There's nothing silly about it. If you had read my description you'd see I agreed with you in that the bended string still needs the same amount of tension to bend to a certain pitch and that soft springs means you have to bend further to get to that pitch. It's the strings you have to push through that makes it easier. As the bridge moves they all stay in equilibrium (or closer to it than a fixed bridge) even though you're bending them as well because the bridge moves to accomodate them requiring even further bending to achieve pitch. Not so in a fixed bridge. The other strings are subjected to greater increases in tension as you push through them because they are solidly anchored so there's no give except the stretch of the strings themselves.

Human fingers are extremely sensitive feelers. Adjust a depth micrometer to 0.0005" (½ of a thou) and run your finger over the base and you can feel it plain as day. If it feels easier to bend it's because it is easier to bend but only because the "other" strings are easier to push through.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I can see where it may be easier for some to bend with less tension on the bridge. For me, the shorter the distance I have to bend the string to reach a certain pitch, the easier to bend.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Maybe I'm wrong but, the required bending feel using specific strings gauge is not the main reason why many players over the time tune their guitar Eb?

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E.J. Strat 2006
American special tele (2011) with custom shop nocaster pu
Mexican Jazz bass fretless
Gibson Howard Roberts
Ibanez Roadstar II
MESA Express 5:25

I believe you are correct. Eb tuning is for a certain tone. Though I may be wrong too. But tone is the reason I do it.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

A lot of guitar players used to tune to Eb so that they would be in sync with the horn section which was usually in Bb so when they were both tuned to a flat key playing together was much easier.Eddie Kramer said that Jimi Hendrix tuned to Eb for 2 reasons 1.He found it easier to sing when tuned to Eb 2.It was a lot easier to facilitate the extreme bends he did with his strings.

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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 like to bend the poop out of my notes. My bridge is locked down with 5 springs . I like it this way so tphat the other strings down go out of tune when doing big bends. I also have all my guitars tuned to d or lower. To me a full feeling neck makes bends ez. Just for silliness what condition are your frets in. I have a older SG that needs a fret dressing and that feels harder to bend.

Guitarists tune to Eb so they dont get bothered by harmonica players in blues jams..

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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!

Trust me on this - and what niki added - tweak the truss - 1/4 turns (or find a pro to do it).

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Old Bill Lawrence, designer of the Gibson L6S and the Gibson Super humbuckers, always suggested polishing the frets, as he said dirty or corroded frets that causes a lot of drag on the strings. As far as using .09 or .10s, for years I used .09 but then I started playing an acoustic guitars everyday and when I jumped on a Strat with .09s I would bend the strings off the fret board! So I moved to .10s. Practicing often on an acoustic is really good for keeping your fingers in great shape!

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

BMW KTM. I don't know why you've taken my post as a specific reply to you. It wasn't addressed to you and wasn't in response to your post.

In response to your above post. Have you ever tried to stretch a piece of metal by hand? Are guitar strings stretchy? If so, are some more stretchy than others? That could be a factor. A factor that could change even when using 'old favourites'.
And also I'd like to point out that you push through the above string on a bend anyway. Regardless of how many tremolo springs are fitted.

And please don't get defensive about the response part of this post. It's not intended to cause you any discomfort in the slightest.

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No no and no

I've changed the strings, loosened the bridge screws and removed one spring and polished the frets. It seems a little easier but still hard. I live in Bahrain and there are no guitar techs here so I'm pretty much on my own. I'm going to give the truss rod a 1/4 turn and see how that affects it. Mind you how do I know which way to turn it? Best get some feeler guages too but I daren't leave the house at this time with all the rioting and general mayhem that has descended on this island in the last few days
Thanks for all the replies!

Aleeve helps control arthritis pain all day!

LOL. Mine wasn't addressed to you by name either. Technically. It's all good. No worries.

I've been involved in this debate several times before and I've heard all the arguments for and against. Being a bit of a physics nerd I was so curious about it that I went to the trouble of blocking my trem very, very solidly and setting the guitar up again from scratch with the blocked trem. That was maybe 5 or 6 years ago when there was a big noisy debate on the FDP about it. I'd like to be able to use my own experiment to be able to say that I have empirical data but the truth is I didn't take any force measurements or readings of any kind. My experience is entirely subjective but because I did the experiment and comparison and because I know my findings I do have a tendency to be opinionated on the matter.

As a point of interest I also subjectively analysed the sustain issue and just like the bending issue I now feel a certain way about it but I don't have any hard science of my own. Suffice to say I liked it enough that I decided to keep that particular Strat blocked and it has remained so to this day.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

What kind of Strat are you playing? You mention your friend's Am Dlx, is yours also an Am. Dlx? Do they have the same neck, same frets?

I went through the same thing with my '10 Am Dlx, it drove me nuts, couldn't get comfortable with the neck and no matter what tweaks I did the bends always felt horrible! It did improve a bit but the only way I fixed the problem was with a different neck. The profile was too flat for me and I prefer bigger frets. Even with .10s I hated doing bends, and I tried different brands of strings...

I am now back to playing .11s on the same guitar and the bends feel wonderful! I'm also running 5 springs with the bridge floating a bit. The right profile/frets/nut width were the only solution for me, with the profile being the most important IMO.

Hi cedarblues - it's a 1997 MIJ 62 Reissue. Rosewood neck. I had it refretted with gibson jumbo frets (at least I think that's what they were - memory is fading). Anyway they are big and flat like on a LP. They definitely have different necks. The deluxe is much thinner (does that make sense? fretboard to back of neck). I love the feel of the neck on this MIJ strat - it's nice and fat. The frets on the AM Deluxe are almost the same in size (from memory). So you have a new neck on your AM Deluxe? What size/profile etc is it?
I am thinking of maybe tweeking (loosening) the truss rod a touch as it is very flat on the 8the fret <.20 mm. Not sure what difference it will make but it's gotta be worth a go. I really don't want to buy a new neck if I can avoid it - I can't get one very easily over here in Bahrain.
Thanks for the hlp - oh and what is "aleeve" - sounds like it might help the arthritis. Wonder if I can get that over here? Mind you going out isn't really an option right now