USA Legacy Tremolo Problem

Hey guys,

I have a lake placid blue legacy with a matching head stock for a while now. I haven't played too much with the trem since in the beginning it didn't stay in tune very well. But now I want to start using it again and I just couldn't get it to stay in tune. Here are some of the problems I noticed:

1) The nut for the trem arm seems to be rubbing against the wood making pullups not so smooth as it hits the wood at a certain point. It's definitely not smooth as I have read in the reviews for the fulcrum. Maybe I got a faulty one. I don't know if I should route out the guitar to make that area bigger so the nut won't be rubbing against the wood.

2) I have a 2 sprint set up with it angled so using the trem would not take too much effort. I like the fact that it's more sensitive.

3) When I pull up and release then tune, then pullup and release again, it would stay in tune perfect. But If i were to push down and release, it would come back flat, well half way between the tuned not and a halfstep down. And if I pull up again, it would be in tune again. I feel like if I play, I would always have to pull it up before release for it to stay in tune. Is this normal? I don't think it's a nut problem but I will upgrade to a roller nut with necessary. I think maybe the culprit is the cushions under the saddle which doesn't let the saddle return to the normal position evenly.

4) How tight do I screw in the two points? I've tried it with it tight but that limits the range of the arm. If I leave it loose, then the nut will just dig into the wood and bending up motion would feel totally awkward.

5) Is it me or is the trem arm a bit on the low side unlike the fenders which points up. I can't seem to push down as much as I like because the trem arm will hit the pick guard before I can even bend down one whole tone.

Any ideas on what I should do? Especially routing out some wood near the nut because that's been bugging me for over a year now and it's the number 1 reason I don't use the trem.

Thanks in advance,
Tony

Here are a few threads (they are in the Knowledgebase - G&L Tech Tips subforum) which might help get it dialed in:

How-To Guide
What is the "toothbrush trick"?
What can I do when my Legacy Trem Won't Stay in Tune?
Set-Ups, answering some questions

If these don't help, then I suggest you take it to your G&L dealer and have them look at it, so they can advise you further.

Hope this helps.