Do PRS core guitars come with a fixed or floating trem?

[flatfeed611]

just wondering what’s the standard trem factory setup and why they chose one over the other.

 

[Rusty Chops]

If it has a trem it floats unless you block it.

 

[flatfeed611]

If it has a trem it floats unless you block it.

Well, you can tighten the screws to the point where it only will go down or its very difficult to move, right?

 

[Rusty Chops]

Not like decking a Strat. Better to block it in place on both sides I think. Never done it on a PRS, but it runs level about 1/16” above the top. Screwing the springs tighter would result in an odd up angle.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Well, you can tighten the screws to the point where it only will go down or its very difficult to move, right?

You could but it would likely mess up the knife edge that’s cut into the screws and trem. Definitely block vs deck, or just buy a stoptail.

 

[flatfeed611]

To be clear, so by design, PRS tremolo bridges either float or not via blocking? There’s no way to tighten the springs to a point where the trem only goes down?

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Tightening the springs will give the bridge a weird angle. Screwing the 6 screws down will have to be done with precision in order to fully deck. Or just put a piece of wood in and block it. Again, why get a trem if you want to deck it??

 

[bodia]

You can deck them. I've bought two used PRSes that the previous owners had decked. You do have to be very careful doing it, though. No tension when you do it.

 

[dogrocketp]

I fixed both my sons and his friends PRS. In both instances the trem was decked, and the guitars didn’t play worth a diddly squat. In both instances, the guys got a steal on the guitar because the sellers thought the instruments were crummy. The neck angle really determines whether or not yet you can deck the trem. Remember, each neck is set by hand. I say block it if you have to, but a stop tail makes much more sense if you don’t use the trem.

 

[alantig]

The Silver Sky is decked by default, but Skitchy’s video showing how to set it to float shows you how to change the neck angle. I’d forgotten that until @dogrocketep mentioned the neck angle. And, to be honest, I realized I don’t know how the tailpiece on my Silver Sky sits - parallel or not. I’ll have to look at that.

But one reason to have a trem even if you don’t use it is the effect on the tone. David Grissom said he prefers the trem because it gives the guitar a natural bit of reverb.

 

[Rusty Chops]

...one reason to have a trem even if you don’t use it is the effect on the tone. David Grissom said he prefers the trem because it gives the guitar a natural bit of reverb.

Clapton always blocks his trem on Strats, I’ve read. He prefers that sound to a hard tail Strat.

SRV used to put on five springs and screw the craw all the way into the body. “Natural reverb.”

 

[Boogie]

One of my Strats has a decked trem and it does well. It’s completely setup around it. With that in mind, everything around a tremolo PRS is designed around that floating trem and would have to be changed/tweaked. I’d go with a stoptail model and not futz with the tweakage. Besides, the trem models add a vibe you can’t get if decked, which I personally love. If you want that, get that. If you don’t, get the fixed bridge and enjoy.

SRV used to put on five springs and screw the craw all the way into the body. “Natural reverb.”

With the gauge strings he used, he didn’t have a choice!

 

[stratlanta]

Yeah I deck strats and work my setup around that but, to me, that is a very, very different trem system. If your frame of reference for trems is a strat system then it may seem like you can deck a PRS trem, but after looking at the way they are built, aligned and set up, I wouldn't. I think you'd be in a world of hurt in terms of setup and buzz and playability. I could see blocking one but the way PRS trems sit above the body in a flat position parallel to the body makes me think that even approaching it like a strat trem would be problematic. None of this applies to the Silver Sky though - I haven't seen one of those in person and have no idea how it works.

 

[alantig]

I looked at the Silver Sky yesterday. The trem is flat against the body,