Trem Springs

[Stan Malinowski]

Anyone know if manufacturers of different trem assemblies use trem springs of different tensions? I thought I had read somewhere that one manufacturer actually color coded the springs to represent different tensions.

This question s related to a trem on a Fender Custom Shop 56 Relic that I own. I like to set up all my trem equipped guitars with only enough spring tension to hold the trem flat against the body normally and when bending the trem lifts or floats off the body. When a guitar's trem is set up with a larger amount of spring tension I feel the gutar plays stiff and string bends are more difficult. In the CS 56 I'm talking about I have set the trem claw so that the minimum amount of spring tension required to old the trem on the body is applied. But is still EXTREMELY stiff feeling when bending.

All of my Andersons, Grosh, Suhr and even my Fender CS 60 Relic are able to b adjusted to get the feel that I like, just not this 56 Relic.

Anybody ever heard of anyone selling different tension springs? When I look at Stew-Mac and All-Parts they only sell 1 type of spring.

Any other suggestions?

[dpeterson]

i've never seen different strengths of them. Just the what feel like they are cheaper (shiny chrome ones) vs the dull ones that usually come with real floyds.

i shure have had some squeeky ones before :)

Dave

[Rick]

Based on my old '58 Strat (so the springs all date from '58 as well), I can relate to everything you're describing. I found that removing a spring or two allowed me to set the arm the way you're looking for, have a lovely, supple feel on the strings, & stay in tune quite well amidst up or down bends. That was with .009-/042, which I generally use. When I tried putting on some Pyramid flat-wounds, I had to put all the springs back on to accomodate the greater string tension, but was then able to readjust the claw to still get the same non-stiff feel when the bridge was floating flat with the body.

Hope this helps a bit.

[tom]

i've never seen "gauged springs", but different manufacturers are definitely different. gotoh springs are probably the stiffest, and very shiney. floyd springs, very dull, are the softest. if you angle the two outside springs, you will get abit less initial tension to release from the resting position. you can always try removing one spring and tightening the claw more. it is a question of balance. you need enough to counter balance the string tension, but less springs will have less pressure when stretched. i didn't say that very well but i hope you get the point. some guitars have less range for the claw so you may nor be able to tighten enough with the extra spring removed.

[Stan Malinowski]

Tom,

The springs were angled from the trem claw to the trem block originally. I tried going down to 2 springs and adjusting the claw, still plays very "stiff". I have used graphite Nut Sauce on the string retainer, nut slots and the trem plate pivot points. I also cleaned out the nut slots with dental floss. I even removed the 4 center screws on the trem plate, leaving the trem to pivot on just the 2 outside screws (like your trems). Still plays stiff!

What other factors could be maing this guitar feel stiff? When I refer to stiff I mean try to bend a string around the 12th fret. The amount of resistance the string exerts when you bend is much higher than any of my other trem equipped guitars (other Andys, Grosh, Suhr and one other Fender CS Relic).

[JoeB63]

Originally posted by Stan Malinowski
Tom,

I also cleaned out the nut slots with dental floss.... Still plays stiff!



Cut out the dirty talk Stan! And never, ever, floss your nuts!


:D

[tom]

there are lots of things that contribute to how tight a guitar feels. most you can't easily change. most have to do with the geometry in the build of the guitar. are the saddles particularly high compared to the other guitars? are the saddles intonated far back fron the mounting screws?

[Stan Malinowski]

Cut out the dirty talk Stan! And never, ever, floss your nuts!

LOL! Good one Joe! I should probably always reread my posts for content. I get so focused on describing the problem that I don't realize EXACTLY what I have written!:D

[Stan Malinowski]

Problem seems to be solved (well at least it is a good as it will get). I just happened to notice that the trem was not sitting flat against the body, the back side was flush but the neck side was elevated. I readjusted the pivot screws to get the bridge flush along the whole length and the guitar palys much better!

Thanks to all for their input!