the hole on my new girl is too tight...help!

[Mr Paul Caruso]

:girl:get your mind out of the gutter!

the tremolo arm hole is way too tight, the screw is loose as it can get w/o falling out. i tried a little 0000 steel wool on the end for the bar, no luck. any suggestions on how i can get the bar to move a tad more freely when, eh-hem...inserted?

wanted to hear from you boys before i try anything else. it is a new guitar...NGD post and pics later though...

 

[dsiew]

Do you have another PRS? Test the new arm in another guitar to see if the hole or the end of the bar need work.

 

[Mr Paul Caruso]

ahh, if only i did! good idea though. i have other PRS before and not had this issue. thanks for your thoughts.

 

[django49]

I had that issue with one. The previous owner did not use the trem bar, apparently. The screw was tightened down so much that it apparently forced the hole "out of round". When I loosened it, the fit was still tight. But it appears to have "opened up" a bit since.

 

[John Mann]

take a 3/16" diameter drill and gently hand spin it into hole (*** NO POWER TOOLS ***).

 

[Brad737]

Paul, here's another idea. Is it possible you have the incorrect bar? I bought a used American PRS at GC once and asked for the bar. The salesman went to a drawer and handed me one. I'm an idiot for not checking there, but when I got home, it was too thin to stay put while tightening the grub screw. He gave me a bar for the SE trem. I don't know if they're supposed to be the same diameter, but that one wasn't.

 

[shinksma]

SE trem bars are indeed thinner than the USA counterparts, so an SE bar will be too loose in a USA bridge.

Since the OP has a USA bridge (2007 Artist 24, right?), that isn't the issue. I suspect the internal sleeve is indeed out of round from being abused (very likely unintentionally!) by a previous owner. If you can work the bar in there and wiggle it around for a while, the might get it loosened up again such that the set screw will actually be useful. If you can't get the bar in there, do as John Mann suggested - he should know! Or try an even smaller drill bit like a 5/32" or 1/8", but use the non-drilling end, since that will not have any sharp edges, and wiggle that in there, and upsize and repeat until you can get the trem bar in.

 

[wardog]

If that fails order the part from said mention authorized dealer. I had to do that on an 07 sc trem. I could visibly see the warping in the sleeve. There was no saving it. Even when I got the new sleeve parts it was a challenge to get the old sleeve out.

 

[Mr Paul Caruso]

Thanks boys! I ended up using some sandpaper followed by steel wool and voilà...all better. Did lots of trials, a little at a time. I appreciate your help. You may have seen her in another thread. rslogo: