springs on the back cavity of strats

[bin4christ]

guys what are the springs at the back cavity of strats for? i was told that tightening those springs improve tuning stability. how true is that?

 

[gsonique]

try it and tell us buddy !!

 

[edder]

they there to "balance" the tremolo bridge.

screw in = increasing the tension of the spring = pulling the bridge to the body.
screw out = the opposite of the above.

What do you mean by tuning stability? If you DON'T use the tremolo at all, by all means SCREW them in and make em tight.

This will FIX the bridge in place and the bridge does not move = less chances of getting the strings out of tune due to sticky nut or crappy tuners or crappy stringing procedures.

If you use the TREM, then the adjustment of the screws is crucial and essential and NOT a matter of screwing it tight to make things more stable.

There're more in depth information on the net on "how to setup a strat bridge" that can be found by just ctrl-c, ctrl-v the "..." on google.

Hope this helps.

 

[JonEthan]

it's for the tension when you push down your trem bar. In a way, yes it does make tuning more stable, because your bridge will not bend down easily when you tighten your strings.

 

[lightice]

Its not about tuning stability.

It is to balance to tension of the strings so the trem block can stay in place.

If you change string guages, you need to adjust the strings.

Basically thats it, it has NOTHING to do with tuning stability.

 

[JonEthan]

Basically thats it, it has NOTHING to do with tuning stability.

I think it has something to do with it. If your springs are loose, a light plam muting can cause the bridge to bend forward, thus releasing some string tension, and in turn causing the tuners to loosen a bit (especially cheap tuners). So there, it does affect tuning stability

ok, just trying to be funny. Cheers!

 

[Wjt]

are you guys talking about vintage tremolos or double locking trems?

i doubt you can even smell anything about tuning stablity if your vintage tremolos are set to full floating

 

[edder]

vintage floating or double locking,

the minute you loosen the spring, the bridge goes up.
the minute you tighten the spring the bridge goes down.

intonation goes.

tuning stability aint the right term to use here. bah...

where the hell is the thread starter?

 

[lightice]

It has nothing to do with tuning stability, its not the right term to use.

Its a counter balance to the string tension so you keep the bridge parallel to the fretboard.

Lower string guage - loosen the tension of the springs
higher string guage - tighten the strings

And how would you set a vintage trem to full floating?

Isn't double locking trems floating trems, vintage fender trems are not considered floating trems.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[edder]

You can set the vintage trem to float.

My definition of float = Can pull up and can pull down.

Check on www.google.com for trem setup.

 

[ShredCow]

Yeap floating = can pull up AND down.

That's why the floyd rose on EVH's guitar isn't floating - its blocked to dive only.



Oh, springs DO play a part in stability.. especially if they are very worn and start to lose their memory, gets a little wonky. But come on... its in a guitar loh, not in some industrial machine... unless maybe you wham like Vai! So yeah, spring stability is the last bit on your mind.

 

[bin4christ]

ok, thanks for the input guys.

if u rmb the thread i started about the bad tuning stability of my guitar, that was y i started this thread. i was talking to a guy in a guitar shop, and he told me to tighten those springs.

 

[lightice]

The guy knows nuts, unless your springs are crap then u change them, not tighten them.

Look at the nut - it may need lubrication ( pencil lead will take care of this , draw inside the slot a lil and u're all set )

Tuners - what kind of tuners? You might wanna try getting locking tuners



Btw, oh floating you mean by up and down, okay I get you now.

I read up on trems years ago and their definition of floating trems is that it is not anchored onto the body for stability ( ala fender vintage ).

Maybe thats how i got confused with what you guys meant.

Anyhow, the springs should be the last place you look for tuning stability.

The main culprit is usually the tuners , then the nut.

 

[edder]

just for discussion, if a trem is not anchored to the body, then where is it anchored to? :wink:

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

is it like spanking the monkey directly or with the pants on from outside?

 

[lightice]

what i meant was that the FR trem is balanced on a knife edge and held in place with 2 mounting rods it is not screwed directly onto the body, a vintage trem is different.

 

[edder]

if you look at it carefully....

the vintage trem is somewhat like a floyd but is resting on 6 posts(screws) instead of 2.

one trick that techs employ is to loosen the center 4 screws and let the trem pivot on the 2 outer screw.

 

[lightice]

but it won't work in a similar way.

The vintage trem has a portion of it locked directly onto the body, but the FR doesn't, its resting in place and the whole trem unit can move up and down.

Whereas the vintage trem, its like a spring board where one end is attached onto the body.

I'm not sure if u get what I mean.

 

[edder]

sighs... its ok man. i know what i know. you know what you know. :wink:

 

[embryo]

Hmmmm (scratches head)