Members KevinTJH Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 I seem to be hearing a pretty bad rattling sound coming from the bridge. It's only present when I play the 4th, 5th, and 6th string. The other 3 are fine. It's even more prominent when I play any 2 of those problematic strings, and of course if I strummed harder as well. It's REALLY annoying. Also, I'm positive it's not fretbuzz because it's coming directly from the bridge, almost sounds like jumping screws inside. Does anyone know what's causing the rattling? If I applied a considerably amount of pressure on the bridge while playing the strings, the rattling is completely gone. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_gunslinger Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 sounds like noisy tremolo springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted July 31, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 sounds like noisy tremolo springs. Hey! You're right! Thanks for pointing that out! I never expected the springs to be the main culprit. I think I've found what's causing the rattling. The bottom spring is actually touching the wood on the guitar as you can see in the photo. If I applied some force to push that bottom spring away from the side, the rattling actually disappears. Only problem is, how can I keep that spring away? Rubberband? It's strange that I never had this rattling issue before. It only started after I took the neck apart for some repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 people stuff the springs with cloth, wind rubber bands round them, put panties in the cavity. me? I use stickon felt feet that are sold to put under chairs to make them slide on solid floors better.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members n9ne Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 I've run into the same problem before, and solved it by sticking a strip of foam rubber between the springs and wood. Kills the vibration without affecting the position or tension of the springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted July 31, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 Thanks for all the help guys! I'm soooooooooo glad I asked here before doing anything stupid. I was just about to play around with saddle height because a friend mine said the rattling was coming from the saddles.Boy...I'm sure relieved it's alot simpler than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted August 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 After many attempts to stuff the springs, I just found out what the problem is, and it's got nothing to do with noisy springs. When I increase spring tension by pulling it (even a little bit), the rattling stops. Is there a permanent way I could increase the spring tension? The guitar's already got 3 springs so I don't think I should add anymore. All I need to do is find a way to increase the spring tension a tiny bit, which would pull the metal string block forward which completely eliminates the rattling. Can anyone help me out here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted August 4, 2011 Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 Only problem is, how can I keep that spring away? Rubberband? Pieces of matches do it for me EDIT: However, my springs did touch the bottom of the cavity, not the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted August 4, 2011 Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 increase the spring tension a tiny bit Logic says that thicker strings heighten tension overall. But it seems that you are talking about actually wanting the trem block to be in a different place, in which case you just have to tighten the screws that hold the claw and retune your guitar. This will however alter the angle of your bridge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted August 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 4, 2011 Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 I used to have that same bridge on my strat before it all stripped out on me. For noise, Just take the springs off and bend the ends with plyers so they dont make noise any more. I personally wouldnt stuff anything there, Springs carry resonance to the body, in some cases like reverb springs. When the sound from a guitar amp speaker hits the guitar it generats a vibration in the springs and works its way up to the stringsand causes them to vibrate and thus sustain the notes. Deading the springs wouldnt be my choice. i tried it and didnt like it much. If anything you can use a dab or hot glue on the ends to stop the buzz. I usually take the back of my screwdriver and just tap them so thetension is even on them. if you hold two of the springs while tapping on the third, then compare its tone to the other two, you usually find onelower pitched than the others. Stick that one in the center and the others on the outside. Then measure from the block to claw plate and make sure each end is about the same distance. And on your bridge, make sure the bridge is level with the body. Use feeler gauges if you have them or measure the gap below the bridge and see if it measures the same near the tail and the studs. Adjust both claw screws evenly as needed to level the bridge up or down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted August 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 Thanks WRGKMC sooo much for your response! You seem to always be there to answer my questions! If anything you can use a dab or hot glue on the ends to stop the buzz. I usually take the back of my screwdriver and just tap them so thetension is even on them. if you hold two of the springs while tapping on the third, then compare its tone to the other two, you usually find onelower pitched than the others. Stick that one in the center and the others on the outside. Then measure from the block to claw plate and make sure each end is about the same distance. And on your bridge, make sure the bridge is level with the body. Use feeler gauges if you have them or measure the gap below the bridge and see if it measures the same near the tail and the studs. Adjust both claw screws evenly as needed to level the bridge up or down. Sorry about this but I'm not too sure what you mean by using the hot glue or how to hold the springs to test its pitch. I'm really glad to know you had the same bridge before because I honestly know very little about this bridge, other than individual saddle adjustments and the fine tuners (which I don't even touch). Don't bother about the extra options I could consider. What would you do in my current position? I don't have a feeler gauge at the moment though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted August 4, 2011 Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 Would this work too? Yes, that would at least prevent contact with the side of the cavity. I really have no idea on how it affects playability however. I am really not a tinkerer, if it works, then it works.My main problem was just that the springs scraped against the bottom of the cavity (go QC, go!), making horrible creaking noises when i used the trem. I do think i get some resonance from the springs when playing unplugged, but as soon as there is an amp over it i don't hear it, so i'm fine with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted August 4, 2011 Members Share Posted August 4, 2011 Cut short lenghts of rubber tubing and slide one inside each spring. Dampers that you can't see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted August 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 5, 2011 Cut short lenghts of rubber tubing and slide one inside each spring. Dampers that you can't see. I don't think it has anything to do with that anymore to be honest. I tried stuffing the springs with foam, it didn't even diminish the rattling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted August 5, 2011 Members Share Posted August 5, 2011 Chech that the screws holding the sustain block to the bridge plate are tight. I had rattling from a loose screw there before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KevinTJH Posted August 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 5, 2011 Chech that the screws holding the sustain block to the bridge plate are tight. I had rattling from a loose screw there before. Just checked, and the screws attaching the thin metal plate to the metal block are dead tight. EDIT: The rattling is fixed! I was playing around with the springs, from changing the angle of the springs, to removing them. At one point I had mistakenly removed two springs, leaving only the bottom one intact, which made the block slant to one side. I then immediately put all the springs back the way I first started. (of course, I did detune the strings everytime I removed a spring). For some reason the rattling completely disappeared! Although I really can't think of an explanation for it. The only sound I get now is the echo-ing of the springs, which I will get some rubber tubes tomorrow to stuff the springs. I'm just really hoping the rattling doesn't come back again. Thanks so much for all the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted August 5, 2011 Members Share Posted August 5, 2011 I did something pretty crazy, since I had a razorblade with me. I scrapped off some of the wood to stop the spring from scrapping against it, only to find that it didn't eliminate the rattling. That was my initial thought when i found out about my springs touching the bottom - grab a chisel and cut some channels for the springs to run along. After all, it's wood, right? Soft and nice to work with But as you can see there is a LOT of finish in that cavity, and it felt quite brittle to the touch so even though i have sharp tools i decided that i would not want to risk the entire coating within the cavity to splinter away beneath the chisel And great that you have it fixed now - have fun playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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