Are Floyd Rose tremolo springs crucial for a guitar performance? Of course, it is. The sad part is that it is the most overlooked part of the Floyd Rose tremolo system.
Most guitar players thought that the function of the tremolo springs is just to hold the tremolo in place.
What are tremolo springs?
Tremolo springs are the set of springs you will see in the back of your guitar holding the tremolo in place.
It will also allow you to move the tremolo either up or down to make those exciting sounds that cannot be achieved by a hard tail or fixed bridge guitar.
That is why a lot of rockers can not live without a Floyd Rose Tremolo because they need those deep dive bombs and pull ups.
Why is it Important?
It is very important because it is the part that would transmit the vibrations from your tremolo tone block to the spring claw and to the body of the guitar.
If the springs are noisy, it could be transmitted to the pickups, and we do not want a noisy guitar.
It would also act as additional grounding from the guitar strings to the body of the guitar.
As you will notice, a Floyd Rose Tremolo is mounted only by two knife edges, and that is not enough for proper grounding.
That is why if you are using noiseless springs you should remove the polymer coating on the tremolo block side ( the end part that goes into the tremolo block spring holes) and on the spring claw loop to make good metal to metal connections for good grounding.
Noiseless or Standard?
Springs will make some noise when expanded or compressed. That is why manufacturers now have produced noiseless springs.
They coated the springs with a polymer to eliminate the noise during expansion and extension. Any noise reduction will help the overall sound of a guitar.
High Tension or Standard?
Tremolo Springs now come in standard or high tension version. I have seen guitars with five springs installed, and it is not pleasing to the eye as well as it will not help in making the guitar quieter.
More springs, more noise. So I always install only two high tension springs on any guitar that I set up.
It makes the tremolo more stable, and you have the option to install a black box tremolo stabilizer between the two springs right in the middle because the middle spring is not installed.
Conclusion
After a lot of installs, as I have been modifying guitars for more than seventeen years, my clear choice for the springs are the noiseless heavy duty springs, and two springs only are installed.
It makes the tremolo more stable, well balanced and the option to install a tremolo stabilizer in the between the two springs right in the middle because the middle spring is not installed is a plus factor.
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Israel says
I’ve been in a couple of bands and I didn’t really know how guitar noise can be managed by reducing the noise in the springs which can in some cases be very annoying. These tremolo springs look really neat. Now I know exactly what to recommend to my fellow bandmates.
Thanks for the review!
Den says
Hi Israel,
Floyd Rose Tremolo spring noise are annoying, but it is quite easy to fix. You just have to upgrade to noiseless springs and you are all set.
Thanks for the comments,
Den