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I got an ESP partsocaster in 1985, assembled from parts bought from Chandler for about £500, which has been my main strat ever since
It was a mahogany body hard tail, but I wanted a trem, and the seller gave me a spare set - which I had fitted by A1 in Manchester, it has a Pro setup, and has 3 springs
I've played it ever since, and didn't realise until I bought other decent strats over the last 7-8 years that most strats have lighter trems
I have tried to accommodate the range of stiffness in the trems, but I would like it if I could stiffen my other strats
My problems are: I developed a style using heavy right hand damping, and can create a tiny unwanted wobble in pitch when I hit the block with my palm, I can avoid this - but I like playing like that. Also the stiffer trem feels less floaty, and more taut - which suits the way I use the trem, and makes the strings feel more like as if the bridge were fixed
If I went from 3 springs to 5 would that help?
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Comments
If you add more springs, or swap in heavier-rated ones, or screw the claw in further, all those increase the tension. But also pulls the bridge plate towards the top or flat against it. Heavier strings mean more tension so for the same bridge angle you can use (and may need) more/heavier springs.
If you don't mind the base being flat on the body so the trem can only go down, there's no prob adding more/heavier springs.
I like mine with some uplift so it's a trade-off, possible wobble from palm pressure and bending one string the others go flat slightly.
I set my trem against the body. Because I sound bad enough dropping pitch, giving me another option doubles my range of errors
For the same floating bridge position, 5 springs would need to be stretched less, so a small bridge movement would move more springs, although each is under less tension, and is less stretched. Would the springs be harder to stretch?
I have noticed that my Evertune guitars feel like the strings are heavier than they are, since they don't give in the same way as usual
I never learned enough about behaviour of springs
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
sounds sensible
SO I guess I measure the distance of the bridge plate thing to the guitar body, add springs and adjust until the height is the same, and then check intonation?
Adjusting the claw with 3 springs got my strat where it needed to be (although I do like a little bit of uplift to allow pitch up vibrato).
Setting up Strat vibratos is a fine art/balancing act though IMO.
I think springs vary
My old partsocaster has only 3, but feels right
My VG strat feels very light with 3
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein