I own my mexico strat for about 30 years now... never plugged the tremolo in because it was too loose... But never really questioned it. Now it works like a charm. Thank You!
Thank you so much for this video! I was going to install a Wilkinson, but I didn't want to have to drill out the bushing posts. This saved me $80+ bucks! You are so correct about Stew Mac. They are so expensive on everything. Now with the pandemic, they don't even answer emails. Then they have the gall to ask you to pay extra for a membership to give you all the "benefits" they should normally provide to their customers.
I got a 57 reissue. Wrapped plumbers tape (PTFE) around the tread of the arm, dropped in a click pen spring screwed the arm in and whammy jobs a good un. Done this before seeing you vid , Never knew anything about a ball bearing, I'll give it a go . Thank you man .
Finally, thank you! I was already turned onto the springs, but the arm and spring have been rubbing and making a horrible squeaking sound. Popped a bearing ball in and it's dead quiet and immediately a smoother feel. Cheers!
You might think that a BB might work instead of a proper sized bearing or that a pen spring would work instead of an official Fender spring. You'd be wrong on both accounts. You might also think that Fender is unforgivably lame for this goofy problem. You'd be right.
Brilliant video and info. I play Fender Squire guitars, as does Mike Rutherford. The bridge block doesn't have the small hole. I have the small spring in the hole but haven't found the ball bearing in my music shop or hardware store. The horizontal wobble was cured using a small section of 5mm heatwrap. Works perfectly. Spring for vertical stability, heatwrap for horizontal wobble.
@@AlexPriceMusician Hi. The wrap is stable and doesn't show any signs of degrading. I recommend using 2 wraps. One over the other. Its a tight fit but a little washing up liquid or olive oil will get it done. Knowing this tip has made me grateful for life. Its turned my trem into a dream machine. I changed the machine heads to D'Addario auto trim tuners. Incredible! My Strat has very nicely finished frets and a good nut. All I had to was apply lemon oil to the fingerboard and adjust trem springs, bridge saddle angles / heights and intonation. Its better than any Strat I've ever tried. I think the secret is that I chose a great Strat to begin with and knew what to do to bring it to Star player level. No rattles, hum, choke points, issues with string breakage or tuning stability. It sings and sustains like a Stradivarius and rich in harmonics at every fret. A gift from God! I also bent the trem arm to a lower angle so that it just clears the control knobs. That's something peculiar to my own preference and playing style. The trem block has about a half centimeter clearance as I don't require any trem histrionics! Its got a rosewood fingerboard and skunk stripe, and is a tobacco-burst finish. I don't see the need for any further changes or upgrades and just incredibly grateful to own it.
Check the underside of your bridge block first to make sure you don't have the arm hole drilled straight through. I missed that when I had an MIM Strat. I had to find another solution.
@@AlexPriceMusician I've got a MIM Deluxe Strat and the trem block arm hole was solid on the bottom. I just got the parts you linked and it worked perfectly! Thanks again for the advice!
Yep the ball bearing is probably what I’m missing. Dammit. Bought the spring dropped it in only to find that it doesn’t even touch. The trem arm. Ugh they should never sell the springs without the balls. Stupid. Thank you for the video
There ya go. 3mm ball bearing. Also, for any clicking of the arm against the trem hole I also use a small piece of tape ( I use black gorilla duct tape ) right at the top of the trem arm before the threads start, that stops any additional clicking, play etc I just did this with a new J Beck strat… Lastly, the pro fix is buy a Callaham block with the pop in arm. Besides improving your tone dramatically ( it’s cold rolled steel like the old days) you’ll have zero trem arm problems ever again. I’ll likely be doing this upgrade on the new JB soon, I have it on all my other strats.
Thanks for this video, let me ask something. I've got an Mexican Fender with out that hole on the bottom of the bridge. 5mm vibrato arm fits in it. Could be 3mm ball bearing still good? Thanks for the answer.
Hey i noticed you have a floating bridge, have you had any problems with tuning? Because ive been thinking of converting my squier to a floating trem but a lot of videos say that the guitar would be unstable and mess up tuning. Thanks for the fix on the trem arm btw
Nope, not on this guitar. I had tried it on my MIM strat though years ago and had a ton of issues. I think it's mostly about the setup (making sure the nut is cut properly, etc.) and the bridge hardware being high quality.
I float my strat bridge, it mostly just comes down to how well you set it up. If you can get the balance between the springs and the strings right, tuning usually isn't a big problem. It's still less stable than a set bridge, and if you're going Eddie Van Halen on the thing, you might want to get a more advanced vibrato.
I would think that the ball bearing suppose to go on top of the spring thus seat in between the spring and the whammy bar to prevent getting scratching notices when the moving the whammy bar
Tried this minus the bearing, as Fender states that they do not include bearings. Only the spring. Tried it, the arm got stuck as I screwed it in. Tried to take it out and it wouldn't budge. I used a little more pressure to back it out and the arm snapped off right in the middle of the threads. So, half the threads were stuck in the block which basically trashed the bridge... there was no way to drill it out, and if you did, the opening would be slightly larger and your tremolo arm threads would be slightly too small now. This was an expensive lesson ($250 total - $100 for new bridge, $125 to luthier). Luthier stated he never saw anything like this before. Also, questioned the use of a "bearing" for rotation. He spoke with Fender who stated no bearings are included on U.S. Strats. Not sure why they would state this if you actually received a bearing with yours?
All the tremolo arm tension spring kits that come with ball bearings are not genuine Fender parts! The genuine Fender don't come with ball bearings, because you don't need them. That's why you had to cut your spring in half!
2020 American professional II strat and no hole in the back. It doesn't even have a spring and the arm doesn't screw in. I think it's an Allen in the block that can be tightened
@@AlexPriceMusician seems like it. The allen in the block can be tightened to create tension on the arm to keep it from turning so easily. And the arm doesn't screw in. It just has a groove on it to keep it in the hole and you press it in or pull it straight out.
I have a 2005 Affinity Strat, and my trem bar wobbles a lot. I bought the springs you speak of and dropped one in. I checked my block and there isnt a hole. I put the spring in, and I go to screw in my bar, but the bar wont screw in. it doesnt catch on the threads and just falls out. What do i do?
You can get a dozen of those springs from Fender for $7.00, but they don't include a ball bearing. I never saw a ball bearing come with the stock Fender spring included with a new guitar...maybe that is a new feature. How do you know that the ball bearing goes in first instead of after the spring. I think it would function better as an aid to trem arm rotation if inserted after the spring. I can't understand the purpose of its function if it goes in first, before the spring.
My performer strat came with a spring but no ball bearing.Having trouble with it now the arm is either wobbly or tightens right up so I’m worried I’ve stripped the thread
If that’s what you think happened, it’s luckily easy to replace the bridge block. You can get any number of difference materials. Some people like brass. I put a steel one in my MIM strat years ago.
Do not understand why Fender still make treaded tremolo-arms on most of their strats (and many other brands). Mr Wilkinson's solution works so much better (decades ago).
I got the ball and spring. They allow the bar to fall out of the way of my picking hand, but not swing all the way down to the jack. That's good. But now the bar fits even looser into its hole, as the bar can't screw down as far. Not good.
@@AlexPriceMusician Thanks. I did cut mine in half also. Better, but I still want the bar to screw down farther. Not sure I need the ball in there. And now they won't come out! Gonna try to drill through there.
Hard to say. You really just need to make sure there’s no hole in the back of the bridge, that’s the only thing. Otherwise, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’m sure the size of the hole is generally the same.
@@seangordon846 Oh sorry Sean, I haven't tried it yet..I was just curious as I was trying to find a way to make it stop wobbling...don't really use the tremolo that much though..
@@AL-tx7nc i ordered the ball bearing and spring yesterday. Won’t get the ball bearings until May. Will let you know how it works. Those Japanese Strats are great aren’t they?
Ha! Thank you. I realized I never finished writing the title of the video. Also, it doesn't help that Leo Fender mistakenly called his elegant vibrato mechanism a tremolo in the first place lol
Only about once or twice. I’ve never felt the desire to own one though. It always seemed like you had to do a lot of work to get the pitch to fluctuate. I prefer the ratio that the Strat bridge gets.
@@AlexPriceMusician ok, i will say that adjustments to the Jazzmaster bridge is a little complicated. have you tried a Jaguar? i’m asking because Joe Pass played one
![The Perfect Stratocaster Trem / Vibrato Setup [Floating, Flat Or Blocked?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PjVXWyUGpwc/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Perfect Stratocaster Trem / Vibrato Setup [Floating, Flat Or Blocked?]](/img/tr.png)
I own my mexico strat for about 30 years now... never plugged the tremolo in because it was too loose... But never really questioned it. Now it works like a charm. Thank You!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this video! I was going to install a Wilkinson, but I didn't want to have to drill out the bushing posts. This saved me $80+ bucks! You are so correct about Stew Mac. They are so expensive on everything. Now with the pandemic, they don't even answer emails. Then they have the gall to ask you to pay extra for a membership to give you all the "benefits" they should normally provide to their customers.
I got a 57 reissue. Wrapped plumbers tape (PTFE) around the tread of the arm, dropped in a click pen spring screwed the arm in and whammy jobs a good un. Done this before seeing you vid , Never knew anything about a ball bearing, I'll give it a go . Thank you man .
Glad it was helpful! I used Teflon tape for awhile but it wears down over time
Finally, thank you! I was already turned onto the springs, but the arm and spring have been rubbing and making a horrible squeaking sound. Popped a bearing ball in and it's dead quiet and immediately a smoother feel. Cheers!
I wish everyone I talked to was as smart as you. We think the same way. Great job.
You might think that a BB might work instead of a proper sized bearing or that a pen spring would work instead of an official Fender spring. You'd be wrong on both accounts. You might also think that Fender is unforgivably lame for this goofy problem. You'd be right.
I found a better solution: A small wad of cotton in the hole and teflon tape around the threads.
@@wintermutetwin3808 Do you have to replace the tape every once in a while?
@@CruciatusVXS I did that sometime ago and it works a treat haven't had to rewind the tape but keep a roll in my kit in case.
Brilliant video and info. I play Fender Squire guitars, as does Mike Rutherford. The bridge block doesn't have the small hole. I have the small spring in the hole but haven't found the ball bearing in my music shop or hardware store. The horizontal wobble was cured using a small section of 5mm heatwrap. Works perfectly. Spring for vertical stability, heatwrap for horizontal wobble.
Great tip! I had used tape in the past to stabilize it but it wears out over time. I'd be interested to know how the shrink wrap holds up for you.
@@AlexPriceMusician Hi. The wrap is stable and doesn't show any signs of degrading. I recommend using 2 wraps. One over the other. Its a tight fit but a little washing up liquid or olive oil will get it done. Knowing this tip has made me grateful for life. Its turned my trem into a dream machine. I changed the machine heads to D'Addario auto trim tuners. Incredible! My Strat has very nicely finished frets and a good nut. All I had to was apply lemon oil to the fingerboard and adjust trem springs, bridge saddle angles / heights and intonation. Its better than any Strat I've ever tried. I think the secret is that I chose a great Strat to begin with and knew what to do to bring it to Star player level. No rattles, hum, choke points, issues with string breakage or tuning stability. It sings and sustains like a Stradivarius and rich in harmonics at every fret. A gift from God! I also bent the trem arm to a lower angle so that it just clears the control knobs. That's something peculiar to my own preference and playing style. The trem block has about a half centimeter clearance as I don't require any trem histrionics! Its got a rosewood fingerboard and skunk stripe, and is a tobacco-burst finish. I don't see the need for any further changes or upgrades and just incredibly grateful to own it.
the fender spring worked in a Kramer baretta special nice fix.
Glad to help James!
wow, springs? how didn't i think of that :D
i put a spring under my floyd rose and it works perfectly. best fix
Excellent! I was just wondering why my MIM trem bar was still wiggly after putting in a spring. I'll look for a bearing now. Thanks!
Check the underside of your bridge block first to make sure you don't have the arm hole drilled straight through. I missed that when I had an MIM Strat. I had to find another solution.
@@AlexPriceMusician I've got a MIM Deluxe Strat and the trem block arm hole was solid on the bottom. I just got the parts you linked and it worked perfectly! Thanks again for the advice!
Works in my Player Series Jazzzmaster for anyone wondering. Had to cut it in half bit it works pretty well !
I like your solution for Mexican Strats!
ordered springs and bearings today. thx
New player series Strats work with a spring, I never knew about the ball bearing though
Yep the ball bearing is probably what I’m missing. Dammit. Bought the spring dropped it in only to find that it doesn’t even touch. The trem arm. Ugh they should never sell the springs without the balls. Stupid. Thank you for the video
After 2 years of owning my Strat, I found a trem arm spring in the case I never used! 😂
There ya go. 3mm ball bearing. Also, for any clicking of the arm against the trem hole I also use a small piece of tape ( I use black gorilla duct tape ) right at the top of the trem arm before the threads start, that stops any additional clicking, play etc
I just did this with a new J Beck strat…
Lastly, the pro fix is buy a Callaham block with the pop in arm. Besides improving your tone dramatically ( it’s cold rolled steel like the old days) you’ll have zero trem arm problems ever again. I’ll likely be doing this upgrade on the new JB soon, I have it on all my other strats.
Great info and details (the most important parts) 🙂.
Did this on my Vintera. No hole through the bridge. Worked perfectly. Now I just have too many ball bearings and springs!
Me too haha. I’ve been passing them out when someone I know has the same issue
interesting. this was helpful my sterling cutlass trem bar is just loose.
Thanks! This worked perfectly
Is it necessary to have a cat for this fix? It looked like it helped! :)
Not required but absolutely recommended!
@@AlexPriceMusician I tried the feline assistance approach, but my canines went nuts.
Hey thanks man! this was very helpful.
Thanks a lot, mine is US Strat standard 2018, do you think it has that metal ball too, or just the spring?
Just the spring, I think. Fender has been providing the spring, but with no ball bearing for over 50 years.
@@pcollenyt3683 Thanks a lot buddy
Does the ball bearing help keep the spring in place without taping hole where tremolo screws into?
No, it just keep the spring upright and able to spin
Thanks, very helpful.
FYI if you've just got a spring, the ball from your bathroom plug chain is 3mm. Cut one off and use that. I just have!
Thanks for this video, let me ask something. I've got an Mexican Fender with out that hole on the bottom of the bridge. 5mm vibrato arm fits in it. Could be 3mm ball bearing still good? Thanks for the answer.
Yes I think 3mm will work fine
Yes I think 3mm will work fine
Can you please show how to switch tremolo arm tips for the Stratocaster
Hey i noticed you have a floating bridge, have you had any problems with tuning? Because ive been thinking of converting my squier to a floating trem but a lot of videos say that the guitar would be unstable and mess up tuning. Thanks for the fix on the trem arm btw
Nope, not on this guitar. I had tried it on my MIM strat though years ago and had a ton of issues. I think it's mostly about the setup (making sure the nut is cut properly, etc.) and the bridge hardware being high quality.
I float my strat bridge, it mostly just comes down to how well you set it up. If you can get the balance between the springs and the strings right, tuning usually isn't a big problem. It's still less stable than a set bridge, and if you're going Eddie Van Halen on the thing, you might want to get a more advanced vibrato.
I would think that the ball bearing suppose to go on top of the spring thus seat in between the spring and the whammy bar to prevent getting scratching notices when the moving the whammy bar
Very helpful, thanks. For reference I have a 2017 MIM Deluxe Strat with no hole under the vibrato arm.
We even got the same monitors.
Tried this minus the bearing, as Fender states that they do not include bearings. Only the spring. Tried it, the arm got stuck as I screwed it in. Tried to take it out and it wouldn't budge. I used a little more pressure to back it out and the arm snapped off right in the middle of the threads. So, half the threads were stuck in the block which basically trashed the bridge... there was no way to drill it out, and if you did, the opening would be slightly larger and your tremolo arm threads would be slightly too small now. This was an expensive lesson ($250 total - $100 for new bridge, $125 to luthier). Luthier stated he never saw anything like this before. Also, questioned the use of a "bearing" for rotation. He spoke with Fender who stated no bearings are included on U.S. Strats. Not sure why they would state this if you actually received a bearing with yours?
The Stew Mac site where it shows the spring and ball bearing says that the ball bearing is 4mm, not 3mm?
Thy might've changed products since I posted the link. Here's a set that should work - amzn.to/2YUl0An
All the tremolo arm tension spring kits that come with ball bearings are not genuine Fender parts! The genuine Fender don't come with ball bearings, because you don't need them. That's why you had to cut your spring in half!
Cool. Thanks.
2020 American professional II strat and no hole in the back. It doesn't even have a spring and the arm doesn't screw in. I think it's an Allen in the block that can be tightened
Does their new design still have the issue described in this video?
@@AlexPriceMusician seems like it. The allen in the block can be tightened to create tension on the arm to keep it from turning so easily. And the arm doesn't screw in. It just has a groove on it to keep it in the hole and you press it in or pull it straight out.
I have a 2005 Affinity Strat, and my trem bar wobbles a lot. I bought the springs you speak of and dropped one in. I checked my block and there isnt a hole. I put the spring in, and I go to screw in my bar, but the bar wont screw in. it doesnt catch on the threads and just falls out. What do i do?
Cut the spring in half. That’s what I did. Just make sure it’s still long enough that it doesn’t get turned sideways in the hole.
@@AlexPriceMusician Thanks.
You can get a dozen of those springs from Fender for $7.00, but they don't include a ball bearing. I never saw a ball bearing come with the stock Fender spring included with a new guitar...maybe that is a new feature. How do you know that the ball bearing goes in first instead of after the spring. I think it would function better as an aid to trem arm rotation if inserted after the spring. I can't understand the purpose of its function if it goes in first, before the spring.
My performer strat came with a spring but no ball bearing.Having trouble with it now the arm is either wobbly or tightens right up so I’m worried I’ve stripped the thread
If that’s what you think happened, it’s luckily easy to replace the bridge block. You can get any number of difference materials. Some people like brass. I put a steel one in my MIM strat years ago.
Cat approved!
Do not understand why Fender still make treaded tremolo-arms on most of their strats (and many other brands). Mr Wilkinson's solution works so much better (decades ago).
Agreed.
I got the ball and spring. They allow the bar to fall out of the way of my picking hand, but not swing all the way down to the jack. That's good. But now the bar fits even looser into its hole, as the bar can't screw down as far. Not good.
Right, I had that issue too. That’s why I cut the spring in half
@@AlexPriceMusician Thanks. I did cut mine in half also. Better, but I still want the bar to screw down farther. Not sure I need the ball in there. And now they won't come out! Gonna try to drill through there.
Will this work for a squire jaguar
What type of bridge is it? Looks the same as a strat bridge?
@@AlexPriceMusician no, it looks more like a mustang saddle
Kevin!
Does it work for a made in japan traditional 50s strat as well?...amazon seems to say american amd mexican only....
Hard to say. You really just need to make sure there’s no hole in the back of the bridge, that’s the only thing. Otherwise, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’m sure the size of the hole is generally the same.
@@AlexPriceMusician Ok thanks...will give it a try...yes I think it's the same too :)
How did it turn out Al? I've got the same question.
@@seangordon846 Oh sorry Sean, I haven't tried it yet..I was just curious as I was trying to find a way to make it stop wobbling...don't really use the tremolo that much though..
@@AL-tx7nc i ordered the ball bearing and spring yesterday. Won’t get the ball bearings until May. Will let you know how it works. Those Japanese Strats are great aren’t they?
Mine broke, and is now trapped inside my guitar :)
Or ya know, Fender could just take a small amount of time and fix it so it's not an issue anymore.... grr. 😐
nah, that'd make too much sense
saw this and was curious about what a wobbly tremolo would sound like, then you started talking about the vibrato
Ha! Thank you. I realized I never finished writing the title of the video.
Also, it doesn't help that Leo Fender mistakenly called his elegant vibrato mechanism a tremolo in the first place lol
@@AlexPriceMusician have you tried s Jazzmaster Vibrato?
Only about once or twice. I’ve never felt the desire to own one though. It always seemed like you had to do a lot of work to get the pitch to fluctuate. I prefer the ratio that the Strat bridge gets.
@@AlexPriceMusician ok, i will say that adjustments to the Jazzmaster bridge is a little complicated. have you tried a Jaguar? i’m asking because Joe Pass played one
@@the_based_and_trad_protestant A Jaguar I've never tried, that's for sure. I'd like to sometime - just haven't had a reason
screw mac is too expensive 😂
If I sub can you send me a ball bearing lol
Strays are awful guitars, I learned that when I was 7. Literally, I was 7.
Thanks! I totally agree
Damn dude. Stellar video. Thanks.