Hi. I have a Squier Strat Affinity guitar. I bought it for my 7 year old son to get started with an electric guitar. The trouble is in our move, I broke the tremolo arm off. I can still see the threads and they do not look damaged. QUESTION: can my son use the guitar without the tremolo arm attached? I've seen replacements for the arm (5mm threads?) for sale for around $10.

I'm willing to buy a new arm, however, a tech at a local Guitar Center told me I didn't need to replace the arm, particularly if my son wouldn't use it (he will not). The tech said to remove the back plate and tighten the (tremolo spring) screws toward the neck as tight as they can go (to tighten the springs). He said that would better allow the guitar to stay in tune w/o the tremolo arm attached. Is this correct? Should I tighten the spring screws?

Can anyone help me? I'm an acoustic guitar player (but may be looking for my own electric in the near future) and do not know much about the guitar. Thank you in advance for all for the help. I really want my son to enjoy this guitar (he's starting to lose interest in piano and says he's ready to play an electric guitar).

Kind regards,
Bluebear007

Hi Bluebear007,

That is true, if you do not use the tremolo (vibrato actually), no need for a bar. Many people don't use them (like me) and simply unscrew the bar so it won't be in the way. And, yes, tightening the claw screws will "deck" the bridge so that it stays put.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

shimmilou,

Thank you for the response. I greatly appreciate it. I'm going to remove the cover to see if the "claw screws" are obvious. You wouldn't happen to be able to post a photo of them would you? In any event, if I can't figure it out I may post a photo of my own -once I get the back plate off the guitar. I'm pretty handy with tools/repairs, but have never looked at an electric guitar before. I'll post my progress in the forum.

All the best,
BB007

Claw screws are the two big ones at the top of the photo. Just tighten them all the way down. Do it slowly.



You will probably need to adjust the action and intonation of the guitar afterwards. You can follow this procedure or take it back to the store for adjustment if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide

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Bill

Yep, you'll see them when the back plate is removed. To post pics, they must be on a publicly accessible website such as Photobucket. Once uploaded to the pic site, each pic will have an IMG code that you can copy and paste into your post here. The code will look like the one in the code box below. Once the code is pasted in your post, click "Preview" or "Submit" to see the pic in your post.



You can see the claw with the two screws in this pic, on the left.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

If terms like "spring claw screws" have you confused than "intonation adjustment" and "string height adjustment" might make your head swim. Never fear! While this site is full of experienced folks more than happy to teach you about such things, a video is worth a ton of words. Try searching Youtube for videos on setting up or adjusting an electric guitar. They are very informative and usually use a strat or strat like guitar with the same features. Then if you run into problems with something this forum is a super resource for tricky issues.
Most of us have been there and done that. Trust me when I say it the guitar is set up properly your son will enjoy playing it a lot more. If the intonation isn't set up it won't quite be in tune and he might get discouraged.

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TOO MANY GUITARS, TOO LITTLE TIME!

Current Stable:
Fender Stratocaster MIM 07
Squire II Stratocaster MIK 89?
ESP LTD MH-100QM
Jackson KE3 Kelly MIJ

Many, many thanks to all that responded. I can't tell you how impressed I am with your knowledge and willingness to help.

I hope something good comes to each of you. E.g. may you find new Stratocasters under your pillows (or at least have wonderful dreams of rock stardom) when you wake up tomorrow!

Thanks again. I'm going to give it a try this weekend.

Instead of "The Princess and the Pea" it would be "The Princess and the Stratocaster".

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Bill