I have a molded case that I have been storing my strat plus in with the tremolo arm installed. The manual that came with the guitar said to leave the arm installed and point it towards the input jack. I have been doing this since 1989 without a problem however I just noticed that when I close the case it is actually pushing the trem down so that it touches the body of the guitar. I don't really like this idea and I'm worried about it because during the setup that was just done to it the luthier floated the trem a little less than 1/8 an inch off the deck. I would simply remove the arm but then I have to be concerned about loosing the spring and stripping the threads.
Do you guys store your strat in the case with the arm installed?

I'm a gigging musician so as you can imagine my strat(s) come out and go into their cases a lot! And I always remove the trem arm. I can't imagine that removing the arm would strip the thread if you do it carefully. I've never had an issue with it. I always put a little plumbing tape around the threads too to ensure a tight fit.

However I would imagine if the case is pressing on the arm, and consequently putting stress on the springs that it could damage them in the long run no?

Just my 2 cents worth.

Also, anytime I've bought a guitar the arm hasn't been installed when it's been in a case so....

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"I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so f*ckin' heroic!"

Many people would pay good money for this worn springs. Although I seriously doubt it does anything to the guitar other than maybe relieving tension on the neck, I've never experienced.any untoward effect of leaving the bar on.

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

There is a post regarding this in "Tech Talk". You should remove your tremolo arm when storing it in the case unless the guitar has a Bigsby tremolo.

Here is what my American Series manual says:
"Do not remove the tremolo arm once it has been installed, or the spring in the receptacle hole could be lost. To store the instrument in its case, simply swing the tremolo arm towards the corner of the case where the output jack is located."
However I have noticed that luthiers and guitar techs always remove the arm when they put the guitar in the case. It seems as if it could cause a problem but I have not had any problems yet in over 20 years. I would probably be more likely to have a problem if I had been removing and reinstalling the arm everyday for over 20 years. It does seem funny if Fender is now saying to remove the arm.

Here's the link to tech talk:

http://www.fender.com/news/index.php?di ... rticle=547

Yeah, I always remove mine.

BUT

Would somebody pleeeeeease tell me why, considering that Strat has been around since 1954, and a zillion of them have been made, why Fender doesn't supply a case that accommodates the trem arm? C'mon. I should be able to leave the trem in the "about to be used" position, put the guitar in the case, and close the lid. All that's needed in a molded, foam lined case, is a little indentation inside the lid about a 1/2" wide by the length of the trem arm. Problem solved.

With the American 2-point tremolo, removing the trem arm is not an issue as there is not small spring down in the hole. I have seen those only on vintage trem systems. I know when I got my 1989 Clapton Strat there was a round sticker over the trem hole to keep that spring in there. So the issue is that small spring.

I ALWAYS remove the trem arm but then almost all my guitars are the 2-point system that either pop's in or screws in with the 2 adjustable Allen screws to take up any slack due to wear. I do not like pushing down on the case against the trem arm. Just does not seem very healthy to do that!

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

I've accumulated a variety of trem arms and have had some custom
made by my machinist friend as well as bending some myself and always
leave them on whether in the case or not.

Been doing it this way for close to 50 years and never had a problem!

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