Trems: How many folks are going with 3 springs?

[bassomatic]

I love the way my new (to me) Custom Soap plays, and am loath to mess with a good thing, but I really wanna go to 3 springs, as I usually do with my trem gits (including my old Studio, although I had help setting that one up after the switch).

Who around here is running 3, and what's been your experience?

[Phil Bennett]

I run 3 springs in my Santana III, no problems at all, then again I don't use the trem much, only for one son "Is this Love", Whitesnake.


Regards

[Erik]

I use 4 in my Cu24...maybe mine aren't as strong.

[Andrew Chen]

I use all 5 along with a trem stabilizer so it has a solid feel.

[green]

five in my santana 3.......

[bassomatic]

Who's floating, then? Any takers?

[aleclee]

Who's floating, then? Any takers?If your trem isn't floating, it's more a matter of setup rather than number of springs. If you like the loosey goosey feel of fewer springs, that's a different story. As for me, I like the feel of four springs--not too tight, not too loose.

If I were to change the number of springs, I'd be inclined to add another one to improve stability when bending.

[Brian Yarbrough]

I use 4 in my Santana III.

[Phil Bennett]

Wait a minute...

... what gauge strings are y'all using? :)

With 11s on you need four, minimum - five is probably better. I couldn't quite get enough tension with four and the claw right up to the wood.

Remember that a PRS trem cavity is slightly shorter than a Strat too, so you run out of range at the claw end sooner. It's difficult to get 10s to set up with only three springs.
Ive only got three in mine, and its nearly at the wood.

any ideas where i'll get another spring ?

Regards

[redmax61]

There are different tensions of springs out there. Unfortunately, it's the luck of the draw as to what tension springs are on any guitar when you find them. You can't just order the ones you want. As a general rule of thumb, cheaper guitars often have the weaker springs.

For a guitar strung with 9's, I've seen as few as two springs and as many as four with almost exactly the same feel. You can also change the feel of the trem by slanting the springs to one side or another. I used to always run two heavy springs in holes 1 and 5 on the tremolo end, and clips 2 and 4 on the claw end for 9's. For 10's, I'd often add a medium spring in the middle.

Play with it until you find what feels right to you.