String tension issue.

[Donovan]

If it's too tight it'll make the bridge not pull up in a bend making it seem stiffer. I set mine up so they just touch the body and pull up slightly when bending so it's not as stiff.

This makes sense. The strings do finally pull the bridge just a hair on the Ibanez but it's just maybe .5mm at most however this would absolutely contribute to a looser feel. What I'm trying to get folks to understand is that the pull tension on the strings/springs would be the same on both guitars as they are using the same gauge strings by the same manufacturer and tuned the same. The amount of springs should have no affect on string tension in this situation where the bridge is dive only, it would ONLY have affect on the feel of the bridge when dropping as G said because the individual spring rate would be different. However when static, there should be no difference in feel of the instrument.

[Donovan]

if both trems were completely blocked maybe so. Then it could be the other facts that j2379 mentioned coming into play. But blocked to dive only, everything I mentioned earlier could still affect it.

How many springs on your Ibanez?

Both trems are blocked to a dive only configuration. Both guitars are set up so that if I bend the holy hell out of a string or on a double stop bend, I mean really cranking on the thing, the bridge does drop maybe less than .5mm however during normal playing that trem block is hard up against the inside of the guitar body. Both guitars have two springs. I like the linear feel of the stretched out spring better than the what feels to be non linear pull of three or four short springs. However that affects the dive feel of the trem. I'm not arguing, again as I have heard your argument from more than one source, but I'm just not understanding how anything behind the trem is going to affect the feel of the strings when the trem is blocked up. I mean... the trem isn't moving during normal play.

[Hellbat]

In a locked down trem situation there shouldn't be a difference in tension. It could just be a perceived difference in tension due to a difference in neck thickness. Having to reach a couple millimeters further to make that bend could make it feel 'harder'. It could also be the Ibby neck has some give to it, so when you are bending the note, the neck itself is deflecting a hair.

My advice, play more guitars, then tiny differences in feel will not make a hair of differences in your playing. I embrace the diversity of my herd.

[Donovan]

In a locked down trem situation there shouldn't be a difference in tension. It could just be a perceived difference in tension due to a difference in neck thickness. Having to reach a couple millimeters further to make that bend could make it feel 'harder'. It could also be the Ibby neck has some give to it, so when you are bending the note, the neck itself is deflecting a hair.

My advice, play more guitars, then tiny differences in feel will not make a hair of differences in your playing. I embrace the diversity of my herd.

It's got to be something small that I'm missing. I'm going to try shimming the neck back another .5mm tonight and set the intonation. Sometimes that helps a little. I thing I did find last night too was that the frets in the Ibanez are very smooth and the rosewood fretboard has broken in and been oiled by me fingers and sweat over the years so it is buttery smooth. The Charvie has some issues there. The frets aren't bad but they are a little rough and the brand new raw maple fretboard is kinda like playing in fine grit sandpaper. I'm going to 0000 steel wool it a bit and grease it up. I have about 25 guitars now ranging from my 80's Charvels and 3piece neck RR to my LPC to this one and I bunch in between. Some just seem to play themselves and some I just fight with forever.... It usually takes a good 2-4 years for a brand new one to break in and become a good friend to me so time will tell on this chicken.

[Newc]

How old - and thereby worn-in - is your Ibby? Put the SoCal's springs on it and see if it's tighter than you remember.

Also I've found that different trem models/brands can use springs of different lengths - Schaller/Floyd springs might be shorter than ones found on a Takeuchi, for example. Then there's the core thickness of the actual springs themselves.

Setting the trem for dive-only vs free-float would not be an issue in this case, as the bridge will only dive when bending strings anyway. If anyone knows how to bend a 5th fret double-stop up a full step and make the bridge lean backwards *without touching it* by all means, let's hear it.

[1337storm]

Stringtension do vary a little between different brands of strings, even if they are the same gauge.
It's not much, but I feel a distinct difference between for example Daddarios and Dean Markleys.