floating Strat bridge has gone for a loop

Orion

Ok guys, Im asking for help again ☹. I know precious little about bridges, so I am just checking to see that I am not going to screw this up.

Ive got a Fender Strat, and for some reason, the height of the bridge has gone from something like this:

to this:

I thought something might be blocking the bridge inside, but I took off the back scratchplate, and it looks fine, except for the fact that the bridge is now so low, that I cannot do any whammy-bar moves that raise the pitch of the strings - the block inside just hits the wood.

Ive tried to be as clear as possible, and Ive been reading about bridges for the past couple of hours. As far as I can see, the only thing I can do, is adjust those screws inside the trem cavity, so that the springs are slackened a bit, and the bridge is able to use more tension from the strings.

Help/suggestions?

AlanRatcliffe

Floating trems are like that. ? They're balanced between the tension o the springs and that of the strings. You probably just changed strings to a lighter gauge or lower tension (like changing from Ernie Ball to D'Addario). Just make sure you're tuned to pitch - that has an effect on your zero point (where the trem sits when at rest) too - If you're tuned low you get the same thing.

Otherwise, it's a simple adjustment. Slack off the screws on the spring claw a turn or so and tune up to pitch again (you'll find the pitch drops). You'll notice the bridge sits a little higher now. Repeat until you are happy with the bridge position.

Orion

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Floating trems are like that. ? They're balanced between the tension o the springs and that of the strings. You probably just changed strings to a lighter gauge or lower tension (like changing from Ernie Ball to D'Addario). Just make sure you're tuned to pitch - that has an effect on your zero point (where the trem sits when at rest) too - If you're tuned low you get the same thing.

Otherwise, it's a simple adjustment. Slack off the screws on the spring claw a turn or so and tune up to pitch again (you'll find the pitch drops). You'll notice the bridge sits a little higher now. Repeat until you are happy with the bridge position.

Thanks a mil, I was hoping it was that simple.

(Problem Fixed ?)