Fix for Wobbly Strat Vintage Trem Arm

[ceridwenstudios]

This is probably old news to many, but since I just stumbled across it, I figured I should share.

I have seen as a common trend across different guitar forums that eventually the tremolo arm (whammy bar) for Fender Strats will begin to develop a wobble as the threads loosen.

A good, cheap fix, that worked better for me than the plumber's tape, is a 1/4" (or shorter) piece of heat-shrink tube, normally used to protect a connection between spliced wires.

Place the tube over the threads and heat. Once you screw the arm back into its socket, it will slide up to the part above the threads (where the wobble is generated), filling up the space enough to fix the wobble, while remaining loose enough that you do not have to push it out of the way.

It is not a permanent fix, but it saved me the hundred bones for a new tremolo bridge assembly.

Hope that helps some others out.

-JH

[VaughnC]

Did you put the trem arm tension spring in the block before screwing in the arm? It keeps tension on the arm so it doesn't flop around. A lot of players lose the spring but you can get them at most Fender dealers.

[einstein]

u can put sawdust in the hole and screw the arm in to eliminate play.

[ceridwenstudios]

I have a '90s Mexican Standard, so the hole goes straight through, which causes the spring to drop out the bottom. Trust me, I had tried almost everything short or replacing the bridge at this point.

-JH

[paulvcarter]

plumbers white tape = BEST FIX EVER. A few wraps around the arm, done.

[vibrasonic]

Originally Posted by paulvcarter

plumbers white tape = BEST FIX EVER. A few wraps around the arm, done.

+1 on the plumbers tape , works for me. Super simple and cheap.

[DavidLM]

Originally Posted by VaughnC

Did you put the trem arm tension spring in the block before screwing in the arm? It keeps tension on the arm so it doesn't flop around. A lot of players lose the spring but you can get them at most Fender dealers.

Yep, little black spring down the hole and no more slop. Lasts forever unlike teflon tape. Works on certain Floyd Rose's too.

[vibrasonic]

Callaham bars seem to fit much better.