I had my US Strat set up by a shop several years ago (I actually did not like it, and monkey my own setup now). They only put in 2 Springs (I was surprised) on the Tremolo. But the Tremolo has worked excellently since. I am a beginner, and don't play surf, but I love to dime the Reverb on my DRRI and feather that tremolo up and down the neck, especially with chords. It is so wet and inviting. I'm trying mightly to learn Pipeline.

The springs are losing what I think is their tension. The Strat has occassional trouble staying in tune (it never did this in past). So I purchased some springs online from MF. And man do those toads stink. I just cannot believe the difference. They are not musical! The tremolo bends have no sustain, nuance, or overtones. Just going out of key single-sound dying uninteresting slop. Varying the bend of the Tremolo, while holding notes or chords, yields no acceptable musical sounds like the old springs. I know this sounds weird, but I think I can hear the old springs vibrating with pleasant overtones (that I think get thru to the pups); and these new ones have no sound at all. They are dead!

How can I preserve the current musicality of the springs I have, if I have to replace them in the future? Is there a place to buy "surf" springs? I could not find anywhere to purchase actual Fender Tremolo Springs. Anyone have a heads up on where to find?

Thanks for any help! I just could not believe how important these silly things actually are to tone.

Trem springs may influence tone (Clapton thinks so anyway) but there is no way the dramatic difference you are describing will be down to the springs alone. There must be something else going on with the tremolo system or maybe elsewhere that is killing your tone. When you changed them did you do a straight swap or was anything else changed or adjusted at the same time?

I agree with Johnny; the effect of the springs should not be so drammatical. If you put less sprins in , chances are that the strings are a bit higher; you could notice that on the action; meaning that the strings are further away from the pups and even a sligh difference in the distance between the strings and the pups can make a significant difference.

i set my bridge to about a 2mm rise on the back, im also running only 2 springs, try adjusting the claw that holds the springs rather than changing the springs, any time you run your bridge raised you will lose the ability of the guitar to stay perfectly in tune all of the time... but it should not be effected much... it sounds to me that the new springs you installed are either very weak or are old... the maine cause for a loss of tone when changing speings is because of the different set up... if the bridge is raised you may lose some tone and sustain as there is less surface area of the bridge on the wood... if you want lots of sustain lock your bridge down flat... its only like a 5% difference, but you can definatly feel it when you play...

You want these:
http://www.rawvintage.com/eng/item_springs.php

I have them on my strat and I love them.

I wrote this about them on another forum when asked why I had five springs on my trem:

"The springs on my Aces High strat are from: http://www.rawvintage.com/eng/item_springs.php

They are designed to be used in sets of 4 or 5. I initially only thought I'd use four, but when I was setting up
the bridge to be level with the body, I was still getting to much forward pull/dive from the string tension. Obviously,
I could have compensated with more spring-claw distance, but it got to a certain point where adding the fifth
spring made more sense than more spring-claw adjustment - and I knew from the company's view thats how they
recommended that they be used/installed.

Now that I've had some time to really play the guitar and get to know it - I'm surpised by how much difference
the Raw Vintage springs actually make (vs. just being the stereotypical marketing hype companies love to make
about tone). First off, I can easily tell that the springs are markedly different from my other trem springs in terms of
their actual thickness and tension (and I'm talking 'feel' here, not just their appearence). Second, more springs
attatched at the trem block means more mechanical energy is transfered into the body via the claw and anchoring
screws, and I can tell you - I am absolutley floored at how well and long this guitar sustains (on an Alder body no less).
I can't tell you if the Raw Vintage springs or the brass sustain block have more of an influence, but I don't care - I know I
just love the result! The third thing I found that while doing string bends the strings really feel as if they're
at an overall lower tension at standard tuning, like I've got the guitar tuned to drop D (or lower) for example. I'm literally
surprised every time I make any bend (2-step for instance) and its just so effortless. I know I've got five springs back
there, but if I didnt know better I'd think it was more like two! Now, I've never had stainless steel frets and I know I have
to account for them in the 'feel' category, but I just can't shake the impression that I'm really glad I decided to buy some
'gimmicky' tremolo springs and installing all five. So far, the springs are doing exactly what Raw Vintage said they'd do,
in my opinon thats $20 well spent!"

HTH...

ORCRiST

Most people forget to thank others for a great tip in here. So I just wanted to thank you very much for the tip and web site on these springs, ORCRiST. These dudes seem to wake up the Strat. The guitar is just ......... beefier. Lots of thick tone, and improved sustain. The body "feels" like it is vibrating with more response. I was even able to drop the pups because the tone improved so much and got "louder", which helped sustain even more.

$20 for springs. So little for so much. Thanks again.

+1

I recently ordered 2 sets for 2 Strats and loved the results! They're softer springs so you have to screw the claw in some... trem feels great now but it also affects the tone, it almost feels like it adds reverb. I use all 5 springs and float the bridge a bit, no tuning issues whatsoever.

hmmm , i might pick up a set of these to try them out , thanks cheers
Alan

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I put a set of these springs on my strat today and their most definitely is a difference in the tone, maybe more natural reverb? Not sure how to explain except the guitar is more "alive" for lack of a better term. Good purchase, thanks for the tip!

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— did that sound like something?

Awww. You're very welcome! Pretty impressive for some stupid little springs, eh?

ORC

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