I changed the strings on my Jackson Dinky JS11. Normally I use light gauge, but this time I went with medium. After tuning it and noticing the difference in thickness, the bridge is on a sharp angle, and the whammy bar couldn’t even swivel past the volume knob.

I tried loosening the two bridge screws which helped a bit and raised it to be less sharp of an angle, but it also raised the action considerably. At least the whammy bar can swivel freely. But the amount I can “wham” seems less than before, too. (Pictures are after this adjustment)

Is there a way to get the back end of the bridge downward so it is more “even”? That would reduce some of the action and give me more whammy room?

  • wreel@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    You need to rebalance your spring tension in the rear recess. Or just go back to the same gauge you had before.

    • eezeebee@lemmy.caOP
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      1 year ago

      I’ve just tried opening it up and tightening the screws attached to the spring mechanism to get it to pull back more. I don’t see a noticeable difference on the bridge angle, though.

      Sounds like this JS11 might not be designed to handle the higher gauge?

      • wreel@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        I’d recommend going back to the previous gauge or getting it set up at a shop then. I don’t feel comfortable recommending you cranking on the string retainer screws any more if you’re not comfortable with it.

        • eezeebee@lemmy.caOP
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          1 year ago

          I’ve tightened them to the point they’re practically flush so I can’t go further. And yeah, tight springs are scary to begin with.

          • DarkInspiration@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Did you loose the tension on the strings as you were tightening the screws? Because that also matters in order to balance the tension

            • eezeebee@lemmy.caOP
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              1 year ago

              I have now, after the fact. Still not much difference on the bridge angle.