Weird trem issue

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

I got a Yamaha RGX-TT, great guitar.

Nice neck, nice tone, nice action.

But the trem seems to stick in the resting position. It's like there is a point of friction somewhere in there that holds the trem block against the cavity wall, or something, but I can't find any point where the metal is crimped by wood.

Any ideas what I should look for? Is it something as simple as too much spring tension?

[burningyen]

Yeah, try letting the springs out a bit.

[RichRS6]

Has it got one of those tremstop things fitted ?

I have a Sunburst with a Floyd and the block hit the back trem cover plate so I took it off and it was fine.

[murkat]

A. may need a good trem set up.

B. maybe the springs are done, lost there tinsel strength, time to replace.

and the best springs to get, in all my guitar trem time in life~

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321150466884?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I have yet to find a better trem spring for any fender, floyd type trem.

And the Fender Black OX springs are getting harder and harder to find....

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Okay, I figured that problem out.

I opened up the trem cavity cover and looked a little closer.

A previous owner had installed a block inside the cavity!

If my surmise is correct, the trem wasn't set up to float...not sure why not, because that's how it goes back to tune. But the trem body hits the back lip of the trem cavity on the face of the guitar body. The owner must have felt worried the impacts would damage the finish, and so installed this block so that when the trem was released, the trem block would hit the cavity block before the trem body hit the guitar body.

So I played around with the post height, truss rod, and spring claw location until I got the trem to float and got the action as low as possible w/o buzzing.

Stays in perfect tune despite heavy trem use, now.

New problem in new thread.

[Jem]

B. maybe the springs are done, lost there tinsel strength,

But only at christmas time

[diablo175]

Well, fuck. Now I gotta go see what all the fuss is over these Fender Black Mamba spring- thingees.

I mean, if murkat puts them in all of his axes, they must be pretty special. A blend of pure, high grade steel and 21 year old Japanese girls pubic hairs? Forged deep in caves by mountain trolls, in fires emanating from a dragons maw?

[murkat]

Well, fuck. Now I gotta go see what all the fuss is over these Fender Black Mamba spring- thingees.

[diablo175]

[Feynman]

Okay, I figured that problem out.

I opened up the trem cavity cover and looked a little closer.

A previous owner had installed a block inside the cavity!

If my surmise is correct, the trem wasn't set up to float...not sure why not, because that's how it goes back to tune. But the trem body hits the back lip of the trem cavity on the face of the guitar body. The owner must have felt worried the impacts would damage the finish, and so installed this block so that when the trem was released, the trem block would hit the cavity block before the trem body hit the guitar body.

Isn't that how most trem blocks are installed?

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Okay, I figured that problem out.

I opened up the trem cavity cover and looked a little closer.

A previous owner had installed a block inside the cavity!

If my surmise is correct, the trem wasn't set up to float...not sure why not, because that's how it goes back to tune. But the trem body hits the back lip of the trem cavity on the face of the guitar body. The owner must have felt worried the impacts would damage the finish, and so installed this block so that when the trem was released, the trem block would hit the cavity block before the trem body hit the guitar body.

Isn't that how most trem blocks are installed?

I lack te proper vocabulary/terminology.

There is a trem block, of course, but there was also a small wooden block added inside the trem cavity, aftermarket (I think). Maybe I should have called it a trem-stop rather than a trem block.

I also should have taken a picture of it before I removed it, maybe.

[Feynman]

Yeah, I think we are meaning the same thing when we say trem block(-er)...a wooden block to fix the trem.

I just meant that I think that's the most common approach, like so, yes?

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Well, it didn't prevent downward trem motion, like the trem blocks you see in the photos at the link.

I guess it did prevent pulling up on the trem.

The reason why "trem block" seems ambiguous to me is that I thought the big mass of metal attached to the trem body is also called the trem block. At least, I thought I heard people talking about replacing the trem block with a brass block for greater weight and presumably correspondingly more sustain.

[Feynman]

Ah. Carry on.

[Toadroller]

Yeah, I think we are meaning the same thing when we say trem block(-er)...a wooden block to fix the trem.

I just meant that I think that's the most common approach, like so, yes?

What a unique way of showing what you mean. Clever to provide a link to the image search results en masse rather than to a single image. Like it!

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Ah. Carry on.

Actually, I'm beginning to doubt my ability to.