Question Luke III bridge setup

[mikeller]

My new Luke 3 came to me with two springs installed in a V format and the bridge leaning forward enough to pull up at least a whole step and a half (possibly more).

Is that how they are shipping?

I have put in 3 springs and brought it down some, but it still looks like it is leaning forward much more than others I am seeing ????

 

[Lou]

Set it up how YOU like it.

 

[beej]

Haven't played an LIII, but that sounds like how the regular Luke is set up: you can pull up a minor third on the G string.

 

[mikeller]

Set it up how YOU like it.

I have - just doing some fine tweaks. More curious than anything else

 

[LilSteve]

Normal Luke setup...floating. I have come to like this, since owning EBMM Luke's.

 

[Roubster]

To my knowledge that's how they all come set up unless you have a LUKEII with piezo...then it is set flush to the body. I also like the vintage trem floating a bit, but not necessarily as much as it comes from the factory. I always used 3 springs on my vintage trem guitars before and 10s and had it set to where I can pull up a half step. That is enough for me personally, but I just like the full range where you can have a nice natural vibrato on chords. I cant wait to get my hands on an LIII!!!

 

[mikeller]

To my knowledge that's how they all come set up unless you have a LUKEII with piezo...then it is set flush to the body. I also like the vintage trem floating a bit, but not necessarily as much as it comes from the factory. I always used 3 springs on my vintage trem guitars before and 10s and had it set to where I can pull up a half step. That is enough for me personally, but I just like the full range where you can have a nice natural vibrato on chords. I cant wait to get my hands on an LIII!!!

I usually do the same - float whereas can pull up 1/2 step. Actually my Luke (2) with piezo is also set that way - never experienced any problems with that, but rarely use the piezo

 

[Roubster]

Yea I had my Silo Special with piezo set up to float and never had an issue either. I think it is just optimal for the piezo tones to have the bridge on the body to resonate more...but I also didnt use the piezo very often on that guitar.

 

[carydad]

5 springs and down hard for me. I hit it with my hand too much if it floats.

 

[DrKev]

If you do screw it down, there's no need to go too hard, by the way. Think of all that pressure on the top under the bridge. You can damage the finish. When I hard-tail trems for people I screw the springs in just far enough so that the bridge won't move during a 1-step bend.

 

[BrickGlass]

Both my Luke guitars came set up so that you could pull up a minor third on the g string. That is how I prefer them as well.

 

[meloney0]

Trying a thread-revival here. Just registered for the forums so I could get some input. I have two Luke IIIs, one Olive Gold HH with Rosewood neck like Mike's and a more recent addition is a PDN Emerald Sparkle LIII HSS with the roasted Maple neck. Long story short: I noticed that even though the trems on both are set up the same (you can pull up about one whole step, two springs installed on both), they feel very different. The trem feels much more rigid on the Roasted Maple Luke than it does on the other guitar. I've come to prefer it that way since it helps the strings feel more pronounced under your fingers, thus making the neck feel 'faster'. I'm not too much of a tweaker. A buddy made the suggestion that the difference in feel is due to the Rosewood neck being more flexible. Do you guys have any tips for possibly compensating? Would adding an extra spring help? Finally (and to make things more complicated ), I rather like doing the "trem-flutter-spanking-move" once in a while which gets less and less pronounced the more rigid the tremolo is. I can imagine an extra spring killing off the flutter too much. What do you guys think? And sorry if I just hijacked the thread.

 

[DrKev]

A buddy made the suggestion that the difference in feel is due to the Rosewood neck being more flexible.

No, that's not it. Assuming that the setups and strings and tunings are the same ('cause if they are not that explains a lot) my guess would be that the springs may not be the same (springs are not all made equal and some might be different 'tension'). Try swapping the springs and see what happens.

And welcome to the forum! Help me out here guys, finish the phrase...

You guitar does not exist without ______?

 

[meloney0]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll give it a try!

And in anticipation of the initiation procedures around here: meloney0's Album: My Lukes

 

[DrKev]

Beautiful!