Trem Blocking??

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BillyFurnett

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Hey all,

I have a Kramer electric with a Floyd Rose and locking nut, but since I never use the trem (And at times the locking nut is a hassle) I'm wondering if it's advisable to "Block" the trem against the body with a piece of wood (Making it like a hard tail) , then just removing the nut clamps ( On the off chance you were looking for a post where someone actually says "Nut clamps"..You just found it -LOL). I've heard of "Blocking", but I'm just assuming this is how it's done.
IF SO.., Are there better "Tone Quailty" woods I should use to block it off with beside whatever I can find and cut down?

Any help with this would be great.

:)
 
I've a PRS that I blocked, I set the tremlo in its natural position and set the block so it can't dive at all. You can still pull back on it if you put your arm on. It works great for me.
good luck
 
How's the tuning with blocking? Pretty stable? i.e. Can you detune the low E and not have all the other strings go way out?

Also, how do you keep the block in? Just use the string tension on the tremelo?
 
...this is gonna be a good thread...
...I just had that mod done on a jackson charvell...it doesn't have a floyd-rose, but I'm guessing the basic principle is the same...I didn't especially feel the need to lay out any specs or methods ahead of time, though....I left those decisions up to my guitar-man--someone who "knows"...that'd be my advice--take it to the dude you can trust "knows" what the hell he's doing...wood doesn't seem like a good idea...not durable enough...my man used a rectangular slug of aluminum maybe 3/8" thick with a small stretch of padded-tape so as not to scar the assembly that butts up against it...it's held into place with 2 stainless screws...perfect, as far as I'm concerned...for what it's worth, one thing I'm pretty sure of--nobody's ears are capable of discerning any tonal difs between a 2-ounce chunk of alum and a similar sized block of "any" wood--whether they're screwed into place, glued, electro-magnetically suspended, or whatever; let alone is someone gonna notice the dif between two peices of even the most dis-similar woods--once they're secured into place in the middle of a guitar...it just ain't gonna happen.
 
Wood is just fine. In case no-one noticed the rest of the guitar is made of wood and they usually sound just fine.
This is a mod I have done a few times on Strats. with the traditional trem. I usually use a tapered wedge that I can tap in to give a bit of pressure on the block jamming it hard against the body.
This definately helps the sustain. As it is in a cavity I use a screw to hold it in it's "tapped in" position. That way you can easily remove it later on without the problems of glue.
 
Anybody got any before and (more importantly) after pictures. I guess I'm not sure where the block goes exactly. Do you still need the springs in there, or does the block eliminate the need for them?

I really hate my floyd rose, so I'd love to figure out the best way to block it out. :cool:
 
==============================================

"....I'm pretty sure of--nobody's ears are capable of discerning any tonal difs between a 2-ounce chunk of alum and a similar sized block of "any" wood--whether they're screwed into place, glued, or ELECTRO-MAGNETICALLY SUSPENDED..."

toyL

==============================================

LOL-Well put.


:)
 
Dethska said:
Anybody got any before and (more importantly) after pictures. I guess I'm not sure where the block goes exactly. Do you still need the springs in there, or does the block eliminate the need for them?
Click to expand...

Depends... you can place a block between the trem block and the back of the cavity, in which case I'd leave the springs in, just loosened, or perhaps take one spring out. If you want to double block that sucker, so it can't even pull up, you can place a block between the trem block and the front of the cavity. If you can find a way to do this without removing springs, let us know...
 
Or, you can block it to where it only goes down, like Leo Fender's original design. Take off the locking nut; when set up properly and after learning the tuning technique that goes with it, you can just about keep it in tune all night. I believe it works better than any fixed-bridge. I could show you better than explain it in a post, but under the above conditions you can use the trem to actually bring the guitar back to pitch after strings go flat from bending. The weight of your hand won't pull it sharp, and you can use combination bend/fixed pitch techniques that don't work on a floating trem guitar. All the attributes of the Floyd that you don't like would be gone. A guy showed my that about 25 years ago and I have used that with complete success on every trem guitar I have had.
 
Major Tom- Are you describing turning a floating trem into a non-floating ala Fender?
That seems like it would work better than blocking the other side. So it can go up but not down. I'd still have all the stupid tuning issue that way.

I guess I'll play around and if I can come up with something good, I'll let y'all know.
 
Yes, like the original Strat design - the trem goes DOWN, toward the body, but not up. The block would be under the springs, between the body and the inertia block. I'm not kiddding, if set up right, the trem becomes a "re-tuning device" after strings go flat a little from bending, just a quick down move and back up, and the strings come right back to pitch.
 
...yeh Clive a small chunk of "wood is just fine" for the most part, except for the fact that it has a tendency to expand and contract in relation to humidity, thereby actually "moving" the positioning of whatever assembly it is supposed to be holding "secure"...if it's placement allows the strings to relax while not allowing them tighten, it will be subject to occassionally "varying" pressure; conversely, if it's placement allows the strings to be tightened but not lossened it will again be subjected to the occassionally varying bit of pressure...this occassional mechanical pressure will eventually alter it's shape and it's main purpose of "securing" the strings in one position will be compromised...now, I guess you could use "petrified" wood, in which case it may very well indeed be "durable" enough to maintain it's physical dimensions for quite some time and therefore be quite capable of "securing" the assembly and strings in one place for quite some time...so yeh, petrified-wood could work as well as metal for the practical purposes we're speaking to here.
 
NOOOOO!
Since you have a tremolo you should learn to master it. It's a technique which is dying and more people need to use it to keep it alive.
 
YEEEESSS...KILL IT! We have a couple drop D songs...man I would be on stage for what seemed to be an hour tuning that damned thing! I finally epoxied a bunch of nickels together and put it in the cavity...BAM...no more tuning problems!
 
Yeah, if my guitars had tremolos that I could use with out completely knocking the thing out of tune, I'd be freaking Dimebag mixed with EVH. But if I so much as look at my Floyd Rose, the whole setup craps itself.

Also, it would be nice to be able to tune down the low E to D once in a awhile without having to spend a half-hour retuning the other five strings.

I wish guitar manufacturers would offer more low end models WITHOUT the stupid cheap locking nuts and tremelos.
 
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