Changing pickups....what to do with trem?

[jclogston]

Hi - i am going to attempt to try and change my pickups on my rg550. *So i will be removing the strings and just replacing a new pickguard with the pickups already, so hopefully it should'nt be that bad. *question, when i remove the strings what should i do to the trem because its going to go straight up from the lack of tension? *Do i remove the springs in the back or what?


thanks

jeff

[ripl3y]

Just slip something underneath the trem to use as a block...a piece of wood, a folded up cigarrette packet etc..... try to put something under that will just fill the gap and not force the trem upwards anymore.
I use one of those connector things that you join a split cable with, I forget the name.

Steve

(Edited by ripl3y at 11:39 am on April 26, 2002)

[Rockstar]

A wire nut!!!!

I'll have to try one of those.

[bammbamm]

DUDE, do it the other way around, unhook the springs from the claw in back, then lift the whole trem ( springs and all) through the cavity while still attached to the strings, then you take out the pickgaurd and do whatever you need to do and reassemble in reverse order.
Odds are that you'll still be in tune, I was after my last "procedure" I did on my 550.
Bamm

[vaijem777]

I'll usually use a couple of 2-liter bottle caps or a couple of extra Strat-type knobs. *Just push down on the trem and put them in the cavity under the trem. *That way, you can just take the strings off at the trem and re-use them. *Works every time! *Plus, you're maintaining tension on the tremolo springs, so it's a little easier to re-tune AND you don't have to hassle with setting your tremolo back up.

(Edited by vaijem777 at 12:36 pm on April 26, 2002)

[kennydoe]

The way Bamm described is the best, least time consuming and hassle free way to change a pickguard and/or pickups. *And yes, as long as you locked it at the nut, the guitar should come back in tune when you return the bridge to normal.

If it wasn't clear from his post here's what to do: *First, make sure the guitar is in tune and locked at the nut. * Take the back cover off behind the trem cavity, take out the 2 screws that are on the bridge (NOT the ones that are drilled into the body!!!) *carefully take a needle nose pliers and pop out each spring - cover them with your hand so they don't go flying across the room or hit you in the face. *Hurts like a motherf'er.

Once the springs are out, flip the guitar back over and the bridge will be only hanging on the guitar by the trem posts. *gently pull the bridge back towrds the tail to free the bridge from the posts. *Put the bridge with the strings still attached off to the side.

There are only two mistakes you can make. *One is forgetting to lock the nut. *The other is after you pull the bridge out, be careful not to twist it around or put the bridge thru the strings. *Once they're tangled with eachother, you may as well toss the set. *This is easy enough to prevent unless you're a moron like me. *I did it on my UV once. *Oops.

After the work is done, make sure *you put the bridge back on the right spot on the trem posts - take a mental picture of where they were sitting before you remove it. *

Put your whammy bar back on the bridge before you reinstall - makes it a wee bit easier for leverage - putting the springs back in is tricky and you can really screw up the finish on your guitar if you slip witht he needlenose pliers trying to put 'em back in. *I've done that too - more than once.

Good luck!
~kenny

[jclogston]

Cool thanks everyone for the help. *Sounds pretty striaght forward, now comes the fun part, re-wiring *(lol).

but thanks to everyone for their help, much appreciated.

jeff

[kennydoe]

jclogston on 2:09 pm on April 26, 2002
Cool thanks everyone for the help. *Sounds pretty striaght forward, now comes the fun part, re-wiring *(lol).

but thanks to everyone for their help, much appreciated.

jeff

oh - about that...
be careful you don't keep the iron on the contacts too long. *Ibanez uses kinda crappy pots - the melt easily. *You only need a little dab and a little bit of leader from under the shield.
~Kenny

[ryan]

FWIW --

I took the trem off using Bamm's method, then took off the neck...

I let the whole thing hang on the wall for over 2 months while I sanded to bare wood, then glued a veneer top to the body and finally put on some stain and clear coat.

While waiting for the 9,000,000th coat of clear to dry, I got bored and drilled all the dots out of the neck. I replaced them with pieces of wooden dowels, dyed the same color as the body.

THEN... I put the whole thing back together. When I plugged it in, it was in perfect tune and near-perfect intonation.

ryan

ryan@arcofdescent.com