fender tremolo adjustment

does anyone know how to adjust the height of a standard fender trem system (squier stratocaster).

i swapped the .009 strings for .010 strings, and the trem sits a little higher because of the difference in tension. i am only using 2 out of 3 springs, i could add the 3rd but then the trem will sit flush with the body (and there is supposed to be a slight gap, like 1/8" i think)

yeah i have fender's instruction manual, it's worthless... well, unless you need to figure out how to insert the tremolo arm.

SPANKS!

Add the third and adjust the screws in the back

"in the back" are you talking about the phillips screws underneath the saddles? or are you talking about the posts that screw into the guitar body on the rear side of the guitar (underneath the rear panel, which attach the springs to the body)

im talking about the posts,so you can have the guitar adjusted to your likeness,i recomment,if you dont know how to adjust it,take it to a luthier or to a shop,ive screwed my guitar so many times trying to do it correctly...until i finally learned

Make sure you adjust the tension equally ie however many screw turns you make on one side, make the same on the other. Ideally you want the bridge to be level at front and rear. I've recently adjusted the trem on my G&L S500 which is much the same as a Strat, the job turned out to be quite easy once I got started.
Once you've adjusted your trem, don't forget to check your intonation.
Good luck!

Slacken your strings then re-tune after each adjustment!!! Pain in the bum but very neccesary!

I have to disagree in there my friend Deefa,dont make both posts equal.why? because,the 6th ,5th and 4th strings,the bigger ones,cause more tension than the 3 light ones,so,to have the bridge balanced,you need more tension on the big strings side than the one you need on the 3 light ones,that equals to more turns on the "BIG" post than on the "LIGHT" post

@ AlexB
I agree totally, but I'm assuming that this adjustment will already have been made in the factory setup, therefore by turning the screws by the same amount the additional tension on the bass strings will be retained.

Edit. After a re-think I believe you might be right Alex. As he's moving up from 9's to 10's a little more tension on the bass strings might well be needed.NOT TOO MUCH THOUGH!

okay but i'm not talking about adjusting the bridge height (small allen wrenches in each saddle), or the string lenght (the screw that connects the individual saddles to the bridge with the spring).

i'm talking about the height at which the tremolo "hovers" over the body. fender's set up guide lists that height as supposed to be 1/8 or 1/16 inch i think. standard setup it is not supposed to be flush with the body. this meanst aht there has to be a way to adjust that, you would think? besides simply adding and removing springs?

I think we're at cross purposes gx. Have a look at this short utube video. I believe this is what you're looking for:-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afl3uD-VDww&feature=related

or.... you could do what i did ... shove a wood block in in the trem and stop it completly .. that will solve your tension problem...

i dont use my vibrato system ... cus i HATE soft tails... i just dont like them ..sorry guys

I've also blocked my trem system on my strat, definitely works better for my style of playing

I agree, they can be a pain in the bum. If I didn't play so much Shadows and early Deep purple stuff I'd do away with it myself!