Loose tremolo arm?

Dpoirier

Dpoirier

Fractal Fanatic
The tremolo arm in my Floyd-Rose equipped guitar seems to be ever-so-slightly smaller than the cavity it slips into, and there is therefore a very small bit of play in it once it is in position. If you move it very gently back and forth, there's a very low noise when the bottom of the shaft hits one side or the other of the barrel. At loud settings, however, that knockong noise is audible (it even rings any open strings resulting in a knock followed by some ringing, not always in tune with the song).

I tried applying some thin material over the shaft, but nothing is thin enough, not even teflon tape (the plumbing type). It gets ripped when I reinsert the arm into its socket.

Any tips? Is this a known deficiency of Floyd Rose tremolos? Or is there a fix?
 
Dpoirier said:
The tremolo arm in my Floyd-Rose equipped guitar seems to be ever-so-slightly smaller than the cavity it slips into, and there is therefore a very small bit of play in it once it is in position. If you move it very gently back and forth, there's a very low noise when the bottom of the shaft hits one side or the other of the barrel. At loud settings, however, that knockong noise is audible (it even rings any open strings resulting in a knock followed by some ringing, not always in tune with the song).

I tried applying some thin material over the shaft, but nothing is thin enough, not even teflon tape (the plumbing type). It gets ripped when I reinsert the arm into its socket.

Any tips? Is this a known deficiency of Floyd Rose tremolos? Or is there a fix?
Click to expand...
I had this very same problem, and I never really solved it in any sort of permanent way.

I tried every trick I had read about online, and the only thing that came even close was the teflon tape thing. Unfortunately, I had the issue that it only worked once, then I had to reapply. Not exactly ideal, if you don't want your trem arm on all the time.

Now, I pretty much just deal with it as is, and I'm careful not to bump it in situations where I need quiet.
 
I apply a thin coat of nail polish to the bar whenever it gets too clunky, sanding it to get a fit that's just snug enough. There might be alternatives like epoxy that wear less quickly.

The Ibanez Edge bar design seems a little better in this category. Replacing the nylon bushings or applying nail polish to their inner surface (I've been using one pair for about 6 years) gives more zero-clunk performance before requiring a new coat/set.
 
Bakerman said:
I apply a thin coat of nail polish to the bar whenever it gets too clunky, sanding it to get a fit that's just snug enough. There might be alternatives like epoxy that wear less quickly.
...
Click to expand...
That sounds like it's worth a try. But since it might be easy to overdo it (in my case, one single turn of teflon tape is too thick!), I'll make sure I also have some nail polish remover handy.
 
this is a tip I read years ago in a guitar magazine.

just take a piece of (thin) plastic over the hole and push the tremolo in it. then rip the rest of the plastic away.

it's a stupid and simple trick but it works!
 
voes said:
this is a tip I read years ago in a guitar magazine.

just take a piece of (thin) plastic over the hole and push the tremolo in it. then rip the rest of the plastic away.

it's a stupid and simple trick but it works!
Click to expand...
Hmm, I wonder what kind of "thin" plastic they expect you to use?

Do you know, I'd really like to try it this out?
 
Guitar-Tiz said:
voes said:
this is a tip I read years ago in a guitar magazine.

just take a piece of (thin) plastic over the hole and push the tremolo in it. then rip the rest of the plastic away.

it's a stupid and simple trick but it works!
Click to expand...
Hmm, I wonder what kind of "thin" plastic they expect you to use?

Do you know, I'd really like to try it this out?
Click to expand...


sorry, I wasn't clear enough! any kind of plastic bag
 
Dpoirier said:
Bakerman said:
I apply a thin coat of nail polish to the bar whenever it gets too clunky, sanding it to get a fit that's just snug enough. There might be alternatives like epoxy that wear less quickly.
...
Click to expand...
That sounds like it's worth a try. But since it might be easy to overdo it (in my case, one single turn of teflon tape is too thick!), I'll make sure I also have some nail polish remover handy.
Click to expand...
The arm is a bad quality one, or you didn't mount it correctly.
 
The post above mine is incorrect.

This problem happens with ALL Floyd arms, unless they are the "old style" arm. On my last guitar (which was quite expensive), I had the same problem. So I contacted Floyd Rose and bought the "old style" arm from them to match my Floyd bridge. With the old style one, you have to "screw in" the bar itself, there's no threaded collar. The only problem is that you have to use the included wrench to lock the bar into place after screwing it in, or it might come out when you move the arm counterclockwise.

So for any of you people who want to eliminate the problem, you now know you have the option of spending $18 to fix it properly. I did and now I have none of the "play" at all described in the OP. Much improved. I wish they never changed from the "old style" arm.
 
jerotas said:
This problem happens with ALL Floyd arms, unless they are the "old style" arm.
[...]
With the old style one, you have to "screw in" the bar itself, there's no threaded collar.
Click to expand...
No, if you buy the arm with the collar and it's matching socket you don't get any play between the arm and the socket, so the bridge follow any arm move.

Of course you have to screw the collar itself.
 
Bakerman said:
I apply a thin coat of nail polish to the bar whenever it gets too clunky, sanding it to get a fit that's just snug enough. There might be alternatives like epoxy that wear less quickly.

The Ibanez Edge bar design seems a little better in this category. Replacing the nylon bushings or applying nail polish to their inner surface (I've been using one pair for about 6 years) gives more zero-clunk performance before requiring a new coat/set.
Click to expand...

On a side note, I have frequently had a problem with the ibanez edge bar design where the tram bar is too loose even with new bushings. I found an easy solution. Gently heat the bushings (while attached to bar) with a lighter. This expands the bushings and gives a nice tight fit.
 
GiRa said:
jerotas said:
This problem happens with ALL Floyd arms, unless they are the "old style" arm.
[...]
With the old style one, you have to "screw in" the bar itself, there's no threaded collar.
Click to expand...
No, if you buy the arm with the collar and it's matching socket you don't get any play between the arm and the socket, so the bridge follow any arm move.

Of course you have to screw the collar itself.
Click to expand...

Ok, but it appears to be a bit of russian roulette, as another person on the thread said he did that and it didn't solve the problem.
The old style Floyd arm always works.
 
javajunkie said:
Bakerman said:
I apply a thin coat of nail polish to the bar whenever it gets too clunky, sanding it to get a fit that's just snug enough. There might be alternatives like epoxy that wear less quickly.

The Ibanez Edge bar design seems a little better in this category. Replacing the nylon bushings or applying nail polish to their inner surface (I've been using one pair for about 6 years) gives more zero-clunk performance before requiring a new coat/set.
Click to expand...

On a side note, I have frequently had a problem with the ibanez edge bar design where the tram bar is too loose even with new bushings. I found an easy solution. Gently heat the bushings (while attached to bar) with a lighter. This expands the bushings and gives a nice tight fit.
Click to expand...

nice tip sean!
 
Go to Home Depot and get the #36 O-rings (approximately $2 for 10), along with some silicone spray lubricant (approximately $3 per can). Roll an O-ring up past the two small metal nubs on your bar, into the thumbscrew area. Spray a tiny amount of silicone lubricant onto a cotton swab, then use the swab to distribute the lubricant on the O-ring. Your bar should now be tight enough that you may need to even screw it on rather that use the thumbscrew, but it will move out of the way when needed. No more "clunk", and you've enough supplies for a LONG time.

ALL my guitars get this treatment because I love a responsive bar for Holdsworth/Lane/Beck-style vibrato, yet hate the cost of replacing entire Floyd bar units with no guarantee the new one will be any better machined than the old.
 
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