Springy spring dealers?

[tpl2000]

Hullo, e'erybody!

I've got a PRS SE Paul Allender signature, with a number of wonderful upgrades. one thing I've not yet swapped out, however, is the termolo springs. Does anyone have a preferred location or website, for the acquisition of good springs? (And possibly the screws for the claw, as well?)

Ideal would be quickly responsive, and very springy with the flutter in mind. I'm using 11-49's in D standard at the moment, which may be dropped down a half step soon. But anyways, any recommendations?

(I also went to Floydparts.com, to check them out... They had different sizes, for each style of OFR? Slightly confused with that, and they're all at different prices. Would Stew-mac or Allparts be a better place to go to?)

 

[tpl2000]

Any opinions to be had on the topic?

 

[tpl2000]

Le bump.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I'd check these out: Noiseless Springs (3) [ANS0001] - $9.95 : FU-TONE.COM, OFFICIAL BIG BLOCK PERFORMANCE UPGRADES FOR YOUR GUITAR! they're regular sized, so they'll still feel light enough for flutters, especially with the gauges your using now for D

Plus they're noiseless, which is the kind of thing that you never really think about, then when you finally try it, you can't live without. All of my trem'd guitars are blocked and have electrical tape wrapped around the springs to stop the ringing, which is a similar fix to those coated springs above.

 

[tpl2000]

Funnily enough, I've actually been getting a bit too much spring noise lately--between the upgrades of the block and saddles, it seems like the springs are to... enacted? by the fluttering, and otherwise jammin' out.

*views the specs of the noiseless springs*

 

[russmuller]

I can vouch for the FU-tone springs. I have both the heavy duty and heavy duty noiseless, and they work as advertised. I highly recommend them. Also, Adam is awesome. He is fast to reply, answers questions, stays on top of his orders, and went above and beyond to fix something when I was the one who made a mistake.

 

[cardinal]

Raw Vintage makes low tension springs and, believe it or not, I think they do kinda make the guitar sound different (to my ear). Gotoh makes something similar, though I'm not sure you can get them in the US very easily.

You can make any spring reasonably noiseless. Some lightly apply heat shrink tubing around the middle of the springs. Some stuff cotton balls or q-tips in them.

A few places, like Killer Guitar Components, make spring claws from brass and aluminum. I have some Tremol-nos that I think also are aluminum claws, and can't say I heard any difference. I have tried a brass claw because I got it for free. It could have been my imagination, but it did actually seem to make the guitar more resonant. It could have been simply that it was a better machined part that makes better contact with the adjustment screws. But I was surprised by that one.

Schaller also makes the Sure Claw, which looks kinda neat as well.

 

[tpl2000]

Yeah, Tremol-no's really only make a sound difference in one notable way--whenever you're bending one string, and keeping the other one stagnant. With the tremolo, it usually would lower the pitch of the stagnant one. Any kind of tremolo block would change this, really. I've also found they change the effort required to play the guitar, physically making the strings meet the frets.

 

[cardinal]

I find that the Tremol-No still lets the strings go a bit flat during a double stop bend, though not as much as without it (even locked, the hinges on the Tremol-no wiggle enough to let it move). Either way, best bet is to use the palm of your picking hand to push against the trem to force the stationary note in tune during that bend.