Fender Strat Trem Bar

G

GhettoWayz

New member
Hello, this may be a dumb question but here goes...

y'know how ya thread in the trem bar into the guitar? will it damage the threads inside the bridge if the bar isnt wound in ALL the way?

I like the bar to hang there and move freely instead of winding it wqround the extra rotation to make it tight....
my question is if this will damage the trem system?

I only ask because years before I owned this Am Strat I used cheap copies that will remain unmentioned and the brideg threads always became stripped and the bar would never stay in. you could put it in or pull it completely out without winding it.

anyone had a trem bar last forever without winding the bar in completely?

am i making sense?
 
I have never used it like that but I do leave it loose enough to free fall pointing down and have never had a prob.
 
Just turn it till it stops then losen it one full turn counter clockwise.
It should be screwed in enough for you not to strip the threads and lose enough to just hang there.
 
Here's my little tech tip for strat trem arms that I got from Guitar Player mag or somewhere:
Use a little bit of teflon tape (from the plumbing dept at a hardware store), wrap it around the threads so that the cut end trails behind as you thread it in, probably 1-2 thicknesses total. The arm will move fairly freely (depending on how much tape you use), but will stay in the up position or anywhere in between until you push it down. I did this on my Strat about 8 or 9 years ago, and it still works perfectly; has just enough friction to stay up, but has very little resistance when you move it. When not in use, I leave mine partway up, maybe 45 degrees to the floor, out of the way but in closer reach than pointing at the floor.
 
Seems to me I've also read something about putting cotton or something similar into the whole so the bar never threads all the way in. Don't know how you'd ever get it back out tho.
 
I have been putting plumber's tape on the threads for years as well, and it works great. It's also good for cleaning up some of the slop that those bars are notorious for.
The best kind of vintage trems are the Gotoh ones that builders like Melancon use. They have a bar with no threads that just inserts into a nylon washer. No slop. Swings free but will stay put when you want it to. Just pops out when you need it to - no helicopter twirling.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
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