IB-7 Floyd rose tremelo - not enough spring tension!

[Haafingar]

Hey PBG,
Over the past few weeks I've been painting and assembling my IB-7 kit. Let me start this off by saying it was an amazing experirence and although i messed some bits of the construction up, it was a great thing to do.

The pickups are actually pretty awesome- very high output! If I have them at full volume there is a bit of an overdrive effect becuse they're so loud! Very little static, despite me being the world's worst solderer. The wudtone finish looks amazing, and it's a nice guitar to play.

However, today, I spend a good deal of time getting the action right. When i first stringed it, i was annoyed to find that all seven strings were pressed up flat against the fretboard, and after hours of muckjing around with the bridge posts, the saddles, the truss rod, and the springs at the back, I've finally got it to a playable state. The problem is, I've trashed the threads on the screws that increse the spring tension, so I cant make them and tighter, and the bridge still rides waaaayy outside the body.





So, what do you recommend I do? I was thinking that maybe adding two more strings might do the job, because the trem seems to have room for more. Then I wonder, where might I get these springs from?


Cheers,
Simon

Oh and by the way, what do you think of my headstock stencil art?

[WeirdBits]

Can you tighten up the screws on the spring claw a bit, to pull it in to the body more? If the acrews aren't biting enough, either get some fatter ones or do a partial plug of the screw holes. That should help to pull the trem down a bit.

You can get trem springs from StewMac, ALS, Allparts, Realtone etc.

Btw, your headstock looks great.

[Haafingar]

Thanks scott, i tried tightening the screws, but the threads went so I couldnt turn them in any further. I'll get a couple of trem springs!

[AJ]

try using some larger screws.
The stencil looks great

[Haafingar]

Just out of interest, has anyone ever had this problem with an IB-7 before? Has anyone bought a PB IB-7 yet apart from myself? I couldnt find any photo's

[WeirdBits]

Is it the screw threads or the screw heads that have stripped?

If it's the screw heads, either replace the screws or unhook the springs and try tightening them without the spring tension (you may be able to get a few *careful* turns on them with pliers) then re-attach the springs. If it is the screw threads (unlikely) or the screw holes that have stripped then you will need to either replace the screws or plug and redrill the holes, otherwise things could get worse if you try to add more springs.

Bass Guy did a build diary for his IB-7.

[adam]

Hi Haarfingar, to answer your question, yes, we've sold quite a few of these kits. I've even got some great video of Bassguy playing an IB-7 built by Dingobass. Perhaps its just a matter of replacing those two screws and making sure the screw holes are drilled to an adequate depth. But yes, try the two extra springs first.

[Gavin1393]

The most important thing to remember is that these are kit guitars. The second most important thing to remember is that when you want to drill a pilot hole for a screw is that you need to measure the diameter of the screw (say you get 6mm). Then what you do is go looking for a drill bit that is 2/3 of the diameter of the screw you have just measured, hence a 4mm drill bit in this case. This rule applies to the neck screws, the tuner screws, pretty much anytime you want to prepare a pilot hole for your screw.
When you don't have a large enough pilot hole, the screw will heat up and snap, or become stuck so that it is impossible to turn without stripping the grooves in the head of the screw.