Tremolo systems are like see-saws, they both need balance to work properly.

In the previous article I mentioned the importance of balance in a good setup and with a trem system, either locking or traditional, achieving a state of equilibrium is that much more important. The other nuts and bolts of a good setup - neck relief, nut height, string height and action - all have to work together with the trem system in order to get the best playability out of your guitar.

Recently, I received a call from one of my students who had just purchased an instrument with a Floyd Rose system installed. He said the bridge was sitting too high and he was having a heck of a time trying to tune it. Immediately I thought "he's changed string gauges". Then I asked him " how many times have you tried to tune it?". His exasperated response was "at least four or five times!".

Well now, this is typical of the effect a temperamental tremolo system has on the uninitiated. To understand this very common situation we'll have a look at the basic workings of such a system and hopefully provide a remedy for those of you suffering with the same or similar predicaments.

To begin with, I'm going to use a Floyd Rose style trem system as an example since it tends to be one of the more popular types of tremolos and the effects of an unbalanced situation are a little more obvious. Keep in mind that all these "floating" whammy bar systems are based on the same principal - the ability to raise or lower string pitch and then return to a neutral position without screwing up the original tuning!

When the instrument is set up properly, the bridge plate should be level or flush with the top of the body. This allows plenty of room for those nasty dive bombs where steel strings turn to rubber bands and also gives you room to pull back on the bar to create those interesting "screaming cat" noises.

Without getting into a spiel on physics, you'll notice the pivoting point or "fulcrum" is not in the center but shifted more to one side. The idea is that a little bit of pressure does a lot of work when it has "leverage"; a car jack or an ordinary pair of pliers uses the same principal.

In reference to my see-saw analogy, imagine a fat kid at one end of the board and a skinny runt at the other. With the pivoting point more on fatty's side, the little guy has more leverage and can counterbalance the force of the big guy's weight. With a trem system, the strings are actually pulling with more force than the springs but because leverage is on the springs' side, the two can reach a point of balance.

If you change to a heavier gauge of strings - ie; the fat guy getting fatter - the point of equilibrium is thrown out of whack causing the bridge to come up.

If you change to a lighter gauge of strings - ie; fatty loses some weight - again the balance of the system gets messed up.

Great. So how do we fix it?

Obviously, there's a way to keep things at a happy medium. The springs located in the back are attached to a claw plate which in turn is fastened to the guitar body by two screws. You can adjust these screws inward to level the bridge if it's too high or turn them out if the bridge is too low.

Now a word on doing this quickly and efficiently.

Don't be squeamish about giving the screws a few good cranks - in the right direction of course - and try to keep the back edge of the claw plate in line with the back of cavity route. When you think you've got it where you want it, quickly tune the instrument up to pitch and check for a good level.

"Wait, wait ,wait! Tune quickly?"

- Yes ... tune quickly!

Don't waste time with trying to nail the pitch of each string from the get go; by the time you get the last string in tune, the one you started with will be waaaaay out! (Hence having to tune four or five times!). Try to anticipate the correction of your original pitch and compensate with a couple of extra cranks on the tuners. With a little experience you'll get the hang of it especially since you'll probably have to tweak the claw plate a little anyway.

The locking nut that usually comes with these systems deserves a little mention here. They differ from ordinary nuts in that they're either bolted to the neck or held in place with screws. This allows for some degree of adjustment and maintenance whereby thin shims can be inserted or removed from underneath to get the string height at an appropriate level. If you find your string height still too high without any shimming, the nut will have to be re-seated and that should be a job done by your local guitar tech.

Regardless of the manufacturer these things should be solidly fastened to the neck. Because string pressure changes dramatically when the whammy bar is used, any slack at the nut can cause tuning problems so make sure it's held firmly in place.

As you can see, Floyd Rose, Kahler and similar systems are rather like fussy thoroughbreds that need special attention. When set up properly, these finely tuned machines handle like champions allowing you to add incredible sonic character to your playing.

There's still tons of little details regarding the proper setup of a floating whammy system. This article is intended to illustrate the basics in getting your guitar stabilized and out of the funky bridge blues. If any of you out there would like to see more information on the finer points, intonation, stringing a floating system etc., just drop a line to Jammit Music Services .