Members Mutki Posted January 30, 2019 Members Share Posted January 30, 2019 Hey all, I bought a used Ibanez EX 140 (by accident because of mislabeling) but really like it. The guitar is about 30 years old and built in 1989 and I believe has all of the original hardware. My question is regarding the tremolo system. I popped off the bottom plate today and while the springs even look original, the tremolo seems to be in disrepair. Only two springs came with the instrument and the bottom of the tremolo has cracking. I know the original tremolo was the TRS101 and although I found one on reverb it is not quite the same. It has a Floyd Rose Lic Tremolo system and says something about an R2 nut. Would this work as a replacement? Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Here is a description of the tremelo FLOYD ROSE® LIC. TREM Chrome TRS101C Standard Licensed Floyd Rose tremolo made in Japan and used on many guitars as original equipment. Hardened Steel base plate, all hardware necessary for installation on your guitar. Get this special price here today. R2 nut 42mm Product Specs Condition: Brand New (New) Brand: Takeuchi Model: TRS 101 chrome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted January 30, 2019 Members Share Posted January 30, 2019 The Ex140 came with a standard trem, more like a vintage strat bridge than a FR. So, are you sure yours is actually a 140, and that it wasn't modded? Where is it cracking? Adding a spring is easy and inexpensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted January 30, 2019 Members Share Posted January 30, 2019 Is it possible to post pics of your guitar and trem, especially where it's "cracking"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted January 31, 2019 Members Share Posted January 31, 2019 I think it might use a two post fulcrum system. Fender had one that was similar and Wilkerson makes an inexpensive replacement. Before you buy anything you have to get a ruler out and see if what you buy will even fit. You need to measure from stud center to stud center to get the width. You also want to measure the width of the studs and even get the thread type if you can. They may be metric or inch threads and if the replacement bridge is different, pulling the old stud sleeves out, then drilling or plugging and drilling new holes is not allot of fun. You need to measure the cavity size too. You need to be sure whatever you buy is going to fit, otherwise you'll need to use a router to make the hole larger or gluing wood back in to fill it in. You want to avoid all of that if possible. I wouldn't be too keen on buying a Floyd either. Putting one in would undoubtedly need more clearance which means additional routing, and you aren't even sure if the string height would wind up being to high. The Ibanez looks to set fairly low in the pocket like a fender. You'll wind up having to shim the neck to get the strings close enough to the neck. On top of that you'll need to install a locking nut too. I'm not sure which one that bridge uses but some require trimming the fret board back to fit it in.That's not a decision to take likely. I did it to one of my Strat's and I kicked myself in the ass for years regretting that move. I must have had the fretboard trimmed back a tad too much because I never could get a root cord to play in pitch after that. I should have just gotten another two pin fulcrum style that Fender came with and used locking tuners. What little slippage the nut produces isn't worth destroying the neck. The other thing a Floyd has so much metal, it makes the guitar sound pretty much identical to every other guitar with a Floyd. (Cold steel crap with zero wood tone). Ibanez guitars sound generic enough using their stock setup. Unless a Floyd is an essential part of your musical performance my advice would be to find another stock bridge. Its surely the easiest way to go and you'll likely get the best wood tones using it. Second best would be to get a generic that fits. Third If you're going for the full locking setup, have a pro install it. My buddy installed a Kahler on his Ibanez Destroyer. He told me it was the best fit and required the least amount of modification for the Ibanez. I'm just not familiar enough with the current Kahler bridges or that Ibanez model to tell you if anything but the original bridge will fit without some routing or stud replacement is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted February 1, 2019 Members Share Posted February 1, 2019 The 140 used a 2 point trem system. Putting a Floyd WILL NOT directly fit. Wilkensen makes a model that will be a direct fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.