raising a saddle on a floyd

[Guest]

Hi. I need to raise the 4th string saddle up a teensy bit. It buzzes slighty and I am wondering if I can easily raise it up a little without having to take out any springs or anything. thanks

[mm2002]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

Why would you need to take out springs? To raise a saddle on a floyd you just need to put a shim under it. You can buy the shims or make 'em yourself from brass shim stock available at most auto parts stores.

[toejam]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

Are you sure your saddles are in the right positions? Floyd saddles were made three different sizes to follow the curve of the fingerboard radius... the E strings are the lowest, the B and A strings are higher, and the G and D strings are the highest. If they don't look right, take them all off and put them next to each other to see. They should have numbers on the bottom of the saddles anyway (2 on the bottom of the Es, 1 on the bottom of the B and A, and no number at all on the G and D). If they're okay and you still need to raise it, just use a little metal shim like Mark suggested.

[Guest]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

I meant take out a spring in the back cavity to take some tension of the bridge..that or adjust them.. what exactly is a shim anyways?

[WAR IN D]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

Originally posted by toejam:
Are you sure your saddles are in the right positions? Floyd saddles were made three different sizes to follow the curve of the fingerboard radius... the E strings are the lowest, the B and A strings are higher, and the G and D strings are the highest. If they don't look right, take them all off and put them next to each other to see. They should have numbers on the bottom of the saddles anyway (2 on the bottom of the Es, 1 on the bottom of the B and A, and no number at all on the G and D). If they're okay and you still need to raise it, just use a little metal shim like Mark suggested.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Good advice from both these guys here.. And I've run into "mismatched" Floyd saddles on many occasions!! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I think that people take them apart to clean them or whatever and don't realize that they go back in a certain order.. Same thing with the sustain block, you gotta have it oriented the correct way as well..

Depending on what guage strings your using, you should leave the springs alone.. if your using super light guage stings like .08's.. then two spring is probably O.K... 09's to .10's should have at least three and sometimes four depending on what kind of spread you have on the guage.. going higher than that could require all five.. but I've never used all five on anything..

A shim is just a really thin peice of metal that you slide under the saddle itself to raise it up a little.. they come in different thicknesses to compensate.. but rarely do you have to shim one, at least in my experience.. Most of the time, it's a saddle out of place..

Hope this helps out.. But I'd check to make sure the saddles are in the right places... JMHO.

[Guest]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

I play 10-60's. yes I know they are huge but we tune to drop A and if i dont tune that low the strings are too floppy. I am almost positive the saddles are in the correct spots but I will double check. I have three springs in the back, one in 1st, 3rd, and 5th spots going up and down. More than likely I will just use a shim. If that doesnt take care of it I will let everyone know.

[Guest]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

correction.. if I dont use that heavy a gauge of strings. I started reading my post while I was typing the rest... Things were said. mistakes were made.. lets just get on with our lives...

[MountainDog]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

Allparts has the shims mentioned by mm2002 in stock. A bag of 12 for $4.50, part number BP 2214-001, here's a pic:
http://portweb.webmonde.net/allparts...P_2214-001.jpg

[mm2002]

Re: raising a saddle on a floyd

If, like the other guys said, the saddles are in the right place, shimming may still be neccessary from my experience. Sometimes the fretboard radius may be different than the Floyd. If I'm not mistaken I think most (if not all) Floyds are set up for a 14" radius. If your neck is a 12" radius then that could be your problem. Some Fender necks are very round, like 7 1/2 or 8" I think so the problem is even worse. Some necks are also rounder toward the headstock and get flatter toward the body (compound radius) and if this is the case you need to match the floyd the the flattest portion of the neck.
And BTW, when doing this removing the trem or springs isn't neccessary on an OFR because the saddles can be removed and replaced from the top.

[ November 13, 2003, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: mm2002 ]