Best way to reduce annoying bridge rattle....

thaus · July 12th, 2007, 09:44 AM

Since I have read that we need more posts at this site to get things going, I thought I would do my part and start asking all those pesky questions that I new strat owner just has to ask!

Bear with me please...........I just bought a MIA Strat (which I love) and it is perfectly set-up but there is this annoying rattle coming from the bridge plate. I believe it is hitting the body of guitar in the bridge cavity whenever you bend strings or just hit certain tones. I opened the back and have seen it move so I am sure this is the problem. Question is, is it better to add more springs (there are three right now), tighten the screws into the body, or just put a piece of cork or such between the body and bridge. I am not a fan of floating bridges but I also do not want (need) to set this thing up again...........

Thanks for any advice

GuitarSlinger · July 12th, 2007, 02:14 PM

Since you say that you are not a fan of floating bridges (nor am I) then I'll recommend doing what I do to all my strats, which is a combo of a couple things you mentioned.

First off, tighted the claw (the 2 screws going into the body at the back of the guitar) so that the bridge is flush on top. Don't overtighten, thats just never a good idea, and don't UNDERtighten either, make sure the screws are nice and snug so that the bridge is nice and tight up against the body. Second, if you want, add 2 more springs for a total of 5 (all running parallel with eachother). I do this so that the bridge stays down (doesn't lift) when I'm doing extreme bends.

Like I said, I set up all my strats this way, and it hasn't failed me yet.

thaus · July 13th, 2007, 11:12 AM

Thanks for the tips and the advice!! Will try what you recommend!

bobthecanadian · July 13th, 2007, 11:26 AM

I have my Highway One Strat set up very similar to yours. It works. I stays in tune, resonates well and is fun to play.

One extra thing I did was to put a piece of weather strip on the inside of the back plate to decrease the amount of spring vibration. I am not sure how much this changes the sound but I seem to like it for some reason or other.

Bob

PS - I also changed the saddles for a set of Graph-Tech ones.