Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

[C-Martin]

To all of you who have a floyd.. don't you find it annoying that the bar sort of wiggles in its slot, like its loose and not really a tight fit, is there a fix to this.. i know everyone is gonna say to just tighten the bolt but problem is doing that makes it too stiff and wont drop down after i'm using it and plus i even tried that and it'll just come loose after a couple of times using the bar and the "looseness" will return.. its rather annoying and can throw me off sometimes, maybe i'm just used to regular strat arms... i'm sure theres a fix to this, i thought about machining myself a new arm but that would be too much hassle lol because the bar is in fact very loose and not perfect fit with the hole... about .010" loose or so i would say... imo it could be tighter, more slide fit then that.. thats very loose if you look at it from a machinist point of view

 

[C-Martin]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

btw if its any help i use the bar to lower and raise pitch, so its floating and i will pull and push down on it and i use it pretty much all the time even for subtle vibrato while bending and in fact i use it almost more frequently for pulling than dropping...

 

[Ensi]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Put a flake of toilet paper in the trem hole, put the bar in, tighten.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Plumbers tape. PTFE tape we call it over here.
It's a thin tape, will do exactly as you ask.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

I replace OFR arms with the old style ones with the adjustable collar and thread in arm. Seems to work best for me. That wobble you mention was a big negative for me, especially compared to the Ibanez Edge trem that doesn't wobble at all.

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Plumbers tape. PTFE tape we call it over here.
It's a thin tape, will do exactly as you ask.

Yup that's my Trem bar solution too!

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Having recently taken a trem to bits completely I can offer a little advice.
If your trem arm is locating into the trem block itself and is tightened by a grub screw then you may want to try taking the whole lot apart.
In the trem block hole there should be a platic insert that the grub screw presses on. The grub screw can drill through this over time so just rotate the insert so the grub screw is pressing on fresh plastic.
Higher quality trems have better inserts that the arm is more snug in to start with.
PTFE tape, as mentioned above, can also halp but is a temp fix really as it can ride up but if you're willing to but some on each time you fit the trem arm then no problem.

 

[C-Martin]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

yea i thought about tape but i take out the trem all the time for transport, ever since the guitar fell at one time and the bridge poped off its slot because it landed on the bar itself prying it out of place, there was no real damage to the floyd itself but i don't really take the chance anymore and remove it every time i'm not playing.. so im kind of looking at a more long term or permanent solution.. cant seem to find info or even a pic of what those old screw on arms look like and ebay dont have any.. those fit on the newer ones? mines a new OFR i bought and installed on my new charvel, all parts are new and in perfect condition.. its really the difference in diameter between the whole and the bar that creates this problem, tape can be an easy fix to this but im not sure i see myself installing tape on a dark stage trying to make it fit properly while everyone is waiting, cant do it prior either because often where not the first band playing so i have to store the guitar and thus removing the bar

 

[yammy yummy]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

I know that some years ago fender was selling a little spring that you can drop in the bottom of the screw hole. It pushes the trem arm up agaisnt the tread. BAsically any spring small enough to fit and tight enough, could do the job. Make sure you use a spring small enough, so if you do not like it, you can get it out of the hole.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

I assume that you´re problem is that you prefer to have the bar swing freely, but don´t like the deadzone in the bar response that that causes?

On an OFR, there are 2 solutions for this that actually work.

One is to install the "oldschool" threaded bar/collar assembly that Pinto reccomended. These are admittedly not in plentiful supply anymore, but it still shouldn´t be impossible to find one.

Alternatively, plumbers or electricians tape, or what I´ve wanted to try but haven´t gotten around to is teflon tape. 1 layer around the very bottom of the bar (the end under the 2 depth stopping pins, the tape width usually makes using the pins as a depth guage ideal, at least the widths that I get here). It´s important that it goes OVER the end slightly because we´ll be folding this small excess over the end to slow the riding up effect that bar insertion has on the tape. You´ll still be replacing it about once a week on a guitar that get´s cased and unboxed often, though.

The tape solution will however still impede bar swingage to a degree. As far as taping in a gigging situation goes: apply the tape to teh bar when you box the guitar up after backstage setup, soundcheck and such. Then you just pop in the bar with your secret weapon already added when you unpack it for the actual gig

 

[Gamera]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Take it off and forget it.

I've always found it easier to slide the palm of my hand over and grab the entire bridge by the fine tuners and give it a good yank. Because of that I've always wanted to try out one of those Ibanez/Korn sig models with the bar trem:

 

[Diego]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Teflon?

 

[Atomic Chameleon]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Blue-bottled Loctite.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

One is to install the "oldschool" threaded bar/collar assembly that Pinto reccomended. These are admittedly not in plentiful supply anymore, but it still shouldn´t be impossible to find one.

They are plentiful from Floyd. I keep them in stock if anyone needs.

Well, I have Chrome and Gold right now... just sold the black one. I'd be happy to put in an order on Monday. PM Me bros!

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

^^ Ah, I didn't know that they were (still) being produced (again), over here they´re almost impossible to find :beerchug:

 

[Caine]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

Having recently taken a trem to bits completely I can offer a little advice.
If your trem arm is locating into the trem block itself and is tightened by a grub screw then you may want to try taking the whole lot apart.
In the trem block hole there should be a platic insert that the grub screw presses on. The grub screw can drill through this over time so just rotate the insert so the grub screw is pressing on fresh plastic.
Higher quality trems have better inserts that the arm is more snug in to start with.
PTFE tape, as mentioned above, can also halp but is a temp fix really as it can ride up but if you're willing to but some on each time you fit the trem arm then no problem.

Does this fix a loose trem arm barrel? On my Floyd, even after the arm is screwed tight to the threaded barrel, there is about 1/2 inch of up and down play where the arm only moves without moving the main body of the trem. The movement is in the main body threaded barrel itself--not between the arm barrel and the main body threaded barrel. Without taking apart the trem, it is hard to tell if there is a way to tighten the barrel. I'm just looking to see what's online about this subject before I go tearing it apart...

 

[Lawless 67]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

I replace OFR arms with the old style ones with the adjustable collar and thread in arm. Seems to work best for me. That wobble you mention was a big negative for me, especially compared to the Ibanez Edge trem that doesn't wobble at all.

I had to replace the trem arm on a few Floyd's for this same reason, I tried the teflon but it wore out and was not a permanent fix. As for the Ibanez edge trem arm that thing swings around and never stays in place sloopy loose for me, It snaps in with those little white plastic clips not for me, I did a Floyd Rose trem arm conversion on mine now it's perfect.

 

[Warheart]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

There are 2 parts to it, The Barrel (which is on the floyd base) and The Collar (which is on the the Arm). If the Barrel is loose, there is an Allen Key screw on the underside of the Floyd that you can tighten up, if that doesn't work, try removing the screw, adding a washer, and retightening.

If the arm is loose even when you have the Collar tightened down all the way, Grab a Staedler #2 pencil, and remove the eraser from the end, drop that into the barrel and it should provide some tension for your floyd arm. If you want to take it out, remove the Allen key screw and push it up from the bottom.

 

[Bluestreak]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

I HAVE FOUND IT! THE SOLUTION! For all looking for an alternative to tape and paper that just tears. It's Screen cloth! A standard screen cleaning cloth found in screen protector packs works fine. Just be sure to measure it to your preferences, it has an unnoticeable amount of wobble in the socket. I can now do suttle vibrato effects without wanting to tear out my floyd rose. WARNING. This is obviously no good for touring! Otherwise I suggest (if you don't use any flutters) the PUSH-IN tremolo upgrade from floyd rose. Personally, it feels so much better than a normal floyd arm with the screw on collar. So just a little tip for hobbyist guitarists such as myself who absolutely hate wobbly trem arms. Hope it helps anyone else visiting le interwebz for this solution!

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Floyd Rose Bar wiggle... any fix for that?

"Wiggle" and the Push In Arm is one of the things I hate about the Ibanez Edge; otherwise it's an awesome trem. As to Floyd Rose Originals, if it's not a vintage one with a Stock Threaded Arm, I swap out any "Collared Arm" for an Old School Threaded Arm and they're easy to find...Floyd Upgrades sells 'em.