HELP! Need a Floyd-savvy tech near SE PA- ASAP!

[vector]

I've pretty much exhausted my list of go-to guitar tech guys near me. Either too backed up or they've lost my confidence. Bad timing, too. I have an issue w/ the Schaller Floyd on my custom Hamer Cali. Apparently, J/C CS aren't the only one's committing build boo-boos. I've had it worked on once to some degree of success but it needs someone who REALLY understands Floyds and is capable of getting to it in this calendar year

Looking for recommendations for any luthier or tech within a 100 mile radius of 19341 (west of Philly, PA), or if they're super fucking excellent , would consider shipping it. Would prefer not to.

[Axewielder]

What's the issue out of curiosity?

[vector]

Not certain. The responsiveness is less than optimal- a bit sluggish. Barely flutters. I suspect it's an issue with the posts being off by just a c-hair. Trem is somewhat responsive but could definitely be better. I'm very finicky when it comes to my trem set ups and will stop at very little to get them just right.

[straycat]

Try a dry lube on the pivot points of the trem after you clean them with alcohol or naptha.
If it intonates properly the trem stud locations are correct.
I have have a few customers that can be super picky and all the other techs in town refuse to work on their guitars because of it.
Some guitars no matter what you do you can't get the trem to flutter no matter how precise you are with the set up.
How many springs are you using? Sometimes you can remove one spring and readjust the trem and get it to flutter.

[Axewielder]

Is the arm nice and tight? Clunky arms, even slightly loose ones, are flutter killers.

[vector]

Stray- does that corollary also pertain to posts that are spaced too wide apart? The distance from the nut is fine. It's the spacing from post-to-post that has me concerned. As you know, it only needs to be off by a c-hair.

Axe- Yup- arm is all snug and cozy. Not trying to sound conceited but I know my way around a Floyd pretty well. I've tweaked them enough to know the basics. This is, IMO, a post positioning issue. The block has good travel and the base plate edges are clear of the rout (though that WAS an issue prior to) I've even tried a different Floyd in there, which yielded even crappier results.

[pianoguyy]

I sent you a name

[j2379]

Springs. weak or less springs will make it more responsive and easier to flutter and bounce. Personally i prefer my trems much stiffer and dont like them to flutter much at all, with minimal bounce. almost always takes 4 heavy duty springs, with 3 light or 2 heavy i find they flutter and bounce very well, as long as all else is good. as a reference, C/J used to use heavier springs than most other brands....not sure if they still do. it may even be you have a set of springs that have aged and weakened and you LIKE that feel softer feel. unless the posts are so far out that it binds on the edges, i dont see that as an issue. sometimes it takes mixing different brands and thicknesses to get the feel just where you want.

[vector]

Springs. weak or less springs will make it more responsive and easier to flutter and bounce. Personally i prefer my trems much stiffer and dont like them to flutter much at all, with minimal bounce. almost always takes 4 heavy duty springs, with 3 light or 2 heavy i find they flutter and bounce very well, as long as all else is good. as a reference, C/J used to use heavier springs than most other brands....not sure if they still do. it may even be you have a set of springs that have aged and weakened and you LIKE that feel softer feel. unless the posts are so far out that it binds on the edges, i dont see that as an issue. sometimes it takes mixing different brands and thicknesses to get the feel just where you want.

Thanks j2379 but it's definitely not that- tried different springs in it and no difference. I tune down to D# standard and use .009 -.042 strings so, two new OFR springs is sufficient especially since I "V" configure them to keep from having the spring claw screwed all the way into the cavity wall to maintain tension.

My experience with Floyds has revealed that to have optimal performance, the knife edges need to be exactly centered on the posts. For that reason- and I reiterate- I strongly suspect that the post are off by a cunt-hair. That's all it would take to throw it outta whack just enough to retard the flutter and the restrict ease of movement.

[Axewielder]

Interesting mystery here. So a Cali should be a recessed trem, right? Those studs are exactly perpendicular to the trem. I set up my NR trems to be parallel with the strings and not the body, so the Floyd is slightly cocked relative to the studs. Most of them flutter like crazy. I've got some where the posts are sagging a bit, or sometimes one stud is cocked relative to the other, and they still flutter. I've got a recessed trem where everything seems perfectly square, and it doesn't flutter much at all. So I don't think studs being slightly off will necessarily kill the flutter, but that's not to say it's not your issue. I think that some guitars just don't do it and the root cause can be sort of baffling.

[vector]

Oh, it flutters a little, just not to the extent that it can/should. And you're correct- sometimes, certain guitars just don't do it. But as this is my custom order, and one of the last to come outta New Hartford, I mean to make damned sure that I exhaust every option before I accept that conclusion- it's worth it.

[j2379]

9s in Eb. Try weaker springs, that not a lot of tension. I found to get Floyd's to bounce flutter the springs needs to be stretched out pretty good under tension. Otherwise they bind when they return and settle quickly. When you pull up on the bar raising pitch how far can you go before the spring is fully compressed. Tune it up to E and see if it gets better. I only say that because I've set up some real POS guitars for people and if I can get them to bounce,a Hamer CS shouldn't be an issue. If you are that picky it may take experimenting w different ones a lot. It's all a balancing act, push pull.

[z1n]

9s in Eb. Try weaker springs, that not a lot of tension. I found to get Floyd's to bounce flutter the springs needs to be stretched out pretty good under tension. Otherwise they bind when they return and settle quickly. When you pull up on the bar raising pitch how far can you go before the spring is fully compressed. Tune it up to E and see if it gets better. I only say that because I've set up some real POS guitars for people and if I can get them to bounce,a Hamer CS shouldn't be an issue. If you are that picky it may take experimenting w different ones a lot. It's all a balancing act, push pull.

+1
Also I would try changing the studs and even swapping out the Floyd just to rule out the pivot/knife points.