what the hell? bridge studs?

Homebake · #1 11-26-2008, 12:06 PM

it says on every website and manual i can find that before you raise or lower the bridge height adjustment on an edge, you need to loosen the "stud lock screw". apparently you do this with a 1.5mm allen wrench. these are inside the stud bolts right? the 2 bolts that the knife edge pivots on.

thing is, no matter what allen key i shove down there, i can't loosen or tighten any bolts. and what are the two screws with their heads cut off for? they came with my rg2550z.

GuitarBizarre · #2 11-26-2008, 12:22 PM

Take the bridge out of your guitar. Then loosen the studs and take one out. (With the bridge out of the guitar, this should be extremely easy to do with just your fingers. If you need more force than your fingers provide, then the stud is locked and you'll need a 1.5mm allen key to unlock the grub screw at the bottom. Quickest way to check is to put the allen key down and try to tighten the grub screw at the bottom. if it stops turning then its locked. once you have that, loosen the grub screw as much as possible and it should become easy to take the stud out.

If you can see through the middle of the stud once its out, theres no grub screw in your stud, which is the lock in this case.

If thats the case, then check that these headless screws you mention aren't the grub screws you're looking for. If they are then they should have one end with a 1.5mm allen key hole on one end. If they have that, then put them into the stud from the bottom, with the allen key end facing towards the top of the stud. Make sure theres nothing protruding from the bottom when they're in there.

Now put them and your bridge back in, set your guitar up, and tighten the grub screws using your 1.5mm allen key. Job done.

Homebake · #3 11-26-2008, 12:27 PM

yea, those headless screws have a slot for a 1.5mm allen key at the top.

how do i take the bridge out of the guitar?

also, theoretically, if an edge zero is set up perfectly, how well should it stay in tune? if i pull up really far, it will go a tad out, then doing a dive bomb till the bar hits the pickguard, it will be back in tune.

dive bombing doesn't make it go out of tune, only raising it does a bit.

GuitarBizarre · #4 11-26-2008, 01:09 PM

To take the bridge out of the guitar, take all the strings off (Don't have to remove them entirely, just get em out of the bridge. Loosen em first, obv)

The bridge should then fall back a bit into the guitar. Take the backplate off and you'll see the springs in the back. You can either take those out of the bridge block, or you can pull them off the spring claw where the screws are into the body, either is fine. That'll mean the bridge isnt attached to the guitar anywhere. you can fully take it out if you want, and I reccomend doing so just so you can see how things work and check for any loose nuts and stuff. (Arm holders are bad ones for being a little bit loose. Check it doesnt wobble at all. if it doesnt, leave it. If it does, tighten up the nut on the underneath of the bridge where the arm goes through.)

You don't have to take it out fully though. Pull the bridge away from the studs so they're not touching, and then take the studs out as i described above. Then you can check if the lockign screws are inside. If they're not, put them in, put the studs back in, put the bridge back where it was and put the springs and strings back on.

Then setup your guitar as normal, and once you're done, tighten the grub screws to lock the studs in place.

GuitarBizarre · #5 11-26-2008, 01:14 PM

Oh, for the staying in tune thing - If setup perfectly, any edge trem, even an edge III should stay in perfect tune.

If its not staying in tune, then while you have the studs out of the guitar, look at the profile of the groove in them. If the < shape is a very very tight angle, that can bind the knife edge of the trem and cause bad return.

Theres also the possibility of your knife edges being a little dull, but since this guitar is new, that won't be an issue. Rich's website www.ibanezrules.com has a lot of help for trem returns in the tech section if you're interested, where he can show you how to sharpen knife edges and stuff. I'd leave it alone unless the guitar exhibits real problems.

The second quick fix for trems going out a little, is to take some chapstick (any kind if fine, just make sure its the waxy stuff that comes in a tube like lipstick), take the chapstick, and rub a little on the knife edges, then take a toothpick or a needle, work a small ball onto the end, and put the ball on the indentation in the stud. When you turn the stud round, hold the knife edge onto it for a turn or two, and that will deposit chapstick onto the knife edge.

The chapstick lubes up the joint and helps tremolo return quite a lot.

**Ayrton** · #6 11-26-2008, 01:41 PM

Did the 2550 ever come with locking studs?

Rich · #7 11-26-2008, 01:45 PM

The set screws are not in the EZ studs. You have to pull the studs out, screw in the set screws [with the Allen head toward the top of the guitar/stud] then put the stud back in. Now you can lock the stud. They are 2mm drive though.

Homebake · #8 11-28-2008, 12:03 PM

well, i took out the bridge of the guitar, put some vaseline on the knife edges (didn't have any chapstick) and screwed the grub screws into the bridge studs, with the allen key bit facing upwards. what exactly do these screws do and why are they not installed at the factory?

i spent the next 8 years getting the bridge and action at an acceptable level.

GuitarBizarre · #9 11-28-2008, 08:39 PM

The locks keep the stud itself firmly in position so it can never move. Without them, theres a risk that over time as tremolo action moves the stud back and forth over time, the stud or the hole the stud is inserted into in the wood, becomes slightly oval and tremolo return is compromised as the stud moves more and more each time you use the trem.

Theres also the argument that since the stud keeps things extremely solid, sustain is slightly improved because the bridge is more effectively couple with the body, with no/less vibration being lost in the studs themselves.

Remember though, you'll get none of these benefits if you don't tighten the grub screws up properly as the very last thing you do. If you back the stud out to raise action slightly, you'll need to screw the grub screw in a little more to lock it up again. COnversely, if you want to lower the action, you'll have to loosen the grub a little to allow downward movement, then tighten it up again once your action is set right.

Homebake · #10 11-28-2008, 10:16 PM

so i screwed the grub screws in all the way, allen key hole facing up...now, i can't loosen them with the allen key, because the long end has that strange end that some allen keys have, it's not just the same tip on each end. so the grub screws are firmly in place.

what i don't get is, you can still screw the bridge studs up and down, raising or lowering the bridge without loosening the grub screws. am i missing something here? i feel retarded.

i don't see how the grub screws affect anything, as they are just sitting inside the bridge stud?

Rich · #11 11-28-2008, 10:50 PM

There's no way they're locked if you can still lower the studs.

Homebake · #12 11-29-2008, 02:31 AM

well, i can't tighten or loosen em, and i screwed em in as far as they go.

GuitarBizarre · #13 11-29-2008, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Conversely, if you want to lower the action, you'll have to loosen the grub a little to allow downward movement, then tighten it up again once your action is set right.

Homebake, look at this pic:

http://www.ibanezrules.com/namm/imag...3/MVC-014F.JPG

On the left is a locking stud, on the right is a non locking stud. You see the small bit below the grub screw on the left stud? Thats the part the grub screw tightens itself into when you drive it. You set the larger part of the stud to its correct action height with your 4mm allen key, then you use your 2mm allen wrench to tighten the grub screw into that lower bit which just sits at the bottom of the stud insert.

That has the effect of tightly compressing the 2 bits together, preventing movement and locking the studs in place. Because of this, when you try to use your 4mm allen wrench to move the stud itself, it won't move any further down, it can only move upwards from that point because its locked by the grub screw. To move the stud any further down, you need to back out the 2mm grub screw which allows a bit more clearance below the stud.

When you say you can't tighten or loosen them, are you referring to the bridge stud (4mm drive) or the grub screw (2mm drive)?

Homebake · #14 11-29-2008, 09:18 AM

jesus christ, now i can't take the grub screws out, they're in too tight...

i've taken the bridge off the body.

Homebake · #15 11-29-2008, 11:09 AM

ok, all is fixed.

i took the grub screws out, installed them properly, and now the action is perfect. good balance between pull up and push down pressure on the arm. the studs are now properly locked in place. i feel like a fully qualified tech. i don't think i'll play guitar for a week now lol.

why the hell don't they just install the grub screws at the factory???

thanks for all the help.