Squeaky Trem

[Patzag]

At high gain level, the trem in my classic is a little squeaky.
Any lube points pointers?

[mmmguitar]

At high gain level, the trem in my classic is a little squeaky.
Any lube points pointers?

Is it the bar bushing squeaking whenever the bar is rotated, or is the squeak occurring under different circumstances?

[Patzag]

At high gain level, the trem in my classic is a little squeaky.
Any lube points pointers?

Is it the bar bushing squeaking whenever the bar is rotated, or is the squeak occurring under different circumstances?

Bend up or down. Not rotation.

[mmmguitar]

@Patzag

So, under high gain, you're hearing noise from the trem being picked up microphonically when the trem is pivoting forward or backward. Is it specifcally like a squeaky wheel that needs to be greased, or more of a "creak" resulting from friction (such as hardware rubbing against wood)? Are you able to remove the bar and move the trem with the palm of your hand, to determine whether the squeak is originating from the bar bushing or not?

Without having the guitar in front of me for diagnosis, my general attempt at mitigating this squeak would be to unmount the bridge, remove the pivot posts, lubricate the bearings and underside of the bar bushing (being careful, of course, to not strain the piezo leads any more than necessary), check for any wear between the front of the trem and the rout, then reassemble after swapping in a spare spring and lubricating its contact points in the T bar and ridge plate, as well as the cylinder threads for the spring tension wheel for good measure.

If that happened to work, I wouldn't be certain as to which friction point had been the culprit. If the squeak still remained, then I'd feel like I was living out an Edgar Allan Poe horror story.

I don't know what cleaner/lubricant you intend to use (though whatever you have is likely worth trying). I happen to use a bottle of tri-flow lubricant with a needle applicator that I bought forever ago, and it has lasted through many years of applying drops to metal hardware and nut slots.

[Patzag]

Yes, more of a creak. Sounds like an old door!
Allright, I'll do a deep dive when I'm back from a trip I'm taking. I'll be consulting with my local engineer on the lubricant. We have pretty much anything I'd want on hand. It's time I'm short of! I'll report back!

Thanks Marc!

[mmmguitar]

The "creaks like an old door" description makes me suspect your flat spring is showing its age. If swapping in another spring alleviates the creaking, then that may indicate that at least one of the noisy spring's edges in contact with the ridge plate or T bar has worn enough that you're hearing metal straining against metal when the spring edge moves within those fittings. Though I haven't had this happen with a Fly trem spring, I've experienced it with individual strat/Floyd Rose springs which had worn and corroded enough to creak at certain points of elongation and compression - In each case, I've simply replaced the creaking spring with one that stayed quiet. Though simple, it would be a shame for that to be the case with something as precious as a Fly spring.

Then again, this could still just be the start of a deeper rabbit hole. In any case, safe travels to you.

#SpringIssues

[Patzag]

Thanks Marc. I have a spare 10 spring so I’ll stick it in there and see if it handles. Might do the trick.
In 3 weeks when I’m back!

[mmmguitar]

Thanks Marc. I have a spare 10 spring so I’ll stick it in there and see if it handles. Might do the trick.
In 3 weeks when I’m back!

Did you ever get a chance to investigate this further, by chance? I was going to add the "SpringIssues" hashtag, then realized we never narrowed down the source of the creaking. I hope your guitar isn't haunted!

[Patzag]

Thanks for reminding me!
I just installed the new spring. The old one was indeed tired. The new one required half as many turns on the wheel to get to proper tension! No noise anymore. Weird!