Tremolo Stability:

From the information I've been able to gather, three main factors can affect tremolo stability or "return
to zero" issue. In no particular order:
1. Bearing Setup/Wear: The tremolo rides on two pins inserted into small bearings. According to
Steinbergerworld and HeadlessUSA, these will wear regardless over time and require replacement.
As this guitar is new, it would be the setup that is of concern.
2. Saddle Roller Binding: The string rollers should move freely when spun.
3. Body Route: Any rubbing against the guitar body will inhibit movement.

Tremolo Evaluation:
I'm on my second trem. The pivot block, initially centered, shifted downwards over the first few
months. There's a bit of play between the block and the arms. A few gap measurements were made
with a set of feeler gauges prior to removal. Eventually, it looked pretty much identical to the first trem
in the guitar.
Pivot Arm

0 mm

0.18mm

0.25mm

Pivot Block

The gap between the tremolo arm and the route is small but it is not binding here. There is no gap
between the pivot block (with the lettering on it) on the high E side. This means metal is rubbing on
metal....an obvious problem.

Bearing/Pivot Block:
No Gap

On the high E side, the top part of the Pivot Block is touching. The actual bearing location does have
clearance.

You can see clearance of the whole assembly on the low E side of the tremolo. From the backside, the
actual bearing gap was roughly 0.15mm on both sides. It is the top of the pivot block that is rubbing on
the high E side.

Tremolo Assembly:

Interesting here is that there are no washers. A deeper analysis of the bearing assembly shows why
they are necessary.

Bearing Assembly:

On the left is the original bearing and pin. On the right is a replacement bearing and pin. The original (I
believe) has ceramic ball bearings with no lubrication. The replacement bearings are steel bearings that
have lubrication. Does the type of bearing or lubrication matter?....Don't know for sure.
As shown, both bearings seem to be flush with the pivot arm. The idea of the trem is to ride on the
inside of the bearing. Without a washer on the inner part(over the pin), the trem would potentially rub
against the pivot arm/outer bearing casing instead of connecting with only the inside/pin part. I found
some very small precision shims here:
http://www.amazonsupply.com/stainless-steel-18-8-precision-washer/dp/B00AVZ2UJI
The shims I ordered were 0.005" thick. I placed 2/side over the replacement bearing during reassembly.
In hindsight, an 0.008" or 0.010" shim might have been a better choice. I went with the replacement
bearings because there was a slightly tighter fit with the bearing hole in the pivot arm.

Pivot Block Assembly:

The pivot block consists of two parts, upper and lower, connected with several Allen screws. The top
part, shown earlier, overhung the lower part on the high E side. The overhang is about 0.125mm
(0.005"). I took a needle file and removed the overhang (Carefully!!!).

Conclusions/Summary of Changes:
1. Adding washers to the bearing/pin assembly: The Pivot Block was in contact with the arm on the
high E side of the tremolo. Adding the washers separated the pivot block from the arms.
2. Filing down the Overhang: Every 0.001" counts. The overhang was enough to influence correct
positioning. Both trems I've used had the same overhang on the high E side.
The RTZ (Return to Zero) problem was improved. I'll stop short of calling the problem fixed for good.
Time will tell. However, addressing these two issues will increase the odds of success. Again, this is a
precision design. Every 0.001"(0.0254mm) counts.

Changes - Part 2:
The trem worked better for the most part but not as well as I hoped. I made a few more adjustments:
1. One 0.005" Washer per Side: Two per side was a bit tight as the gap measured was around 0.010"
on each side.
2. Burnished the Rollers: This is the second time I've done this. Went higher in Dremel speed this
time.
3. Installed a Replacement Spring: The spring I received from Headless seemed a bit heavier (tighter).
I really wanted to do this separately to see the effect but I didn't want to disassemble the trem
again.
4. Lubed the Bearing Pin Holes and Rollers: Bought some Tri-Flow with the Pin Point Lubricator. The
pin point applicator worked well.
I believe that these changes were significant. Again, we'll see.
-C