Members musk Posted June 19, 2005 Members Share Posted June 19, 2005 Ok I've had this strat for about a year, its a reissue, a nice one but I never bothered to install the whammy bar until today. It is taking a LOT of tension to tighten it into the hole, is that normal? All other whammy bars I've used were on Floyds and of course they screwed in and out very easily. I don't want to strip the thing or damage it but I'd like to have the whammy bar on it. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks,Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheBlueGuy Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 As far as I know it should start out loose and tighten up the more you twist it in, just like any other threaded screwy thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musk Posted June 20, 2005 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 Originally posted by TheBlueGuy As far as I know it should start out loose and tighten up the more you twist it in, just like any other threaded screwy thing. Well a Floyd goes in and out really easy, no real tension on it unless you really take it all the way in, but this Fender is tight right from the start and I had to really turn hard to get it in even halfway. I agree once it's reached full travel it should then seat and tighten down but this is just hard to get in, and not ever having had Fender before I'm just wondering if this is the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members u6crash Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 Doesn't sound right to me. I don't use the bar on my Strat, but I have had a few and usually try it out. You've made sure it isn't cross threading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members marder explorer Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 It should go in and start threading easily, and then when it bottoms out it'll get tighter like mentioned before. Look at the threads on the arm itself, they can't really be dented at all. I had an arm that got dropped and the threads were smashed from hitting the ground, it wouldn't thread in very easily after that, and I didn't want to tear up the trem block so I just got a new arm. Problem solved. Check that out, make sure there isn't any crap in the hole either, that's happened to me before also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fishfartz Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 it sounds like you maqy have the wrong threaded bar for the bridge unit. there are different thread sizes on different bars for different guitars. are you sure thats the trem-bar that came with the strat - or did you pick the bar up sometime later because it "looked the same size"? the reason im asking is i have a few bars laying around from different strats/superstrats ive collected and assebled over the years and not all of them are a perfect fit for a fender strat. if the threads are smaller/larger on the bar than the recieving threads in the whole - then it will be a very tight fit and hard to turn, and as you turn you are essentially stripping the threads aligning them for the odd-threaded bar. a bar that comes from the factory with a strat should screw in fairly easy - and when you get the strat all the way in to where it stops it should be in the position where you see them (like on a floyd rose pointing up towards the neck). if it comes to a stop and is pointing towards the tail then its definately not the bar that came stock with that fender strat. the fender bars for the guitar it came with are threaded so they stop in that normal operating position - although some like to get it there and then back it out just 1 full turn so it hangs freely and just grab it when needed. if you are sure thats the original bar then theres a chance someone already screwed another thread-size bar in there and stripped it out doing so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musk Posted June 20, 2005 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 Thanks for all the responses; it is the correct bar, it's the only Fender I own, and I bought it new, the bar was still in the plastic bag so it doesn't appear anyone tried it before me. I think I see the problem now, the bridge hole appears to be off center a bit and that is the interference. I'll take it to a local place to see if it can be fixed. Thanks again,Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 If your threads are mucked up in your block or on the bar, I have the original block and bar from my MIM Strat that you can have for the cost of shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimi Ray Halen Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 Should go in easy greasy. Youve never put the trem arm in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted June 20, 2005 Members Share Posted June 20, 2005 You can probably fix it yourself. With the strings removed loosen the screws holding the block to the bridge plate. They may already be loose. Now (hopefully) you can move the block so the tremolo arm holes on the plate and the block line up. Insert the bar and tighten the screws. Originally posted by musk Thanks for all the responses; it is the correct bar, it's the only Fender I own, and I bought it new, the bar was still in the plastic bag so it doesn't appear anyone tried it before me. I think I see the problem now, the bridge hole appears to be off center a bit and that is the interference. I'll take it to a local place to see if it can be fixed. Thanks again,Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.