this is a pro. i bought the exact same guitar new literally 2 days ago and this already happened. seems like a design flaw for the 2017 pros ive seen many others with this problem. thank you very much for this video
Nice job, I have one of the new American Professional in Olive Green with this type term. Mine has no issues but this is news I can use should I ever need that. Thanks.
This was a really interesting and informative video. I’ve never had anyone give a rough sketch of how the inside of the trem bloc grips the arm and how it should operate. Hopefully I never have to use this
Only goes to show that Leo got it right the first time! The 6 screw threaded tremolo (setup right) is still the best. Same with the old chambered routing, trussrods, neckprofiles. All those modern gizmo's are just an insult to a perfectly good design that's been around for over half a century.
Thanks for the video Dave, I've a similar problem that just happened to my 50th anniversary strat but my problem is that it has suddenly become loose. I'm an engineer so I was expecting to make a new nylon bush . But watching your video has been a great help , probably just wants those grub screws tightening and the detent spring tweeking . Once again thank you .
Hello and cheers Dave! You are usually so eagle eyed that I was surprised when you didn't point out how Fender gooched these guitars by using incorrectly radiused pickup poles. Fender installed 'classic' styled pickups that have the pole height set for a 7.5 neck radius on a guitar that has a neck radius of 9.5. The classic pickup pole pieces are way too high in the middle to ever get even volume output across the strings.
When putting away Strat into it’s hard case should bar be taken off each time. I seen very old add and it showed it attached in the case??? Silly question I’m always taking in out and tape to cover hole for spring. Any suggestions?? Might need a sticker next army pension day. Cheers
Matthew Setright - Not so simple of a question... if your case is plush enough not to drive the arm against the body/pickguard and it is only being put in for transport or for a short period of time, there is no reason to remove the arm; in fact it's a pretty damn fast and cool way to detune the strings and thus take pressure off the neck. This helps in transport between climate changes in/out outside, etc. If however, you are storing it for more than a few days, I suggest removing the arm and detuning at the tuners. While the springs are quite powerful, they will stretch and lose their strength if the tremolo is being depressed for long periods of time which could lead to another setup if the they lose too much tension.
Thanks Davey! What to do with a threaded whammy bar that bottoms out in the block and still has a ton of slack on it? (Other than a piece of electrical tape.) Can the trem block be re-tapped?
I've just had a similar problem to fix on a Line 6/Pacifica whammy bar. It could be tightened to the end of the thread but any further rotation, like you would perform to position the bar, would be damaging the threads or stretching the metal. Not being a Fender it doesn't have a closed end to the hole . This prohibits the use of a Fender type bar compression spring. My fix has been to add just a little drop of Medium Loctite 243 to the bottom end of the thread. It doesn't lock hard; just provides enough friction to keep it steady in the chosen position.
I have the same guitar (same sonic grey, maple board etc) and 1) It's an American Professional, which replaced Elite, I think and 2) Same thing happened to mine. Now I know how it works I've just yanked mine out using extreme violence. Thanks.
And if the g string goes sharp a tiny bit every time you use it and you when you bend the g it goes back to pitch, well, that's a tremolo(vibrato) folks!
I would have preferred Fender to have used a ball bearing with a spring behind it to catch the trem arm. I can imagine the current design is going to be seeing a lot of jammed arms in the future. Guess I'll stick with the good old, annoying but more reliable, threaded arm + compression spring.
Dave.. never was set screw, I had a59 and 61 ,, no set screws, had to reverse drill.. there was no option, the bar was a once. NZ had to drill from the bottom,,old school
Elite Strats have a Compound Radius Fingerboard 9.5”-14”. Why would they still have the pole pieces like it’s the old 7-1/4” radius? Am I missing something?
Can anybody here please help me? I'm trying to re-string my Telecaster, but the vintage tuning machines is really irritating me, as the strings constantly pop out when i'm twinding them. I wonder if i'm not putting enough tension or not.
Looks like maybe Sonic Gray, on Fender's website it looks lighter, but Google images it looks different in different photos. Darker or lighter. On the Sweetwater site it looks just like the one in the video.
Nice Color.. Leo Fender didn't design that whammy bar.. Ned Steinberger maybe.. Get a P/J bass in that color guys & give Dave a call to do a FREE writeup just for the cost of the guitar.. What a Guy!!
BTW my son David did a FREE demo of those strings a couple years ago for D'Addario, Looks like that went well for them.. We got FREE strings They got a FREE demo.. WIN/WIN..
Thanks for the quick reply. I've learned a ton watching your vids. Keep up the good work. P.S.: I live in central Minnesota, almost straight south of Winnipeg. You're just outside Toronto? Nearly neighbors. Winter sucks.
Did you mean "Whammed Jammy Bar"? (That's a drinking establishment for people who love to get drunk in their Jammies while listening to tunes by "Wham")
Poor Sammy has jammed his whammy. What will he ever do?
He'll take it to Dave and he will be saved, he'll make it better than new.
this is a pro.
i bought the exact same guitar new literally 2 days ago and this already happened. seems like a design flaw for the 2017 pros ive seen many others with this problem.
thank you very much for this video
I have the same problem.. -_-
Happened to me
You have the most unbelievable powers of deduction, my friend
... and that's just another reason why i have absolutely no patients for whammy bars, & hardtail my Strats
Rodny G you’re missing out
Nice job, I have one of the new American Professional in Olive Green with this type term. Mine has no issues but this is news I can use should I ever need that. Thanks.
Dave done degooched da wang dang doodle!
I was surprised at all the headstock movement caught by the "Wam cam".
I always learn something useful from your videos about the art and craft of the trade! Thanks so much for making these videos! Cheers
This was a really interesting and informative video. I’ve never had anyone give a rough sketch of how the inside of the trem bloc grips the arm and how it should operate. Hopefully I never have to use this
Another great job, Dave. Always entertaining and informative!
I had exactly the same problem with the stuck whammy bar on the same guitar (Fender USA Professional). This was really useful. Thanks so much.
Been waiting for this all day...
I never noticed all the stickers on the tool box in the back. Couple of funny ones there.
Only goes to show that Leo got it right the first time! The 6 screw threaded tremolo (setup right) is still the best. Same with the old chambered routing, trussrods, neckprofiles. All those modern gizmo's are just an insult to a perfectly good design that's been around for over half a century.
Thanks for the video Dave, I've a similar problem that just happened to my 50th anniversary strat but my problem is that it has suddenly become loose. I'm an engineer so I was expecting to make a new nylon bush . But watching your video has been a great help , probably just wants those grub screws tightening and the detent spring tweeking . Once again thank you .
Thx so much for this video ! I just save my friend’s strat !
Damn, look how much the head of that guitar is flexing, when the whammy bar was getting used, I never would have guessed it moved that much.
It is a professional not an elite, It is mine which is how I know.lol
killeraction : That is one beautiful guitar!
Really is a great color. What is the name?
I must get myself some of that PTFE based guitar lubricant.
Looks like a Fender American Professional Strat.
Hello and cheers Dave! You are usually so eagle eyed that I was surprised when you didn't point out how Fender gooched these guitars by using incorrectly radiused pickup poles. Fender installed 'classic' styled pickups that have the pole height set for a 7.5 neck radius on a guitar that has a neck radius of 9.5. The classic pickup pole pieces are way too high in the middle to ever get even volume output across the strings.
Watching you work puts Laurel & Hardy in the shade .
I’m guessing the bar has a bur because of it being new and Fender is allowing for break in. Mine is hard to pull out also but doesn’t get stuck.
Dave. You should get an endoscope attachment for a mobile phone. You could have looked inside the hole then. Great for looking in acoustics etc too.
I guess you could call it a jammy bar!
its all about the slot. that's what she said
Surely the 'wang' plays its part? ;-)
Queue Lenny Dykstra
All has to fit together! Lol. When it swells it usually does! Lol.
WOW....at 18:08 Daves hitting the whammy bar, and the headstock is flexing a TON. I have never noticed that with strats before. Is that normal??
That looks like Seafoam Green, but I could be wrong since I'm red-green deficient colourblind.
When putting away Strat into it’s hard case should bar be taken off each time. I seen very old add and it showed it attached in the case??? Silly question I’m always taking in out and tape to cover hole for spring. Any suggestions?? Might need a sticker next army pension day. Cheers
Matthew Setright - Not so simple of a question... if your case is plush enough not to drive the arm against the body/pickguard and it is only being put in for transport or for a short period of time, there is no reason to remove the arm; in fact it's a pretty damn fast and cool way to detune the strings and thus take pressure off the neck. This helps in transport between climate changes in/out outside, etc.
If however, you are storing it for more than a few days, I suggest removing the arm and detuning at the tuners. While the springs are quite powerful, they will stretch and lose their strength if the tremolo is being depressed for long periods of time which could lead to another setup if the they lose too much tension.
Dustin 2112 thanks heaps good to know thought you’d be good person to ask. Cheers from down under (Australia)
Thanks Davey! What to do with a threaded whammy bar that bottoms out in the block and still has a ton of slack on it? (Other than a piece of electrical tape.) Can the trem block be re-tapped?
I've just had a similar problem to fix on a Line 6/Pacifica whammy bar. It could be tightened to the end of the thread but any further rotation, like you would perform to position the bar, would be damaging the threads or stretching the metal. Not being a Fender it doesn't have a closed end to the hole . This prohibits the use of a Fender type bar compression spring.
My fix has been to add just a little drop of Medium Loctite 243 to the bottom end of the thread. It doesn't lock hard; just provides enough friction to keep it steady in the chosen position.
Nice job.
I enjoy your videos, thanks.
I have the same guitar (same sonic grey, maple board etc) and 1) It's an American Professional, which replaced Elite, I think and 2) Same thing happened to mine. Now I know how it works I've just yanked mine out using extreme violence. Thanks.
And if the g string goes sharp a tiny bit every time you use it and you when you bend the g it goes back to pitch, well, that's a tremolo(vibrato) folks!
I have a tube of graphite, not liquid tho. Still ok for nut slot?
Wang it Dave! Go for it.....Good job. Tidy from Wales :)
I love that color too!
That’s an American Pro Dave. 😊
That would be the fender pro
At least the bar wasn't broken off in the bridge.
I would have preferred Fender to have used a ball bearing with a spring behind it to catch the trem arm. I can imagine the current design is going to be seeing a lot of jammed arms in the future. Guess I'll stick with the good old, annoying but more reliable, threaded arm + compression spring.
Well that was different after all these years. Guitars can always surprise you. Nice color. What do you call that? Turquoise Shell?
Never cut the strings off...unless you’re new...just to find out you gotta buy new strings LOL
A jammed whammy eh?
I've had some whammed jammies in my day but managed to pull 'em out.
I've never been able to get OUT of the hole...
ScrewMacula. Oh my god. I just noticed that. I'm dying.
Dave.. never was set screw, I had a59 and 61 ,, no set screws, had to reverse drill.. there was no option, the bar was a once. NZ had to drill from the bottom,,old school
Man I couldn’t figure out how to get it out Thanks
Well sorted out Dave........nice geetar!!
Hey Fender! Magnets!!
For Christmas you could sell whammy jam . On forgien Brand's call it wang bar gizz jam.
They put a capo on the first fret when they do the string height. Mine is 5/64 without capo at 17th fret. 4 with it on weird I guess.
WELL DONE.
OH THE BARMANITY!!
I'm getting a neck with lacquer sealer on it. Can I spray poly over it?
Great color. Sonic Grey I think.
Dave I think you are great !
Not an elite. Wrong bridge saddles and it doesn't have a spoke nut truss rod adjustment at base of neck.
No noiseless pickups and no S1 switching.
It's a pro
Omg thank fuck you were here to help
I have this same issue with my American pro 2.
Elite Strats have a Compound Radius Fingerboard 9.5”-14”. Why would they still have the pole pieces like it’s the old 7-1/4” radius? Am I missing something?
Woody H it’s not an elite
Nice one Maestro.
Apologies if it's been asked already but what's with the pole pieces being different heights ??
It's all about the burr dude deburr the debris
It’s a jammy whammy!
PTFE not PETF... Nice video. Never seen that setup before.....
Can anybody here please help me? I'm trying to re-string my Telecaster, but the vintage tuning machines is really irritating me, as the strings constantly pop out when i'm twinding them. I wonder if i'm not putting enough tension or not.
I'm confused. Stock bar screws in and out.
Dave I love your shirt. Where did you get it from?
What were those 90 degree gauge thingys you used for the pickup height?
"Elite" = just more money
onefatstratcat it’s a professional
Or, replace it with a Gotoh 510.
Not an Elite Strat, it's an American Professional Strat.
nice
A little lube never hurts!
Yikes, what is going on with those pole pieces?
Allen screw adjust on his tremolo block
Love the color. What's it called?
Looks like maybe Sonic Gray, on Fender's website it looks lighter, but Google images it looks different in different photos. Darker or lighter. On the Sweetwater site it looks just like the one in the video.
I jammed my whammy bar, also, and this is the only video that I can find that shows how to fix it. HELP!
Does this problem make it a...
Whammer Jammer?
my plus deluxe has the same fitting
Nice Color.. Leo Fender didn't design that whammy bar.. Ned Steinberger maybe..
Get a P/J bass in that color guys & give Dave a call to do a FREE writeup just for the cost of the guitar.. What a Guy!!
BTW my son David did a FREE demo of those strings a couple years ago for D'Addario, Looks like that went well for them.. We got FREE strings They got a FREE demo.. WIN/WIN..
Headknocker m
Nice t-shirt
Ha ha, charade you are!
Turn it more David
nice color on a Stratocaster.war gray..or is it blue...?
Sonic gray but it do be lookin blue irl
here dave
Poor Leo.
Just a comment Dave, did you see the headstock moved when you hit the trem bar. Is that normal?
Lorens Hoffos , It's because of the release of string tension . Pretty weird though .
we didnt see how you got the whammy bar out !!
brains
That's not luthiering, that's forensics!
I would like to send you my les Paul for you to set up.
Okay, ejamacate me. If the truss rod isn't working or just 'floating around', how is the guitar even playable? Or able to be set up properly?
Thanks for the quick reply. I've learned a ton watching your vids. Keep up the good work.
P.S.: I live in central Minnesota, almost straight south of Winnipeg. You're just outside Toronto? Nearly neighbors. Winter sucks.
Sounds a little bit like Tommy Chong.....listen with that in mind...you'll hear it.
It isn't a elite Stratocaster its an American professional
Cadaver gray?
Jam it hard is good
Did you mean "Whammed Jammy Bar"? (That's a drinking establishment for people who love to get drunk in their Jammies while listening to tunes by "Wham")
Hey Dave. You should offer a free kick in the ass to the first 500 people who like your new videos.
What colour is this?
The guitar came from the factory with the saddles that jacked up? That's just pathetic.
the saddles most likely got messed up when he was playing around with it. that happens to me unless i put tape across them.
What the F I have the same problem