By Ronny North

Over the years I've noticed that I like my main stage guitars to feel a certain way. Beyond the body, neck and sound, I like the Tremolo action on my Floyd Rose to feel a certain way, and I like the tremolo bar to be not to loose in the way it hangs. Let's look at the springs; these days I like the tremolo action to be not to stiff. I try to just use two springs to make it a little more touch sensitive. I also block my tremolo, so the bar is not floating and just goes down.

I've noticed it seems to sound a little better that way, and if for some reason I break a string, the guitar will still stay in tune. The trick is to find the right springs. I have found that to be the most challenging. There are many types of guitar tremolo springs out there, and they all feel, sound, and react differently. It's definitely a trial and error thing for sure to get springs that feel right for your needs. Since I like to use only two springs these days, I need them to feel loose but still have enough pull to pull the bridge down flat to the body when the guitar is tuned up to pitch.

I've got a bag of springs in my guitar work box, and I just mix and match springs on each guitar until it feels right. Experiment and see what you come up with. You'd be surprised how different your guitar feels and reacts when you dial in the spring tension.

Another thing I have stumbled on is removing the back tremolo cover (I do it just to have easy access for adjustments), but it also changes the sound of the guitar, (Eric Johnson would agree since he removes the tremolo cover off all his strats).Try these things out and see what you come up with.

Editor’s note: We are not affiliated with Floyd Rose or any musical equipment company. Any reviews we do are based on our own experiences with gear we are actually using.