Damaged vintage tremolo/trem system??

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 11:26am #1

Yeah well i have my vintage '62RI Strat now and im really liking it. The only concern i have about it however is the trem system, the tremolo seems very high and im worried either that or the system might be crooked... Is it just that thats how vintage trem setups are? If you wouldnt mind looking at the pics and let me know if its really a problem that would be greatly appreciated. Here are the pics;

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10826.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10824.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10821.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10832.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10836.jpg

If all is well i'll post up some proper pics of my new Strat:) Just wanna (hopefully) get this out of the way first.

Johnny Storm · 09-09-2006 11:48am

I can't see anything specifically wrong in those pix. The first two photos look OK to me. But the trem arm does look quite high up in the third pic. Is that what you are concerned about?

Do you have the trem set to float or is it set flat against the body of the guitar? If you have it set flat then inevitably the trem arm will stick out more. The arm should be more or less parallel to the body when it is floating.

As someone posted recently, fender specs call for there to be one eighth of an inch between the back of the trem plate and the body of the guitar when it is set to float.

See Fender setup guide here.

If you're going to have the trem set flat (ie trem can only go down) then you could just leave the trem arm off.

Edited in response to your extra photos

the angle in my trem arm is more like 90 degrees. You could try bending it (I'd probably leave it).

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 11:58am

I posted two additional pics of the tremolo in case thats the problem. I have the trem set to float. Could it just be that the tremolo is slightly bent? Im saying this cause yesterday (1 day after guitar arrvd) my friend hada go and wammy'd the hell out of my trem sytem/tremolo, pulling it back aswell, after i told him to take care! Could this have damaged it?

Johnny Storm · 09-09-2006 12:01pm

I really doubt it. Its probably a manufacturing variation. Certainly my one is amost parallel to the face of the body while floating. If its bothering you, try bending it teh way you want it. (carefully :eek: ).

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 12:09pm

What do you mean? I dont want to damage it. Anyway if you think there is nothin wrong with it im happy. I dont use the trem much anyway, i just want to know that everything on my guitar is working correctly sooner rather than later. Oh and is yours a vintage?

fish-head · 09-09-2006 12:14pm

Yeah it looks like you just have a funny trem arm. You could always just buy a new, more 90 degreewise one.

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 12:28pm

No im pretty sure the part of the trem arm your taking about is normal. This one is a vintage style bar so the long part of it is not supposed to be completely 90 deg. Its the root (thread part) of the tremolo that worries me as im afraid my metalhead friend may have bend it.

Johnny Storm · 09-09-2006 12:37pm

FWIW, here's a pic of my one:-

As regards bending it you could swivel the trem arm around so its pointing at the heel of the guitar, put the guitar flat on something soft (ie some towels on top of a table), then press down on the trem arm till its at the angle you like (remember to keep your fingers crossed while doing this :rolleyes: ). If it goes arseways you could buy a new one. maybe put some carbboard between the trem plate and the body to protect the finish. If you have access to a vice you could bend it in that probably more easily.

Have a look at this photo on Thomann, it does look like your one is at a different angle.

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 1:12pm

Well looking at yours i see that your trem is much higher (higher tuning i guess) than mine (close to being flat but still floating) so do you think it could just be that my trem block is just very low so the trem arm is very high? I have been looking at pictures and vids of the same guitar as mine and the tremolo on all of them seems the same (strange angle) so i think its actually just how a vintage (RI) trem bar is. I would put more pics on but my dam cam conveniantly stopped working a few seconds ago. Im gonna keep checking around anyway.

Johnny Storm · 09-09-2006 1:35pm

Hendrix89 wrote:

... so do you think it could just be that my trem block is just very low so the trem arm is very high? ....

Could be. My one is more or less at spec at 1/8th inch. (My photo makes it look more than it is). I do think that in your 4th pic in your original post it looks like the bend in the arm near the threaded end is more than 90 degrees.

This is supposedly the original patent drawing from 1956 for the new fangled Strat-o-ma-caster (cant get much more vintage than that) and if you zoom in on it you can see that the bridge is floating and the arm is close to parallel to the body.

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 1:53pm

Thats very useful. Can you post me a link to its original site cause i cant get a closup. Gess this just had to happen didnt it! Get a new guitar and its not working right...

Johnny Storm · 09-09-2006 2:18pm

Edit
Actually it doesn't look so parallel in this larger version

Hendrix89 · 09-09-2006 4:54pm

Ah right.. There we go, it seems about right now. Thats a relief. Thanks for that Johnny.

deaddonkey · 10-09-2006 6:42pm

it's all to do with the tension of the springs against the strings and how much the bridge floats... change of angle of the bridge = change of trem bar angle.

nice strat btw.

Hendrix89 · 10-09-2006 8:31pm

deaddonkey wrote:

it's all to do with the tension of the springs against the strings and how much the bridge floats... change of angle of the bridge = change of trem bar angle.

nice strat btw.

Thanks, here are some proper pics of it:)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10803.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10801.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10820.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10794.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/rHy0/SSL10807.jpg

deaddonkey · 10-09-2006 8:47pm

i would wrap some cloth over the foam on the stand. some foams can corrode a cellulose lacquer finish and it'll go hazy and bumpy.

nice though, even though i'm not much of a burst guy.

play that mother and make it look like this:

relicing it intentionally, however, is not cool at all.

SRV was the king of the strat as far as i'm concerned.

Hendrix89 · 10-09-2006 9:35pm

deaddonkey wrote:

i would wrap some cloth over the foam on the stand. some foams can corrode a cellulose lacquer finish and it'll go hazy and bumpy.

nice though, even though i'm not much of a burst guy.

play that mother and make it look like this:

relicing it intentionally, however, is not cool at all.

SRV was the king of the strat as far as i'm concerned.

Yeah ive been putting pieces of cloth on the stand from yesterday when i was warned about that. Hard to believe the finish is that delicate...

Haha it would take some years before it would look like that! If at all. I take real good care of my instruments:) Can never seem to stop my friends from mistreating them though. Already a paint crack under the trem where my friend went too dam crazy with the tremolo... 2 secs after he picked it up:rolleyes:

''nice though, even though i'm not much of a burst guy.''
Yeah i used to share your dislike for 3tone sun. Originally had a white (mex) Strat but thought it was time to change to a more vintage look.

Johnny Storm · 11-09-2006 8:07am

Hendrix89 wrote:

...Already a paint crack under the trem where my friend went too dam crazy with the tremolo... 2 secs after he picked it up:rolleyes: ......

"Ex-friend" surely?

Damaged vintage tremolo/trem system??

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