Is it Impossible to Come Back From a Divebomb and Be in Tune?

[nsubulysses]

I don't know about anyone else, but when I dive the whammy way down I come back up and the B string and the high E usually come back pretty sharp. I have the bridge level with the body, and bending things sharp with the whammy doesn't mess up the tuning.

After the B and the high E come back sharp, I can pull on them and put them back in tune. I don't think it's that they're not stretched all the way because I've had the strings on for a week or so and they stay in tune really well, except after coming back from those dives.

Has anyone else run into this problem? Is there anything I can do? It's a JT-6 bridge on a Soloist if that helps.

[Newc]

Pot metal bridge. It's junk. Problem solved.


:ROTF:

[gfunk333]

Ya I had the same problem with my model 6.

After plenty of retunes, truss rod adjustments, playing with the springs, leveling ..... it would not go away.

Got rid of it, and bought a new bridge. But my trem was pretty beat up though.

[Sergio]

I have the same bridge on my '93 Rhoads, but I have never had problems with it... maybe you need to change the bridge?

[Nazgul]

I have the same bridge on my '93 Rhoads, but I have never had problems with it... maybe you need to change the bridge?

'93 Rhoads had JT590 Schaller trems...much better in quality .

[dg]

To me, this seems like it almost has to be coming from the nut end of the equation, since it's staying sharp after the dive rather than flat. Worn knife-edges, for example, should leave you flat after a dive if they hang & don't let the bridge return to zero. If you've got grooved locking plates in the behind-the-nut stringlock (very common, especially on the plate for the B & E), when you dive, the tension behind the nut is greater and can pull the strings sharp if there's a groove. Sometimes you'll hear a little "ping", but not always. Changing the bridge won't solve this problem unless you also change the nut, or get new string-lock plates. Luckily, Dave (Budman) makes them and you can get 'em here:

http://www.fretsonthenet.com/hardware.htm#JT6_&_Kahler_&_Fender_System_Series_String_Locking_Plates_

[jackson1]

To see if the strings are slipping at the nut, this link might help you check it:

http://audiozone.dk/index-filer/floyd-tremolo-tips.htm#slippage

[nsubulysses]

Yeah, sometimes I do hear a little 'ping' when I put the sharp string back into place. It literally pops back into tune. I guess it's not the bridge; I will check out where it's locked at the nut.

On the sticky Tech Q & A thread it talks about cupped locking clamp plates and how they're faced, so maybe that one for the B and high E is on the wrong way.

[dg]

It's possible that you might be able to rotate or flip the plate over to get some more life out of it. Not sure, though.

[Model1VH2]

To me, this seems like it almost has to be coming from the nut end of the equation, since it's staying sharp after the dive rather than flat. Worn knife-edges, for example, should leave you flat after a dive if they hang & don't let the bridge return to zero. If you've got grooved locking plates in the behind-the-nut stringlock (very common, especially on the plate for the B & E), when you dive, the tension behind the nut is greater and can pull the strings sharp if there's a groove. Sometimes you'll hear a little "ping", but not always. Changing the bridge won't solve this problem unless you also change the nut, or get new string-lock plates. Luckily, Dave (Budman) makes them and you can get 'em here:

http://www.fretsonthenet.com/hardwar...ocking_Plates_

+1

[jgcable]

Its not the quality of the trem. A properly working JT-6 stays in tune just fine. Its either the condition of the trem, its posts or the lock nut.

[Paul Bromm]

if you have a good lock nut that isnt stripped and you over tighten your strings when you put them on then back them up to tune them, you shouldnt have a problem. and make sure your tremelo isnt worn sloppy

[nsubulysses]

Yeah, it was definitely the locking nut on the headstock. Sometimes it catches and sometimes it doesn't