the Fly Clone Project

Hi all,
I've joined recently (although a loyal Nitefly user of 20+ yrs) since I was "negotiatin" my first (long desired) Fly.
It had couple of "issues": a broken (and only) trem spring which had been creatively re-installed in the guitar (which has an extremely stiff tremolo now!) by some parker-ignorant (?) luthier + a full point-2-point wiring makeover due to damage of the original "flat cable" wiring. VJ was very helpful as ever
The first point I hope to fix thanks to Billy's springs on reverb, the second I came to appreciate as a plus

Yesterday I finally got the Fly in my hands: it was at least 13 years since I last "touched" a Fly.. it's indeed an icredible guitar, this is a '97 Fly Deluxe in italian plum color (much darker than I expected) in great cosmetic condition, considering the age.
I will spend no more words about how "alien" and fantastic the guitar is, since we certainly all agree in this forum

Upon closer inspection though, I found couple further issues:
HELP #1) the bridge seems not centered in relation to the neck and pick-ups (see attached pic). The low E-string is clearly closer to the neck edge than high e and I believe it's due to this misalignment. Question to the experts here?
Is this something that can be (easily) solved?
HELP #2) while fixing a broken solder point in the mag pot (due to the pot becoming "loose") I noticed that there's no battery LED on the PCB. I see only two small bare contacts where the LED would be supposed to be.
Maybe it was removed during the rewiring.. I can't know. Should I try to source it and add it back?
Do you have any idea of the component exact model?

apologies for the overlong post and thanks in advance for your help!
cheers
Andrea

Hello, @nuovonormale.

1. Of the two bearings your Fly trem pivots on, the one on the high e side appears to not be seated all the way into the bridge post. If you remove the string and spring tension, you should be able to just shift the bridge over to where you want it.
e.g. (click to play)
[Disclaimer: You may need to raise the bridge posts out of the body via the height adjustment hex screws in the back of the guitar before the trem base wants to move freely]

2. Someone else will need to chime in with the exact LED specs.

thank you so much!
I'll wait for the replacement spring, remove the strings and try to fix the bridge as you suggested.

hi @mmmguitar ,
just saw now the updated post with the animation: thanks! it's indeed much simpler than I feared.
thanks again! i'll post the results

Very helpful animation, @mmmguitar! I’ve tagged this thread and your terrific post above for reference. #VibratoBridge

nuovonormale wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 12:43 pm I noticed that there's no battery LED on the PCB. I see only two small bare contacts where the LED would be supposed to be.

I don’t have this replacement part in my records, but perhaps the amazing and talented @Peaches who helped get the Flex PCB out the door has some sense of a replacement part.

@mmmguitar
well .. I couldn't wait too long
Today I removed the broken spring, the strings, and after some work, the bridge (one of the two bridge "hex screws" seemed to be loose, but in the end I managed to unscrew both) and was able to shift the bridge a bit as per your animation.
It seems to me the issue is fixed (pic attached)
thank you so much!

nuovonormale wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 10:39 am It seems to me the issue is fixed

Yes!!!

Hey guys,

I’m bumping off this thread because a fly that I’m eying on seems to have the same issue. I only have some pics, however it seems to have the same bearings problems than above. The only little concern is that the high e bearing seems not sitting well be the strings are off centered the opssite: leaning the high e in too close to the edge.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

This bridge post spacing was a known issue on the usm guitars. I don’t remember exactly what caused it (tolerance stack up or a mistake on cnc program).

But there was a fix on the old forum that involved removing the posts and using an o-ring with a 1mm square cross section between the bearing and the mating cavity in the posts. I think the od was 9.5 or 10 mm.

The square cross section is important since it allows contact at the outer course of the bearing but allows the inside to spin freely. A round cross section will not hit the right places. Not easy to find square but they do exist.

billy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 08, 2024 11:17 pm This bridge post spacing was a known issue on the usm guitars. I don’t remember exactly what caused it (tolerance stack up or a mistake on cnc program).

But there was a fix on the old forum that involved removing the posts and using an o-ring with a 1mm square cross section between the bearing and the mating cavity in the posts. I think the od was 9.5 or 10 mm.

The square cross section is important since it allows contact at the outer course of the bearing but allows the inside to spin freely. A round cross section will not hit the right places. Not easy to find square but they do exist.

Hey Billy,

Thank you for your answer, would you have a pic of the o-ring you're talking about?

Moreover, how can I be sure when I see the guitar in person if it's just a problem of the bridge not sitting well on the bearing or if it's stock like you said?

KenanJ wrote: ↑Wed Oct 09, 2024 1:46 am would you have a pic of the o-ring you're talking about?

Moreover, how can I be sure when I see the guitar in person if it's just a problem of the bridge not sitting well on the bearing or if it's stock like you said?

This post contains the writeup Billy wrote on the old forum.

vjmanzo wrote: ↑Wed Oct 09, 2024 7:33 am

KenanJ wrote: ↑Wed Oct 09, 2024 1:46 am would you have a pic of the o-ring you're talking about?

Moreover, how can I be sure when I see the guitar in person if it's just a problem of the bridge not sitting well on the bearing or if it's stock like you said?

This post contains the writeup Billy wrote on the old forum.

Wonderful !

Leaning posts are a slightly different symptom of what is likely the same root cause- bridge post tolerances that were probably too wide to allow for finishing impact on fit.

This is an example only of the orings I mentioned.

https://www.theoringstore.com/store/ind ... h=367_2203

They may have an appropriate size but I haven’t looked, most seem to be in imperial dimensions.

You want something very close to 10mm OD and a 1mm profile cross section. (So 1mm thick with a “square” profile leaving an 8mm ID)

These orings fit between the post and the bridge bearings to take up the side to side slack between e strings.

billy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 09, 2024 10:34 pm Leaning posts are a slightly different symptom of what is likely the same root cause- bridge post tolerances that were probably too wide to allow for finishing impact on fit.

This is an example only of the orings I mentioned.

https://www.theoringstore.com/store/ind ... h=367_2203

They may have an appropriate size but I haven’t looked, most seem to be in imperial dimensions.

You want something very close to 10mm OD and a 1mm profile cross section. (So 1mm thick with a “square” profile leaving an 8mm ID)

These orings fit between the post and the bridge bearings to take up the side to side slack between e strings.

Thanks Billy !

I will go on a business trip early november to London, where I will check the guitar out in the meantime, so for you it's definetly not a no go to buy a fly? I already got a sub 1900 usd price with the guy, so I don't feel confortable negociating more since the price is already fair, I mean let me know what you think.

I attache pics below.

Cheers