Trem tapping

[MapleGuitar]

On all my TA guitars, the bridge lays flat on the body, so the bar can only go down.

On some of my TA guitars, there is a tapping sound that happens when I let the trem arm up. I.e., when the trem arm returns to the up position.

On some of my TA guitars, there is no sound when the trem arm goes up (returns to it's normal position).

I assume the tap is the sound of the bridge plate hitting the body, but I'm not sure.

What particular adjustment would help remove the tapping sound when letting the trem arm up?

[sylvanshine]

My experience has been that the sound you describe is actually the springs moving. Not sure if that is what you are hearing.

If you think it's the whole bridge returning to the body making the sound, you can do what I do with all my standard trem Andersons.

I loosen the tremolo string claw to give the springs less tension. Then I retune and see how the trem action is. I repeat until I get the easy tension I want from the bar (easy to push down). You could adjust the spring tension light enough that the back of the bridge is actually off the guitar body at rest. Jeff Beck is famous for this set up.

The downside to tension this loose is that when you do double string bends, the bridge will raise and notes will go flat. It's a trade off that some of us are willing to make. I've actually learned to compensate on string bends for the extra flat that the raised bridge adds.

[tom]

what jay said is great. i do just a bit more tension so the bridge just barely touches the body. that way you can still rest your hand on the bridge without pushing it sharp. both are good methods.

[MapleGuitar]

My experience has been that the sound you describe is actually the springs moving. Not sure if that is what you are hearing.I don't think it's the sound of springs moving. The more I listen to it, I think it's either the bridge hitting the body, or the block hitting the cavity wall.
If you think it's the whole bridge returning to the body making the sound, you can do what I do with all my standard trem Andersons.

I loosen the tremolo string claw to give the springs less tension. Then I retune and see how the trem action is. I repeat until I get the easy tension I want from the bar (easy to push down). You could adjust the spring tension light enough that the back of the bridge is actually off the guitar body at rest. Jeff Beck is famous for this set up.

The downside to tension this loose is that when you do double string bends, the bridge will raise and notes will go flat. It's a trade off that some of us are willing to make. I've actually learned to compensate on string bends for the extra flat that the raised bridge adds.I try to set up all my TA guitars so that when I hit an open A string, and then bend the muted B string up a whole step (at the 15th fret) the open A only dips 6 cents (on the Strobe tuner). That way I can still bend one string and play another unbent string at the same time, without the unbent note dropping too far. So, the problem is that some guitars, when set up this way, tap when the bar is let up, and some don't. But if I'm hearing you and Tom right, it may be an issue of the spring tension needing to be tweaked a bit.

Tom, I just wanted to make sure there was no other adjustment. For example, if one or both of the two pivot screws was up or down a hair, would that cause a louder tap when the bar is let up.

I do rest my palm on the bridge quite a lot, so my trem needs to be set up so that it goes down only, otherwise I'd be going sharp here and there.

[tom]

i don't think it is the mounting screws. jay was describing the springs being fully released. if there are 4 springs, try using only 3. for me 3 feels better with the setup i and jay described.