Try using a crochet hook,you can pick them up in sewing departments at Walmart etc. it has a small crook on the tip that should do the trick.

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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.

Heya Jazzyguy, This is more for leaving the spring in the hole, rather than removing it. My little trem spring was "stuck'' too once for days once, even when i turned my guitar upside down and tapped the body with my hands. It finally popped out when it felt like it, naturally causing me to go on a search mission from hell to find it! after that, i used scotch disappearing tape over the hole until i thought of using one of the little tiny rubber erasers from a mechanical pencil. i had to cut a bit of a taper into the bottom of it, to create somewhat of a rubber stopper shape, and it stays in the trem arm hole good and tight, with the top almost flush with the trem bodies surface. Since my guitar is silver with a white pickguard, the off white colored eraser looks great. I believe the purpose of the spring is to keep pressure on the end of the trem arm to prevent loose swinging around in circles. My experience with how many turns, was to stop when the arm gets fairly snug, then the spring is compressed a bit, and does it's job. too many hard turns could snap the arm off. I hope this helps, keep on rockin!

P.S. It's also good for erasing embarassing mistakes in one's playing.

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I believe in Christianity as i believe that the sun has risen. not only because i see it, but because by it, i see everything else. C.S. Lewis

I took an old cut off end of a D string that I had laying around after stringing my other guitar and bent over the wire end to a nice small hook kinda like this ___________> and it was small enough and strong enough to pull the tremolo spring out. I also saved it for future use.

When this happened to me, I used a wooden toothpick. I stuck it in about 3/4 of the way in, used a circular motion, then turned to guitar facing down. It came right out. Hopefully yours is just stuck on the threads and not bent to hell.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I think they have to come up with a solution with this spring as once a week someone has a problem with one.

I've never had the problem. but would have thought that the Heimlich Manoveur would be a good way to proceed..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

If you need a new spring, here is a webpage that has them. You can also check with your local guitar shop to see of they have them as well.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=420519

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I know what you are talking about brother.I keep one in my wallet wraped up in masking tape just like a cheap rubber.I keep a box of 12 at my test bench. Got mine at my local shop. Boooiiinnnngg. Stupid things should be painted red or yellow not black.

well to answer your earlier question about how many turns I would say less is more as I made the mistake of over tightening to the point where it snapped off! have since bought a new block and am worried to put a new arm in. In the past I have not come across this spring and trem arms have been a bit loose, something that needs fixing at fender's end, so my new hw1 had the spring and as I said must have cross threaded but there was about 5mm of thread still above the hole so god knows how many turns it needs, it looked wrong to have so much thread showing so I kept turning til snap!. I even think the trem arm could have been wrong fit in the first instance, now still worried about the choice of 10/32 thread arm or 5mm arm. the guy who made my new steel block said 5mm so will try that first

Wow Jazzy good point, they may well have just got "a" trem bar from around back, but surely the guitar would come with its own case and trem? or are all gig bags just piled up? Well, it is history now I suppose, so I am going to buy a 5mm and a 10/32 just in case, over a month now since I bought it and still not played the sucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is confusing though and often comes up on this forum about why mia guitars and mim hardware are cross assembled, from trem blocks to spacing, trem arms etc, ah well at least we are sharing knowledge thanks, I guess I need a spring too now since mine is stuck in the old block!!!lol. jeez.

Wow Jazzy good point, they may well have just got "a" trem bar from around back, but surely the guitar would come with its own case and trem? or are all gig bags just piled up? Well, it is history now I suppose, so I am going to buy a 5mm and a 10/32 just in case, over a month now since I bought it and still not played the sucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is confusing though and often comes up on this forum about why mia guitars and mim hardware are cross assembled, from trem blocks to spacing, trem arms etc, ah well at least we are sharing knowledge thanks, I guess I need a spring too now since mine is stuck in the old block!!!lol. jeez.

Well the easy answer is to ditch the spring. Its a shoddy solution to a design flaw. It wasnt included with vintage strats and after a while it doesnt keep the trem tight anyway. If anything it promotes crossthreading by forcing the trem arm threads up against the blocks thread. Of all the wild claims Callaham make, their trem arm fitting is heads and shoulders above fender's screw in fitting.
Why cant fender use the deluxe trems snap in system on their vintage trems? It wouldnt have to alter anything aestheticaly and would solve all the problems with it.

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No no and no

Just use teflon tape.

I agree, the callaham site have attempted to solve the design flaw and but for the price I would have got one but found a guy here in England making cold steel ones, alas I don't think he angles the hole. I may not bother with a spring, a pop in trem would solve it but they can loosen easily over time. Maybe a new model down the line will sort this out, if it is a case of listening to what the people want like with the new hw1 then it may be only a matter of time?