Strats Tremelos, help?

[Ignorance]

Does anyone know where I can find info on how to make a strat tremelo go up( I mean instead of the diving sound)?

Thanks

//Me

[BrianH]

if you take the back plate off the guitar you'll see these springs... could be 2, 3 or more. Towards the neck of the guitar the springs hook on this claw. Loosen the screws that go into the body at the claw and that'll create slack in the springs, therefore letting the tremolo rise a little, and then you'll be able to pull up. But you don't want to let the trem fall forward to much.

[Ignorance]

Cool, thanks a load.

//Me

[sniperfrommars1]

If its a vintage strat trem I personally wouldnt use it to pull up, since the strings dont lock, you tend to go through strings really quickly

[dcord]

Originally Posted by sniperfrommars1

If its a vintage strat trem I personally wouldnt use it to pull up, since the strings dont lock, you tend to go through strings really quickly

Depends on how far you set it to pull up. Fender's own spec on their vintage trems is to have the rear of the bridge raised 1/8" off the body. This allows for about one whole step of pull up.

~d~

[Project Guitar]

Hi D, where did you read that spec about the 1/8" ?

I've been going through all the manuels and setup videos on several guitars (working on a setup tutorial for Project Guitar) and so far all of the luthiers specify just above the body with a very slight gap nothing more, yet not resting on the body for the "Vintage" tremolo.

We are talking about the 6 screw hold down style and not a twin post style correct?

Not flaming , just curious...........

[sniperfrommars1]

Player a factory setup american standard strat and pull up on the bar. Im just stating from my experience that its a bad Ideal. you use them, but personally I recommend a floating knife edge trem for this. If we are talking about an american standard strat and not a vintage reissue, then this would be "DOABLE", but the six screw versions just play like pooh to me

[dcord]

Originally Posted by becalvert

Hi D, where did you read that spec about the 1/8" ?

I've been going through all the manuels and setup videos on several guitars (working on a setup tutorial for Project Guitar) and so far all of the luthiers specify just above the body with a very slight gap nothing more, yet not resting on the body for the "Vintage" tremolo.

We are talking about the 6 screw hold down style and not a twin post style correct?

Not flaming , just curious...........

Fender.com's tech support section Mr. Gearhead.com. The spec applies for both the vintage 6 hole and the twin post.

Here's an excerpt from the Strat trem setup section:

First, remove the tremolo back cover. Check your tuning. Let’s start with a vintage style tremolo bridge. Here’s a great tip to enhance the performance of this bridge: Using your tremolo arm, pull the bridge back flush with the body. Loosen all six screws located at the front edge of the bridge plate. Raise them so that all of the screws measure approximately 1/16" above the top of the bridge plate. Finally, tighten the two outside screws back down until they are flush with the top of the bridge plate. The bridge will now pivot on the outside screws, leaving the four inside screws in place for bridge stability. For a two-pivot bridge like the American Standard bridge use your tremolo arm to pull the bridge back flush with the body and adjust the two pivot screws to the point where the tremolo plate sits entirely flush at the body (not lifted at the front or back of the plate).

Allowing the bridge to float freely (no tension on the tremolo arm) using the claw screws in the tremolo cavity, adjust the bridge to your desired angle (Fender spec. is 1/8" gap at rear of bridge). You will need to retune periodically to get the right balance between the strings and the springs. If you prefer a flush bridge to body, adjust spring tension to equal string tension, while the bridge rests on body (you may want to put an extra 1/2 turn to each claw screw to ensure that the bridge remains flush to the body during string bends). Caution: Do not over-tighten the springs as it can put unnecessary tension on the arm during tremolo use. Finally, you may wish to apply a small dab of Chapstick® or Vaseline® at the pivot contact points of the bridge for a very smooth operation.

I have my '56 and my RT set up this way and they both work perfectly. You can't abuse them like an Edge, but you can get them to work great.

Peace!
~d~

[dcord]

Originally Posted by sniperfrommars1

Player a factory setup american standard strat and pull up on the bar. Im just stating from my experience that its a bad Ideal. you use them, but personally I recommend a floating knife edge trem for this. If we are talking about an american standard strat and not a vintage reissue, then this would be "DOABLE", but the six screw versions just play like pooh to me

I don't know what guitar stores you have in your area, but in mine, I've only found one place that has their Fenders set up *correctly*. They had a '57 reissue in there set up with the 1/8" gap and I put it through the ringer with all my SRV and Hendrix wannabe stuff. I put it mildly out of tune with some heavy divebombing, but not with the occasional one step pull up or dive.

That was before I decided to reset both of my vintage trem guitars to float. Having the vintage trem set up to float dramatically changes the feel of the guitars and makes them a ton more fun to play, even if you don't use the bar, I highly recommend making the bridge float.

Leo's original design is brilliant to this day, and the only person to ever improve on it was Floyd.

~d~

[Project Guitar]

Thanks! I missed that little diddy on the gearhead page. Guess I need to spend a little more time printing these things out...............