What are the pros and cons of having 5 tremolo springs like on the Eric Johnson Strats?

hi , pro's , good tuning stability (bridge decked)
cons , it'll break the trem arm (probably ) , or be very hard , cheers
Alan

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I use 5 springs and float. I don't use my trem very often, but I do want it functional. Tuning stability is increased, trem is stiffer.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

I don't use my tremolo a lot so I like the stability but if I do wanna use it with 5 springs I'll still be able to right?

Yes, but like Alanssaab pointed out, don't try to get too crazy/dive bomb-y, or you can break a trem bar.

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Oh no but if I wanted a slight wobble of pitch it would work right? Also if I did wanna divebomb I could just remove a spring or two right?

If you mount it flush, you'd be able to get a little wobble with a slack on the strings...if you set it as a "floating trem", you could wobble more.

If you want to dive bomb, yes, you could remove a couple of springs, but it's not just as easy as that; removing a couple of springs could change your setup/action/string height...I'm not saying it would definitely change it, but it could mess it up a bit.

Just out of curiousity, why do you want to do this?

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I find that I too have better tuning ability by using 5 springs especially after doing a lot of bending.I find that also with 5 springs I can do some pretty agressive vibrato arm work without damaging the arm.The secret of using 5 springs is to take the time to create a fine balance with the tension of the springs and not to have the tension put too tight.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I don't want to highjack the thread but this discussion made me curious. When I bought my MIM Stratocaster, the bridge would lift up when I tuned it. I took the back plate off and adjusted the claw down so that it was stabilized very close to the body. Works great but here is my question. If I were to loosen the claw up and add one or two springs, would I have a problem since the tapered ends of the screws would be backed out somewhat and setting where the thicker end of the screw used to be (slightly bigger hole)? I don't use the whammy bar but I was just curious as to what the more experienced players might think....

I like 4 or 5 springs with a semitone of float. Fewer springs feels to sensitive to me now. With a little float you can get a nice chord vibrato going. That's all I do though no reason for me to dive bomb anymore. The nut is the tuning culprit. My next build or buy that has a trem will have a LSR. I guess more springs helps the guitar return to zero faster at the bridge. I would measure it more based on personal sensitivity preference between 3 and 5 springs.

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My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.

Like I said I don't use my tremolo enough so I like more tuning stability but every now and then I like a slight wobble of pitch so I still want a tremolo there just in case.

I set the bridge flush with five springs,I just like the solid feel of it all....stays in tune forever.

I'll see your flush-set bridge with five springs and I'll raise you by a few quarter dollars...

I set mine flush (with only three springs) and blocked the tremolo with some quarters. I rarely (if ever) used the tremolo and preferred the feel and stability of a hardtail, so this was the closest thing I could do without getting a hardtail Strat (which is still on the GAS list)...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals