Fender Tremolo Arm for American Pro Stratocaster w/ Aged White Tip 770-9929-049. Thanks for checking this out. Since the router bit was ½͟, you would only need a ¼͟ radius female / outside router radius bit to go over the edges so they fit. Share it with us! I don't know if Gibson did this on purpose, but it's a big part of the feel of an old Les Paul, and my setup sort of duplicates that on a Fender. Routing is quick and easy. You definitely don’t want the template to move once you start! Then drill with a larger bit that will follow the other hole as a pilot. I used a slider miter. Measure the cavity and cut the block. This hole must be filled in. Next I went to the lumber store and picked up a piece of ¾͟ thick red oak wood since that is solid and will transfer vibrations better than something like a pine 2x4 which you can use if you really wanted to… (why would you?) Adjust your trem springs to counterbalance the tension of the guitar’s strings. https://diystrat.blogspot.com/2011/08/setting-up-or-adjusting- Plays fantastic, and is a great option for the rocker that enjoys a tremolo bridge system without the added hassle of a full blown floyd rose setup. The floating tremolo first appeared on the initial run of Jazzmasters, which have their own tremolo system still in use and found on other Fender models like the Jaguar and Bass VI. 62 You'll need to retune periodically to get the right balance between the strings and the springs. The original Strat tremolo was designed to float, meaning that the tremolo''s rear edge is raised up off the body. Remember, this is measured from the front edge of the nut to whatever measurement you want. I just laid the posts on top of the marks. If you drill into this body, the material will be so thin there that the posts under bending toward the nut will cause them to strain the wood enough to become loose. The art of getting a floating trem to work correctly is all about balance. Allowing the bridge to float freely (no tension on the tremolo arm) using the claw screws in the tremolo cavity, adjust the bridge to your desired angle—Fender spec is a 1/8" (3.2 mm) gap at rear of bridge. I set the depth of the router bit to JUST kiss the bottom of the channel by measuring & accounting for that when setting the bit depth (plunge router base). If you have a guitar that weighs that much, you’ve got a much ... For a better experience on Gearnews, we recommend JavaScript to be enabled, Source: I have an American Professional Strat and its tremolo was floating when it was new. Using a piece of tape as a base, I measured and marked the side-to-side hole locations and marked the 25͟ from the bridge-side of the nut to the tape. On Strats, I set my tremolo floating. This pic shows it already routed. Any questions or comments on the job will be forwarded to him. Saddles, spring tension, fixed one-way vs floating bridge. I strongly recommend drilling these holes in a few stages i.e. Spend some time on this so you don’t mess up the route. Any questions or comments on the job will be forwarded to him. Next, using some basic kid tools I measured the pickup and drew that outline on a clear lexan board to be trimmed into another routing template. Honestly, this plastic was too thin to be a good template. Floating Tremolo Setup for Strat! https://diystrat.blogspot.com/2011/08/setting-up-or-adjusting-stratocaster.html Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved.Note: For locking tremolo systems, the individual string height is preset. Not many people realize this, but vintage 1950s Gibsons have 10" fingerboard radii, but the bridges are 12". If you want to put on a set of .010-.046 strings, you'll have to re-set up your tremolo. You could use that on the filler block if it were loose but this one fit in to the pocket pretty tightly so it just needed glue all around. If you’re having tuning stability issues with 9s or 10s, try 11s or even 12s — the greater tension of heavier strings helps the tremolo mechanism return to true pitch better and also helps prevent the strings from buzzing on the bridge. Who knows. Did you make this project? on Introduction, Hey Mike I just happened to catch this very cool article of instruction, love the way you went around presenting your skills, nice job and thanks forThanks for a good read.CountryCliff, Great job on the instructable and your friend did an awesome job on the installation :). If you just eyed it, it would probab Finally, and what I did not show, was the trimming of the pickup plate to make room for the tremolo. The Gotoh tremolo is really made like a tank but they get a ZERO for product information (like maybe a few dimensions or recommendations?) You definitely do NOT want to route out any length off of the fretboard toward the bridge side. This allows only for frequency drop with the tremolo, but it is worth it due to increased sustain. Next, you know you’ll need to set up to route. Here are the components important for the setup: All we need is a tuner, a philips screwdriver and some patience. If you change gauge later … I’m no luthier, just someone who wanted a fender with a GE Gotoh 1996T I’d heard quite a bit about, and that has some nice design features. Verheyen Stratocaster Full Floating Tremolo Bridge Setup For the last 20 years the Fender Stratocaster has been my main guitar. Making the template is harder. I routed that pickup pocket only to the required depth to install the pickup plate. In addition to the Jazzmaster, Fender used the floating tremolo on the then top-of-the-line Fender Jaguars, released in 1962, and also on the Fender Bass VI, released in 1961. Fender designed the Jag and JM tremolo so that with a simple slide of a knob the “right” tuning is restored – the tremolo works downward only when the lock is engaged. In the Jazzmaster system, the strings are threaded through a lip that rises in the shape of a small, cresting wave over the tailpiece, which is set against the body while the bridge is placed separate from the tailpiece. The new nut is taller. 1 year ago Gluing – I lined the holes with Elmer’s wood glue with a Q-Tip and glued the splines on the grommets. Before I re-installed the electronics I painted all of the pockets with black conductive paint to be used as shielding for noise reduction. This is because the total tension of the strings must balance the total tension of the tremolo springs leaving the base plate of the bridge parallel to the face of the body of … I hope someone is helped by this. Next is another fun part. The old nut is short. This drove me crazy and the tremolo was absolutely unusable. It pre-tensions the posts so they don’t turn or rock in the threaded hole. Vintage-style tremolo bridge (6-screw mounting) $35 + Setup Locking-tremolo bridge (Floyd-Rose style) $45 + Setup Floating Bridge (Archtop) Sanded to match top contour $65 + Setup Acoustic Instruments A setup is required for saddle replacement. Some guys put silicon on the threads which also works but is still potentially loose under force, 5) it is built largely like the original Edge and finally that it carries recommendations & reviews from many picky players. So if you want to use your Stratocaster as God himself, Leo Fender intended, try performing the setup demonstrated by the kind Italian fellow in that video and it should increase the performance of your tremolo dramatically. gearnews.com uses cookies to ensure the best possible service. CITES 2017: The Rosewood Rules and What They Mean For You (And Your Guitar). There are three possible configurations of the Stratocaster Tremolo: Floating, Decked, and Blocked. So I measured what I thought was important and sketched what it would need to be so I could make the routing template. However much thicker the new nut is –that’s how much vertical material needs to be routed away for the same ͞feel͟ Round numbers – let’s say the old nut is ¼͟from bottom of nut – to – bottom of ͞V͟. Here are the components important for the setup: All we need is a tuner, a philips screwdriver and some patience. I just used a Freud top-bearing ½͟ router bit and adjusted it to take only a little off the floor of the pickup cavity, clamped it all down to the bench and cleaned it out quickly. You can carry your guitar with you wherever you want as long as it doesn’t contain 10 kg or more of Rosewood. NOTE: look at what will amount to a very thin wall between where the post holes will be and the Humbucker pickup pocket is. If you continue surfing the site, you agree to the. Finally, time to put the posts into the hole and mount the tremolo. You would need to subtract the old dist from the new (1/2 – ¼ = ¼͟) and take off ¼͟. Next I went back to the body and again found the side-to-side position of where the tremolo will be by first locating where the strings would be centered. Players with a light touch can get away with lower action; others need higher action to avoid rattles. Decking the trem allows for the bridge to only be pushed down. How to Block Your Tremolo. The new nut is sort of clamped in place. The tool wedges between the body and the sustain block to lock the bridge perfectly flat while the guitar is tuned to pitch. Your email address will not be published. That doesn''t necessarily mean that you need to set your bridge to float - set it how you like it. Again, critical that you use the old nut or something to guarantee your wood block (what will basically be the template) is perfectly square and flush with the edge of the current nut channel so your router bit doesn’t take any off of the existing fretboard; only some of the meat behind it so the new nut will fit. Kind of like using a laser mic to mark a line and then cutting it with an axe. You can see how the block was hogged out to just sit on the outside edges. These sophisticated tremolos feature the most components, and allow the player to do all sorts of crazy pitch bends up or down, generally with rock solid tuning stability. Work your way up to your desired size. So if you want to use your Stratocaster as God himself, Leo Fender intended, try performing the setup demonstrated by the kind Italian fellow in that video and it should increase the performance of your tremolo dramatically. Here follows the information sent with my signature “Balanced Bridge” strings made by Thomastik-Infeld in Vienna, Austria. Thanks for checking this out. After i set up the floating tremolo, i noticed the action was a little bit high. This was ½͟. This is what it looked like after the routing (and after blowing off all that sawdust!). As they say, measure 10 times and cut once if you really want to be sure. Next I tapped the old nut out of the groove. I tuned the strings and paid attention to the bridge being parallel to the body, adjusting the spring holding plate as I tuned to maintain bridge level. Do this on both nuts. Step 1: This goes without saying, but first you need to take the back plate off so you can access the tremolo system. Fender floating tremolo tips The floating tremolo found on Jazzmasters, Jaguars, and other offset Fender guitars was designed with big strings in mind. Here is how the router looks when it is positioned accordingly. Floating the trem allows the bridge to be pushed down which loosens the string tension, and pulled up which tightens the string tension. Once you have that center point, you also have your parallel line from the 25͟ line you previously drew so you just measure over the 74 millimeters (2.913͟). Not necessary, just a nice thing to have. A quality tremolo bridge is important for the sustain. Wilkinson 52.5mm (2-1/16 inch) Full Block ST Guitar Tremolo Bridge Pop-In Arm 2-Point for American Standard or Professional Fender Strat, Gold 5.0 out of 5 stars 1 $37.62 $ 37 . That’s critical. The Fender 2-point synchronized tremolo bridge has been used by Fender since 1986 and is featured on the American Deluxe Stratocaster as well as the American Standard Stratocaster. Pros and Cons There’s no way this will work. You can set how deep your saw runs for the edges to control its level / parallel with the nut channel. …then measuring the center of the ͞scoop͟ edge of the tremolo & marking where the center of the post would be. 5.0 out of 5 stars. I drilled a dowel hole for the template closer toward the front into the body knowing it would be covered by the pickup plate anyway. no holes drilled / not installed or anything yet. This is the final product. Pete Thorn previews new Wilkinson locking trem system on YouTube, Fulltone Supa-Trem Jr: Updated, smaller and still full of tremolo, Keeley EH Verb o Trem: Two new dual effects pedals due soon, Possible new Epiphone Jared James Nichols Goldtop signature model on the horizon. Of course, the tremolo arm has to be the correct one and correspond to the type of bridge installed. I was intrigued by a similar post I saw where the guy had a cheap ͞drill press͟. How To Set Up A Strat Floating Tremolo | Two Pivots Tremolo Discussion in 'Luthier's Guitar & Bass Technical Discussion' started by binge, Feb 2, 2012. This tool can reduce the setup of a Floyd Rose® or Fender® style floating tremolo from an hour long task to about 10 minutes. Here, ace Nashville repairman John LeVan walks you step-by-step through the setup process and shows you how to make your Strat play like a dream and ring like a bell. That’s 22 pounds. Especially for the money, it holds its own even over the original Edge with its features and performance. There is room for leeway here because your saddles are adjustable. If you want to put on a set of .010-.046 strings, you'll have to re-set up your tremolo. Floyd Rose FRT1001984 Original 1984 So how does one set up a Strat tremolo to stay in tune when it’s floating? Adjust bridge saddles to the height according to the chart, then re-tune. I just ended up decking it. String up your guitar. You are attempting to make the springs in the rear cavity of the guitar counterbalance the tension of the guitar’s strings when they are tuned to pitch. the vibrating length of the string. Gotoh Fender Floating Tremolo Install: The following is the DIY laid out step-by-step. Whereas I have a large press I bought this $19 ͞press͟ from harbor freight. I bought mine from RODRIRA1 on eBay. This puts the center strings closer to the frets. -Mike----------------------------It seems like people sort of shrug away from installing a full floating tremolo on a guitar not currently set up for one because it’s too scary or you need too many tools. So this is what I did, FYI only, and know that there are different ways to skin a cat. Verify first that it just touches it so that every hundredth of an inch you adjust your router will be a hundredth taken off of the nut base to ensure your new nut is at the right height when you’re done.