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bovinehost

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Go easy on me, boys, I'm a bassist.

But of course I have an Albert Lee (the fancy Orange Crush) and also of course I love it madly. I am not wise, however, in the ways of your skinny stringed instruments. And so I changed the strings the other day, which was quite overdue.

No problems were encountered in the changing of the strings. I obviously used Slinkys, which I believe is what was on it before. The gauges seemed very much the same.

But now, and I don't want to hear any snickering, my whammy bar is quite stiff. I'm sure there is some simple THING I can do to make it looser, right? If one of you would be so kind to explain this operation - please use small words and assume I'm a slobbering Jethro - so that I may once again whammy more easily, I would surely appreciate it.

Jack
 

DrKev

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Brother Jethro, what slinkys did you use? The AL as standard comes with 10-46 Regular slinkys, if you put 9-42 super slinkys on there the wiggle will not wiggle like before. You will then have to open the backplate and loosen the two big twirly things at the end of the springy things. It's an iterative process; loosen, retune if necessary, test, adjust, until you have it where you like it.
 

racerx

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Unga bunga -- bass few strings, Kip Winger, very uncool. Guitar many strings, Albert Lee, very cool.
 

tbonesullivan

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Stiff in what way? That it requires a lot of effort to whammy? Is this different from how it was before? There are springs inside the back compartment that control how much pressure is on the bridge. If it's gotten harder to whammy, you may have moved down a gauge of strings.

If the whammy arm itself is stiff, there are two Allen grub screws that go into the tremolo block that control how stiff or loose it is.
 

GoKart Mozart

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Brother Jethro, what slinkys did you use? The AL as standard comes with 10-46 Regular slinkys, if you put 9-42 super slinkys on there the wiggle will not wiggle like before. You will then have to open the backplate and loosen the two big twirly things at the end of the springy things. It's an iterative process; loosen, retune if necessary, test, adjust, until you have it where you like it.

Best response ever! :ROFLMAO:
 

bovinehost

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It appears that there are differences in guitar strings, even those with the name "Slinky" right there on the package. You men are full of surprises.

After taking the old strings off, I foolishly tossed them in the trash without measuring them with some esoteric scientific device. And so it is that I have no earthly idea what they really were. Being a bassist, they felt like guitar strings - skinny, capable of deep lacerations, very pointy and dangerous at the headstock end.

But I do know (now) what I installed and they are Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, 9-42. I have an entire box of these and so it is that I must learn the vague ways these affect my favorite guitar and, more specifically, my (non) wiggle stick. DrKev has opened my eyes to The Truth about these string gauges.

Appropriately, I will take the autographed back plate off and, for a while, stare at the twirly things, frightened and confused. No bass I have ever owned had twirly things inside it. Very scary. Then, because I refuse to go outside where the guitar shops are, I will go at the twirly things with some sort of tool, which I sincerely hope is inside my Factory Authorized Ernie Ball Music Man Tool Kit. Also at my disposal is Yellow Magic Screwdriver, which has never failed me when adjusting basses (again, no twirly bits on those, so who knows).

You guys are pretty useful.

I mean, for guitar players.

Jack
 

GWDavis28

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Jack remember when in doubt post a picture man, it;s worth a thousand words.

Glenn |B)
 

tbonesullivan

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It appears that there are differences in guitar strings, even those with the name "Slinky" right there on the package. You men are full of surprises.

But I do know (now) what I installed and they are Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, 9-42. I have an entire box of these and so it is that I must learn the vague ways these affect my favorite guitar and, more specifically, my (non) wiggle stick. DrKev has opened my eyes to The Truth about these string gauges.
Yas, them thar Slinkies can be REGULAR, SUPER, or even EXTRA. Those with mighty fingers may even go for POWER Slinkies. The Albert Lee was borned with the REGULAR skinny things on it.
 

Stephen

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Jack, if you haven't already made the wiggle stick wigglier, here is some advice shamelessly lifted from the EBMM FAQs:

How do I set up my Music Man guitar with Vintage Tremolo?​

[snip ...]​
5. Set the tremolo spring claw​
a. From the factory, the tremolo is set to remain flat on the body if a note is bent a full step or less.​
b. Bend the G note at the 12th fret to an A, and check if the bridge is lifting.​
c. Adjust the spring claw so the bridge begins to lift when this note is bent beyond an A.​
6. Double check the setup and enjoy!!​
a. If experiencing fret buzz on the first few frets (1~4), the truss rod needs to be loosened. If experiencing buzz in the middle of the neck (frets 6~10) the truss rod needs to be tightened.​
b. If experiencing fret buzz across the entire neck, the bridge saddles need to be raised.​

... and please do try to find a decent Philips 2 screwdriver and hold the guitar and the tool tightly! There are many ways to scratch Albert's back, but a poorly fitting screwdriver is probably among the less favorable.
 

jones4tone

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What a great thread. Jack is very welcome over here in skinny string land in my book.
 

bovinehost

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Apologies for the non-EBMM models but they all mean something to me.

And I took a screwdriver to the spring thingy, turned each one about 1/8 of a turn, tested the trem and voila! It's once again wiggling quite nicely.

The Surf Green AL has a full rosewood neck and I kind of bought it by accident, thinking it had a trem. Doh! When it came, I realized that I hadn't really made a mistake. After I got the Orange Crush, the Surfing AL took a long nap. I was considering selling it because I wasn't playing it and could use the money, but I just this week strung it up with those Nashville tuning strings and hey! It's useful again. (The Tele also is strung like that but it's not an AL, is it?) (and I'm not apologizing for the Tele in the photo because I built it myself in my garage.)

The Orange Crush has been "my" guitar since it arrived. The honeymoon period is long over so it's passed all the tests. I'm a terrible guitarist, of course, but I'm enthusiastic. Every recording I've done since getting it has featured that guitar. One of the guys in my band is a "fancy" guitar enthusiast (PRS, etc) but picked up the OC AL and said, "Dang, this is a great guitar." Which is what I've been telling him for ten effin' years.

Some of you might remember that dark grey Bongo 4H from the SLO fiesta. I've been playing that one a lot lately. It was BP's gigging bass, the one he had to have for live shows. Wonder what that one is worth!

And the Big Al single H, which the guys in my band call "the recording bass". They get very nervous if we're in the studio and I'm not using the Big Al, although they still allow me to use Bongos (of course).

And thanks for the info about fixing the trem. I really had no idea.

Jack
 

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GWDavis28

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Jack, nice collection and really glad to hear you got the trem to your liking. The Orange Crush is hot and was hot when they dropped it. Love the color, I'm just not a matching headstock guy.

Glenn |B)
 
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