Floating Bridge springs

[Petre]

Hey i got a quick question which i think should maybe be in the "technical" section, but seems more fitting here as its not really all that technical  :lol: .

Springs!! In a floating bridge. I've seen quite a lot of guitars with only the 2 outer springs attached. Mine however has all 3. I was wondering if this maybe contributes to how stiff my tremolo is when i wanna dive-bomb? Or are less used when a guitar is down-tuned as the screws can only be loosened so far? If its down to tremolo stiffness can i remove the middle spring and re-setup my bridge?

Cheers lads
Petre

[TreyAzagthoth]

Hey i got a quick question which i think should maybe be in the "technical" section, but seems more fitting here as its not really all that technical  :lol: .

Springs!! In a floating bridge. I've seen quite a lot of guitars with only the 2 outer springs attached. Mine however has all 3. I was wondering if this maybe contributes to how stiff my tremolo is when i wanna dive-bomb? Or are less used when a guitar is down-tuned as the screws can only be loosened so far? If its down to tremolo stiffness can i remove the middle spring and re-setup my bridge?

Cheers lads
Petre

it should work bro, i usually keep 3 on mine but i've had 2 on mine and 5 before, it'll take quite a bit of resetting up but you should like it with 2.

[Petre]

sweet, so is that what affects how stiff the trem is? Or is it the hinge in the bridge where it connects? Coz i LOVE using my trem for divebombs and those crazy sounds Children of Bodom/Dragonforce and such do, but the trem seems real sluggish and its pretty annoying.

Cheers
Petre

[Jonesy]

What trem r u using?

[Petre]

its a jackson licensed floyd rose. nothing special, came as stock on my RR3.

[gingataff]

Check the angle of the trem too, if its parallel to the body or slightly 'bottoms up' it'll be easier to dive bomb but if its pulled back too far it'll feel like cr@p, I've seen so many badly set up FRs in shops. I'm no expert at set ups but I can do a better job than most of the monkeys that work in the shops.

3 springs should be standard, some people use 2 but angle then on the spring hooks which effectively lengthens them and makes it a touch tighter and looks cool when you play the guitar with your teeth.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Bridge should always be at 90 degrees to the pivot posts when at rest

Depending on what tuning and gauge of strings dictates the number of springs (brand of spring makes a HUGE difference too)

I prefer 2 springs under good tension via the spring claw plate being tightened
I also prefer Schaller springs

[gingataff]

Moving at a very slight tangent, everyone knows that when you bend a string on FR you pull the bridge and all the strings go flat (cue the various trem stop style devices), but is it usual to do that when playing Pete Townsend style chords? OK, not the full windmill, but with something more than just a casual strum. I tend to get a bit of boing from my low E on my 24 3/4" Charvel.

How often would FR springs need replacing? Maybe I should go to a higher guage than 9s? (I'm going to try some 9.5s)

[Petre]

ahhh i see. Yes my floyd rose is always dead parallel to the body.

so could it just the the hinge of my floyd rose? as its a cheapo stock one? or you reckon the stiffness could be in the springs? Coz its quite tough to dive bomb. If i wanna five-bomb i have to use my palm as opposed to my fingers and even then it takes some oomf (no im not a sissy). Its bearable and i can still do it in the middle of songs, just a bit of an inconvenience.

By the way feline ( i forget you Earth-name ), i use gauge 10 strings and i play with everything a step down in D.

Cheers
Petre

[FELINEGUITARS]

ahhh i see. Yes my floyd rose is always dead parallel to the body.

so could it just the the hinge of my floyd rose? as its a cheapo stock one? or you reckon the stiffness could be in the springs? Coz its quite tough to dive bomb. If i wanna five-bomb i have to use my palm as opposed to my fingers and even then it takes some oomf (no im not a sissy). Its bearable and i can still do it in the middle of songs, just a bit of an inconvenience.

By the way feline ( i forget you Earth-name ), i use gauge 10 strings and i play with everything a step down in D.

Cheers
Petre

Remove the middle spring - use the outer 2 angled in towrds the centre
(wide on the block and narrow on the spring claw)
You will need to retension the springs having removed one
Tighten the two screws to make the bridge back to parallel and retune
You may have to do this 6 times to get it stabilised
The trem should feel a lot lighter
If tuning stability is an issue - may well be that a better quality floyd is required

Petre - try 10s on that guitar if it has Gibson scale length (24.75")

[Petre]

ah thx very much feline :), ill give it a go next weekend i expect, maybe sooner

thanks again
Petre

[gingataff]

How old is the bridge? I'm not sure of the construction on that bridge type but could it be that the knife edges have worn badly?
Or could it even be that the knife edges aren't sitting on the posts properly?

[Petre]

the guitar is still only around 1 year old, and it was stiff from the day i got it  :( . and everythings siting properly. i've heard others have had the same problm (from reviews) which leads me to believe it could just the a stiff trem in general. However im still gonna give this spring removal a try, could help.

cheers
petre

[Petre]

lol i gave it a try. OOPS. Didnt quite work. Reduced the tension so much but the screws wouldnt screw in far enough to compensate :roll: . therefore i couldnt set it up, so i just stuck the spring back in and its all good now. I'll just live with my stiff bridge until i get my next guitar!

Cheers anyway guys ;)
Petre

[FELINEGUITARS]

Try a different brand of spring - will make all the difference
You can get them for about £3 each