Play in trem arm bushing

[Gregsaab]

Have noticed a fair bit of play (and noise) coming from trem arm when using it on my pre-refined. Is there a way to tighten the bushing?

[vjmanzo]

Hey @Gregsaab—are we talking about the hex bushing or the round one? Either way, the bar can be bent a little once it’s in the bushing; that should hold it in place a bit better. There’s a set screw accessible from next to the high e string, but that just keeps the entire bushing from rotating; it doesn’t actually tighten anything.

I once wrapped electrical tape around one of my round vibrato arms to add a little mass so it stays put, and it did work in principle, but I think there’s probably a better way to do the same thing—the concept is right, maybe…

[Gregsaab]

I should have specified that it’s the hex bushing, though I was assuming all pre-refined are hex. Initially, I thought that the arm itself was loose in the bushing and did add some masking tape to make it more snug. However, the issue seems to be that the bushing, itself, is a bit loose.

[vjmanzo]

the issue seems to be that the bushing, itself, is a bit loose.

Gotcha—you may know that the hex bushing has two parts: the top part where the arm inserts and a small threaded part that screws on at the bottom. If you look at the backside of your Fly, you’ll see a hole cut out that allows you to look at the bottom side of that threaded part. It’s possible that the threaded part needs to be tightened up. Maybe that’s the issue?

I was assuming all pre-refined are hex.

Oops—you’re correct that they are; my coffee wore off when I asked you to clarify

#VibratoBridge

[Gregsaab]

I believe that is the issue - couldn’t find anything in manual that addresses the means of doing so.

[vjmanzo]

Oh great! Let us know!

It’s definitely not in the manual, so three cheers for the Fly Clonites: supplementing the manual since 2018

[Gregsaab]

Tightening the bushing was about as intuitive as you can get — insert a 3/16th allen key via the cutout on the back of the guitar and tighten using the trem arm. Issue resolved.

I still have a slight bit of rotational play, but that is due to some notches on part of arm that is inserted. Could probably fix that by adding a bend to arm, but I am pretty content for now.

[vjmanzo]

Issue resolved.

Love this!! Way to go, @Gregsaab

[Voice Of Reason]

…the bar can be bent a little once it’s in the bushing; that should hold it in place a bit better.

Would anyone care to elaborate about how to do this (and/or kindly share a picture of a bent (hex) arm for me to compare)? I attempted this on my own, but figured out it wasn’t going to be that easy. I don’t want to overdo it and break anything… (after all, I just had a large portion of spinach).

I also have another question… I came across some YouTubers claiming that the Fly’s trem system could “flutter”. However, I have never heard any indication of this (nor have I been able to replicate this on my pre-refined Fly Classic). Can Flys flutter?

[vjmanzo]

Hey Popeye—page 22 of the manual shows this:

You can bend the vibrato arm gently with pliers at the insertion point to make it look like it does in the figure shown in the manual.

I’ve always bent the arm once it was in the bushing: once the arm is in the arm bushing, you just bend it forward without letting bridge bend forward—you don't need much: it's just to angle the arm a bit so it doesn't slip right out of the bushing. Make sense?

[Voice Of Reason]

Hey Popeye—
Once the arm is in the arm bushing, you just bend it forward without letting bridge bend forward—you don't need much: it's just to angle the arm a bit so it doesn't slip right out of the bushing. Make sense?

Ahoy! Success with the bar. Thanks VJ.

Popeye is helluva strong. He held his bridge down (fixed mode) so it wouldn’t move. While doing the deed, he heard a clank: the action on the high side dropped about 0.015”. He went on his merry way to raise the action back and all seemed to be ok. Just don’t tell Olive about the bar, ok? Staying sober is hard enough for a sailor.

What could cause this drop in a pre-refined Fly? Is there a specific part that could have weakened over time?

N.b. Perhaps this is related to my bridge issues aka this:

[vjmanzo]

Hmmmm—hard to know what that could have been, but if I had to guess I’d say that it was related to the bridge arm or the bridge arm bushing moving ever so slightly. Maybe the thread in the bridge arm was slightly off and it corrected itself?!

Glad you were able to raise the bridge back up on that side!

[Voice Of Reason]

Hmmmm—hard to know what that could have been, but if I had to guess I’d say that it was related to the bridge arm or the bridge arm bushing moving ever so slightly. Maybe the thread in the bridge arm was slightly off and it corrected itself?!

It’s just weird that this happened on one side only (especially considering the angle of the bridge).

I will be getting to that bridge bushing soon.
My trem arm bushing can rattle a bit when I loosen that vibrato set screw, though I’ve tightened it back up.

[mmmguitar]

Though it may be nothing, I’d suggest removing the rear cavity cover to check if what you experienced was the treble-side bridge post bushing moving itself out of the rear of the guitar slightly. If so, I find the bushing can easily be tapped back in (or lightly titebonded, if it’s worn its way loose within its mounting hole).

[Patzag]

Though it may be nothing, I’d suggest removing the rear cavity cover to check if what you experienced was the treble-side bridge post bushing moving itself out of the rear of the guitar slightly. If so, I find the bushing can easily be tapped back in (or lightly titebonded, if it’s worn its way loose within its mounting hole).

Yes - I was just about to suggest that the post might've moved down under the pressure exerted on the bushing.

[vjmanzo]

Once the arm is in the arm bushing, you just bend it forward without letting bridge bend forward—you don't need much: it's just to angle the arm a bit so it doesn't slip right out of the bushing.

I’m going to amend my previous post for posterity’s sake to also suggest bending the vibrato arm without using the vibrato arm bushing as a helper.

[Voice Of Reason]

Thanks for the input.

I’ve been playing a bit with it and all seems back to how it was (knock on wood).

Both bridge bushings seem fine, but maybe you can spot something I cannot:

[Patzag]

Thanks for the input.

I’ve been playing a bit with it and all seems back to how it was (knock on wood).

Both bridge bushings seem fine, but maybe you can spot something I cannot:

394B1C15-9EAD-4D28-9440-6C14B4C5720A.jpeg

Looks good to me ...

[Voice Of Reason]

Upon closer inspection, the spring had shifted a bit (towards the bass side) in the assembly, so I did centre it back. Not sure if/how much it contributed to the issue.

Otherwise, the arm bushing has some visible gunk in the back. Perhaps that could explains my issues with the arm not being able to be set looser.
N.b. I did not mess with this myself; it had to be that wonderful (sarcasm) Parker Authorized Repair Center back in the day. God knows what kind of oil they put on this…