Trem idea

[BatUtilityBelt]

It has long bugged me that a lot of my guitars have 6 screw trems, and I can't get them to stay in tune well if I try to float them. But my 2 screw trems float easily without tuning issues. A few months back, I thought of something that might take care of it, and it seems to work.

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I 3D printed these little volcano-shaped wedge things to go on the outer screws, and I loosened the middle screws. I tried this out on a MIM strat and it seemed to work. So I also tried it on this sub-$200 short scale JM, and it shockingly works on it too.

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The whole concept is forcing the movement of the trem to be concentrated at a specific point on the 2 outer screws instead of being spread across all 6 to vie for control. So these little PET cone shaped washers do the trick. All I had to do is make sure they leave just enough gap for good motion, and they return to tune well. Just thought I'd pass it along for anyone else here.

[mozz]

There's a guy near here selling partcasters and he takes all 4 middle screws out. To me that doesn't seem right. I think if you had all 6 adjusted up high enough it would work fine. My trem arms are all in a box somewhere, I'm no Jeff Beck.

[BatUtilityBelt]

There's a guy near here selling partcasters and he takes all 4 middle screws out. To me that doesn't seem right. I think if you had all 6 adjusted up high enough it would work fine. My trem arms are all in a box somewhere, I'm no Jeff Beck.

I agree, I think it would be risky to take the middle 4 out.

Edit: And I'm no Jeff Beck either!

[Rollin Hand]

Why would it be risky. The early Floyds used 2 wood screws as a pivot. They work just fine.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Why would it be risky. The early Floyds used 2 wood screws as a pivot. They work just fine.

There are a lot of variables to consider, but 6 thin wood screws spread the risk across a lot more area than 2 thin wood screws. Make the body a softer wood, and the wear will occur more quickly. I think that's also why 2 point trems have more substantial posts.

[Rollin Hand]

I'll certainly agree on the softer woods, but 6 screws adds a lot of friction points. Still, I tip my hat to your ingenuity. You may want to see about patenting the design.

[mozz]

Those 6 screws should be of the "raised head" type.
Oh oh, i never knew this.

This is from the Fender pdf on how to setup a Stratocaster;

First, remove the tremolo back cover. Check your tuning. For a vintage-style tremolo bridge, a great way to enhance its performance is to pull the bridge back flush with the body using the tremolo arm. Then loosen all six screws located at the front edge of the bridge plate, raising them so that they all measure approximately 1/16" (1.6 mm) above the top of the bridge plate. Then tighten the two outside screws back down until they're flush with the top of the bridge plate. The bridge will now pivot on the outside screws, leaving the four inside screws in place for bridge stability

[BatUtilityBelt]

I'll certainly agree on the softer woods, but 6 screws adds a lot of friction points. Still, I tip my hat to your ingenuity. You may want to see about patenting the design.

Thanks. This is not one of those things I would try to put out as a product. It's so simple that patent protection would do nothing for me against offshore copying and they could better afford the tooling than me to mass produce it. So I'd rather just share this idea with friends.

Having said that, I don't know how long 3D printed parts will hold up, so I probably will CNC cut some metal sets for myself, or I might make the press dies to cut and form some with an arbor. Those are very small number methods.

[toomanycats]

Some people place a lot of emphasis on the precision and hardness of the knife edge on the baseplate. Shortcomings in this regard can result in the strings not returning to their proper tension, and hence, original tuning. This issue can occur even when a locking nut is used.

[andrewsrea]

A six-screw floating trem is superior to a two-screw, with one huge caveat: the six screws have to be perfectly aligned with the string pull towards the headstock. Especially with what @toomanycats covered, which is the hardness of the knife edge and posts of a two-screw type. I've seen original Floyds worn badly and cannot stay in tune.

[BatUtilityBelt]

A six-screw floating trem is superior to a two-screw, with one huge caveat: the six screws have to be perfectly aligned with the string pull towards the headstock. Especially with what @toomanycats covered, which is the hardness of the knife edge and posts of a two-screw type. I've seen original Floyds worn badly and cannot stay in tune.

I think superior is a loaded term that only applies in the context of how someone would use it. For me, 6 screw trems are flakey in comparison to 2 point trems because I want nuance out of them and don't dive-bomb or otherwise abuse the system. For those who are rougher on their guitars, the 6 point trem may last longer, but I'd rather have one I can better trust to return to reasonable tune most of the time.

[andrewsrea]

I think superior is a loaded term that only applies in the context of how someone would use it. For me, 6 screw trems are flakey in comparison to 2 point trems because I want nuance out of them and don't dive-bomb or otherwise abuse the system. For those who are rougher on their guitars, the 6 point trem may last longer, but I'd rather have one I can better trust to return to reasonable tune most of the time.

I only use it to wiggle chords, but the best floating I own is a 1992 Paul Reed Smith CE24. That is reliable as it gets for me.

[Rollin Hand]

It's the sum of the parts with trem bridges. I had a Japanese (Takeuchi, perhaps?) bridge on my Washurn N3. I could not get that thing to stay in tune. I found a burr on the knife edge and had it repaired,. Still wouldn't stay in tune. I lubed the edges. Still wouldn't stay in tune fi ally, I gave up and bought a used Washburn-branded Schaller trem and installed it. Still wouldn't stay in tune.

Then I discovered that the locking nut wasn't properly screwed into the neck the whole time. That worked. Later I replaced the nut with a Gotoh nut. That worked even better.