, Polytetrafluoroethylene was around/discovered before it was Tradmarked and marketed as Teflon

here ends todays lesson

southpaw_lefty · #10 03-23-2009, 09:32 AM

Your bar holder may be loose as well. Check to see if top of it spins when you spin the bar.

jb4674 · #11 03-23-2009, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

DUDE, that what I was telling him. Tape under the rings. Not in the trem.

It seems to me that you like to assume people can understan what it is you're trying to convey. What kind of tape did you mean, duct tape, scotch tape, clear tape, giftwrap tape? Did you also mention that he had to remove the bushings? (they are called nylon bushings btw).....

Apology accepted callen.....

Jimmy

callen3615 · #12 03-23-2009, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb4674

It seems to me that you like to assume people can understan what it is you're trying to convey. What kind of tape did you mean, duct tape, scotch tape, clear tape, giftwrap tape? Did you also mention that he had to remove the bushings? (they are called nylon bushings btw).....

Apology accepted callen.....

Jimmy

Chill out bro, were just trying to help this dude. I didnt go into great detail. I said he had to put tape under the rings, I didnt tell him he had to remove them first. (I figured that was common sense. I used scotch tape but I dont think it matters. I just used tape as a space filler.

Next time I will be more detail oriented.

My apologies for offending you jimmy

S-man · #13 03-23-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southpaw_lefty

Your bar holder may be loose as well. Check to see if top of it spins when you spin the bar.

Good advice. I think a lot of people overlook this. Look at the slot on top of the trem arm holder while rotating the trem bar counter clockwise. Does it move? If it does, you need to tighten your trem arm holder.

callen3615 · #14 03-23-2009, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S-man

Good advice. I think a lot of people overlook this. Look at the slot on top of the trem arm holder while rotating the trem bar counter clockwise. Does it move? If it does, you need to tighten your trem arm holder.

Yup good call. Its just that the plastic rings wear out so fast.

eviltwin · #15 03-23-2009, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jem7RB MK

Thats not how it is marketed in the uk, Polytetrafluoroethylene was around/discovered before it was Tradmarked and marketed as Teflon

here ends todays lesson

I don't need any lessons on plastics, thank you very much.

Besides, you are incorrect. PTFE = Teflon; the company that patented it in 1941 (Kinetic Chems/Dupont), trademarked it in 1944 under the name of Teflon. In the timeline of WWII product development that is almost instantaneous, considering that when you're providing materials crucial to the Manhattan Project, trademarking is not really the top priority. At that point Teflon was PTFE and PTFE was Teflon. It wasn't marketed or available, however until 1950.

Dupont (owner of Kinetic) later expanded the trademark to include all kinds of PTFE compounds, paints and coatings. But that's only a legal trick to keep other fluoropolymers to be branded as Teflon by competitors. Dupont also markets its PTFE in the UK as Teflon (www.teflon.co.uk redirects to dupont.com)

The patent may have expired, but that doesn't change it's origin. Even when Dupont prevents other manufacturers from using the name, they cannot hide the fact that the name Teflon has become the standard term for PTFE, not unlike like Nylon for Polyamides, or Kevlar for Polyaramides.

The second largest producer is Asahi (who acquired the PTFE business from ICI) but nobody ever uses their trademark term. (Fluon) ICI did not invent PTFE on its own, rather it was given the Teflon secrets, possibly to help the UK with its nuclear programme.

Quote:

Its just that the plastic rings wear out so fast.

really, they shouldn't; if they do, something is wrong.