Has anyone had this issue with their whammy bar?

[Bourbon Burst]

I have a late 90s Strat Plus which I like but I can't get the whammy bar in the position I want. Either it will be loose and hang down out of quick reach or if I tighten it one more revolution it is way too stiff and hard to move out of the way when needed it.

I bought a David Gilmour whammy bar since it is shorter and down at more of an angle instead of being high but I still have the same problem if positioning where I want it to rest.

 

[drmordo]

Do you have the spring in it?

Have you tried teflon tape?

 

[West44th]

You could try some plumber`s PTFE tape. Its cheap and works very well.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

Do you have the spring in it?

Have you tried teflon tape?

Yes. It is more of the threading of the vibrato arm I think..

 

[4pickupguy]

You need one of these under the trem arm threads. They come 6 to a package for like $6

 

[drmordo]

Yes. It is more of the threading of the vibrato arm I think..

To clarify, I meant the spring 4pickupguy posted.

 

[Chuckster]

I have the same Strat Plus and the Fender springs are the solution. Teflon tape won't work.

I bought 2 packages and put them in all of my Strats, and keep spares in each case.

 

[Skydog1010]

You need one of these under the trem arm threads. They come 6 to a package for like $6
View attachment 1057231

Couple that spring with a small ball bearing (there are kits for this) that you will lose first time you remove the tremelo arm (by forgetting it's in there), seems to work very well for me, but like I said the itty bitty ball bearing is very difficult to keep up with and many will argue that it's snake oil.

A left hand bridge with the saddles flipped around is also a great solution if you like your tremelo arm loose, a dangler if you will. I think SRV did something like that on at least one of his guitars.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

To clarify, I meant the spring 4pickupguy posted.

Oh, I see.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

Couple that spring with a small ball bearing (there are kits for this) that you will lose first time you remove the tremelo arm (by forgetting it's in there), seems to work very well for me, but like I said the itty bitty ball bearing is very difficult to keep up with and many will argue that it's snake oil.

A left hand bridge with the saddles flipped around is also a great solution if you like your tremelo arm loose, a dangler if you will. I think SRV did something like that on at least one of his guitars.

Is this what you are talking about? I have never heard of these before.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/106169...6200:pla-4585581969746200_m__1061698135&utm_c

 

[Bourbon Burst]

I have the same Strat Plus and the Fender springs are the solution. Teflon tape won't work.

I bought 2 packages and put them in all of my Strats, and keep spares in each case.

I just bought that off Amazon. Thanks for the info.

 

[Cadillac_Mike]

Whammy bar thread on the Tele forum??

 

[Peegoo]

@Bourbon Burst I've always had the exact same issue with Strat vibrato arms. All of them suck to a certain degree because every one of the various designs has a flaw of some sort, and they all have slop or develop slop over time.

Teflon tape, little springs, and other juju are all Band-Aid fixes that treat the symptoms but never really cure the disease. I tried 'em all.

The best solution I've found is to mod the existing bridge and install a Floyd Rose arm. The arm is available as a replacement kit (about $20 on Scamazon) and it includes everything you need. The kit parts are outlined in red below.

The Floyd arm has a threaded collar that acts as an adjustable clutch because it contains a Nylon collet. You have total control over tension on the arm from loose to tight, and there's no slop. There's also nothing to wear out, so it works great now and it will work great ten years from now.

You have to slice off a section of the inertia block and drill out the arm hole in the bridge plate to accept the Floyd clutch.

Some people will freak out and claim removing part of the block kills all the Springtime Fresh Sustain, but it does not. If you think it does, then don't mod your Strat like this.

Here's what it looks like on the Strat.

And because someone will ask, yes: that's a spent .223 case on the vibrato arm. It's part of a theme; here's the string tree.

Shoot safely, and shoot often

 

[drmordo]

@Bourbon Burst I've always had the exact same issue with Strat vibrato arms. All of them suck to a certain degree because every one of the various designs has a flaw of some sort, and they all have slop or develop slop over time.

Teflon tape, little springs, and other juju are all Band-Aid fixes that treat the symptoms but never really cure the disease. I tried 'em all.

The best solution I've found is to mod the existing bridge and install a Floyd Rose arm. The arm is available as a replacement kit (about $20 on Scamazon) and it includes everything you need. The kit parts are outlined in red below.

The Floyd arm has a threaded collar that acts as an adjustable clutch because it contains a Nylon collet. You have total control over tension on the arm from loose to tight, and there's no slop. There's also nothing to wear out, so it works great now and it will work great ten years from now.

You have to slice off a section of the inertia block and drill out the arm hole in the bridge plate to accept the Floyd clutch.

Some people will freak out and claim removing part of the block kills all the Springtime Fresh Sustain, but it does not. If you think it does, then don't mod your Strat like this.

Here's what it looks like on the Strat.

And because someone will ask, yes: that's a spent .223 case on the vibrato arm. It's part of a theme; here's the string tree.

Shoot safely, and shoot often

With all respect to Peegoo, who is a sterling poster on this forum that I respect enormously, I have a guitar with a Floyd, and the bar action is not much better. It still moves around more than I'd like, though teflon tape did help a bit. The amount of effort involved in converting a standard strat bridge to a FR bar would not be worth it for me.

 

[Peegoo]

With all respect to Peegoo, who is a sterling poster on this forum that I respect enormously, I have a guitar with a Floyd, and the bar action is not much better. It still moves around more than I'd like, though teflon tape did help a bit. The amount of effort involved in converting a standard strat bridge to a FR bar would not be worth it for me.

What model Floyd do you have? Some of the cheaper models are not made that well, and some of the license-built by Schaller and Far East makers are sloppy.

Cheers, brother.

 

[Skydog1010]

Is this what you are talking about? I have never heard of these before.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/106169...6200:pla-4585581969746200_m__1061698135&utm_c

Yes that's it! Please note that I am not the seller, I'm an end user. I can send you spring magnet and a ball bearing if I can find one for a couple bucks to cover postage. The magnets are super strong and also a pita.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

@Bourbon Burst I've always had the exact same issue with Strat vibrato arms. All of them suck to a certain degree because every one of the various designs has a flaw of some sort, and they all have slop or develop slop over time.

Teflon tape, little springs, and other juju are all Band-Aid fixes that treat the symptoms but never really cure the disease. I tried 'em all.

The best solution I've found is to mod the existing bridge and install a Floyd Rose arm. The arm is available as a replacement kit (about $20 on Scamazon) and it includes everything you need. The kit parts are outlined in red below.

The Floyd arm has a threaded collar that acts as an adjustable clutch because it contains a Nylon collet. You have total control over tension on the arm from loose to tight, and there's no slop. There's also nothing to wear out, so it works great now and it will work great ten years from now.

You have to slice off a section of the inertia block and drill out the arm hole in the bridge plate to accept the Floyd clutch.

Some people will freak out and claim removing part of the block kills all the Springtime Fresh Sustain, but it does not. If you think it does, then don't mod your Strat like this.

Here's what it looks like on the Strat.

And because someone will ask, yes: that's a spent .223 case on the vibrato arm. It's part of a theme; here's the string tree.

Shoot safely, and shoot often

I'm going to try the other option with a spring first since I just ordered it. It was only $10 so I'm not out much if it doesn't work.

Thanks for all of the info.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

Yes that's it! Please note that I am not the seller, I'm an end user. I can send you spring magnet and a ball bearing if I can find one for a couple bucks to cover postage. The magnets are super strong and also a pita.

OK, if you find those items send me a message to work that out. I appreciate your help.

 

[dougbgt6]

All these years! I never knew there was a spring! Doh!

Doug

 

[ZenGuitarist]

I had a similar problem with one of my Strats. I fixed it by using a small piece of shrink tubing on the trem arm.