Andy Eagle ( Guitar repair tech for 30 years )

la szum said:
I have another question, @Eagle . I am having a friendly feud with a couple of
friends who are blocking their trems on traditional S-style guitars. Any thoughts
and/or experiences to share on the pros and cons of doing so. :idk
Click to expand...
If it is a vintage style six screw just putting all 6 springs in will more than lock it down. I don’t think adding a block of wood actually helps. If the trem you want to block is a two post you can argue for a block to set it up for down bend only and then use all the springs but it must contact the posts properly or you degrade the tone transfer. Putting a block of wood behind isn’t a help either tonally or mechanically. The only other consideration is if you think the springs are part of the tone. On a strat I think they are but that is up to the individual. On balance I think if you don’t want to use the trem just set it up down bend only with the springs tight enough not to move during a bend and leave the bar off.
 
Eagle said:
then use all the springs but it must contact the posts properly or you degrade the tone transfer. Putting a block of wood behind isn’t a help either tonally or mechanically. The only other consideration is if you think the springs are part of the tone. On a strat I think they are but that is up to the individual.
Click to expand...

Oh man, my experience and perspective feels so validated right now. :beer

To me blocking the trem inhibits tone and feel. It's also an excuse for a poorly set up guitar. And
two wrongs never make a right. :LOL:
 
@Eagle in your experience, how many shims do you use to set the radius of an OFR with a 12-16” compound radius? I’ve got the center one that it ships with removed and then 1 shim for the E, B, A, and E. The G and D are still a little higher than the rest at the 22nd fret. I’m thinking double up what I already have?
 
And this is weird…

According to Floyd Rose, the OFR R3 lock nut is 10” radius and the 1000 Series R3 is 12”:

IMG_1657.jpeg

IMG_1658.jpeg
 
You need to take all of them out and read the action at the last fret . Set the two Es at say 2mm and all the other strings will be ideally the same. I’m guessing it will be quite close with none but I expect that you may need one under the Es. When you get them all the same put the action back to your preferred hight 50-60 thousands of an inch is my starting point in imperial.
 
The old 80s R3 was 12” because it was made to fit a Les Paul. But when the Schaller trem came out they changed it to 10 “ the frt1000 locknut is no worse than the German ones in fact it my be slightly better. It’s hard to generalise because the Korean units that Charvel and EVH use have improved considerably since they came out. The cast parts are far harder than they were. Also the German nuts often are poorly cast and the high E string buzzes open.
 
Eagle said:
You need to take all of them out and read the action at the last fret . Set the two Es at say 2mm and all the other strings will be ideally the same. I’m guessing it will be quite close with none but I expect that you may need one under the Es. When you get them all the same put the action back to your preferred hight 50-60 thousands of an inch is my starting point in imperial.
Click to expand...
I currently have one shim under the four outer strings and it’s damn close. I’m went ahead and ordered more shims to dial it in even closer, but I’m currently at 1.25mm action at the 12th (outer strings) with no buzz which is lower than I’ll probably keep it.
Eagle said:
the frt1000 locknut is no worse than the German ones in fact it my be slightly better.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the German R3 had the G and D string all out of wack. To top it off, even with zero shims, the 1st fret action was ridiculously high and I really don’t feel like making the nut slot deeper or modifying the nut.

I re-installed the BR3 that came with the San Dimas temporarily and ordered a black one. With one shim, the first fret action is about as low as I can get it without buzz. Plus it’s the correct radius.
 
Eagle said:
So only the outside four saddles to flatten the curve? Are you using the Allparts steel shims?
Click to expand...
Yeah, currently the outer four. It still has room for improvement. Not really sure where these came from. They were installed in the stock bridge. I have a set of Allparts shims en route.
 
I find with a bit of patience and a set of the Allparts shims you will be able to get it perfect. The main thing is reference it to the last fret with the two Es set up the same hight. You will need either a good small steel ruler or a quality action gauge.
 
@Eagle, I was just polishing the frets on my Gibson LP. One of the inlays (3rd fret) stuck to the masking tape and pulled off the fretboard when I removed the tape. I glued the inlay back in place, but it is slightly proud of the fretboard. What's the best way to address this? Scrape the inlay with a razor blade and then sand?
 
Custom or standard? And what did you glue it back down with?
If you’re happy with the glue job you can lightly sand it down to fit with a custom made sanding stick. 600 grit glued on a lolly stick . You can also make 800 and 1000. The main danger is you end up with this one neater than the others.
 
Eagle said:
Custom or standard? And what did you glue it back down with?
If you’re happy with the glue job you can lightly sand it down to fit with a custom made sanding stick. 600 grit glued on a lolly stick . You can also make 800 and 1000. The main danger is you end up with this one neater than the others.
Click to expand...
Standard. I used a dab of superglue. When I dry fitted 'twas was perfect, but when I removed the capo I used as a clamp, it was a little proud. I'll try the sanding stick idea.
 
@Eagle

Is there a 1/4" guitar cable tester that not only checks continuity but also for the quality/integrity of the cable itself? I recently had one go and it made me wonder how close the thing had been to dead all the months I'd been using it. Was 50% or more of the internal core wire already damaged and I'd been sweating the thing? It would be cool to be able to periodically check every cable in the chain. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Achilles said:
@Eagle

Is there a 1/4" guitar cable tester that not only checks continuity but also for the quality/integrity of the cable itself? I recently had one go and it made me wonder how close the thing had been to dead all the months I'd been using it. Was 50% or more of the internal core wire already damaged and I'd been sweating the thing? It would be cool to be able to periodically check every cable in the chain. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Not really but you can just use a multimeter. What sounds good in a cable is dependant on your preference and everything else in the signal. It's hard to go past mechanical quality and capacitance as a guide. Eric Johnson used to have a coiled up cable on his pedal board because he liked the treble roll off it gave.
 
Hey Andy @Eagle

I need your POV/advice. I have a Strat I built from a kit. I bet it's a chinese thing bc... it was like 70€ a few years ago. Anyway, I like playing it and how the neck feels. Now I wanted to widen the PU cavity (bathtub) and a part of the wood where the 6 trem screws broke off. I glued it back together and fixed it with 2 component compound "stuff" (It's definetly solid). I was able to screw in all 6 screws (needed to drill 3 new holes; 3 holes are old) and block the trem (screw it down all the way + a chunk of wood in the trem cavity).

Do you think I could make it tremming (1way) or even floating again? How many screws do I actually need to make the trem work? All 6? Then I am fucked. Or would 3 "good" screw already be sufficient?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top