Help - have my bridge springs lost their sproing?!

[Gilesy]

Hi all

I've just changed my strings on my US Strat Standard (25 years old and well looked after - every part original as manufactured). The guitar before restringing was super stable in tuning with a nice medium action. As per the photos, having changed to new set of 10s, the bridge looks as though it is 'leaning' (i.e. pivoting) too far forward under the tension of the new strings (normal tuning).

It's holding pitch fine with the new strings. I honestly can't be certain if the action is much worse, but subjectively it feels a little higher. But I simply cannot recall the bridge/trem looking like it does.

Is it possible that something has become unsettled when I removed all the old strings (I did them all at once rather than one by one)? Could the springs have given up providing the right resistance, but if this is the case why was this not apparent before I changed the strings? (of course it may have happened gradually over time as the springs aged, and I've just never noticed)

I would really value views on whether this a problem, or have i just never looked closely at the bridge when under tension before? if there are any fixes, please suggest (e.g. new springs) - and if so is there anything special I need to consider when replacing. I never use the trem.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Cheers, Gilesy

 

[JoKeR III]

Nothing wrong with the guitar. The new strings have more tension than the previous set when tuned to pitch. It's an easy fix, you'll need to tighten the screws of the trem claw on the back of the body a bit, maybe 1/2 to full turn each.

 

[Gilesy]

Nothing wrong with the guitar. The new strings have more tension than the previous set when tuned to pitch. It's an easy fix, you'll need to tighten the screws of the trem claw on the back of the body a bit, maybe 1/2 to full turn each

Hi there JoKeR III...thanks for responding so quickly. I am presuming you need to turn both exactly the same amount....could I end up putting the bridge out of kilter (or out of whack) if I don't do this correctly? How will I know when I've done this enough?

Cheers G

 

[JoKeR III]

Hi there JoKeR III...thanks for responding so quickly. I am presuming you need to turn both exactly the same amount....could I end up putting the bridge out of kilter (or out of whack) if I don't do this correctly? How will I know when I've done this enough?

Cheers G

You'll probably want to keep them about the same. Detune the guitar a bit, turn the screws in 1/4 turn or so, retune and check bridge orientation. Repeat until you get the bridge to sit how you want in relation to the body. If you go too far, simply back off the screws half of the last adjustment you made. You're not going to ruin anything making small adjustments on the trem claw screws.

 

[Gilesy]

Good man, that’s really helpful. I’ll give it a go tomorrow.

Cheers Gilesy

 

[unix-guy]

Did you change strings to a different brand or different gauge? If not it seems odd to get that much change.

 

[Gilesy]

Strings likely quite old - guitar gets occasional use but maybe 3 or 4 years since last change. Also possibly a new brand too. I’ll try the suggested fix and report back in case it doesn’t sort as hoped. Cheers for chipping in, as ever.

 

[muttonhead]

Were you using 9's before?

 

[Gilesy]

No, 10s. This is why I’m confused as I've changed strings on this guitar many times over the years, and pretty sure it’s always been 10s that have been used.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

No, 10s. This is why I’m confused as I've changed strings on this guitar many times over the years, and pretty sure it’s always been 10s that have been used.

Accidentally changing to 10s would explain the bridge pulling forward like that.

As said above, a simple adjustment of the claw will pull the bridge back to parallel, however, if the strings are 10s and previously were 9s then intonation will be off a little bit so you will probably want to touch it up.

Regarding the gauges, I used to always use 9s on my Strats but preferred the sound of 10s through the additional tension of the strings made me nuts. My other guitars are PRS, so I use NYXL 10s on most of them, and, found 9.5 sets in the NYXL and switched my Strats to those. I find that those two sets feel very similar when switching back and forth and the Strats have a little more output.

 

[Rex]

Another possible cause: are you sure you put all the springs back?

 

[unix-guy]

Another possible cause: are you sure you put all the springs back?

Or maybe straight vs angled?

 

[Gilesy]

Thanks all for your views.

I took the rear plate off to make sure that none of the springs had become detached - all were fully in place.

I’ve always used 10s but maybe this brand involves a slightly different material which causes a greater tension to be applied.

I’ll try adjusting the claw screws today, and then report back.

cheers, Gilesy

 

[peteri]

Another thought, that looks way too much movement forward for a string change, I'd be slightly surprised if even moving from 9-10s would cause that.

What would cause that, if you've tuned an octave high - I've done that before, electronic tuners will tell you you're at pitch - not what octave you're in, can you check the tuning against another guitar?

 

[TSJMajesty]

Another vote for these strings not being the "exact" same gauge. I've done it, having had my springs set to 10's, with a heavy bottom (52 vs. 46), and then went to (unknowingly) a regular set of 10's, and my bridge went the other way. Or, even a different brand of 10's could have 1 or 2 strings a different gauge.

Either way, the fix is as described above. Just remember, you have to re-tune after each spring adjustment, until everything's right. I say that because I once adjusted my springs until the bridge was right, and forgot that as you tighten/loosen the springs, the pitch/tension of the strings changes also, which is why you have to go a little at a time.

 

[secondwindow]

Another thought, that looks way too much movement forward for a string change, I'd be slightly surprised if even moving from 9-10s would cause that.

What would cause that, if you've tuned an octave high - I've done that before, electronic tuners will tell you you're at pitch - not what octave you're in, can you check the tuning against another guitar?

Tuning a half or whole step up could account for the bridge pulling forward. A tuner setting might explain that - if an offset was used.

I wouldn't think tuning an octave higher would be possible.

 

[JoKeR III]

Another thought, that looks way too much movement forward for a string change, I'd be slightly surprised if even moving from 9-10s would cause that.

What would cause that, if you've tuned an octave high - I've done that before, electronic tuners will tell you you're at pitch - not what octave you're in, can you check the tuning against another guitar?

I've changed string gauges a few times and going from 9's to 10's looked very similar on my trem equipped guitars. One thing we don't know is the angle of the trem before the string change. The Fender factory Strat setup guide has the trem at a slight angle, a 1/8" gap at the rear of the baseplate and not parallel with the body. This would make the angle appear more severe.

 

[Gilesy]

All

I followed the steps on tightening the claw screws and it has worked ....photos attached (Ive added the 'before' and 'after' in sequence). Action is lower too as hoped although this is harder to see in the photos.

I just wonder whether the set put on thee (Elixir nickel plated steel) were of a heavier gauge in some of the strings, or some other characteristic of them, that was different to the previous set.

Anyhow, Ive learned a news skill - thank you to all.

Enjoy your days.

Cheers, Gilesy

 

[RevDrucifer]

Another vote for these strings not being the "exact" same gauge. I've done it, having had my springs set to 10's, with a heavy bottom (52 vs. 46), and then went to (unknowingly) a regular set of 10's, and my bridge went the other way. Or, even a different brand of 10's could have 1 or 2 strings a different gauge.

Either way, the fix is as described above. Just remember, you have to re-tune after each spring adjustment, until everything's right. I say that because I once adjusted my springs until the bridge was right, and forgot that as you tighten/loosen the springs, the pitch/tension of the strings changes also, which is why you have to go a little at a time.

I just did it last week; I keep all my strings in one bin, went to grab a pack of 10’s and mistakenly grabbed a pack of 10-52’s, didn’t realize it until I was tuning up and saw my bridge raising!

 

[unix-guy]

All

I followed the steps on tightening the claw screws and it has worked ....photos attached (Ive added the 'before' and 'after' in sequence). Action is lower too as hoped although this is harder to see in the photos.

I just wonder whether the set put on thee (Elixir nickel plated steel) were of a heavier gauge in some of the strings, or some other characteristic of them, that was different to the previous set.

Anyhow, Ive learned a news skill - thank you to all.

Enjoy your days.

Cheers, Gilesy

For what it's worth, that bridge still looks like it's angled too far forward to me.

Standard setup would have the baseplate parallel to the top of the guitar body.

Also, another thing to mention is that aside from tightening the claw, you can also gradually detune all the strings. The tension will "re-balance" and the trem will lower and the pitch will go up as you work thru them - it's an interesting balancing act

What I suspect may have happened was based on you taking all the strings off.

If you then put on strings one at a time and tuned to pitch this tilt change can happen.

That's one reason to change strings one at a time OR shim/block the bridge if you're going to do all of them.