New guitar went from a flush tremolo to a floating one in one day w/o adjusting

[unleashthejay]

I have a guitar that went from a flush tremolo to a floating one within one day without any adjusting. It is not actually all new but let me explain... It's a partcaster that was put together recently (by a guitar shop) and I took it home and started playing and dive bombing like I always do since I'm a big Van Halen fan. It's winter here in NYC so I know sometimes it's worth waiting a day before being hard on a guitar but I'm still freaked out as the tremolo seems to be moving.

Is it because the wood is adjusting?
Should I stop playing it for a day or two?
should I just tighten the back plate claw screws and get it back to where it was?

The guitar is gorgeous and the guitar tech did a great job but I don't know what to do.

 

[ICTGoober]

It's never a bad idea to wait a day or two, and it's not a big deal to have to adjust it again.
Mind telling us what you purchased?

 

[unleashthejay]

It's never a bad idea to wait a day or two, and it's not a big deal to have to adjust it again.
Mind telling us what you purchased?

Thank you. It's not a guitar that I purchased but a guitar I put together over the years.

 

[Mincer]

After something is put together, it may need to 'settle in' to the setup. That means small adjustments to everything over the course of a week or so. Most likely this is all it is, unless you were so rough with it that you actually stripped something out.

 

[beaubrummels]

What kind of vibrato? Fender Strat? Floyd? Something else? If it's a Fender-type, wouldn't surprise me if the springs weren't totally set on the hooks in the body of the guitar and throwing the bar sunk them into the hooks and lightened the pull a bit.

 

[unleashthejay]

What kind of vibrato? Fender Strat? Floyd? Something else? If it's a Fender-type, wouldn't surprise me if the springs weren't totally set on the hooks in the body of the guitar and throwing the bar sunk them into the hooks and lightened the pull a bit.

hmmm, that makes sense, I hope it's that and not something I striped out. It's a 100% a Strat copy which now I think that's what ICTGoober was asking too.

 

[Demanic]

Are you saying that it was flush and you couldn't pull up on it? If that's the case and you want it back that way, check the screws holding the neck first.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

 

[unleashthejay]

Are you saying that it was flush and you couldn't pull up on it? If that's the case and you want it back that way, check the screws holding the neck first.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

No, it was flush and now it got loose some how. So from flush to floating tremolo.

 

[Aceman]

Strings stretching, springs loosening, neck settling...

Play it some more, then do a re-setup.

 

[Masta' C]

The trem relies on a balancing act between the string tension and the spring tension.

Strings "stretching" wouldn't result in the trem "floating" all of a sudden...looser strings would actually result in the trem being pulled toward the body more due to the springs.

Are you playing it in the same tuning it was initially set up with? If not, that could certainly be the cause.

It's also possible (and probably most likely) that the trem springs stretched a bit after initial use. You could try tightening the spring claw screws a bit to see if that brings the bridge back in contact with the body.

One last thing to check for is that the trem's pivot posts and body inserts aren't moving or slipping out of the body. Not a common issue, but it can happen.

 

[Aceman]

Strings "stretching" wouldn't result in the trem "floating" all of a sudden..

Noted - the point is, things are in flux.

 

[formula73]

Noted - the point is, things are in flux.

I’m with Masta’C. I’ve had gobs of guitars and that kind of thing has never happened to me, not once. That’s more than ‘settling’.

 

[Mincer]

No, it was flush and now it got loose some how. So from flush to floating tremolo.

What do you prefer?

 

[unleashthejay]

The trem relies on a balancing act between the string tension and the spring tension.

Strings "stretching" wouldn't result in the trem "floating" all of a sudden...looser strings would actually result in the trem being pulled toward the body more due to the springs.

Are you playing it in the same tuning it was initially set up with? If not, that could certainly be the cause.

It's also possible (and probably most likely) that the trem springs stretched a bit after initial use. You could try tightening the spring claw screws a bit to see if that brings the bridge back in contact with the body.

One last thing to check for is that the trem's pivot posts and body inserts aren't moving or slipping out of the body. Not a common issue, but it can happen.

Thanks. Same tuning it was setup on which is standard tuning. I'll check the pivot pints (it's vintage style).

 

[unleashthejay]

What do you prefer?

I prefer flush but I'm ok with floating. The thing is that since it's a foreign Strat copy body the tremolo cut out is a bit smaller than it should be and since I replaced the tremolo block when it's flush I can do dive bombs which I love doing but when it's floating I cannot without some sort of mod to the body which I don't want to do.

I guess I'm just concerned that it moved in two days. I'm going to play it but not use the tremolo arm until it's been a week just to give the entire guitar a week to 'settle in'.

 

[Mincer]

Oh, I would just let out the screws a little, re-tune and intonate. It should be fine.

 

[unleashthejay]

Oh, I would just let out the screws a little, re-tune and intonate. It should be fine.

Thanks. What do you mean l

et out the screws

?

 

[Mincer]

Tighten the screws to pull the springs and block flush with the body.

 

[unleashthejay]

Tighten the screws to pull the springs and block flush with the body.

Ah, will do, I'm waiting until it hits one week from when it was assembled which is tomorrow lol just in case. thank you!