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hey peeps, i'm trying to set my mustang bridge up for 11's and i don't know what to do. it won't return to pitch, i have to move the bar up slightly to get it back to pitch. how do i adjust the tension on the trem springs to pull it up more?

i'd need to use my mustang tonight, so if any one could post a quick how to, i'd love them forever

cheers
rob

Progrockabuse wrote:hey peeps, i'm trying to set my mustang bridge up for 11's and i don't know what to do. it won't return to pitch, i have to move the bar up slightly to get it back to pitch. how do i adjust the tension on the trem springs to pull it up more?

i'd need to use my mustang tonight, so if any one could post a quick how to, i'd love them forever

cheers
rob

This sucks! I had to take mine in for a setup at the shop b/c I couldn't get it set. I'm really not 100% sure what they did but they got it set and the dude told me it was a bitch to set. That's about all the info he gave me on it....can you tighten them down and use without the trem?

if you take off the plate and set the springs farther down, or farther up on the posts it will make a world of difference(i can't remember how they did them stock)
and try bringing the cigar bar closer to the body to increase the string tension over the bridge.

Can't exactly remember how the mustang trem is set up but I think the springs are connected to the tremelo plate itself... so I think the only way to increase tension.. is to move the springs down a notch on the poles if they're not already. I'm guessing you changed from 10s to 11s ?

Off the top of my head other methods include adding more springs.. or changing the tension by using harder/heavier springs.

Maybe changing the height of the lipstick tube may do somethin too... I dunno.

I probably wouldn't risk it for tonight... very much a trial and error thing, and take my advice with a pinch of salt. Not looked at this trem unit for about 8 years despite having a Jagstang next to me as I write this. Which is consequently locked.

good luck.

i've tried lowering the cigar tube, which has worked, but now i have a new problem. my mustang buzzes a fair bit when one pickup is on. i know single coils buzz a little, but this is more like the buzz you get when you take your hand off the guitar. is there supposed to be an earth wire on a mustang, cause i think that might be the problem.

I want to say there was a ground from the pickguard that was secured in the trem cavity....but obviously someone else would be better suited to answer this question.

As far as I know if there is an earth prob. the buzz wont stop when you touch the metal parts of the guitar.

I think the earth wire lies beneath the trem unit somewhere, bridge posts maybe ?

Sorry not much help.

i think the earth wire on my 72 is grounded under the controls, i'd have to open it up to confirm though. there's also a little wire that goes from the bridge cup on the right and sits under the control plate, i dunno if that's a stock thing or if someone's added it later.

Try touching the control plate. If it removes the buzz you need to connect the controlplate and the bridge in order to make a connection with the strings.

If you look where the control plate meets the bridge plate, there is a small piece of metal to 'bridge the gap' and make the connection. I took a small, lippedwasher, hammered it flat, cut it so i had a semi-circle, and used that. I've seen similar on other Mustangs and it does the job fine. If you do it, sand the thin piece of metal you find to make it clean and help make a good contact.

It's possible you just need to physically move the bridge slightly so it touches the control plate.

Of course, all of that might not matter and you might have a wire to do that job for you.

James wrote:

If you look where the control plate meets the bridge plate, there is a small piece of metal to 'bridge the gap' and make the connection. I took a small, lippedwasher, hammered it flat, cut it so i had a semi-circle, and used that. I've seen similar on other Mustangs and it does the job fine. If you do it, sand the thin piece of metal you find to make it clean and help make a good contact.

It's possible you just need to physically move the bridge slightly so it touches the control plate.

Of course, all of that might not matter and you might have a wire to do that job for you.

Yah, thats what I remember the wire from the plate to the bridge, not the pickguard. Good call!

opened up the '76 and it has that wire from the bridge cup to the control plate too. there are no wires or shielding plates in the trem cavity, it's earthed on the shielding plate under the controls.

thanks for the info guys, i took the goldtop in the end, as i didn't have time to have a look at the stang. i'm hoping that i can make that little link to the control plate and it will be all good. i thought the reissue stangs might of had the earth wire. will look further tomorrow.

for what it's worth, i checked tonight and my '76 and duo sonic both have a bit of hum when i touch the bridge or control plate, and it goes away if i touch both at the same time. and they seem properly earthed to me... didn't try the blue one, but i imagine it'll be the same. fuck knows what it is, doesn't really bother me though.