"Blocked" Trem questions?

[Guitarfool]

Hello guys/gals, i have a Ernie Ball Axis guitar that just squeeeels with delight! However i think i have a "blocked trem" because the system itself is not working..

Its a Floyd Rose system + simply put the damn thing doesnt move/budge a inch! NOTHING! Does that mean its "blocked"? what exactly is blocked? im thinking it makes it like a stop-tail, am i correct?

Is something put under the system to lock it? wood, metal ect?
I dont want the action altered in any way, will i have to alter it?
Will it effect the tone in any way? (i doubt it, but im not 100% sure)
Will i need a "set-up" after this is done? (i hope not, but im worried about the action)

If anyone is familiar with these any help would be appreciated! I really LOVE the guitar, but i dont want to really alter the sound, action at all. I just want to be able to "sorta lift" the Floyd Rose by hand (not even use the trem bar - the Trems on Roses are very flexible) using the back of sytem..

I hope im clear, and i know its alot of questions, anyone with ideas, help, suggestions is appreciated.. :)

[Bruce O'Donnell]

If you cannot pull up or push down on the trem with a reasonable amount of force, then your trem is locked. The term "blocked" came about because it was common to use blocks of wood to wedge between the trem inertia block and the body to keep the trem locked into position. Remove the trem cavity plate. If you see something between the inertia block (the big hunk of metal with the springs attached to it) and the body of the guitar, it has been 'blocked'. Simply remove them if you want the trem to float. If you remove the block on the backside of the trem only, you will be able to do dive bombs but not be able to pull up - very handy because it allows you change tunings on the fly (e.g. drop D) without having to adjust all the other strings. Also allows you to add more springs to increase the amount of force required to dive bomb the trem and is recommended if you do alot of string bending and don't want adjacent strings going flat because the trem is moving.

A word of caution - the chances are that if you unblock the trem it isn't going to float in an ideal position. You may have problems with it riding too high or too low when you get it tuned to pitch. If you don't know how to setup a trem, take it to a good tech. Just changing a trem from blocked to float will not affect the action.