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I was about to finally buy my very first G&L Legacy when the salesman and I noticed that the allen screw and nylon insert was missing from the guitar . I declined the purchase until he could find a solution.
Does this happen often with the Legacys? Does the nylon plug fall out regularly when the arm is taken away?
The salesman just called saying that his Luthier drop some glue in there and that after drying does the job of the plug.
Uh uh.
Can a plug be retro-fitted in there?
I was about to finally buy my very first G&L Legacy when the salesman and I noticed that the allen screw and nylon insert was missing from the guitar . I declined the purchase until he could find a solution.
Does this happen often with the Legacys? Does the nylon plug fall out regularly when the arm is taken away?
The salesman just called saying that his Luthier drop some glue in there and that after drying does the job of the plug.
Uh uh.
Can a plug be retro-fitted in there?
Thank you in advance for your kind answers.
I don't agree with the Luthier's solution.
The purpose of the allen screw and nylon bushing is to be able to adjust the
screw against the trem bar for the user's bar tension preference. I would ask the dealer to order the tension screw set from
G&L (see G&L's On-Line store) and replace the two missing parts.
The nylon bushing will not fall out when the arm is removed. Only if the allen screw is removed, can it fall out.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by Craig on Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:Updated G&L On-Line Store link
The glue may replace the nylon insert, but the allen screw is still missing and both are necessary.
This happened to my S-500, but I fortunately found the screw. So, it's a good idea to check from
time to time whether they are still there if you don't use regularly the tremolo.
Today I decided to attach the vibrato arm to my Legacy for the first time which was purchased from a dealer in May of this year. How visible / obvious is this allen screw? I do not see anything except a hole. Do you need to apply pressure to the base in order to see it? I ask this last question because I read where that was advised when someone could not locate it. I suspect the part is missing.
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:Today I decided to attach the vibrato arm to my Legacy for the first time which was purchased from a dealer in May of this year. How visible / obvious is this allen screw? I do not see anything except a hole. Do you need to apply pressure to the base in order to see it? I ask this last question because I read where that was advised when someone could not locate it. I suspect the part is missing.
If it's there, it should be visible and usually flush or almost flush,
unless someone cranked it in and then you would not likely be able
to put the trem bar in all the way. It does sound like it's missing.
You might drop by your G&L dealer and ask if they have any spare
allen set screws and nylon bushings. The bushing may or may not be
there, as it normally sits between the bar and the set screw.
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:Today I decided to attach the vibrato arm to my Legacy for the first time which was purchased from a dealer in May of this year. How visible / obvious is this allen screw? I do not see anything except a hole. Do you need to apply pressure to the base in order to see it? I ask this last question because I read where that was advised when someone could not locate it. I suspect the part is missing.
If it's there, it should be visible and usually flush or almost flush,
unless someone cranked it in and then you would not likely be able
to put the trem bar in all the way. It does sound like it's missing.
You might drop by your G&L dealer and ask if they have any spare
allen set screws and nylon bushings. The bushing may or may not be
there, as it normally sits between the bar and the set screw.
Hope this helps.
I spoke with the dealer. He grabbed another Legacy off the rack and discovered it did not have the allen screw either. He is ordering it. I hope no other parts are missing.
Thanks again.
In case anyone pulls up this thread needing to see what the screw looks like in place I found this image for reference:
I have extra nylon inserts and set screws in each of my G&L guitars. I bought them from the G&L website. The same set screw and insert is used on the G&L saddle lock bridge to lock the saddles.
I received a little plastic envelope in the mail that contains an allen screw and something that looks like a small white dowel about the same size as the screw.
Am I supposed to insert the white dowel through the hole then screw in the allen screw so the dowel is what contacts the tremolo arm?
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:I received a little plastic envelope in the mail that contains an allen screw and something that looks like a small white dowel about the same size as the screw.
Am I supposed to insert the white dowel through the hole then screw in the allen screw so the dowel is what contacts the tremolo arm?
The white dowel thing is the "nylon insert"?
Yes, that white piece is the nylon insert. It goes in the hole first so that when you insert the allen screw it will be between the tremolo arm and set screw.
Just tighten the allen screw enough to hold the arm in and loose enough so you can rotate the arm with some friction. If you don't have the nylon insert,
the metal allen screw will score the trem bar and make it hard to remove.
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:
In case anyone pulls up this thread needing to see what the screw looks like in place I found this image for reference:
On both my Legacy and the F-100 the screw is sunken in that hole. The nylon insert is inside for sure, on both guitars I had to put that stuff in by myself. I bought them used.
Yes, judging by the size of what I received and this image of the full kit the allen screw in that example image I posted would barely be held in position by the first thread.
The screw I received appears to be more shallow than those in this set. However both seem to have the same number of threads. It could just be the picture of the set.
Everything is much smaller and would be recessed when tightened.
I have not tried attaching the arm yet and will do so carefully in case the shop sent me generic parts.
Now that I have the parts I am wondering whether there is a nylon insert in the tremolo base. I think I would see clearly through to the large hole that the arm fits into. Instead it is blocked. When I first looked at the area before I had the parts I thought there might be a ring within the large hole that the arm would seat into. When people spoke of a "bushing" this is what I thought of at least. Before I insert a nylon insert and risk filling up the hole with two and too many can anyone confirm that I should be able to see clear through into the large hole where the arm seats if I was looking through the allen screw hole from the bridge (bottom to top of the guitar)?
Speaking of "case" is the guitar case able to contain a guitar with the tremolo arm attached or do people remove it when using the case?
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:Speaking of "case" is the guitar case able to contain a guitar with the tremolo arm attached or do people remove it when using the case?
Remove the arm before putting in the case. But with a properly installed nylon bushing that should be a breeze. You shouldn't have to tighten or loosen the set screw every time you insert or remove the arm, respectively. After inserting the bushing and set screw don't tighten anything yet. Install the arm and tighten the set screw until you feel some resistance while trying to rotate the arm. You can either leave it at that if you want to, or you can tighten the screw just enough such that the arm stays in position when rotated. After all this, you will feel some resistance when trying to remove the arm but it should still be simple. I usually have to wiggle it a bit while pulling for it to come out.
Hope this helps,
- Jos
P.S. Don't forget to put the arm in the case compartment so you won't loose it!
Michael-GnL-Michael wrote:
Now that I have the parts I am wondering whether there is a nylon insert in the tremolo base. I think I would see clearly through to the large hole that the arm fits into. Instead it is blocked. When I first looked at the area before I had the parts I thought there might be a ring within the large hole that the arm would seat into. When people spoke of a "bushing" this is what I thought of at least. Before I insert a nylon insert and risk filling up the hole with two and too many can anyone confirm that I should be able to see clear through into the large hole where the arm seats if I was looking through the allen screw hole from the bridge (bottom to top of the guitar)?
It sounds like the nylon bushing is still there.
If you look in the hole where you would put the trem bar, you should be able to see the white bushing showing through. If you don't see it, stick the allen wrench
through the hole where you would put the allen set screw. You should be able to see the end of the allen wrench sticking through the hole, if the bushing is missing.
Yea, it's there. "Adjust set screw in handle socket for suitable tension".
I never read that part because it was all technical. Something for the luthier, not the player. The last thing I want to do is remove the neck.
when the salesman and I noticed that the allen screw and nylon insert was missing from the guitar 
. I declined the purchase until he could find a solution.
