Trem Bar

[selmac]

I have an american deluxe strat with deluxe locking trem (not floyd rose, kinda a combo floyd rose/normal trem). the trem bar is pop in. when you put it in it just swings down towards the tone controls. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to make it stay pointing towards the neck? its pop in not screw in like a normal strat

thanx

[silvertonessuckbutigotone]

I've also had this problem with my freind's Ibanez that I played at Battle Of The Bands last year. Luckily the song we did didn't have a trem part in it so I just popped it out and put it in the gig bag. I don't really like tremolo's anyway (God forbid).

[MikeR]

you could probaly wrap some tape around it so it fits in more snugly but maybe someone has a better idea

[Curtis P]

or just get used to grabbing the trem, and wrapping tape around it?? you dont want to be fishing out tape everytime you remove the trem, do you??

Curtis

[Jon Bell]

I wouldn't use tape. It works really well the first time but the quickly gets gummy and sticky and its a nightmare to clean. Maybe a cigarette paper wrapped around the thread would work?

[ToneMonkey]

I'd use the white plasticy tape that has no glue on it. You use it for plumbing (go and have a look a the joints at the bottom of your radiators and you'll probably see some white stuff at the joins with the valves).

Easy and mess free (and cheap too)

[Curtis P]

your thinkin of teflon tape eh Kaj??

that could work too, but the though of putting tape inside my guitar to hold something in place just bothers me,

Curtis

[marksound]

I'd use the white plasticy tape that has no glue on it.  You use it for plumbing (go and have a look a the joints at the bottom of your radiators and you'll probably see some white stuff at the joins with the valves).

Easy and mess free (and cheap too)

←

Teflon tape, or "Thread Sealing Tape with Teflon." $1.49 at my local Ace Hardware.

[ToneMonkey]

your thinkin of teflon tape eh Kaj??

that could work too,  but the though of putting tape inside my guitar to hold something in place just bothers me,

Curtis

←

BINGO - It's been a long day, I really couldn't remember the name of it

Now where's my coffee?

[tirapop]

Go to a big hardware store or industrial supply store and pick up an O-ring. The diameter should be small enough to grip the part. Pick one that's thick enough to create friction, to keep the arm from swinging, but not so thick that the arm pops out.

[westhemann]

i think the question is "why would you want it to stay up?

it gets in the way.

it is supposed to hang down and swing freely.when you learn how to use it,you will just naturally grab it.it's part of the learning process.

i can't think of a single trem bar virtuoso who does not let it swing free.

[selmac]

its supposed to swing free? I didn't know that. don't regular strats have a spring so the trem bar stays in place? hmmmm I could be mistake though

[westhemann]

don't regular strats have a spring so the trem bar stays in place?

no....

[Jester700]

It's not "supposed" to do anything. Some players like it to stay put - I'm one of them, and several of us complain about the Ibanez Edge's tendency to swing free when the nylon bushings wear out. The Schaller/Floyd replacement arm can be screwed tight to stay put, but retrofitting it to some trem systems is a bit of work. My favorite is the original Floyd - it stayed where you put it. You want it out of the way, you push it there, and it stays.

[westhemann]

The Schaller/Floyd replacement arm can be screwed tight to stay put,

yes,but without modifying it with tape,it still backs off and becomes loose...because like i said,trem bar masters do not want it to be up in the way.

i mean really...all this is is a way to avoid learning the teqcnique of proper bar use. i never have a problem reaching down and grabbing it anymore.all that mess was only a problem when i first started trying to use it.

but whatever.have fun trying to keep your picking hand really tight and still so you can play with that bar in the way without bumping it

[Jester700]

The Schaller/Floyd replacement arm can be screwed tight to stay put,

yes,but without modifying it with tape,it still backs off and becomes loose...because like i said,trem bar masters do not want it to be up in the way.

i mean really...all this is is a way to avoid learning the teqcnique of proper bar use. i never have a problem reaching down and grabbing it anymore.all that mess was only a problem when i first started trying to use it.

but whatever.have fun trying to keep your picking hand really tight and still so you can play with that bar in the way without bumping it

←

That's pretty presumptuous. I've been playing floyds for 20 years, and I can use 'em fine either way, but I still PREFER them staying where I put 'em. It's not "proper technique" - it's ONE WAY of doing things. The fact that more (or even the vast majority) of players prefer it differently doesn't mean squat to me. When it's "up in the way" it still isn't in the way - I often pick close to the neck and don't move my hand that much. Ask many jazzers who play this way.

[Saber]

I also think it's better to let it hang loosely. That way, once you're used to it, your hand always knows exactly where to reach down and get it without even looking. The problem with tightening it is that one day you'll reach for it and it will be slightly out of position from where you thought you left it, and you'll fumble with it or miss it altogether and that whammy moment will be ruined. When you let it hang loosely, it can never be out of position because it always end up exactly the same place, unless you're playing in the spacelab.

Edited February 3, 2005 by Saber

[selmac]

well I was setting the intonation on my guitar and I noticed a screw right behind the trem bar hole when you dive the trem. I took a gamblr and tightened it and the trem bar stays where I put it now but you have to loosen it to take the bar out. that works for a fender deluxe locking trem but I don't know about any others

[RAI6]

It helps quite a bit to have the bar stay in place if you want to do trem flutters.

And you guys who like it loose, say that it always stays where you want it. I don't see how that's possible. If it's loose it never stays in the same place.

You move the guitar, the bar moves.

You turn the neck up for a better grip on a tough chord, your bar is no longer where you left it.

For me, a bar that stays in place is a must.

And to get it out of the way, you just give it a quick little push with your pinky. It only goes so far, but it's out of the way. If you need it again, just reach out your pinky, and it's right there.

For a close study of whammy bar techniques, check out Vai's "Live at the Astoria" DVD.

Plenty of good samples there...

[Saber]

And you guys who like it loose, say that it always stays where you want it. I don't see how that's possible. If it's loose it never stays in the same place.

It's always aimed toward the floor. There's never any doubt about where to find it. It's the law of gravity... if your playing on earth anyway. It just makes sense to me and many others, but it's just a preference I guess.

[RAI6]

And you guys who like it loose, say that it always stays where you want it. I don't see how that's possible. If it's loose it never stays in the same place.

It's always aimed toward the floor. There's never any doubt about where to find it. It's the law of gravity... if your playing on earth anyway. It just makes sense to me and many others, but it's just a preference I guess.

←

Of course it's always pointed toward the floor. And it will always be in the same spot.

As long as you don't move, and don't move the guitar...

But when you play, it should be like this:

X10

Rock on, brutha!

[eddiefletcher]

Nobody laugh... i actually use a little blue tack on the end of the bar. just enough to create a hold, then when i clean out the guitar I just get a needle to pick it all out. Works for me and dosent leave any sticky surfaces caused by tape

[Sindlei]

i prefer it not to move so i know exactly where it's going to be, and also for the increased ability to do flutters, which with a swinging bar, can be very annoying. what has been working for me for a while, on my Edge, is masking tape under the bushings, then i gripped the bushings with pliers, and twisted them until enough tape seaped out for it to fit, it has been tight for quite a while...what also works is, stick one of those bags your newspaper comes in inside your case, and then just tear off a little bit, wrap it around the end, and push it in, that's what i used to do, worked no prob.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I've also had this problem with my freind's Ibanez that I played at Battle Of The Bands last year.

Battle of the bands where? I was at a battle of the bands last year and there was a guy there that looks like you (if thats really a picture of you in your profile)