Strat bridge problem

[waynepunkdude]

I have a problem with a piccolo bass the bridge is not flush to the body (see pic), how do I get it back?

Also the neck is very dirty but I can't use lem oil, what should I use to clean it?

Cheers

Edited September 26, 2009 by waynepunkdude

[WarPig]

Ive only browsed through this, but might help with the bridge:

[url="http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stratocaster-discussion-forum/770-best-method-blocking-strat-tremelo.html"]http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stratocaster-di...at-tremelo.html[/url]

[Hamster]

Either fit a block or the better option is fitting springs to all 5 mounting points on the bottom of the bridge to keep the whammy bar

[kjm]

Remove back plate tighten screws in towards neck retune in stages your looking to balance spring tension and string tension aim for 3 -4 mm gap between guitar body and bottom of bridge plate it will take some trial and error and poss some swearing but it will make sense as far as cleaning goes damp cloth and elbow grease works wonders.

[waynepunkdude]

Excellent, getting this thing sorted is my Sunday project.

Cheers guys.

[Mr. Foxen]

Depends what you want the trem to do. If you don't use it, block it, if you just wanna do a bit of trem with your palm, only need a tiny gap. Just sorted a couple of strats suffering from similar problems.

[BOD2]

A Strat bridge is balanced between the string tension at one side and the tremolo spring tension at the other side.

Your bridge has too much string tension so it's moved up away from the body. This can happen if you use heavier strings and the bridge has been setup for light ones.

For fine adjustments, take off the backplate and locate the two screws that hold the spring claw of the tremolo. If you screws these IN to the body this will increase the spring tension and pull the bridge down towards the body (you'll need to retune as you do this, since the strings will go sharp).

For coarse adjustments, add an additional spring to the rear. You can fit up to 5 springs. The most common setup is 3 springs, although very light gauge strings will only need 2 springs. Between changing the number of springs and adjusting the spring claw you should be able to fix the problem.

A standard "floating bridge" Strat adjustment (where you can pull the trem arm up as well as push it down) is to have the back of the bridge plate about 1/8 inch off the body. If you don't use the trem arm then the simplest fix is to put 5 springs on the back and leave it at that. You can add a block of wood (as Eric Clapton does) but this isn't necessary.