Locking down the tremolo

CameraEye

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Dec 12, 2024
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Hey all!

Apologies in advance if this is already a well-covered subject here. I did a preliminary search and did not see anything that jumped out that clearly addressed my question, though I am sure it must exist. Anyway, I recently purchased my first PRS, a CE 24-08 Swamp Ash and so far I really love it...like really love it.

Anyway, I have never been a tremolo user. My style is more about rhythm play in a supporting role, rooted in being a bass player before ever considering two more strings. I have seen some videos online about "locking down" the tremolo bridge on these guitars. It looks like it involves tightening the springs in the panel on the back, screwing down some screws on the bridge, and then (possibly) installing/wedging a piece of wood in the cavity to further prevent movement. Is that the process? Is the wood part necessary? If I do this, will the guitar need a new set-up?

I am not "heavy handed" in terms of resting my picking hand, even if I am muffling the strings a bit, and I have certainly not noticed any overt tuning issues, as the system seems to all work pretty great as it is. So I am wondering if this is a solution in quest of a problem (is this trip really necessary?) and if I, not being a luthier, might screw up the guitar, which I certainly do not want to do. After all, I really do love it!

Thanks in advance if you can share your wisdom/experience with this subject. It is appreciated!
 
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Welcome to the madhouse.

If you don't feel the need to lock the trem, don't. Most of use play ours as is, even if we don't use it much. The guitar plays fine without blocking it. IF you feel you need it, usually because a few can hear a slight detuning when bending strings a full step or a step and a half, then they make a tool called a "tremel-no" that uses metal brackets to block the trem. The cheaper fix is to put the block of wood you mentioned between the guitar and the side of the trem that moves toward it. The pressured keeps the block in place. I don't use the trem and have the trem arm in the case, but I've never blocked the trem. I can hear it detune on extreme bends, but it you bend more it cleans that up. It becomes 2nd nature to just account for it.
 
The first thing that needs to be said is that if you are not very familiar with the PRS tremolo bridge, DO NOT mess with the 6 pivot screws. You can mess up the knife edges in the holes if you do not know what you are doing. That would mean a tremolo replacement at some point.

I put a Tremol-No in one of my PRS guitars. You need to be pretty familiar with doing setups on guitars to make this work well. It has to be perfectly aligned or it will bind and cause tuning issues. I found that it was more of a pain to lock and unlock it for my purposes so I took it out. You would need the large clamp version if you go this route.

The block of wood is a good solution but the block has to be cut to the right thickness or the bridge will not set level like it needs to.

My advice is to play it the way it is. The only reason I ever wanted to lock mine down was to be able to do a drop D tuning and have everything stay in tune. I started taking a guitar with a stop tail bridge to gigs to play those songs and moved on. If I had to select a locking solution I would probably try the wood block first since it is the least expensive, least amount of work and is very easy to reverse. My second choice would either be the Tremol_No or some other device I could put in there to lock it. There are a few out there that use a couple of screws in the wood between the springs to mount them that would work as well as a block, if you are okay with putting a couple of screws in the body.
 
The easiest way is to bridge the cavity of the trem block and the body, eg with a cuboid. Then remove one spring of the trem to keep good pressure. I have been playing like that for years on all of my Floyd and vintage term guitars. If you are interested I can give you the exact size of the block.
 
I just took care of this two weeks ago. Looked at the options. Decided that a fitted block is best alternative. Measured the the dimensions with a caliper. Used white oak; pine is too soft. Required some final sanding for fit and to round the edges on one side. Pressure holds it in place. No cost; 30" to reverse. Bridge is held perfectly parallel to top surface of instrument.
 
Totally timely thread for me. I've been considering blocking the trem on my Santana. I've never gotten off top dead center to do it, mainly because it isn't a problem for me yet. Eventually, once I can play standard tuning well enough to mess with drop D, this will be the guitar I'll use.

Anyway... The block between the trem and body so the "pull up" motion of the trem is blocked makes perfect sense. I'd always thought one would need to hand fit a second block to completely immobilize the trem, but I seldom see that as a mentioned alternative. Do the trem springs exert enough pull to essentially immobilize the block - even against the detune one hears when doing 1-1/2 stop bends? Even against drop tuning? If I'm visualizing correctly, drop tuning and lessening the low E tension shouldn't allow the strings to move due to the block. so I guess it's just the trem springs against the "Big Bends" that I'm curious about?

Anyway, thanks all, and thanks @CameraEye for the free ride on your thread!
 
Welcome to the madhouse.

If you don't feel the need to lock the trem, don't. Most of use play ours as is, even if we don't use it much. The guitar plays fine without blocking it. IF you feel you need it, usually because a few can hear a slight detuning when bending strings a full step or a step and a half, then they make a tool called a "tremel-no" that uses metal brackets to block the trem. The cheaper fix is to put the block of wood you mentioned between the guitar and the side of the trem that moves toward it. The pressured keeps the block in place. I don't use the trem and have the trem arm in the case, but I've never blocked the trem. I can hear it detune on extreme bends, but it you bend more it cleans that up. It becomes 2nd nature to just account for it.
^^^THIS^^^
I'm not a trem guy either but have a couple with (Silver Sky and 305). Neither of them have displayed the need to block or deck the trem.
 
Thanks everyone! I am seeing that based upon what I was asking it seems like it would be best to just leave the tremolo alone. Drop tuning is not a factor for me, and not being a lead player, as such, again it seems that worries about big bends of a string are not a concern either. I do have access to a good luthier if it would come up later. I am glad that this thread is helping others who want to explore this as well. Tomorrow night I will get to bring my new guitar to my regular monthly jam night with 3 friends who have been gathering for a jam for the past 20 years. Every jam is just an improvisation...no organized "songs." It's a lot of fun!
 
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