Restringing A Trem/Locking Tuner Guitar

[willo]

OK, bear with me. I'm going to have to ask a question I never thought I'd have to ask aftre 12 years of playing the guitar  :o  However, I've always been a stop-tail kind of boy, so my current strat is the first guitar I've had with a trem. And for various reasons (set-up, having a new neck made etc), I've never actually had to restring it.

Now my band is booked in to start gigging at the end of February. Obviously, if I'm to break a string I could do with knowing how to replace it quickly. If I can't figure this out, I'll just take the Les Paul with me instead.

The equipment on the guitar is:
-Wilkinson VS100 trem (floating)
-Graphtech nut
-Sperzel locking tuners

So, what do I need to do to restring?

Cheers guys!

[Mr Ed]

As far as I know, you don't need to do anything special, chief.

When you pop the strins off, your trem will naturally go off because all the string tension is gone so only the strings are pulling it but as you add the strings it'll just return back to normal.

Strings - through the trem block, through/over the saddles, up and over the nut and then lock them into the tuners and tune up.

Personally, I'd always take a spare with you anyway, regardless of how quickly you think you can re-string. I think it shows a lack of professionalism (in a way) to turn up without a backup. It's not always strings that go - what if a pickup cr@ps out? A tuner breaks? The jack falls out? Your electrics all go completely belly up.

I always, always take two guitars to a gig - the Ravelle as my main and then the Strat as my backup (and I use that on two songs now as well).

 8)

[Philly Q]

If you only have to change one string, the guitar'll go out of tune as Mr Ed said, but once you have the new string in place the others should be back to normal(ish).  And the Sperzels will make it easy.

If you're changing the whole set, unless you want to clean the fingerboard or something, change them one at a time.  That way each new string will be pretty much properly in tune as you go along.

If you take all the old strings off at once, say you tune the low E first, then it's fighting the spring tension all on its own.  Then you fit the A, tune that up and the E's gone flat.  And so it goes, you have to keep tuning over and over to "zoom in" on the correct pitch.

And that's why I don't like trems   .  At least you haven't got a Floyd, they're a real pain.

[Philly Q]

To qualify what I just wrote, that's assuming the trem's set up to float, with some room to pull up on the bar.

If it's set to sit flat on the body even when the guitar's in tune (EVH style), then tune it just like a hardtail, it's a piece of piss.

[chrisola]

i usually stick something under the trem to stop it moving down, then re-string 1 at a time tuning as i go, then a quick 're tune' at the end.

usually works fine!

thats on a floyd trem btw!