Tremolo arm/whammy bar

[JohnDX]

I don’t know if this is enough of a subject for an AAP session but I’ll through it out there because I can’t do it. I searched but didn’t find it in past sessions. Growing up with surf music - Walk Don’t Run, Pipeline, Safaris, Dick Dale - some guys had whammy’s, I didn’t. Once I got Strats later in life I had a hard time with the tremolo arms -screw them all the way in they were tight. They seemed high over the strings but I’ve gotten better with that. If not screwed all the way in so they dangle, there’s so much play it seems more hard to control. I’ve used springs which I think I like better, but I really never keep them on the Strats. Going from Dick Dale all the way to Jeff Beck, then in between there are all these blues and rock soloists that just occasionally grab it and add nice stuff, people make them sound great.

I haven‘t spent time on this at all so maybe that’s the answer, but it’s a suggestion.

Thanks.

 

[JPsuff]

I think you either like them or you don't.

I bought a Strat with a whammy and had it set up by Sweetwater with 10's and when I got it I added the spring and I really tried to bond with it but I ultimately ended up decking it and I'm much happier.

The main reason I didn't care for it is because I love to play octave bends (where you bend a string and then hit the octave on the next string) and with the whammy it always came up flat and it was annoying.

There were some things I liked about having a whammy but not enough to make me want it all the time.

 

[TexBill]

I don’t know if this is enough of a subject for an AAP session but I’ll through it out there because I can’t do it. I searched but didn’t find it in past sessions. Growing up with surf music - Walk Don’t Run, Pipeline, Safaris, Dick Dale - some guys had whammy’s, I didn’t. Once I got Strats later in life I had a hard time with the tremolo arms -screw them all the way in they were tight. They seemed high over the strings but I’ve gotten better with that. If not screwed all the way in so they dangle, there’s so much play it seems more hard to control. I’ve used springs which I think I like better, but I really never keep them on the Strats. Going from Dick Dale all the way to Jeff Beck, then in between there are all these blues and rock soloists that just occasionally grab it and add nice stuff, people make them sound great.

I haven‘t spent time on this at all so maybe that’s the answer, but it’s a suggestion.

Thanks.

I can relate to the scenario you describe with a screw in tremolo arm. When I ordered my Strat, I specifically requested a snap-in arm. It arrived with a screw in instead. I immediately contacted Fender and got them to agree to have a snap-in installed. Since, at the time we had no authorized service center, I had to drive 2 hours to an authorized facility for the exchange. The snap-in stays relatively where I leave it. Push come to shoving, would I drive that distance for the same outcome, probably not. Sounds like you have discovered a satisfactory work around. Play on! It takes practice to become familiar with a tremolo at the ready.

I too was into surfing music in the '60s. All the tunes you mentioned were on my favorite list of ones to learn. Now my limitations prevent me doing them justice. Blues is enough of a challenge at this stage of my journey.

 

[PapaRaptor]

Another fix for the floppy whammy bar is to put a couple wraps of plumbing teflon tape around the threads ot the bar before you crank it in. I've done it a couple times and it adds enough extra girth to the threads to keep the bar pretty firmly where you want it while also giving you the ability to move it out of the way when you don't need or want it. It's not elegant, but it works and won't foul up anything on the arm or the bridge.

I can't take credit for this. Someone else in the forum suggested it many years ago.

 

[Elio]

PapaR beat me to it, but my suggestion is teflon tape, as well. It eventually shreds from use, but is easy to remove and replace. I have tremolos on my strat and two Godins and really like them. For as much as I have read about reasons for decking them, I have never run into any tuning or other issues. It may just be that my playing style is too timid and mundane to stress them (which I would fully admit to), but for as little as I use them, I miss it when I play a guitar that doesn't have one.

 

[TexBill]

PapaR beat me to it, but my suggestion is teflon tape, as well. It eventually shreds from use, but is easy to remove and replace. I have tremolos on my strat and two Godins and really like them. For as much as I have read about reasons for decking them, I have never run into any tuning or other issues. It may just be that my playing style is too timid and mundane to stress them (which I would fully admit to), but for as little as I use them, I miss it when I play a guitar that doesn't have one.

I believe it is called "Locking Tuning Machines"

 

[Elio]

I believe it is called "Locking Tuning Machines"

Locking tuners will help keep it in tune, but the teflon tape keeps the trem arm tighter so that it doesn't swing around wildly (as mine is apt to do during my solo/dance routine )

 

[TexBill]

Locking tuners will help keep it in tune, but the teflon tape keeps the trem arm tighter so that it doesn't swing around wildly (as mine is apt to do during my solo/dance routine

@Elio
Hi brother, I was poking a little fun. You wrote the following which prompted my response:
"It may just be that my playing style is too timid and mundane to stress them (which I would fully admit to)"

I was laughing so hard, I had to pause before trying to type. Hope you are having a great end of summer and ready for fall and some cool weather.

 

[JohnDX]

Thanks all. I really like the Teflon tape suggestion. Maybe this post would have better suited for the forum. But I do have Teflon tape which will go on today. Thanks.

 

[JPsuff]

I think the spring and the ball bearing is still the simplest way to go.

How much you tighten the arm determines how loosely it hangs and it doesn't wear out or shred to pieces like tape can and unlike tape it doesn't require periodic replacement.

 

[JPsuff]

Trem-Arm Tension Spring - StewMac

Tension spring and ball bearing are dropped into the tremolo bridge, under the tremolo arm, to create tension that keeps the arm from flopping around.

www.stewmac.com

 

[PapaRaptor]

Trem-Arm Tension Spring - StewMac

Tension spring and ball bearing are dropped into the tremolo bridge, under the tremolo arm, to create tension that keeps the arm from flopping around.

www.stewmac.com

I haven't tried the Stew-Mac idea with the bearing, but I have had some of the Fender springs. For me, the problem with the bearing and spring (or in my case, just the spring) is that whenever I took the whammy bar off the guitar I invariably forgot about the spring and ended up losing it.

Also, if you're not concerned about the bearing, you can get a dozen springs directly from Fender for the same price as the single spring and bearing from Stew-Mac or from Musicians Friend for $7.99

 

[JPsuff]

I haven't tried the Stew-Mac idea with the bearing, but I have had some of the Fender springs. For me, the problem with the bearing and spring (or in my case, just the spring) is that whenever I took the whammy bar off the guitar I invariably forgot about the spring and ended up losing it.

Also, if you're not concerned about the bearing, you can get a dozen springs directly from Fender for the same price as the single spring and bearing from Stew-Mac or from Musicians Friend for $7.99

Yeah I just grabbed the StewMac thing just as an example.
When I bought my Strat I also bought a multi-pack of springs and bearings from Sweetwater.
It wasn't a dozen (five or six?) and I actually did have one fall out when I removed the arm.

Of course now that I've decked the bridge it's all moot but I still have everything in case I change my mind one day.

 

[PapaRaptor]

Of course now that I've decked the bridge it's all moot but I still have everything in case I change my mind one day.

I keep two Strats decked, but not locked. That way I can whammy down, but can't pull up. My MIA strat was decked for a long time, but about a year ago I set it up with full floating, just because. I honestly like the feel of the decked bridges better than full floating and the whammy bars aren't usually on any of the Strats for very long. I haven't changed it back as I've been a bit lazy these past few months.

 

[Mr.Scary]

I keep two Strats decked, but not locked. That way I can whammy down, but can't pull up. My MIA strat was decked for a long time, but about a year ago I set it up with full floating, just because. I honestly like the feel of the decked bridges better than full floating and the whammy bars aren't usually on any of the Strats for very long. I haven't changed it back as I've been a bit lazy these past few months.

EVH had his set to where he could only dive down also.

 

[PapaRaptor]

EVH had his set to where he could only dive down also.

Well, there's one thing we had in common!

 

[JPsuff]

I keep two Strats decked, but not locked. That way I can whammy down, but can't pull up. My MIA strat was decked for a long time, but about a year ago I set it up with full floating, just because. I honestly like the feel of the decked bridges better than full floating and the whammy bars aren't usually on any of the Strats for very long. I haven't changed it back as I've been a bit lazy these past few months.

I had mine set up balanced so I could go up or down (I was in a Gilmour phase at the time).
That's probably why my octave bends always seemed to come up flat -- because the trem was moving up with the bend.

I have a Strat knockoff (a Barrington Foxxe) that I've been threatening to rebuild with a new paint job and some upgraded parts.
If I do and it turns out well, maybe I'll deck that one and restore the real Strat's trem to the way I bought it (and maybe keep some 9's on it so the strings dont tug on it so much).

Hmm...