Tremelo springs ringing?

slyfox

New Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2022
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42
Greetings,

I have a S2 standard 24 that feels to me the best guitar I've had in my 30 years of playing. The factory set up out of the box was just how I like it, and that never happens for me as I tend to like slightly medium action so I can strum and pick strongly without buzz. The PRS was right on the money.

As I've gotten more familiar with the guitar I've appreciated the sustain the guitar had unplugged and almost reverb like quality to single note melodies. The only thing I've found that I want to try and sort out is this muffled, ringing/sustain when alternate picking faster around the 11th to the 14th fret, oddly only on the high E string.

From when I read online, it's most likely the trem springs.

So far if just tried some electrical tape across the springs and I think it deadened the reverb quality but the muffled dissonant noise still comes through. Generally, when practicing my alternate picking I tend to use my right hand to slight palm mute the strings to cut out unwanted noise, especially when playing with high gain...it doesnt seem to do anything for this symptom.

Should I try putting some other household items in the trem spring cavity?

Could it be anything else?
 
I used Floyd rose noiseless tremolo springs and it was better.

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Does what I'm describing in fact sound like the tremelo spring resonance?

Actually, a better way to describe it is that it sounds if the notes are bleeding into each other even though the notes are picked cleanly and muted slightly. Most audible if picked quickly in succession...and as I said only on high E around 11 to 14th fret.

Never heard of noiseless springs. I think I'll try a home ready first to confirm that's what it is and then ideally look for a more permanent solution such as those noiseless springs.
 
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Does what I'm describing in fact sound like the tremelo spring resonance?

Actually, a better way to describe it is that it sounds if the notes are bleeding into each other even though the notes are picked cleanly and muted slightly. Most audible if picked quickly in succession...and as I said only on high E around 11 to 14th fret.

Never heard of noiseless springs. I think I'll try a home ready first to confirm that's what it is and then ideally look for a more permanent solution such as those noiseless springs.

Like @DISTORT6 said - try putting foam or something soft around the springs. What you're describing sounds like what David Grissom called the natural reverb of a trem guitar.
 
I spent some more time with this and tried various household items like cotton swabs inserted into the springs, foam behind and on top of the springs and some electrical tape around the spring hook on the claw and I heard the reverb stop but the resonant note bleeding around the 12th fret on high E persisted.

I read various ancient internet threads on similar keyword searches and came across someone mentioning to try and put a tuner or capo on the headstock to see if it helped. Then I got the idea to add another washer under the washer on the tuners. Scientifically, I'm not sure what this was supposed to do, I guess I was thinking if I could somehow add a tiny bit of weight to the headstock it would help and miraculously, it seemed to eliminate the resonant note bleeding.

I actually do like the reverb quality on unplugged single note playing and overall sustain that this guitar has so I removed all the other stuff I stuck in the trem cavity.
 
It's me again...

I am still experiencing this issue. What I thought was resolved was that the issue is non apparent on my neck pickup and very present on the bridge.

I'm kind of at my wits end trying to track this down. Its not a rattle or vibration although I've snugged up all screws in the guitar.

I'm very pleased with the set up and playability but I've never had an issue such as this. I dont believe the guitar is defective, maybe it's just very resonant but regardless, it's not acceptable. I've had the guitar a short time and contemplating returning it and getting something else.
 
It's me again...

I am still experiencing this issue. What I thought was resolved was that the issue is non apparent on my neck pickup and very present on the bridge.

I'm kind of at my wits end trying to track this down. Its not a rattle or vibration although I've snugged up all screws in the guitar.

I'm very pleased with the set up and playability but I've never had an issue such as this. I dont believe the guitar is defective, maybe it's just very resonant but regardless, it's not acceptable. I've had the guitar a short time and contemplating returning it and getting something else.
Get this https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/pickups/pickup-parts/pickup-parts-for-strat/pickup-spring-tubing

Slide it inside the trem springs

I'm using this on all my guitars and has been for years.
 
Get this https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/pickups/pickup-parts/pickup-parts-for-strat/pickup-spring-tubing

Slide it inside the trem springs

I'm using this on all my guitars and has been for years.

I was reading some guitarists use this or some kind of flexible tubing...I thought the cloth, tape, q-tip and such might have a similar effect but I think I need to give these a try.

I'm located in Canada, and Canada sucks for many reasons but especially for ordering from some of these sites because it takes weeks to receive the product and often the shipping is more than the product.

I sourced the inner and outer diameter of the screw tubes of same material that are used in pickup screws to insulate rattle and found an equally specified tubing from Amazon in Canada that I should receive tomorrow to give this a try.

It came in a 10 foot roll so if it works I guess I'll need more PRS tremolo guitars.

Thanks for the recommendation.
 
I was reading some guitarists use this or some kind of flexible tubing...I thought the cloth, tape, q-tip and such might have a similar effect but I think I need to give these a try.

I'm located in Canada, and Canada sucks for many reasons but especially for ordering from some of these sites because it takes weeks to receive the product and often the shipping is more than the product.

I sourced the inner and outer diameter of the screw tubes of same material that are used in pickup screws to insulate rattle and found an equally specified tubing from Amazon in Canada that I should receive tomorrow to give this a try.

It came in a 10 foot roll so if it works I guess I'll need more PRS tremolo guitars.

Thanks for the recommendation.
The tubing is great because it won't interfere with the spring's tension, won't get caught between the springs with heavy use, and won't degrade at the molecular level like foam does over time, creating a mess. I've tried everything, including shrink-wrapping the springs, but that just leads to unstable tuning. Using silicone tubing inside the spring is the best method I've tried so far.

You don't have to order from Stewmac; you've already found your source. For others, Amazon is the way to go. Search the phrase "surgical tubing," and you'll find plenty of options. One thing to note is that it's better to go with a smaller diameter than a larger one. Even if the tubing is flexible enough, it's an absolute pain to fit them in if they're too big. I learned this the hard way when I switched to Gotoh high tension springs on my guitars. They came with a smaller diameter, and I dropped lots of F-bombs trying to make them work.
 
The tubing is great because it won't interfere with the spring's tension, won't get caught between the springs with heavy use, and won't degrade at the molecular level like foam does over time, creating a mess. I've tried everything, including shrink-wrapping the springs, but that just leads to unstable tuning. Using silicone tubing inside the spring is the best method I've tried so far.

You don't have to order from Stewmac; you've already found your source. For others, Amazon is the way to go. Search the phrase "surgical tubing," and you'll find plenty of options. One thing to note is that it's better to go with a smaller diameter than a larger one. Even if the tubing is flexible enough, it's an absolute pain to fit them in if they're too big. I learned this the hard way when I switched to Gotoh high tension springs on my guitars. They came with a smaller diameter, and I dropped lots of F-bombs trying to make them work.
So my surgical tubing came in this afternoon and I inserted it into the springs and picked deliberately firm and articulate on neck and bridge and it is greatly diminished, basically not noticable at all...and that's with me listening very intently.

The only problem is I ordered 7mm diameter and I wasn't able to shove it in very far so I spliced it down the middle then trimmed out a little more, but even then wasnt able to push it on more than 1/3 the way, but I flicked the spring and it was silient so I thought it might just be good enough to do the job and I'm pleased with the result.

I think ideally, I'd like to find the right diameter so I don't have to cut it to make it fit and so there's nothing that could potentially get caught in the spring. Also, I'd like it to run the full length of the spring vs 1/3rd the way so I think I'll need to spend another 10 bucks or so...but hey, there's not a lot of problems you can solve for 20 bucks so to me it's worth it.

The link you mentioned says it is 1/4" which is 6.35mm which I can imagine would still be a chore to shove in there...does it fit in easily in the stock springs? Once again, it is a standard 24 S2 so I don't know if it's the same springs on a core or other series.

And Thanks a lot for the suggestion.
 
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