Trying to get SBMM to answer contact enquiry - Help please

[wilson mcphert]

Here in Australia, I bought a Sterling Silo 3 guitar which I love (I even did a positive review on Youtube which has over 4000 hits to date).

One difficulty however was that the whammy bar felt stiff and hard to use, so I sent an email to Sterling on its 'Contact Us' form on its website on 22 September 2012, regarding this issue. I sought advice about how this might be addressed (different springs, or spring configurations etc) so that I could employ a guitar tech to address it in accordance with any suggestions they might have. I thought it important that any modifications be done in accordance with Sterling's advice.

I followed up my original email with a reminder, dated 9 Oct but despite receiving an auto generated response that I would be contacted, I have still heard nothing. A person from this forum kindly tried assisting me by contacting Brian Martin from Sterling but to no avail.

Has anyone had any similar problems of Sterling failing to respond to enquiries? Great guitars, but I am disappointed with their back up support. I would have rung them if I lived in the USA, but being in Australia, I have to rely on email.

Any help, would be appreciated. I understand Brian Martin visits this board, so any help he could give in facilitating a response would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[beej]

Brian and Daniel have their contact info in the sticky thread on the main forum- if you haven't already, I would try emailing them directly. (Who knows how the website contact form works.) I know you don't want to call, but often that is the best way to get a response.

That being said ... if you want to loosen up your trem, I don't think you need an official response. It's a case of balancing string tension with spring tension. Taking a spring out will reduce the effort needed to use the trem. Though, you may need to adjust the claw to get your bridge to sit flush. If you do a search, you'll see a ton of threads here (and on other boards) about how to do this. There's nothing proprietary about the SBMM system that makes it different.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, it's a very easy job for any tech. Personally I would do a bit of reading so you're comfortable making an adjustment, and have at 'er.

 

[mystixboi1]

agreed... i use 4 springs for 10 gauge strings and 3 springs for 9 gauge strings... pretty quick and easy mod

 

[SBMM]

One difficulty however was that the whammy bar felt stiff and hard to use

First off, is this a SUB Series Silo3, or is it a Sterling By Music Man Silo30?

 

[wilson mcphert]

It's a SUB series Silo 3. Thanks for replying Brian.

 

[JayDawg]

I think I saw your review Wilson. I really liked it too.

 

[SBMM]

View attachment 20790 View attachment 20791

Hi Wilson,
Silo3 trem claw can be adjusted to a maximum of 9mm from the body cavity with both stock springs in place, factory gauge 10-46 strings on, and tuned to A440 without causing the tremolo assembly from lifting from the body.

Please see the photos above that illustrate this adjustment. This is for a factory, stock instrument.

I cannot comment or give suggestions regarding modification using non-factory parts, as we do not endorse using or modifying the instruments in such a manner. Modifications are purely up to the individual owner, at that owners discretion, and to their personal taste and playing style.