trem arm ques?....and general review

[smokensteve]

k....well after about a week of noodling around on my new USA Legacy, I got somewhat of a review....playability is really nice now..I did have to do a fret polish on my own to get ride of some fret varnish and general tarnish from sitting on the store shelf....pup seem very responsive and clear...they seem a little bright and quacky...Im so used to playing my tele...havent had a strat in sometime, so its taking abit to get use too..still getting use to the tone controls too...I believe I had my last strat set up with the middle pick up out of the tone loop all together....the bridge pup was wired to the tone controls...think jeff beck set up if I remember right...I have la grange "Big Bottom" pup's set up in my tele and I find these pup's abit thin on the G&L....but like I said playability is really nice...clear and crisp..the only other con I have with this guitar is the tremolo or whammy bar, is bent to the wrong angle...when I install it in the guitar, even if I install it high with the nut tight, it will work its way into the arm hole and when i move it out of the way it will move the pup selector switch...I play with the middle pup a far bit and the arm will hit and move the pup switch everytime if I dont pay attention...been thinking on putting the arm in a vice and bending the arm to a little over 90 degrees to keep it out of the way...does anyone else have this issue??....cheers

[louis cyfer]

my guess would be that your trem needs to be set up, it is not level with the body, so the arm is tilting forward. but on some of the g&l's i have tried the trem arm was too close to the body even with the trem properly setup, although not close enough to flip the switch.

[smokensteve]

ok...didnt relize had to have tremolo set-up...this is actually my first guitar with a trem..I've always had a hard tail...so I am not sure on a trem set-up...is this an easy fix on this type of trem?

[KenC]

ok...didnt relize had to have tremolo set-up...this is actually my first guitar with a trem..I've always had a hard tail...so I am not sure on a trem set-up...is this an easy fix on this type of trem?

+1 to Louis's comment. On the older dual-fulcrum vibrato (DFV) guitars if the tension is good you can adjust the angle of the bridge by tightening the couple of screws in the cavity on the back of the guitar. Just put the springs under a little bit more tension and it should pull the bridge down parallel to the body. As a precaution, wrap a bit of cloth from a t-shirt around a popsickle stick and lay it under the end of the bridge to prevent it from contacting the body if things don't go as planned (such as accidentally loosening the screws).

You may also want to confirm that you have the correct arm for your DFV. The diameter changed at some point in the fairly recent past. If the arm is not right for the year your guitar was built, you can either replace it to get a snug fit or install a bushing that's available from G&L. I really can't offer any other insight on this, since all of my experience is with much older instruments. There are posts in the Knowledgebase on this site that discuss this issue.

You might also want to check the Knowledgebase postings on the Passive Treble Bass (PTB) circuit that was used on Legacies. The tone controls are one of Leo's later innovations, and do not work the same way as the controls on a Fender Strat. The pups on the Legacy I owned a couple of years ago were very clear and crisp, and worked extremely well with the PTB circuit once I figured it out.

Ken

[smokensteve]

mine is a 2010 so I think I have the updated tremolo..the DFS?...not 100% though...i have some pics but cant figure out how to post the pics in this post..lol..trem does seem to be sitting level to body..I tried to adjust..although I didn't touch the screws under the trem cover, in the back, as the last post suggests...may have to have my local lutherian do a once over and have him do a real good set-up...kinda hate that...you buy a guitar then have to have it set up...I already had to do a fret polish...no big deal but it was my own time spent...just saying, for 1200 bucks you would think those little things would be takin care of...maybe I'm just a picky player...i dont really use trem anyway...maybe just have it blocked and try and make it as close to a hardtail as i can.....

[louis cyfer]

mine is a 2010 so I think I have the updated tremolo..the DFS?...not 100% though...i have some pics but cant figure out how to post the pics in this post..lol..trem does seem to be sitting level to body..I tried to adjust..although I didn't touch the screws under the trem cover, in the back, as the last post suggests...may have to have my local lutherian do a once over and have him do a real good set-up...kinda hate that...you buy a guitar then have to have it set up...I already had to do a fret polish...no big deal but it was my own time spent...just saying, for 1200 bucks you would think those little things would be takin care of...maybe I'm just a picky player...i dont really use trem anyway...maybe just have it blocked and try and make it as close to a hardtail as i can.....

any guitar you buy needs to be set up. a factory can't guess your preferences. there is factory spec, but that doesn't work for everyone. also it's a 2010. at 2 years old, the neck has moved from weather, people played it at the store, it was shipped, etc. to expect it to stay in perfect setup is entirely unreasonable. the guitar will need regular setups as you own it as well, usually twice a year as seasons and humidity change, plus wear from playing.

[smokensteve]

yes I realize that I can't expect a perfect set-up...just hate having to spend money right away...I just bought a week ago...had to do fret polish...that I think could have been done better at the factory...there was still varnish residue left on some of the frets...anyway, I will spend the money and have a complete set-up done...I did talk the guy down $150 off the sticker price..got it for <actual price deleted by Admin*> Canadian...so there goes my savings...lol




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[smokensteve]

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[Craig]

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[Boogie Bill]

You can bend an arm in a vise, but it's tough...unless you are Superman.

I'd advise against blocking the vibrato. Once it is set up right, it is a joy. Mine hold their tune EXTREMELY well. I used to play in a back with a guy who used Kahlers and Floyds, and my non-locking Legacy stayed in tune better than his guitars.

Check out the set-up instruction in the FAQ section. Df Vibratos are not like the old Fender Synchonized Tremelos, and require different specs. The neck pocket is different too, so it is a whole different ballgame.

Good luck!

Bill

[smokensteve]

well I got my guitar back today....had em block the trem...cut the nut abit better and I am really impressed, now, with this guitar....the finish on this guitar is of fender, custom shop, quality...neck feels great....really glad I went this way instead of just buying another strat....cheers

[timewave]

I , not a big trem user at first, did think of blocking trem ,until I started using it to shimmer some jazz chords IMO I would rethink that whole trem thing! It has become very useful to me now. Maybe put it back next set-up? Just my 2 cents.
Steve