Dual Fulcrum non-standard setup ?

Hi,

I am about to receive a new (to me) used S-500 Tribute. I haven't even seen it in person yet (bought online), however it looks to be in good shape in the picture. I'm not sure of the year but it doesn't have the mini toggle switch for the pickups which I think the older S-500's had. The guitar looks fairly new so I wondered whether the individual who sold it had tuning problems. I read quite a few posts where there were tuning problems related to improper setup of the DF tremolo and it appears the recommended setup is having the bridge plate parallel to the body. This is the source of my question. I like having my tremolo's setup with a slight angle so I can pull up to a higher pitch Jeff Beck style. It's also great for doing tremolo "flutters", if that's the correct term, and for adding subtle effects with the palm of your hand. Can the DF tremolo handle being setup at a slight angle? Say so you could pull up a whole tone or semi-tone? Has anyone tried this that can comment?

I also read a post where the individual had their tremolo arrive setup at an angle and the bar was either hitting or close to hitting the controls. Part of this was due to the bar being relatively straight rather than curved like a Strat bar. Has anyone successfully tried bending the tremolo bar to have a custom shape?

Thank you!

Phil

Hi,

I am about to receive a new (to me) used S-500 Tribute. I haven't even seen it in person yet (bought online), however it looks to be in good shape in the picture. I'm not sure of the year but it doesn't have the mini toggle switch for the pickups which I think the older S-500's had. The guitar looks fairly new so I wondered whether the individual who sold it had tuning problems. I read quite a few posts where there were tuning problems related to improper setup of the DF tremolo and it appears the recommended setup is having the bridge plate parallel to the body. This is the source of my question. I like having my tremolo's setup with a slight angle so I can pull up to a higher pitch Jeff Beck style. It's also great for doing tremolo "flutters", if that's the correct term, and for adding subtle effects with the palm of your hand. Can the DF tremolo handle being setup at a slight angle? Say so you could pull up a whole tone or semi-tone? Has anyone tried this that can comment?

I also read a post where the individual had their tremolo arrive setup at an angle and the bar was either hitting or close to hitting the controls. Part of this was due to the bar being relatively straight rather than curved like a Strat bar. Has anyone successfully tried bending the tremolo bar to have a custom shape?

Thank you!

Phil

The Tribute S-500 has a 5 position pickup selector plus push/pull pot enabling additional pickup combinations of neck+bridge or all 3 pickups together, volume, PTB system.

I recommend that once you get the guitar, check the current setup and if not at current factory spec, set it
up to the factory setup. Try it out that way for a bit. If you still want to change the setup, go for it.

Here's a few posts which might be of interest (all located in the G&L Knowledgebase, G&L Tech Tips):

Current Factory setups for DF vibrato G&L guitars
DF bridge bending range
Can you tell me which allen wrenches I need for my G&L?
Set-Ups, answering some questions

Also, please do post some photos of your guitar and add it to our G&L Registry.

Hope this helps.

with the factory setup you get a minor third up on the g string, an whole step on the b string and a half step on the high e.