Set up your strat for best tremolo use part 5 - www.frudua.com 

I was unable to address all your processes. But you showed me the critical aspects of the device that i was able to adjust and reset the main plate for pretty smooth operations. This is on a Fender Jazzmaster Performer (Chinese Clone). That machine did come out from Fender with the Strat Vintage floating bridge. For some reason the factory sends it to me locked down. The claw was screwed completely to the body tight, no float. the Bridge plate was also screwed completely flat to the face of the body. I had NO tremelo action, short of stripping the 6 screws it was locked down. I loosen the strings, loosen the claw and loosen the 6 mounting screws 1.5mm. Then did the tightening and tuning as you suggested. On the third cycle i found i could get bidirectional movement AND stay in tune. Amazing. In your video, i saw all the little things in the front of the video, but, it was grinding a groove in the six screws that seemed to be the magic sauce for me. There are other 3rd party tremelos that use that idea with a knife like edge fitted into a wedge shaped notch as the bridge fulcrum of the Tremelo movement. You mimic that design with the deeper countersink on the bridge plate and the grooves on the 6 mounting screws. This looks terrific and i will get a used Fender Assembly to make these modifications to them and then replace the original tremelo. I am confident high quality screws maybe stainless steel with grooves and the countersunk holes for a thin edge to pivot form will make a truly great Action. And maintain tune. Well done. Thks, D

Great information and advice. Several things I hadn't thought of that need to be considered when setting up. Thank you Galeazzo for taking the time to make these videos.John.

This bunch of 5 vidéos are definitly a treasure of learning good advices!

This series of videos is outstandingly useful and clear - Thank you so much!

Grazie signore Frudua. You are a great teacher and I found out many things I have been doing wrong before for many many years. Thank you!

This was a fantastic set of videos-I've had problems for years with my strats. thank you for the information.

A fantastic series of videos!

This was so helpful. Great information explained simply with great pictures.

Thanks. Looking forward to it.

@viccelles I suggest that you setup the saddles as low as you can and you use the pivots screws to rais the tremolo plate at the correct height for the action your'e looking for.

Thank you very much! This was the guidance i was looking for and i got many useful tips from these videos! Wishing you the best for year 2012 and beyond! :)

Very helpful videos. Thanks a lot man.

Galeazzo is very good. I though my Strat was set up nice and proper and it played great, but after a few of Galeazzo's tweaks it was even better. Thanks Galeazzo.

@MrPepelep You you can reduce this by adding one spring and compensate the tension with the claw springs.

Thank you very much for this serie of video !!! Very informative, I learned a great deal !!!

THIS IS AWESOME. Thank you for making this video

i tuoi video sono stati di un aiuto incredibile, immenso tutorial!

Frudua, you are amazing man.

Thanks Sir Frudua for sharing this information. Long live!

thx a lot for your tutorials, they are VERY good!

Glad you appreciated!

That was incredibly informative! Now I understand everything about tremolos :)

You can reduce the problem you mention by adding a spring. Of course to get 1 and a half step up on the G string you will have to reset the claw spring.

@FruduaTv cool I definitely will! Thx man

Great video thanks!

Fantastico! Fortunatamente l'inglese è comprensibilissimo! Great job man!

@whynottalklikeapirat It's a matter of mass added to the headstock that sort of reduces its elasticity therefore increases sustain, check out the Frudua Craftpedia article on sustain.

@relic1882 replace the tuners with staggered ones (so you do not need a string tree) and check the other video on how to keep the strat tremolo in tune. Also having the tremolo floaing both upward and downward helps to keep the tuning during bendings.

@dorne I have a video ready for this I'll post it in a few days.

@viccelles >> first try lowering the necj and middle pickups. With a caliper take a measurement of their actual hight so you can always revert. Then lower them of at least 4mm and check the sustain has improved. Then raise them again to a compromise height. Then let me now.

Ah, and thank you very much for your help!

Very Helpful

Hallo Furuda, thanks for quick reply. The official Fender names: Bridge Plate Your one seem to lay flat on the body, so you only can dive with the tremolo arm. Normally it comes free in both directions, with a certain angle away from the body. I hope, I could make me understandable now. On the Bridge assembly you find: 2 Pivot screws, 6 intonations screws, Tremolo arm, 12 Heigh Adjustment screws, 6 Bridge sections. Ciao

Thank you.

@dorne There is a Carl VErheyen video on this which I recommend you see.

@sebyrotten Normally not. The only thing you have to check every now and thenit to make sure the Locking Nut is well bolted and blocked with its screws to the neck.

Great insight mate.. Thanks for taking the time to publish this video... I think by video 4 your camera man had to much vino...hahahah! Cio and thanks from Australia..

The procedure for 6 bolts trem or 2 pivots is the same both for modification and tuning (shown in a different video) and after you made all that 's shown in this 5 videos you can also left the baseplate a bit for upward movement. Check video "How to keep your Strat tremolo in tune. Frudua way".

Thank you, you are a good teacher. I am having problems finding the right combination of tension on the springs for my floating vibrato. Any advice on how to proceed?

Thank you so so much! ;)

@jhep1 A little of indent would be better to keep the string in palce during tremolo movement but it must be performed professionally by creating the slot with a proper file and then sanding it form 400 to 1000 grit sanding paper using the same file :)

I have watched all of your videos. They are terrific! I still have one more question, in case I missed it somewhere. I just put new parts on my strat. I have a Fender LSR roller nut, Fender locking tuners, and a new Gotoh Wilkinson VSV400P bridge. I'm still getting tuning issues mainly on that damn G string when I dive then bend again. The only thing I haven't used yet are roller string trees. Should I use a string tree behind the G string as well? I am a bit confused. :)

@whynottalklikeapirat This can affect some tone if the weight of the replacement tuners is a lot different than the original ones.

@dstrats 1) Just use a drill bit of the same diameter of the hole. 2) just use it as a normale tuners.. Like it has a hole. Disregard the fact it is a slot. Se my other vid on how to mount strings

Thx!

Cool vis - very informative. Would you say that changing the locks affect tone? I tried it once on a medium priced fender and it felt like something went out of it ... cheers

Great video series bro. Really enjoyed it. Two things: 1. How do you go about modding the sustain block to make the string go in further in the block, I mean, what kind of tool do you use? 2. What are your thoughts for vintage styled tuners? The end of the string gets placed inside the peg and the rest of the string wraps 'round the peg. What are some tips with that style? Thanks in advance. Take care.

@sHaumbra81 Thanks you too!

Mille Grazie and thankyou Mr. Furuda for posting this free guitartech lesson. On my Strat PRO most of the modifications are built in (lessons 1-4), except I have a 2 point Synchronized Tremolo. Do you have also lessons for this type? Or is there no difference? Or I need mor advise how to set the tension of the springs. Your saddle seems to lay on the guitar, my one is free in both directions. Thanks for help. Where in Italy are you based? eddy

this video was incredible! i really enjoyed watching all of it. my question is about keeping the bridge from floating too high off the guitar. i know i have to adjust the tension in the back springs but i was wondering if the holes theyre put in make any difference. like if you look at the back of the guitar standing up, should the springs look like: lll , /l\ , \l/ ,/ll , ll\ , etc.

First of all: great videos! They helped me a lot. One question left: is it possible to bend a string without changing the pitch of the other strings with the tremolo set up floating? If so, how can you do it? Thanks.

@viccelles Which pivot screws are you referring to? The tremolo pivot studs or the screws on the back of the guitar where the springs are attached?

ciao Galeazzo, son molto utili i tuoi video, grazie per averli fatti e resi pubblici :) c'è in progetto un video su come regolare l'altezza e curvatura delle sellette al ponte di una chitarra elettrica, nel mio caso per una std. american stratocaster? thanx!

Hello Mr Frudua, can you tell me which Frudua guitar you're using in this video please? I love the design. Is it one of your Carved models? Thank you!

Thank you for the instruction. I will now consider how this affects me and my guiitars....

I learned more in 15 minutes of my time watching this series than I did in two semesters of guitar classes at my community college. You are a fantastic teacher, because you made the advanced very simple to understand.

Thanks Frudua. I have reviewed your suggestions and can I ask what you think about tremlocks where there is double spring to allow for tension both ways when you action the tremolo arm. In other words a centre detent and not one way 3 , 4 or 5 springs from block to guitar secure plate?

fantastiko g racja thx m8

Excellent videos, I understood everything, and I normally don't.

Procedures for Syncro tem are pretty the same. You mean the saddles or the baseplate?

@FruduaTv as in weight would affect the vibrations of the neck because strings would be working from a more "fixed" point with added weight? I do believe i went from standard fender ones to wilkinsons with tone lock. However i also changed to a wilkinson locking vibrato which was perhaps the more dramatic change as they had to scoop. I reinstalled the fender vibrato later but it never recovered.

Hello. I have looked through all of your vids. What is your recommended adjustment in going from a decked trem to a floating trem.?

Hi Eddy, there is no difference. What you mean by saddle? The 6 string's saddles? Or the tremolo baseplate?

how do you adjust individual string height (on a floyd rose) when there isnt an adjustment already for it? It's a locking nut so it cant be filed and there are no set screws like on a strat but the height is used for fine tuning after the nut is locked....

There's so much folklore in the guitar world, it's nice to see a logical approach. First rate. It's tough to see, but is this guitar slightly scalloped?

My main concern is exactly the issue you spoke on this video: the fact that when you bend one strings you "pull" the bridge making all other strings to go flat. Is it possible to COMPLETELLY avoid this issue in a guitar with tremolo bridge (like the Wilkison VSVG)? If so, this wouldn't force me to tight too much the claw maybe affecting playing confort or putting too much string tension on the neck? Congrats for the fine videos you posted on youtube! Thanks in advance for any clarifications!

@viccelles I do not think the bridge will make tthe difference you're execting. It's probably a matter of wood matching. Please check here: w w w dod frudua.com/sound_of_wood.htm and here w w w dot frudua.com/wood_role_in_tone.htm

Si si, anche in inglese non c'è problema ;) Poi se proprio la tua bontà si presterà a noi :) son graditi anche dei tutorial sull'elettronica ( saldature-collegamento toni-pickup- ecc ecc ) Thank you! Grazie!!

@FruduaTv So by logic if i add more springs on the tremolo it will become "harder" (i.e. need more strenght to push/pull the tremolo arm) but the other strings will tend to stay in tune (not going flat) as i bend one string, right? Apart of the more strenght needed to use the tremolo will be there any other issues i should worry for using more springs? Ps: I don't use the tremolo very often and when i do is mostly to tremble chords/harmonics and eventually to lower the pitch by 1/2 or 1 step.

Does it matter if there is no indent on the saddle and the string can move around ie like when you have a brand new set of vintage fender saddles? I have a G string that goes out of tune when I bend and think it must be something to do with the bridge and saddle.

will a floyd rose locking nut make a diference in how much the guitar stay in tune after i use, or abuse of the whammy bar?

So if you lower saddles you have to adjust truss rod for no string buzz?

In fact it's NOT possible on a FLOATING tremolo. You can just reduce the problem by addding a spring but this will harden the movement of the tremolo arm a bit.

@muaythai4lifelife Dici che manca un video simile suol web? Anche in Inglese?

HI this is a Exlusive Frudua design "Shredder" model.

Frudua is talking about doing bends with your fretting hand, not the tremolo. With that, the string tension on your bends should be exceeded by the spring tension of the tremolo. Nothing remotely impossible about it. Just adjust the depth of the screws holding the spring plate accordingly. He makes perfect sense. It's good advice. You should take it.

Well this is easy enough for anyone to do this everywhere.

Scusa,posso rimuovere gli abbassacorde dalla mia Squier?Schricchiolano e poi vorrei cambiare il capotasto con uno in grafite perchè fa come degli scatti quando faccio dei bendings,me lo consigli?

@cybergrunt65 Thanks! Glad being of help also.

it seems the body like a prs se or not?????

@zziggymaan always III

This is an apology for my last response- I don't know what I'm babbling about. You're correct. A ghost bend with an open string hit still shows a very slight drop in pitch on my strat. My absurd math holds no weight. I didn't mean to be a charlatan.

@yeffal413 Ahahah she was my 10 yo daughter ;)

@muaythai4lifelife Perchè no? :)

he didn’t use the tremolo “whammy bar”

or just go to the damn hardware store and get some

great video, but you've gotta work on the pronunciation of some of the words. difficult to figure out what you are trying to say in some spots. just watch what syllable you put the emphasis on.

Thank you so so much! ;)