New conversion warmoth STIFF ACTION......HELP!!!

[grimwolf]

So I recently purchased a warmoth strat body and neck. The neck is a 24 3/4" conversion neck and I am using an original floyd rose. My issue is that the string tension is very stiff/tight.

I've played and owned 24 3/4 scale guitars in the past and all of them have been "springy", "spongy" etc. I was hoping to gain this by having a 24 3/4 scale guitar from Warmoth. Currently this is not the case. I am not a noob when it comes to setting up guitars, I set up my own and actually get paid from time to time to set up others guitars.

I don't consider myself a know it all so maybe there is something I am missing.

Here is my set up:

Floyd locking nut with string retainer, 24 3/4 Warmoth cbs strat neck. Body is a standard scale Warmoth strat body with recessed original floyd route. Using Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings (10s). I was running three springs as I usually do but decided to go with two which helped ease the tension...but not much.

Some preemptive answers: Yes the floyd is flat/parallel with the body, no the floyd bridge is not rubbing against the body.

I have a Carvin DC127 that is a 25" scale and is more spongy, I have a fender with a Warmoth neck that is a 25.5" scale and that is more spongy. I had a BC Rich Stealth that was CRAZY SPONGY and was a 24 5/8" scale.

Short of dropping my string gauge what else can I do? What am I missing?  :dontknow:

Thank you in advance for any advice. 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Since the Floyd locks at both ends, the string can only stretch between locks.  Whereas non locking nut and bridge guitars have the string stretch outside the nut and saddles.  Unlock the nut, do some bends to see if you could tell a difference.

 

[grimwolf]

No that doesn't do much.

Even my BC Rich stealth was locking on both ends and playing it, bending and yanking on the floyd felt like putting your fingers in butter. It was actually hard to get use to.

Thank you for your reply though.  arty07:

 

[ezas]

That is quite the mystery . . .


Are you talking about bending strings or using the whammy, or both?

 

[grimwolf]

Actually both. The overall tension is just TENSE, lol. Very strange indeed.  :dontknow:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

It's very odd because in theory, the physics dictates a specific tension for a given string gauge, scale length and pitch. Tighter would make it sharp.

Has this manifested with more than one set of strings? Is it possible that the strings you fitted were mis-labelled?

The only other thing it could be is that it's difficult to move the bridge for some reason. Less springs, more lube, something like that.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Are the tremolo knifes and studs in ok condition?

 

[pabloman]

I would tryadding the third spring back in and adjusting the claw. The extra springs will have them more relaxed. IDK. All things being I would be looking in that area.

 

[grimwolf]

• HMM. Could be a misslabeled string guage, I'll give it a shot here in a bit.

• The tremolo is fine and in tip top shape.

• With three springs it was tighter still, two is better. Though I do run three springs in all my other guitars.

 

[AutoBat]

1 or 357 springs, they still need to equal out to about 104lb tension to float with your strings

 

[pabloman]

Correct, but that is just the resting tension. The spring rate however is variable. This is where you can fine tune the response and definately notice a difference in amount of springs and thier differences in characteristics.

 

[grimwolf]

I think it's safe to say that the springs are not the issue, I've tried about three different sets.......no difference. In fact the whole floyd system I have was on the BC Rich Stealth I had that was CRAZY SPRINGY.

Still need to try different strings.

Kind of a bummer but the guitar still shreds, just not like any 24 3/4" scale I've played, ever.

 

[JCizzle]

Consume some of the product in your avatar, check strings, repeat until strings feel comfortable.  ccasion14: :laughing8:

 

[grimwolf]

ON IT!  arty07:

 

[grimwolf]

Okay...........so in tweaking with EVERYTHING this is how I solved the stiff action issue.

I took the zigzag shim out that I had to give the neck a little neck angle. This seriously made a HUGE difference. I am actually very surprised having shimmed many guitars in the past with great results.

In short......
SHIMMED: stiff action
NOT SHIMMED: spongy like a 24 3/4" scale should be  :icon_thumright:

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and I hope my frustration helps someone else in the futre.  :guitarplayer2:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If it didn't need the shim, why was it in there?

 

[pabloman]

I use Joker 1.5's :headbang1:

 

[Cagey]

Okay...........so in tweaking with EVERYTHING this is how I solved the stiff action issue.

I took the zigzag shim out that I had to give the neck a little neck angle. This seriously made a HUGE difference. I am actually very surprised having shimmed many guitars in the past with great results.

In short......
SHIMMED: stiff action
NOT SHIMMED: spongy like a 24 3/4" scale should be  :icon_thumright:

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and I hope my frustration helps someone else in the futre.  :guitarplayer2:

I'm sorry, but that makes no sense whatsoever and I can't accept it. Either something else happened that isn't obvious, or the power of suggestion has worked its wily ways on you.

 

[pabloman]

I agree. Must have used up the last of the zigzags settin it up. :icon_jokercolor: The shim would only change the plane of the strings to the body, assuming it was setup properly. I guess depending on shim placement the action could have been high making the guitar more difficult to play and requiring more effort thus feeling stiffer. I dont know. Please explain it.

 

[clearerphish]

I use Joker 1.5's :headbang1:

I use some glass.  :icon_biggrin: