Loose Arm Holder

guitarman13 · #1 06-10-2006, 05:42 PM

The arm holder in my JEM7VWH is loose. I need to tighten it but I do not want to take the trem out of the guitar. After reading about how to tighten it under the setup section of the website, I've realized that it is almost impossible to fit an open end wrench or deep socket into the tiny space. How can I tighten the arm holder without taking the trem out of the guitar?

ryanb · #2 06-10-2006, 08:02 PM

Take it to a tech and have him remove the trem. Ha.

Take a look at the arm holder section on ibanezrules. It may help.

guitarman13 · #3 06-10-2006, 08:05 PM

The guitar is setup perfectly and I am not going to remove the trem. Where can I find a well socket that will fit. Other people have done it and the tech section of the website says you can do it without removing the trem, so why can't I do it?

Ozzdoc · #4 06-10-2006, 09:06 PM

to tighten the bar all you need is "2" allen key (using metric system) to tighten it. The allen key hole is under the bar..so do a little dive bomb and you should see it.

Ironjose · #5 06-10-2006, 09:57 PM

what trem does it have?
JJ

guitarman13 · #6 06-10-2006, 10:10 PM

It has an edge pro trem. I don't think it involves an allen key. Rich told me that no socket will fit on an edge pro. What else could I use? Removing the trem is not an option for me at this point. Has anyone tightened a loose arm holder on a JEM7VWH before?

Tonelover · #7 06-11-2006, 02:25 AM

By any chance have you tried replacing the plastic trem-arm bushing? I learned the hard way after much time and effort that was all I needed to get the arm snug as a bug again. I knew what they were for but mine was so loose that it rattled, thus I thought it was a bigger issue than it really was.

Andelusion · #8 06-11-2006, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tonelover

By any chance have you tried replacing the plastic trem-arm bushing? I learned the hard way after much time and effort that was all I needed to get the arm snug as a bug again. I knew what they were for but mine was so loose that it rattled, thus I thought it was a bigger issue than it really was.

+1 to that.

Orginal Poster: I didn't realise you weren't willing to remove the trem when I replied to your PM and directed you to the Ibanezrules.com tech section.

First of all I'd make sure it's not your bushings that are loose by following the nail polish tip on jemsite, then I'd suggest taking your guitar to a tech if you're not prepared to remove the trem, which is a simple procedure, but fair enough.

dannymills · #9 06-11-2006, 09:35 AM

I did the nail-polish thing, and it worked a treat

guitarman13 · #10 06-11-2006, 02:27 PM

I put some new washers on and it worked for about 5 minutes. Then, I noticed that the arm holder was spinning with the whammy bar and now the bar is wobbling around like crazy. So, I guess the damn arm holder is loose. Do I definetely have to take the trem out to tighten the arm holder?

ScottB · #11 06-11-2006, 04:13 PM

If the nut was loose, it probably snugged up a bit from rotating the bar after you replaced the bushings. It's gonna come loose again. Trust me. You need a 10mm deep well socket to tighten the nut.

If paying a tech to work on the guitar is out of the question, you're gonna have to eventually learn how to do it yourself. The socket wrench, a good phillips head screwdriver, long nosed pliers, patience and common sense are the tools you need. Getting over your fear of applying them to your guitar is your largest hurdle to overcome. If you go slowly and do it right the first time, your guitar will still be in tune when you're done.

It's time to stop posting. Read through the steps a few times and just do it.

Rich · #12 06-11-2006, 04:18 PM

You cannot use a socket or a box wrench on an Edge Pro. Open end only.

ScottB · #13 06-11-2006, 04:58 PM

Rich is correct, I use a socket on my Edge and Lo Pro Edge trems. I had a RG1550 w/ Edge Pro a few years ago and remember keeping a 10mm open end in my toolbox back then.

Sorry for the confusion.

guitarman13, just learn how to pull the trem and you'll be fine.

Ironjose · #14 06-11-2006, 08:56 PM

you can also try to put a little piece of plastic bag where the washers go, then add the washers, that´s what i did and every gig i have to change the plastic pieces...
JJ

ryanb · #15 06-11-2006, 09:41 PM

There are a lot of responses here about the washers and such. That only applies to a loose arm. This thread is about a loose arm HOLDER.

You have to tighten that nut with an open-end wrench. If you can't do that with the trem in the guitar, then you simply must take it out. No way around it. But it isn't that big of a problem. Undo the springs and pop out the whole trem with strings attached (detailed on Rich's site), tighten the arm holder, and pop it back into the guitar. As long as you leave everything else alone, your setup will be exactly the same as it was when you started. And while you are at it, you might want to add some Locktite to the arm holder threads after you tighten it so that it doesn't come loose again.