Huge first-time win for me

NorioDS

I've always avoided doing anything technical on my guitars or amps. Apart from a string-change, everything else was done by a pro.

A few months (yep months) back, the block of wood I got JD Kustoms to put in to my JS-100 to stop the floating bridge... well it popped out at the end of a Garage Days jam.

When I got home, I tried to fix it myself but I just got frustrated and couldn't win. So I left it.

Eventually, I decided to rather pay someone to change the strings (and balance the bridge at the same time) just so I could play guitar. It had been MONTHS since I played (much) guitar because of this one issue. Sure, I played my nylon string a bit but I just wasn't playing much because my other guitars aren't in great shape either.

And I just haven't had the time to take my guitar in to get this done.

Yesterday I got frustrated and decided to give it another shot. So I looked for a video on how to balance a floating bridge. Because that's basically what I was struggling with.

Basically if your bridge is "leaning" away from the body, you tighten the screws that connect your floating bridge's springs to your body. (Just a quarter turn at a time.) And then you tune the guitar. When it's about right, you repeat and tighten those screws another quarter and then re-tune. It probably took me 30-40 minutes but I eventually got that bridge nice and level with my guitar body and spent the next hour jamming. And it felt soooo good!

Here's the video I followed. He stops a bit early (his bridge is nowhere near parallel with the guitar body) but the advice is still good:

Feels great to have fixed it myself! I started playing guitars with floating bridges probably in my early twenties. Only learned how to balance them now ? (That's maybe 10-14 years later!)

Anyway, just had to share this little win of mine. It means I can easily change the guage of the strings on any of my guitars with a floating bridge and I'll be able to get everything balanced again. The confidence gained from this tiny little win is worth it.

Am I going to go and build a guitar now? Hell no! But I might learn a bit more about setting up guitars. I love low action so the knowledge and practise could help me jam a bit more than I do now.

warrenpridgeon

Congrats! It's always a great feeling when you do something never have... AND get it right. :-)

NorioDS

warrenpridgeon Congrats! It's always a great feeling when you do something never have... AND get it right. :-)

So right! Especially when it's something that's completely blocking you. I've been really stressed lately and not being able to play guitar was NOT helping!

Huge relief to be able to play again ?

modulator

NorioDS, Yes, you are on the right road now! I have become a firm believer of mastering basic guitar setup skills. I encourage all to do so. You have experienced a good reason to be able to spanner your own guitar, and now, as you go along, you will eventually get to the point where you can optimize that lovely guitar for yourself. As well as work through seasonal changes, and such stuff. Dress the frets, properly clean them, trying different dips vs. action vs. whatever.

It has taken me a long time to become my own "tech". If I had to rely on getting my guitars to a shop for tuning, I would never play.

And the golden rule when changing strings now - block the trem, so it sits in the position it is in now, when you take off and put on strings. Saves a lot of time tuning up again. Only fine adjustments required when getting to tuned condition. In fact, when you get there the block should drop out? Let it flop loose, and you will tune - set - tune forever. Feels like it, anyway.

Well done, enjoy!

NorioDS

modulator And the golden rule when changing strings now - block the trem, so it sits in the position it is in now, when you take off and put on strings. Saves a lot of time tuning up again.

I've known about that for a while but never knew how to do it. I suppose you just make a block of wood that fits "right"? Is that how you do it?

I've never had an issue changing strings though. I stick to the same brand and guage and it goes pretty quickly. Changing string guages would probably cause me grief though.

modulator

Depends on the trem design, but you need to insert something somewhere in between the trem/trem block and the body, so the springs keep it in place. On my Jem Jr a rubber-wrapped bar fits in the bear claw grooves, on the Strat-alike a thin block of wood fits between the trem block and the body. The strat-style is not much of a hassle, but the Edge/Floyd thingies like to fall off the knife edges, and if ignorant of that, well, the owner might try to adjust springs to find nothing works anyway (do not ask). I tend to fit something that will "clamp" as soon as I slacken the strings a bit, and fall out when I am close to correct string tension.

Your JS, what model? I would love to feel one of those someday, seeing as I enjoy the Strat-alike neck so much. Might also be more comfortable to play, for me, than the Jem. When I grow up, I am going to buy three real guitars.

V8

modulator When I grow up, I am going to buy three real guitars.

Why wait?

:insert evil chuckle emoji:

I wouldn't mind a JS series myself, or one of Guido's super strat shredder's - neither would require me growing up, just regressing to learning slayer riffs again like it was 1989 :grinning;

NorioDS

modulator Your JS, what model? I would love to feel one of those someday, seeing as I enjoy the Strat-alike neck so much.

It's just the JS-100 (entry level) but it plays great. You're welcome to play it at a Garage Days? Where are you based?

RodneyVikens

Floating bridges are for noobs! ?

My first real guitar was one with a floating bridge and lock nuts. Unlike other guitars you tighten it at the top and you screw it at the bottom. I still have it, but a friend is borrowing it, dropped it and cracked the neck. Friends.....

modulator

NorioDS
Ah, your recent Black Friday insanity now forces you to improve these guitar tuning skills to make that new baby sing instead of cry.

modulator

No Garage days, out in the boondocks, far, far away. Enjoy.

NorioDS

modulator Good point, maybe I can do the pup swap myself. That's next year's problem but it might feel awesome to do that myself. (If I decide to change the pups, of course. Still need to get that thing set up and jam on it a bit to find its sweet spots.)