Electric tuning with a whammy bar..

I have been playing acoustic for quite a while now,but a friend has just given me an electric that has a whammy bar system.
Personally, can't stand them.
Anyway...
how do you tune the damn thing?!
Once I THINK I have it tuned,I to start all over again and the bridge keeps getting pulled up from the body.
How do I tune it and keep the bridhe at a decent height?
(it is the bridge,isn't it?!)



Thanks everyone..


D

The type of tremelo you have while not absolutely necessary might help. Look fo writing on the metal part of the trem.

What gauge strings you use is also important.

You might have to remove the back plate and tighten up the springs. You can do this by turning the screws in the recess that are toward the neck. These are attached to a "claw" that will add tension opposing the string tension.

This is the real trick, and it takes paticence. You have to exactly balance the string tension (tuned up) with that of the springs.

My advice is to either block the trem (you don't like em anyway) or take the guitar into a reputable music store and pay to have it set up.


Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Originally Posted by: da_ardvarkThe type of tremelo you have while not absolutely necessary might help. Look fo writing on the metal part of the trem.

What gauge strings you use is also important.

You might have to remove the back plate and tighten up the springs. You can do this by turning the screws in the recess that are toward the neck. These are attached to a "claw" that will add tension opposing the string tension.

This is the real trick, and it takes paticence. You have to exactly balance the string tension (tuned up) with that of the springs.

My advice is to either block the trem (you don't like em anyway) or take the guitar into a reputable music store and pay to have it set up.


Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Thank you very much for this info!
Being a fairly cheap guitar,I am thinking that it is something useful to experiment with.I'd rather F-this one up learning before I purchase something decent ;)
This thing has no writing on it anywhere other than "made in japan".
I am going to try all that you have suggested just for the learning experience,but I was wondering..
how would you go about blocking the tremolo?


Thanks again for your help!
It muchly appreaciated!


Damien

It it a flloyd? Did your friend have it tuned OK without the bridge being up in the air?

There is a knack to it, but it's far from impossible...

Originally Posted by: Damien23Thank you very much for this info!
Being a fairly cheap guitar,I am thinking that it is something useful to experiment with.I'd rather F-this one up learning before I purchase something decent ;)
This thing has no writing on it anywhere other than "made in japan".
I am going to try all that you have suggested just for the learning experience,but I was wondering..
how would you go about blocking the tremolo?


Thanks again for your help!
It muchly appreaciated!


Damien

Just get the trem down to an acceptable level with the body and then block it both ways (trem up and trem down) with two snuggly fitting peices of wood.

Originally Posted by: renIt it a flloyd? Did your friend have it tuned OK without the bridge being up in the air?

There is a knack to it, but it's far from impossible...

It has no name on it(it's that generic!) and it hadn't been played in almost years.In fact,my friend played for 6 weeks and never touched it again.
I changed the strings as soon as I got it.
When I asked him,he said to tune the top string and bottom strings first...which I found kind of odd,but I tried it anyway.
I can tune an acoustic fine(thats easy) but I found doing an electric with a whammy doesn't exactly work the same :D
I figured if I can this piece of "norwegian plywood" sounding decent,then I'll have no problem with w real guitar!
I hope :o



D

Originally Posted by: da_ardvarkJust get the trem down to an acceptable level with the body and then block it both ways (trem up and trem down) with two snuggly fitting peices of wood.

ya know, once I get this thing whooped...
I believe I am going to block it anyway!
Thanks for the tip!

Unscrew the tremelo arm and bin it - I 'ate um