Trem spring question for Tom and Bruce

[Armando]

Hey guys,

Every now and then, I see trem setups where the springs are positioned like this from the claw to the block: |||\ Now besides the obvious, there's more spring tension on the "treble" side than the "bass" side. I believe this particular guitar was strung with either .010s or .011s and the claw was perfectly parallel to the rear of cavity. Now, is there some science to positioning the springs in this manner, or not? Does it aid in keeping the claw "straighter" in some way or does this assist tuning? Or of course, none of the above?

Eagerly awaiting your responses! Thanks!

[tom]

i think that when a bridge is pivoting on two posts, you can not distribute the tension unequally between them no matter what you do to the springs. maybe someone with a physics degree can answer better. by having some springs stretched more than others you are changing the spring rate which would affect the over all feel as you depress the arm.

[pipedwho]

As Tom says, it's an overall effect on the total spring tension. The only differential effect is the amount of force pulling against each bridge mounting post (and the spring claw screws). But, as long as those mounting posts are properly fixed in place, then the force will be distributed across the entire bridge and not just one side of the other. ie. Once the forces have been translated across the mounting posts, there is no further differential tension between the left/right side and the bridge acts like a fixed point.

[Armando]

Could this have a "straightening" effect on the claw angle?

[pipedwho]

Could this have a "straightening" effect on the claw angle?
Only if the claw screws are loose. If it's done up properly, there won't be a noticeable effect on anything but the overall spring tension. (Which will be very little when dealing with 4 springs.)

[Armando]

Thanks for the replies. In some respects, I was almost hoping there would be some logical explanation for this spring arrangement. I've seen quite a few setups by different local techs do this. Oh well.

[tom]

Lots of people have their "magic" tricks for their setups. Many are different just to be different.