Tremolo assistance

[MWC1970]

I just purchased a used backup guitar (Squier Std Strat). It had a blocked tremolo. I removed the wood block (actually 2 pieces; a wedge-shaped piece of wood about an inch and a half long and a small piece of a paint stirrer). Now the guitar will not tune to concert pitch. By the time I have tuned a few strings, the ones prior have already gone WAY flat. As I tune the guitar up I can see the bridge pivot towards the neck, like the tremolo has been depressed. The trem bar itself is angled towards the string, almost touching them, at this point. The guitar will only hold tune about a whole step flat, and even then the bridge has lifted noticeably from the body.

 

The guitar is strung with 12's and has NOT been restrung since unblocking the tremolo. The guitar played fine (in concert pitch) for the first few days I had it, before unblocking the trem. 3 springs are in place.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Johnny Z]

You might need to tighten the springs. Heavy strings pull harder and will pull on the trem more. I suggest you try some lighter strings, maybe 9-42. Then give it a try.

[MWC1970]

 

You might need to tighten the springs. Heavy strings pull harder and will pull on the trem more. I suggest you try some lighter strings, maybe 9-42. Then give it a try.

 

 

Good suggestion. I was just concerned because it stayed in tune before unblocking. I tighten the springs by moving the outside two (of three) to a wider hole? I will string tonight with 9's. Thanks.

 

Other suggestions?

[Bro Blue]

If you are going to string it with nines then don't mess with the springs yet.

 

You tighten the springs by screwing the screws that hold the trem claw into the body further than they are. You loosen the spring tension by loosening the screws. Different gauge strings require different amounts of tension to tune to pitch.

 

Restring the guitar and try to tune it with the new strings. If the bridge does the same thing, then tighten the trem screws a little, then retune. Keep doing this until you have a space about the thickness of a quarter between the back of the bridge and the body.

 

You can PM me if you get stuck on something or have any more questions.

 

Enjoy your new guitar.

[Prages]

In addition to the above, just be aware that with the tremolo floating, it's always going to throw all the other strings out when you're tuning one up.

 

So, say you tune the low E. Then you tune the A. Now the low E is going to be flat.

 

What I'd suggest is to temporarily block the tremolo at the angle you want it. You can do this in a number of ways...and remember, it's only temporary. Then tighten down the spring claw so it'll stay where you've blocked it. String and tune. Once it's in tune, remove the block and readjust the spring claw so the bridge is back at the correct angle. The strings should be fairly close to in tune at this point, but you'll still have to run through them all and fine tune them a few times to get them perfect.

[MWC1970]

Thanks to Johnny Z, Bro Blue, and Prages for the assistance. This site, and its users, are pretty cool. (I just joined today) I will post the results tomorrow.

[Belva]

You may also need to add another spring. And the trem stabilizers, when used correctly, are great. I've seen 'em all and installed most. All are good if you know WTF you're doing.

[_pete_]

 

You may also need to add another spring. And the trem stabilizers, when used correctly, are great. I've seen 'em all and installed most. All are good if you know WTF you're doing.

 

 

3 springs with 12's aren't going to keep the bridge level. You'll need 4 or 5 springs with that gauge.

The springs have to counterbalance the tension of the strings to keep the bridge level. Bigger strings=more springs.

 

Do exactly as Prages said. That will get you there. If you can't get the bridge back to level with that method, add springs until it does.

[MWC1970]

Thanks to all for your input. You learn something new every day, and today's lesson was that higher guage strings require more tension to tune to pitch than lower guage strings. How much more? I don't know the foot pounds, but replacing the 12s that were there with 9s last night completely resolved the issue. Even intonation was very close after the change. The guitar also stays in tune pretty well after some heavy vibrato and dives. Thanks again to everybody. Not only am I enjoying my new guitar now, but I now have a better understanding of tremolo issues and what to do should I have issues when stringing with higher guages.