Hi guys,

I am making a few spring adjustments on my Strat and I know that Fender recommend something like 1/8" gap between the bridge and body. I was wondering where is this gap measured exactly? Is it the bass or treble side of the bridge? Maybe in the middle?

Are you talking about setting the bridge floating? If so its properly done with a couple of 1/8"(?) dowels placed behind each end the bridge block at the bottom of the cavity with the springs loose and then the guitar tuned. The tension of the strings will hold them in place until the you tighten the springs evenly to remove the dowels with minimal friction. To answer your question, the space should be consistent across the block from bass to treble.


It is measured in the space currently occupied by the piece behind this bridge. Note: in this examlple the bridge is locked an blocked.

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It is measured from the top (face) of the guitar to the bottom of the bridge base plate. Look in your owner's manual. Anyway, this, like nearly everything else with guitars, is a matter of preference. I have some set to factory standards, and a few that are adjusted to be flush with the top. The guitar feels and sounds different each way. You gotta find what you like to use.

Hi James,

Thanks for your reply - this answers my question!

I think Steve answered it more correctly though. What I did was tell you an easy way to set it with the minimal amount of tuning trial and error. I'm not certain though of the dimension of the dowels, its been a few years I'll have to look it up. In either case it should be consistent, bass to treble.

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OK, it was 3/16" not 1/8." That's the size for the dowels or block of wood for setting the trem.

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Setting the height of the rear of the bridge above the body using a dowel or other measuring device is just one way to do it.

The alternative is just as good and maybe easier. Adjust the height so that when you do the maximum up pull on your trem arm, the pitch change is one half step. Example: play an A note on the 1st string at the 5th fret. Now play an A#. Play the A again, and raise the trem arm to the max and listen to see if it sounds like the A#. If not, adjust the height up or down until it sounds right. If you wanted to be more accurate about it, you could use your electronic tuner.

The small advantage of doing it this way, in addition to not needing anything to measure with, is that you know that when you pull the trem up all the way while you're playing your guitar, you've raised the pitch on the note one half step.

On the top half of this picture the bridge is 1/8" off the deck and bottom half is sitting flat.
The measurement is between the underside of the bridge at the highest point (below the red dot) and the body.

It is an approximate measurement and when you tune up you made need to tweak the spring claw a few times to get it to float right.