Today’s tech tip comes from John Robinson. No, not Wil Robinson’s father, this John Robinson is one of our esteemed Sweetwater Sales Engineers.
Fender Fulcrum Blues
The standard Fender fulcrum tremolo is widely used, but has some downsides, the main culprit being friction. As the tremolo bar (which in reality is technically a vibrato bar) is released, friction can prevent the strings from returning fully to rest, usually being hung up on the bridge, as well as the string trees on the headstock. I have found that a bit of graphite applied to the bridge saddles as well as the underside of the string trees is a great cost effective way to increase the odds of the instrument returning to tune. Handily, this graphite can come from your common, everyday household pencil. Unless you absolutely need bi-directional tremolo arm movement, adjust the trem springs so the plate returns tight against the body of the instrument. This makes the assembly much more stable and less prone to small tuning anomalies.
