ZR tremolo radius, 400 vs. 430

[MichelIV]

Does anyone know if they're shimming the ZR trems with a 400mm radius or is it an entirely new base plate?

Speaking hypothetically here, if I were to add a neck with a 430mm radius to a guitar equipped with a stock 400mm radius and an ZR trem, would it be as simple as removing shims from underneath the saddles?

I've noticed that the ZR, depending on which model it's on (say Indonesia vs. Japan Prestige) that the radius is different. Wondering if they're completely different trem bases (platform that the saddles sit on) or if Ibanez just shims the ZR's to 400mm.

Yeah, I've somehow landed another project. I've forgotten what sleep is.

[MichelIV]

So I have three ZR trems. I took a look at them after I got home from work. One is on a S5470 and is supposed to be a 430mm radius. Another on the Indonesian S5EX1 is supposed to be 400mm. I have a third I bought just for measurements (sustain block) and it's black. Looked at the auction I bought it from and it was listed as a ZR2 yet it's identical to the ZR on the S5EX1 and was slightly different from the Prestige ZR2 term where the intonation tool screws in. But other than that, I cannot see a difference in the actual radius or base plate. None appear to have shims but admittedly, they could be completely sealed below the saddles. The black ZR, not attached to a guitar is in pieces. No shims.

So that leaves me with the 5470's trem and I'm not going to take it apart to look as I have a good, working setup on it and I don't want to screw it up. Honestly all the base plates "look" the same but eyeballing the difference between a 400mm and 430mm radius would be pretty futile. I really wish Ibanez would start stamping their parts with ID's to make things a bit easier. There are no ID numbers anywhere on these things.

I see Rich has saddle shims for the ZR. Has anyone ever shimmed a ZR to go from 400 to 430? Any guides on what thickness to use for each block? I can see this getting complicated.

[MichelIV]

So I think I answered my own question...I guess all ZR's are 430mm. I haven't checked the ZR on the indonesian model for shims yet but will do so in the not too distant future.

[GuitarBizarre]

The difference between the two radii is less than a 10th of a millimeter even at the very edges of the fretboard, I mocked it up in photoshop once a while back. If you can feel that as a noticable difference you're a freakin cyborg.

Edit: http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f18/to...us-120466.html

Here's the mockup.