Tremlock and tremolo bar setup.

[tremolo3]

Hi,


I have successfully set my tremlock thanks to this guide: http://offset.guitars/the-goodies/setti ... lo-system/

But this way, my trem bar is set way to low that I can barely use it, and I'm not really doing that shoegaze thing but I want to have it more high than this. I'm wondering if this is a trade-off type of situation for having the tremlock set "right".







Thanks for any suggestions!

[BatDog]

Put the arm in a vice and bend it to perfection;)
Done so to all my trem arms since I use different string types, gauges and tunings on all of them...

[dylanafghjkl]

Ahah, have had the same thing on every offset with a locking trem I've owned. Turns out the answer actually is to bend them, was sceptical at first but it's not that hard and doesn't break anything

[silentium_vk]

That's strange. Never experienced that on my avri jm. The collet (or whatever it's called) is too deep sunk. It wasn't supposed to be like that.

[fuzzking]

never had a prob to get the setup right on vintage units. but on re-issues, i just ignore the tremlock, go for nice smooth trem action, and still have to bend the arms in most cases. learned to live with it somehow.

[jorri]

I often get that with heavier guages, i don't think they are built for the 12-60 sets i try. They bottom out far too low, and i like to be able to be the trem almost to the guard and not have it hit the nut on the internal spring first. On my Squier without a tremlock i just go for something not-too-much like a full tone of a bend on the low E and adjust to taste from there for twangy vibrato and even 'shoegazing'..

[jorri]

I often get that with heavier guages, i don't think they are built for the 12-60 sets i try. They bottom out far too low, and i like to be able to be the trem almost to the guard and not have it hit the nut on the internal spring first. On my Squier without a tremlock i just go for something not-too-much like a full tone of a bend on the low E and adjust to taste from there for twangy vibrato and even 'shoegazing'..

But thinknig about it its going to be the same wherever you set the tremlock is the same position so you might need to ignore it! I bend my arm and also tape the collet end so its actually sticking out a good cm to an inch.

[sunburster]

That's a Japanese tremolo in the picture above. I've found they are always way too low if you set the lock up properly. Not the case with AVRI tremolo units.

As others have said you can either bend the arm or not use the lock function. However, I'd just buy an American tremolo unit if I were you.

[tremolo3]

Thank you guys.

Like some of you suggested, I've just bend the bar and now is all good.
I really don't think I'll use the tremlock feature, but I was really curious on how to set it up properly.

However, I'd just buy an American tremolo unit if I were you.

The thing is I want to keep my JM as stock as possible, and I don't really use my vibrato that much to justify it, but I gotta say those in the AVRI are really smooooooth and want me to do the Kevin Shields thing all the time lol.

[Tommyd55]

A function of the tremlock is to keep the guitar in tune in the event you break a string.. Something you may want in the event you play in a live band.
If not set up properly, it don't work correctly, and you will be out wishing you had taken the few minutes to set it up right.

[tremolo3]

A function of the tremlock is to keep the guitar in tune in the event you break a string.. Something you may want in the event you play in a live band.
If not set up properly, it don't work correctly, and you will be out wishing you had taken the few minutes to set it up right.

Thanks for replying.

When(if) I play again, I will totally use the tremlock feature, like I am these days at home.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Hey folks! I hope you can help!

I recently stumbled over that very same problem! Japanese made 50 years anniversary special edition thinline Jaguar - so I suppose it's also a japanese vibrato system - with the trem-lock feature of course.

I always thought the jaguar/jazzmaster vibrato is way the smoothest system there is - then I laid my hands on my bandmate's freshly serviced and set up Teisco EG 413 - 3T - that also received a new spring and trem-arm in the process...absolutely awesome! ...Since that day I want to bring my system to that smooth perfection!

Even with that well described and already mentioned above - guide - I still couldn't solve it!

what I've experimented lately is that without the tremlock-activated my tuning is sharp - in contrast - it's flattened and really out of tune when activated. Am I getting it right that this mean it's set too tight?

I use daddario 11-56 Drop D strings, tuned to Drop C# (which should already 'cause less tension) and an already custom bent trem-arm - 'cause the original one always got loose (but it now fits the cheaper non-locking trem of my Eastwood Sidejack Deluxe perfectly)

Is there a way to have both a smooth working trem-arm action and a perfectly sitting trem-lock system at the same time?
Could this be solved by replacing the spring? is there any problems with these japanese springs? are there any replacement springs and if so, where can I get them and which ones are to recommend?