New trem springs = problem

[The Rosch]

Yesterday I moved up from 10's to 11's on my strat, and i added a trem spring (bringing my grand total to 5), and loosened the spring claw a little, because it was a little too tight. Today when i was playing i noticed a strange reverby ring mod sound when turned up loud, I don't know if this is caused by the springs vibrating at a different pitch, or what. Anyone know how to rid me of this problem?

[whiteop]

5 springs is an awful lot. I'd check to see if they are all seated correctly. One might be not be hooked tightly into the trem block. It's probably something real simple.

[SteveO]

That is the springs vibrating in sympathy with the volume coming off of the amp. I first experienced this with my PRS at a gig, and it took a few minutes to figure out what was causing it. I wedged a couple extra earplugs under the springs near the claw and this dampened them enough to eliminate the ringing aftertones without affecting the function or feel of the trem.

[Ronsonic]

I had a Strat that did that once. Damn thing loved B-flat.

Like Steve suggested you can damp it, that's what I ended up doing.

One thing to try is angle the claw. Honestly, I'm guessing with this, but if they aren't all at the same tension they may be less likely to ring together. Shouldn't take much just a turn back on the treble and one in on the bass side. At least that's what I'd try first.

[K-Line]

Throw a piece of electrical tape acroos the springs to see if anything changes. I thnk 4 springs is more than enough leaving the middle out.

[EADGBE]

I put foam rubber in the spring compartment. It's a good dampener.

[Seegs]

Raw Vintage tremelo springs...allows you to use 5 springs but they have less tension than most springs I have used...great cheap upgrade...

Chow,
Seegs

[blong]

I actually like when my guitars do this. I feel like I have the perfect balance between the strings and the springs when they resonate. I have all my PRSi set up like this, and one of my strats. I can't hear it through the amp, so who cares. It doesn't bother me. After finding this I realized that Carlos Santana likes this, too.

Bob

[Ronsonic]

Blong, there is a sweet spot where it sounds very good. There is also a tendency for these things to go bad and howl like a fookin' coyote.

[SteveO]

Blong, there is a sweet spot where it sounds very good. There is also a tendency for these things to go bad and howl like a fookin' coyote.

Yes, THIS is what I experienced. Not enjoyable at all...

[The Rosch]

Blong, there is a sweet spot where it sounds very good. There is also a tendency for these things to go bad and howl like a fookin' coyote.

How am i to find this elusive "sweet spot?"

PS. I have tried everything posted above so far.

[chervokas]

Yeah, I'm not that crazy about the sympathetic vibration. At first it seems to impart a lively, 'verby kind of quality, then it starts driving you nuts--for a while I had a persistant ringing G hanging over everything I played--and yeah, sometimes it can be more than annoying and a hugely problematic source of noise.

I find that with a lot of tension--4 springs and .011s-- the resonant frequency must be moved high enough or damped sufficiently to be inaudible/unexcitable by normal playing.

But at other tensions I've tried variously damping the springs w/ little bigs of foam rubber or even some small crumpled balls fo paper towel--whatever damping material is handy and doesn't interfere too much w/ the trems action.

[Ronsonic]

First thing I'd try is angling the claw slightly to not have too many resonances focused on the same frequency. I'd also go with the Raw Vintage springs. They are inexpensive as top-shelf guitar mods go and made a big difference in the guitar I've got them in.

[RRfireblade]

Angling the claw is actually the correct alignment for it(imo) but for the opposite reason. The string tension on the bridge side is not even as the string gauge changes , so does the tension. This wants to torque the bridge/plate and put uneven tension on the springs. Angling the claw helps to even that tension out and correct the torque issue.

Its subtle but that's how ans why I do it.

This may or may not help the ringing issue tho.

First thing I'd try is angling the claw slightly to not have too many resonances focused on the same frequency. I'd also go with the Raw Vintage springs. They are inexpensive as top-shelf guitar mods go and made a big difference in the guitar I've got them in.

[K-Line]

Hey, I have had to scape builds just for the same reason. Nothing would help, was just a bad frequency in the neck or body or the combo of the two. Could be a bad set of strings but I doubt it.

[RvChevron]

I use heat shrink tubes to wrap each spring's coil part so the tubes shrink just enough to "hug" but not choke the springs.

This gets rid of any faux reverb or spring noise.