Tremolo Studs

[nycdavid]

I've probably read almost all of the Lo-TRS II retrofitting threads on this forum, and I'm finally convinced to switch to a Gotoh LFR, so I have two questions. The first one is, the problem with my Lo-TRS II is that after removing it to glue the studs, because one of them was loose and turning with the insert, I've realized that for some reason the knife edge doesn't seem to want to stay in anymore. So basically, if I push the tremolo bar down in any direction that isn't parallel with the body, one of the ends keeping popping off track. Is there some sort of fix for that? And my 2nd question is, do the Gotoh stud inserts fit into the studs for the Lo-TRS II, because, after gluing it, I don't think those studs are coming out at all, anytime soon. I would greatly appreciate any help.

[ryanb]

The anchor in the guitar body is the insert. The stud is the post that screws into the anchor. You are saying those backwards.

After you glued the insert in, is it still square, and the stud is lined up properly? If it were off, that might contribute to the trem slipping. Or it may be some setup issue. Don't know.

I don't know whether the Gotoh studs are interchangeable, but getting the old inserts out shouldn't be a problem if you need to do that. If you used something like wood glue, it doesn't really adhere well to the metal anyway -- it mostly just fills the gaps. Regardless of the type of glue you used (wood glue, CA, epoxy, etc.), it will release with heat (the amount of heat depends on the type of glue). Heat it enough and it should pull right out. The common practice is to protect the guitar top and use a claw hammer to pull them out -- straight up.

[LonePhantom]

The Gotoh studs and anchors are bigger, but don't let that put you off replacing. Do it! The Gotoh studs are locking, like the old Ibanez Edge ones. Get them installed for sure!

[nycdavid]

Ohh I get it. I'm most definitely going to replace the Lo-TRS. I think I'm just disillusioned with that trem after so many problems with it. It's like I'm trying to fix it and another problem just keeps popping up. So frustrating. I also wanted to buy like an RG body and neck and build sort of a half-assed replica of the JEM. Probably can't duplicate the lion's claw, but maybe the monkey grip...? I guess that's kind of blasphemous to say to a forum of official JEM owners though haha. Anyway, thanks for the answers.