Can't properly set up floating bridge in strat
I have strat style Aria SG guitar with a standard tremolo bridge that i used to play in hard tail setup. I've been trying to set it up as a floating bridge using a youtube video as a guide. But after successfully making the bridge float and i noticed that when I pulled up the whammy bar, my low E string went one and a half step up, where as my high E went only half step up. The other strings in the middle were going in between this pitch. How do I adjust this to create equal tension in all the strings ?
The process I went through step by step is:
Loosen the bridge screw a bit (without measurement but approx 1 turn each)
Take the middle spring off
Loosen the springs (this is without measurement too).
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If you're hoping to get all strings to stay in tune with each other whenn playing a chord (E major pulling up to F major, and dropping down to E? major when the vib. is pressed), forget it.
You can get the mechanism to balance (somewhat) by adjusting the springs underneath, but with only two springs, it's only going to be approximate. Put the middle spring back, and give all three less tenion might help, but the whole concept is a balancing trick, and even if each of your strings started at the same tension, they won't rise or fall in pitch at the same rate.
There are systems like the Steinberger Trans-Trem that are supposed to allow a chord to be in tune through a dive-bomb, but for the Stratocaster, it isn't in the cards.
In a video for Musicians Institute and Guitar World, Carl Verheyen describes his setup for a floating Strat bridge, giving him a minor third on the G string and a whole step on the B. I think knowing the intervals possible in each step is the best you can expect.
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