Trouble keeping Trem arm tight on So Cal

[Ultramagnus]

Vondran is the only one here who has any idea what he's talking about. I've struggled with & asked questions about this for years with no answers from forums or from the people at Floyd Rose. The problem has nothing to do with the collar at all, taping the collar is a repetative continuous half ass temporary fix, the problem is the washer & the washer alone! If the washer is the wrong size it won't stay tight from the get go, however if the washer is the right size the bar will stay tight & you can do all that wicked Harry K. Cody, Vai, Petrucci flutter stuff til you're fluttered out but if after a few months or so your bar starts getting loose, you're over tightening the collar which is bending the washer. Changing it's shape to a cone shape which changes it's size or distance from bar to collar and causing the floppy loosness. The problem is that Floyd Rose should make those little washers out of steel or titanium & vuala, no more floppy problem! If you tighten your collar completely & there is still play, your washer is bad. If the washer is the perfect size meaning it goes from the bar to the inside of the collar perfectly you will have no play, an o-ring or a stronger washer should be standard whith a Floyd!! My only explanation as to why Floyd Rose has allowed this to happen for so long must be because so very few people are so picky, I my self am & I love to use the flutter technique & this issue has driven me crazy for years!

[nitrous12]

Ultramagnus,
I am not sure I completely follow everything in your post, but I can tell you that I can tighten mine and get it to stay just fine. I keep it just slightly out of the way but not totally down so I can reach it quickly and not have to travel to far. After grabbing it and using it a few times though it loosens up and if I don't keep retightening it I will find it swingin in the breeze in no time. Thats my issue. I want it to get tight enough to stay where I want it w/out having to constantly tighten it back up. If that was clear before I apologize for being redundant.
At any rate I hope to get some of those rings this week and give it a shot.

[tomanyjacksons]

I never put much thought into this problem. I'm glad somebody brought it up. I have the same problem and figured that this was just how it is. Some of my guitars have the cheaper floyd copies with a threaded bar that stays where I leave it. Thanks.

[Chubtone]

What washer are you talking about? I took off my bar and don't see any "washer". Thanks

[Ultramagnus]

It's up inside the collar, sometimes you need to remove the pin which keeps the collar attached to the bar & then remove the collar to get to it but usually with a little shaking you can get the washer to come down out of the collar. Like i said before if the washer is not exactly the perfect size or if the collar gets over tightened the outer edges of the washer will get pushed or bent down by the threads on the inside of the collar making the washer somewhat cone shaped thus increasing the size diameter around the bar & shrinking or deforming the dimeter size touching the inside of the collar. The reason for the washer is so there will be something solid between the collar & the bar itself eliminating any play or wiggle. Vondran's O-ring idea will keep the collar nice & tight but it will do nothing to fix the bar wiggle problem if you have a wrong sized or bent washer. If what you're wanting is to have your bar nice & snug yet it still wiggles when the collar is fully tightened then your problem is up inside the collar & not around & or in between the threaded base fixed to the bridge in which the collar screws on to & the collar itself.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

What washer are you talking about? I took off my bar and don't see any "washer". Thanks

It's hard to see but it's in there. It doesn't really do you any good to know it's there, though, because you'd have to drive that pin out to get it off and replace it, and you might as well just buy a new bar. And if you're buying a new bar, you might as well get the old-school screw-in bar and collar setup that works great and has very little play in it.

[Mr.Shreddy]

I have the exact same issue on my brand new, made in Germany Floyd Rose.

So do I on my tangerine socal. I played an '84 Kramer Pacer with the old screw-in type bar and they are rock solid. I love the old school gear. Screw it in tight and also adjust the hight of it. If you want it snug just spin the bar around. Simple and effective, but more importantly, tight.

[nitrous12]

Not sure what happened, but I had replied here last week and I guess it didn't take...

So I got the O rings and they do seem to be working. I have only played the guitar at home, but I played twice for a while and was bringing the arm up and putting it back out of the way and it never got loose to where it wanted to flop around. Looks like it will work, but the true test will be on the gig. Not sure when I'll have it out as it has a loose wire or something wrong with the switch cuz sometimes when I go into the neck switch position like 5% of the power is there. Have to throw it once or twice to get the pickup working 100%. Waiting for new pups so I haven't been motivated to open it up and break out the iron until I get them.

I was out and about when I stopped at Home Depot and realized I didn't have my wallet. Scraped up $2.45 in mostly nickels and dimes. Guess what the total for the O rings was?

[vondran]

...
I was out and about when I stopped at Home Depot and realized I didn't have my wallet. Scraped up $2.45 in mostly nickels and dimes. Guess what the total for the O rings was?

$2.50 ?

[nitrous12]

$2.45...this was a feel good story

[Powerglide350]

The O ring is a great idea.

[straycat]

I use the O rings myself and have for a long time.

[holycross1]

Try Chapstick. Worked for me on a borrowed guitar with the Korean floyd.