Fender recommends that the trem sits 1/8" off the body. Just wondering does it matter?


I was thinking of having mine set up flush with the body so if I happen to break a string on stage the rest of the strings will stay close to proper pitch & I can finish the song before stopping. I don't really plan to use the trem much if at all.

I have an original 1988 Ibanez RG 550 with a Floyd trem on it for my dive bomb songs.

Is there a reason concerning "tone" that Fender says 1/8"?

I re-string for every show anyway & it's highly unlikely that I'd break a string. Still, I was thinking of setting it flush.

What do you fellow strat players think?

Thanks
JPH

That is just an approximate.

If you don't use the trem then I guess you might as well keep it decked.
You would want to make sure to test if everything stays in pitch without your low E in that case.
But if you stick to your brand and ensure your guitar is kept in good order you shouldn't have a problem with breakages anyway.

So what do you do with the Ibanez if you break a string?

Nope it just offers you a good range for bends in either direction.
I think 1/8" is just an easy measurement that works.

Decking the trem, using more springs and blocking the trem with wood is meant to affect the tone and sustain. But you can change all sorts of things on the guitar to change tone. If it is good or bad is up to the ears of the player.

Shockwarrior,

Thanks for the info~ I'll probably deck it.

As for the RG, I blocked it long ago, I do use the trem on it but I only like it to go down. I don't like for it to float.


Thanks

I've always had my trems decked so that they just barely touch the body and they stay perfectly stay in tune after string beakage and trem use/bending.I use the dive function and never had any use for having the bridge floating.It takes a bit more fiddling and adjstment to set the bridge 'til it just touches but it saves on the finish and you don't get that annoying clunk come through the pickups when the bridge hits the body.

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Thanks again for the tips. I decked mine & set up the saddles according to Fender's recommendations.

PLAYS GREAT now & I don't have to deal with a floating trem.

Okay, so really just excuse my ignorance (ie, confusion), but in the pictures above, is the top one the way it should sit if it is 1/8 off, and the bottom one the way it is set so that the trem will be flush? Or, to be more blunt, mine looks like the top picture; is that approximately the way it should be set (depending on individual preference)? Thanks

It's all preference. But to me the top photo looks higher than 1/8 inch. For tuning stability while drop tuning for certain songs, I didn't want a floating trem. So I tightened the spring screws in the back cavity of the guitar far enough to put the trem flush to the body with a set of 10's on it.

You can pick up a 6" steel rule made by "General" that measures in 8ths, 16ths on one side & 32nds, & 64ths on the other at most "mom & pop" hardware shops. That's what I did.

Fender suggests & supposedly ships strats with the 1/8" trem set up but also states that many people choose to deck strat trems for stability.

Hope that helps.

The top is indeed 1/8" fully floating
The bottom is sitting off the deck.

Some people like it a little off the deck to protect the finish and it allows you to do flutters and small bends.

Tuning will become unstable breaking a string live if you have the tremolo anything but fully decked.
But that is what having a backup guitar and fresh strings is all about

Once you know how to setup and use a trem it adds another dimension to your playing.
Of course what gets most people started is playing a song that has trem/vibrato in it.
Then you can play to massive crowds like Hank Marvin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB91ayDlQLE

+1 for fully decked. That's the way I like mine. I have a Kramer with a Floyd Rose for whammy action. Great post Shockwarrior, you covered it all quite well.

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