Help! Luke official tremolo setup

[PaoloGilberto]

hello everyone

I had my luke setup with the tremolo rest on the guitar body...because I thought it would stay in tune better and was easy to go drop D
now I'm trying to learn some Luke stuff on guitar and wanted to setup the tremolo floating.
I've read here on the Sterlign Luke thread that "Tremolo is set to Luke’s personal specifications for full
step and a half bends",
is that how Luke has his guitars set up?
I have it now set up to be able to pull off a whole step and seemed to me that the tremolo is already to strange raised up from the body looking from the back of the tremolo or playing position ))
also I'm curios: have you noticed the tunning stability to be affected when set up floating compared to "resting on the body - dive bomb only"?

thanks

 

[Mikey]

Hi there,
the one and a half step is meant for the g-string. If you set it up for another than the g-string the angle of the tremolo might indeed be a little too much.
As for the tuning stability, I never tried to set the luke up with the tremolo resting on the body. But my Axis Supersport is set up this way because of the piezo and in either case I have never experienced any problems with tuning stability. The MM-vintage tremolos are really good. A little drop of oil here and there and these things work perfectly...
Cheers,
Mikey

 

[PaoloGilberto]

thanks a lot for the reply.
I did not know that the setup mentioned has something particular with the G string when adjusting that way the tremolo...
What has the piezo to do with this? my Luke has piezo also, I can't see any problem setting up the tremolo this way..

 

[Mikey]

If I remember correctly, the reason why you should not set up the piezo equipped guitars to float, is because if the tremolo is tilted upwards the pressure on the piezo saddles is reduced. That can cause a drop in the piezosignal if the tremolo is used heavily. Only exception is the JP6 because the tremolo already floats with the trem set up parallel with the top.

 

[PaoloGilberto]

that is correct , but as a far as I know only if using piezo and tremolo in the same time
if you're on magnetic pick ups no problem at all of course , in using tremolo

about the luke tremolo set up floating... a friend very experienced with guitars who also had a silo and now a JP7 tells me that: a guitar should have the tremolo parallel with the body, because of the intonation...

is seems a little strange...so setting the Luke tremolo "floating" = not paralel with the body/resting on it, means you cand have a "perfect" intonation !?

 

[damirpuh]

Yes, that's correct - Steve's trem is set up for step and a half pull on the G string. It may look a bit awkward but it's still VERY stable. Jeff Beck's strats are set in a similar way.

About the tremolo-parallel-to-the-body thing...I always thought it was advised to help improve the tuning stability (especially with strats), you can always readjust the intonation no matter how your tremolo is set.

 

[Mikey]

I do not see why there should be any intonation problems when the trem is set to float. There is nothing that you cannot compensate by adjusting the intonation- and saddle height-screws.

 

[PaoloGilberto]

thanks a lot guys for the replies , I will make the setup adjustments this week, hope to find the patience , I always hate this ))

 

[SBMM]

I'll chime in here since SBMM was mentioned.

I can't comment on the Piezo, since the SBMM LK100D doesn't come with it, but, once you set the trem up to the 1.5 pull float spec, then set intonation, it's spot on and really pretty comfortable.

I'll admit, when we started on the project and I was a bit taken back by the setup, since it seems odd from a purist standpoint. Once I delved into it and perfected the setup, it was like "WOW"! Very cool, very useful, and adds a whole new dimension to ones' playing.

Remember, since it is floating, a string gauge change will knock everything out of whack, so be consistent with your gauges. Also, as you tune it to pitch, do it gradually, three steps forward, two steps back and it will come into tune shortly.

 

[ErnieJohn]

There is a good picture from DrKev in this thread

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/56249-new-luke-ii-owner-but-why-doesnt-case-fit.html

 

[Spudmurphy]

If I remember correctly, the reason why you should not set up the piezo equipped guitars to float, is because if the tremolo is tilted upwards the pressure on the piezo saddles is reduced. That can cause a drop in the piezosignal if the tremolo is used heavily. Only exception is the JP6 because the tremolo already floats with the trem set up parallel with the top.

Sorry, but you have this the wrong way around.
A classic trem dives only - this reduces the tension on the string. When the string is so slack, yes the piezo cuts out.

A floating trem has the ability to also raise the pitch of the string, this increases the string tension - and will not have a detrimental effect.

So the concept is correct, just that you got a bit confused and had it "the wrong way around".

 

[Mikey]

Hi Spud,
I meant it exactly the way you described it as well. By "tilted upwards" I just did not mean the pitch of the strings but the base plate of the trem.
Cheers,
Mikey

 

[Klon Solo]

My Luke is set up to his spec. I can do chin ups on the trem arm and it won't go out of tune. I love it.

 

[PaoloGilberto]

well I had yesterday "a setup session" ) for the Luke.
I didn't go for the step and a half pull on the G string, the setup I made is a little above one step ( aprox 1 step and 1/4) on G string
after that straightened the neck, lowered the saddles (I like a low action) and ...intonation
I gotta tell you I hate doing the intonation...I had the patience to set the intonation for each string to be "perfect" at the 12th fret, re-tune the guitar and start from the beginning with each string.
when finishing this I checked again intonation on each string and surprise: 2-5 cents difference from perfect pitch on almost every string
wtf!? ...

 

[ksandvik]

Are you using just broken in strings or old strings? Best to do intonation work on strings that have just been broken in.

 

[PaoloGilberto]

broken in strings.
strange thing is that yesterday after 1,5 -2 hours of playing I re-tuned the guitar before putting it back to case and checked also the intonation...surprise: it was almost ok on every string.
don't know the logical explanation, but I assume that the wood, hardware, springs , temperature always interact and can affect tuning
also I don't know if is intonation related, but now the guitar stays better in tune for sure.
I'll have to find the patience for the intonation of my JP and see after if tuning stability is better )

Are you using just broken in strings or old strings? Best to do intonation work on strings that have just been broken in.

 

[damirpuh]

Intonation has nothing to do with the tuning stability. Lukes seem to stay in tune a bit better with the bridge floating. Tremolo springs are also known to have their own "memory" - they need a little bit of time to settle after the new setup.

Glad you sorted it out. Enjoy your "floating" Luke.

 

[Dario Coronese]

hi to all,
I have a problem on my luke II, intonation tends to grow! Can someone kindly help me?
Many thanks
Dario

 

[Craiguitar]

That's correct, the springs do need time to settle. It might even be a few string changes down the line before they stay in position. I've set my new L3 trem to float, but one thing I have noticed is the trem arm is very high compared to the Luke II arm. Nowhere near as comfortable. I tried putting the Luke II arm on the L3 and it fits OK and works as it should. Now I'm thinking I need to look at getting another Luke II trem arm. Wonder if I can get one with the chrome tip?.....

 

[JDouglee]

I played a LIII at a local GC, with the trem set flat to the body and it just felt wrong.