How to block off a tremolo - Hardtail an electric guitar

[epicbikerguy]

Why does this video keep skipping frames? It's really annoying.

[mrbuddha2026]

1:31-1:33 One's machine gun riff!!!

[FletcherHabit]

Instead of using wood try 3-4 stacks of 8 pennies. its much better than the wood ive tried them both and even different types of hard woods. pennies provide more sustain and a punchier response .

[FletcherHabit]

@FletcherHabit # number of pennies varies . also remember to screw in the spring fork piece that holds the springs all the way in so its flush with thecutaway. this will maximize sustain further.

[Metal22God]

when doing this on a floyd rose trem, do you need to wedge the front cavity as well? i mean, does the floyd still float pitch-up when you press it a little harder with the right palm, like if you are palm muting very aggressively?

[mrbuddha2026]

@Metal22God I think it shouldn't be much of a difference.

[mrbuddha2026]

@Metal22God BTW I noticed at like 7 minutes that he says that a floating tremolo will be blocked in the same way. Hope that helps.

[Metal22God]

@mrbuddha2026 yeah, i know... it'll be blocked from down-pitch floating, but i just don't see how it would stay fixed on the other side with the loosened springs... i'm gonna try hardtailing my rg370 tomorrow and i'll see... well, it's not a problem to jam another piece of tree in there if necessary... i'll let you know. thanks for the replies ;)

[mrbuddha2026]

@Metal22God Ohh Ok... You can get a tremol-no too and be able to switch between full floating, normal down only or blocked.

[Metal22God]

@mrbuddha2026 i've been researching on the net about this... seen the tremol-no... it's an awesome thingy... but, taking ebay, shipping, paypal etc in consideration, a piece of wood comes way cheaper :D

[mrbuddha2026]

@Metal22God Definitely! Hahaha

[jakeyc280596]

this dude is awesome :P

[FALCN7468]

Can U still use a whammy bar, probly not i'll shut up now

[caelosereno]

I wouldn't give my guitar to him. Hes kind of rude. Actually i wouldn't even give my saw to him.

[EivindS94]

I've heard that removing all the strings at the same time can cause the neck to break? is this true?

[JYZProductions]

@EivindS94 no whoever said that is an idiot or had a really cheap guitar , even though that kind of stuff happens.... my advice , 10 pennies, it requires a bit more effort but its a poor mans brass big block for floyd roses.

[EivindS94]

@JYZProductions I did not understand the last part of that comment. After "my advice"

[JYZProductions]

@EivindS94 i stack 10 pennies on top of eachother and tape them with clear tape to fill in the gap for the floyd rose to block it , its a bit of extra effort but it gives you a more fuller tone.

[FletcherHabit]

@JYZProductions Ive got 36 pennies in my blocked strat now and its great far better than the wood block. Do you think the tone could still improve very much if I replaced the trem. block with a high quality steel/brass one?

[JYZProductions]

@FletcherHabit shit you broke my record , ok so with the block I'd say brass you'll enhance tone and volume as did the pennies , steel I heard its subtle except for harmonics if you mean the guitarfetish "dot" com ones. So the brass big blocks my vote I was talking to Zoltan of the band five finger death punch about the pennies idea think he tried it on his guitars as he uses a bigblock already

what I did for a few months was shove pennies between the springs to reduce rattling,

[Krauser1226]

Gonna block off my ZR when I get the chance. I like having the added bonus of increased tuning stability of fine tuners with a fixed bridge. Question though, will I have to redo my intonation and such? It's kind of a pain in the ass. I'll do it anyway but I'm just curious.

[jdalbiac]

How does blocking a tremelo effect the tone of your guitar?

[JYZProductions]

@jdalbiac not at all , if you use pennies if you're american or canadian i found i got a more louder fuller tone

[1onlyphil]

one word .... "hipshot"

[PitchBlackGuitarMan]

this is crap there are many ways of doing this that are more simple ! .... and this being a 2 point tremolo you don't need to block it...if you put your strings right.

[MrGuitarbike]

No offence,but there is a way easier way... Just loosen your strings and put it in.

[Jaffa13666]

how safe is doing this to a FR??

[AlienFromPlanetEx]

@Jaffa13666 You'll end up with no sustain doing it to a Floyd Rose. Probably best off leaving it as it is. You never know, if you have a second hardtail guitar you might want to make or play a song using your whammy bar doing dive bombs or whatever. :)

[Jaffa13666]

@AlienFromPlanetEx it's very rare for me to use a FR, i'd only ever use them for "Dime Squeals" and "Chirps"

im mostly a heavy right hand rhythm player

[st0rmr1der7]

I don't trust my guitar to this guy

[ChaosBurnsWithin]

@st0rmr1der7 you should. this dude's obsession is with guitars. he owns a guitar company. if anyone knows how to set up a guitar itd be the owner of a guitar company who is also a full time musician and guitar teacher... in fact id trust him more with my guitar than my local luthier

[st0rmr1der7]

@ChaosBurnsWithin it was obviously the joke - along the lines of talking about incantations and strong coffee...

[ChaosBurnsWithin]

@st0rmr1der7 i cant tell if you can take Rob seriously or not. hahaha

[2010metalmaster]

You bring me great joy! :D

[demilieu]

that british wood looks...funny.

[TheGargoyleLives]

9 Volt battery did the trick for me. It's a vibrato system btw.

[aquiel]

ok ok watched the rest of it and take it back, you seem a decent guy! lol

[aquiel]

Forget trying to be funny, putting me off watching the video. It's just annoying.

[GanjaBhang]

Floyds...

[Metallica2131]

I wan't that Horizon.

[hipyaboyya]

your a funny funny man, sir.

[dggz9510]

i just cut the strings

[MartyCannava]

Hey Chappers why don't you keep best of both world?

I bloqued my trem in dive only and I can drop D, double bend and stay in tune perfectly, but and can still dive bomb!!!!

[almzap]

I want a Horizon :'(

[MrJohnnyPetey]

@almzap me too l: Too bad the one I want is $2000

[kniazeff]

I love your videos, I could watch you all day long! You rock on so many levels, thanks!

[mtmusicgear]

What a great video! Informative and entertaining. Thanks man!

[mr4y]

You can do the double stop thing with a full floating floyd, but requires some skill. When you bend the string, the floating bridge will go down. You do the double bend and push the bridge to it's straight position the same amount you bend the string.

[RockhouseRay]

hardtail (sounds dirty)=more sustain

[HorrorshowMusic]

Wait, there are people that keep the back plate on their guitars???

[TheSchafer78]

@HorrorshowMusic There are people with tremolo's on their guitars ?!

[wickerman1066]

hahah what a great instructional video, 4:06 cracked me up. Quite helpful too. Did you just guess the thickness of the wedge or 'test and adjust' until the angle of the bridge was level?

[hansbrix2]

ONYA RICK!

[Stratboy999]

Stupid incantation thing.....I put it in and it's still out of tune.....

[IsaacDeanMusic]

@Stratboy999 DId you mean intonation? Incantation is do with witchcraft, spells.

[Stratboy999]

@IsaacDeanMusic noooo lol! He put some wierd symbols on the tremolo blocker....

[seasonedtoker]

making a fixed bridge on a strat in this fashion will kill some sound. it's better putting a wedge on the neck side, not the bridge side, or better yet machine a whole new tremolo block that is thicker than original and fills the cavity completely. the trouble with a modern two-point fender tremolo is that the sound dulls out of bridge is flush, because of the saddle geometry. you can also try and fit two grub screws and they'll serve as adjustable wedges, but that a bit trickier to do

[TheGubernot]

@seasonedtoker Agreed my stock 2piece trem was zingy but never stayed in tune I put a wilkinson trem in it lost the zing but stayed in tune. So I've blocked it off out of frustration with a stack of 2p coins (6 glued together) wedged behind the bottom strings so I have zinginess it stays in tune but no wobble alas. Can't have it all I suppose.

[jokas96]

Dog bark... HOW!!!???



[cja2369]

VISIT & SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL PLEASE!!!

[FletcherHabit]

That bit about destringing the guitar great help that..was wondering how the hell..

[wwetnajeffhardy12345]

so if you block it up can down tune all you want, but if you tune up more then it was set up for would you need to set it up again?

[MatKiller1197]

if i use the wood for floyd can then i go crazy with the bends and dont get out of tune? will the floyd be able to go down

[MatKiller1197]

the pain in my ass cant leave :( do i just have to do what you did to the strat?

[motaro45]

I have a questions i did the trick by puting a fourth spring and it works but can it cause me any trouble :S

[OHHELLGITMONEYtroll]

To be totally honest it still sucks to have a floyd rose or anything like that because no matter what you do when you bend the strings they can slip outta the hold at the bridge and they will fall out. Then you will have to put it back in and retune and it will happen yet again. It sucks.

[Jfitch08]

Let it give it's wonderious powers of wedgeness.

[Sentient6505]

Chappers, for the horizon....you only used on piece of wood?

[babywithacrowbar]

This is probably my favourite video on youtube and it's the one I tell guitarists to check out if they haven't heard of Chappers. Plus, it's useful to those who are sick of their tremolos. Thanks Chappers!

[MrSpottedpython]

try a Hipshot Trem-Setter it helps bring the bridge back to positon

[mac163]

The main reason i have a strat style guitar because of the tremolo! how else am i going to do my crappy Jeff beck /Jimi Hendrix /Richie Blackmoor imitations! Tremolos rule! ; )

[rillafilla18]

can you do this with a floyd rose?

[MarkSkinner7]

Daniel Beddingfield and hit every note YES CHAPPERS! \m/

[15viceandvirtues]

Jeez, when you stop the trem you can tune without worrying about the locking nut?

[JayFraser0987]

@GuitarPlayerHV16 some people really like the fine-tuning capabilities, and the locking nut, without having the crazy Floyd-ian antics. There's no real way to get both those things without having a floyd, and if you want to block it off, there's no reason not to.

[GuitarPlayerHV16]

why would you get a guitar with a floyd rose, if you dont use it? thats both a waste of money and defeats the purpose of the design.

[JesseArrr]

Do you have to tighten the springs in the back again?

[slysendice]

@JesseArrr It looks like you don't, because you want the trem block to be quite slack so that the strings pull it into your block of wood

[SoulreaperCAE]

@JesseArrr No

[JoshStraitiff]

You could have saved half the time it took to unstring it by just unwinding the strings a little bit and then clipping down the center.

[DizzMinnMizz]

5:34 LOL



[SaveFace23]

i just watched this cuz he mad me laugh

[mattwildchild]

1:31 - metallica one ?

[NoobletXiii]

Does this do anything Tone-Wise or to just stop use of the tremolo?

[UniqueNames1]

Hey i just want to check that:

once you loosen the springs (in the back of the guitar) and have placed the wooden block in the back, that:

You don't tighten the springs back up (as they were before, before the block was placed) so in effect just love them 'loose'.

Does restring the guitar cause the strings tension to pull the tremolo block? into the newly placed wooden block?

also, how 'loose' should the springs be in the back??

thanks :)

[djdz999]

I jammed a pool cue chalk into mine :)

[impsychosocial1]

Haha, I just put a janga peice in there.

[7600p36]

@impsychosocial1 i did that to haha but it never stayed in tune

[incisorpinoydeath]

Thanks man you're very funny! you make hardtailing enjJOYful!

[LupusBritannica]

I share your hatred of tremelos!

here's a thought though, surely a lot of resonance goes via that end of the guitar, how about an aluminium, steel or brass lump - would that xfer more good stuff to the body?

[LupusBritannica]

@LupusBritannica I used a bit of pine from the shoulders of Mt Rushmore and now my strat has invaded Iraq.

[TimothyinToronto]

Any old wood ?

[xboxnoob1234]

hahah chappers makes exellent videos and makes them funny to. look at 8:12 lol

[slysendice]

So how does the trem block hold the wedge in place? Is it from the tension after putting the strings on?

[Quovardis83]

I wouldn't want this moron handling my deluxe strat, flinging the tremolo about and acting like an idiot with a very sharp screwdriver mm's away from the paint work.

[METALxTAMAxHEAD]

1:32 Heaviest Matter In The Universe by Gojira. You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.

[stevegregorymusic1]

I'm loving the Metallica references. Especially the "One" drum part vocalized, haha.

[flowerdrop1]

will this effect the action and intonation?

[peteq1972]

@flowerdrop1 Maybe, on a floyd, might need setting up again.

[Aranya009]

The SPRINGS are tuned to NOTES!? :O

[VegaMaiden95]

@Aranya009 everything that has tension has a note. try playing with a rubber band and hearing it :D

[robbyo1201]

k tks 4 answering

1 more thing. how tight do u screw the screws back into the body( the ones the tighten the springs)

tks!!!:)

[slampussss]

Haha this guy is funny!

[aepid200d]

im sooo super cereal!

[BlackAngusYoung]

Is it ok to tighten the 5 springs instead of using wood?

[BlackAngusYoung]

That PW windie thing with clippy thing is great, but I'll never forget the day I got my Stewmac Zip-it string-winding electric screwdriver bit.

[mattconsul]

1:31 LMAO! xD

[dannyven18]

NICE!

[AbSoLuT1oNx]

horizon looks SWEET

[HillaryHitler]

Nice work bench ass clown

[helmerke94]

is it possible to do it without taking the strings of ?

[MrCORN1BREAD]

@helmerke94 yeah.

[helmerke94]

@MrCORN1BREAD Thanks :)

[robbyo1201]

i realy need 2 know. is it ok to do this and not take the strings off. i heard that taking them all off at once would mess up the tension and i dont have the tools to adjust the neck tension. plz, someone tell me cause my trem is realy pissing me off and i hate when people think that whammey bars are like from heaven.

tks:)

[MrCORN1BREAD]

@robbyo1201 what i normally do is i put something in the routed out area ( the area where the bar is cut out so you can do pull ups) like an eraser so that when i change strings the bar doesnt move. after i put in each string i move the eraser. all you need is a screwdriver so you can adjust the screws that hold the springs tension. hope this helps you.

[robbyo1201]

@MrCORN1BREAD no i meen like

he said step 1)take all the string off

i need to know is it ok too not take the strings off when i do this

tks

[MrCORN1BREAD]

@robbyo1201 i dont know, sorry

[06aldhelms]

@robbyo1201 There's a slight chance you may have to readjust the truss rod, but I doubt that'll be the case. Either way, you're going to need to loosen the springs anyway, which will mean the tension will change. So for the effort it's worth (to do with strings on), just take the strings off. Your tension will be fine.

[Knukleheada]

...you could just insert more springs in the tremolo, so it would not move and detune the notes unless you actually push the bar. this of course wouldn't work on a floyd rose.... or a bigsby lol

[Punkcorefan]

what is "tremolo"?

[Theodosiou74]

FUNNY!!! i am subbing 

[guitarguru6693]

Great video! Must have watched just about every one of your videos by now. Quick question: I recently bought a jackson rr5fr for a steal, normally i hate fr's but it was too good to pass up an now i want to block the trem. Its an original fr floating system. If i do block it can I play in different tunings like a hardtail? Cuz I play in drop c# or eb most of the time but use others 2. Thanks for the help!

[DeafSprungoffical]

pause at 41 xD lol jizz face

[pivetlord13]

ive heard alot that guitars with any trems can be trouble. im going to be getting a jackson king v with a floyd so im definantly going to do this. thanks for the vid Chappers!

[planetofzeus]

esp eclipse or horizon ?

[fizzlefresh14]

@planetofzeus both different body shapes, try both and do what feels the best

[mrsqueeky1000]

Ricky is a very nice guy.

[trash266001]

I blocked my tremolo, but it still goes out of tune when I drop it to D or B. Did I screw up?

[strawsparky33]

@trash266001 i blocked of my schecter floyd rose(check my channel and you'll see it) and found that i hadn't made the wood thick enough and the trem could still move a tiny bit when i tune down to drop c and a#. that may be it. if not that maybe the piece of wood isn't centered on the trem and one sie of your trem will move

[ninjaappliances101]

i miss videos like this

[hsarhTsseldniM]

Has anyone actually done this to their own guitar?

Was it as good as getting it done professionally?

Did you have previous experience at guitar repairs/upgrades?

Do I dare to this to a brand new Ibanez RG1527?

What are the risks of fucking it up?

[TheOblongOstrich]

@hsarhTsseldniM I've done this to a number of my guitars actually. It is a very easy thing to do, just try to be as precise with the measurements as possible. I had very little experience with guitar upgrades. Getting it done professionally is silly since it is such an easy thing to do. Just follow the instructions in this video and you'll be fine. The great thing about this is that there is very little risks of fucking it up if any at all.

[StreetSoldier88]

What is the song your hand was singing to the screwdriver?

[ghigaful]

not dangerous to bring off all 6 strings at a time? bad for the neck ??

[Dragonforce55valley]

He's so funny!

[MackBozetti]

que cara otário

babaca...

[trenticle]

Not needed for me. I have a stobe tuner and setup is quick and easy. I gotta say, I am not a pro. But I did a lot of research. I have a floyd rose tremolo on my guitar. I can literally do it in about 10 minutes after taking the strings off completely. And have a level tremolo plate when I'm done. The trick.. A STROBE TUNER. I take my strobe tuner off of the pedal board and plug it in as I'm stringing the guitar.

[trenticle]

@trenticle BTW my 7 string baritone is tuned to Drop F#. Speak engrish. Its called a saw not a sawr.

[misterj4mz]

hhahaha "probably quite expensive" youre hilarious great video really helped a lot

[slorr55]

My Ibanez RGD320 has a trem and i cant tune it tu standard or drop D :( only lower tunning like drop B and drop C what do i do to make it tune to drop D and standard :(?

[BandSniipeZ]

@slorr55 You need to hardtail it! atleast I think, I've got the same guitar and I'm trying to hardtail it. It's just hard to find a good wooden piece

[Hellraiserzzz]

why not get a fixed bridge?

[makerdapro]

2:41 xDDDDDDDDd

[wipers86]

@RobChappers do you have any tips on how to get better sustain out of your guitar ?other than blocking off the tremolo

[wipers86]

@RobChappers how much of a difference do you get with the sustain of the guitar once blocking off the tremolo ?

[ChuckSchuldinerRIP0]

MOER Orange!

[shlomiya]

4:52 wwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhy ??????? =[

Boy I hate British accent

[jcadlols]

@shlomiya Boy I hate haters... wait... am I hating on a hater? Damn paradox :P

[TheWasabiNoodles]

You are the greatest man that ever lived

[GRAYFOX348]

what is the second song after your holier than thou bit?

[superpaco666]

I ll do that on my ESP Scythe

[SpinGoldmusic]

lol wow awesome

[andyzbak2]

you have no fans...........by the way are you muslim

[skylinrg]

you can also buy a fixed tremoloed guitar^^

[blackend31]

@skylinrg But it he plays strats, they all come with tremolo bridges.

[MrSchroyer]

he should quit playing guitar and become a singer.......

[nejifan365]

Lol I love the "One" lick with the unwinding of the strings.

[41224jason]

that "F" is actually a Bb. haha

[MrDudeface23]

MAKE SURE YOU PICK UP THE COILED CLIPPINGS. its EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to remove a coiled piece of wire from your insides!!!

[neochase1]

Hey man i need help. I have a floyd rose bridge. I got fed up with it and decided to hard tail it. Now the strings feel like they dont have enough tension in them. How do i fix that ?

[Jetgui22]

You didn't just help me bastard!

You fucking made me laugh too :)

Thanks!

[GabrielTheGuitarist]

u said u cant drop tune a floyd? that bullshit. i just dropped my ibanez and esp with no problem...maybe if someone learns how to set up a floyd..

[RIPdimeRIP101]

@GabrielTheGuitarist any one who says u cant is a retard all u have to do is adjust the springs in the back and make shure your intonation is right i have an esp in drop b right now and it works fine

[GabrielTheGuitarist]

@RIPdimeRIP101 exactly im a guitar tech.

..this guy in the video said u cant do it....

i have an 3 guitars with a floyd:

Ibanez RG350DX - Drop C

ESP LTD M-100FM - Drop B

Jackson V JS32 - D standard.

each in a different tuning...i find them very easy to set it up in drop tunings.

[RIPdimeRIP101]

@GabrielTheGuitarist yea im not a tech but i know a little bit i like to know how to work on what im playing

[GabrielTheGuitarist]

@RIPdimeRIP101 agreed.

[RIPdimeRIP101]

@GabrielTheGuitarist question tho i have EMGs in my esp when i do what i call dime bag squeels haha, it cuts out when i get to high is it my pick ups or what else could it be

[GabrielTheGuitarist]

@RIPdimeRIP101 im guessing ur talking about pinch harmonics and harmonic squeal/drops. there could be a number of causes...

1. if ur EMGs are active, the battery can be weak.

2. ur pickups are too close, or to far away from the strings it wont get correct tone.

3. if u pickups have poles, u may have to adjust them separate for each string.

4. ur guitar's intonation may be off.

5. make sure ur bridge is set correct, theres a limit each string can reach pushing or pulling back on the dive bar.

[RIPdimeRIP101]

@GabrielTheGuitarist yea the drops with the dive bar i tried changing the battery so i know its not that i know the intonation is right im pretty sure the bridge is set right ill check the pick up hight maybe thats it