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Spirit GT Pro intonation confusion


Greg555

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I have a spirit GT pro I don't understand how to move the saddle to adjust intonation. The info I have from Steinberger world.com says to loosen set screw ok that's easy, then it says to adjust saddle foreword or back but "how" do you move the saddle please?

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Just push them forward or backward as needed. The string it the only thing holding them in place once you loosen the set screw.

 

Don't know why it posted twice and I can't find a way to delete it. SORRY!

Thanks man! IM not new to guitars but Im new to this one. I needed a good travel guitar and all the other ones don't balance right but this one does. It came with a manual but its for a synapse series and Gibson tells

me that's the only one there is. I changed an e string last night and it took me about 10 tries before I could get the string ball to stay in place while trying to tighten the saddle knob. You tube makes it looks easy but it was not! I still don't understand what the large knob at the back is for, I know it has something to do with the tremolo bar.

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The big knob is the main spring that will adjust the term to float in tune. When you tune the guitar it should be locked, when you unlock the trem, if it goes flat you tighten the big knob, if it goes sharp you loosen the big knob. You adjust until when you unlock the term it will float in tune with when it is locked.

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That makes sense I wonder why the manual couldn't say that?

Thanks

I discovered my self that the action is individual string adjustments. It didn't seem to make much difference in the action no matter what I did.

More tomorrow.

Greg

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Ok man thanks! Ive learned allot here about this guitar. I like this thing. It sounds good and stays in tune. What is meant by the tremolo centers? This guitar was a mystery for me but I got it now. As I said the manual covers the synapse series. I had to figure out that its a spirit deluxe by looking at photos at Steinberger.

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What is meant by the tremolo centers?

 

The tremolo can be pushed down and pulled up, and if set up correctly, it returns to a defined position between "up" and "down". This is exactly the position it has when the lock is engaged, so the tremolo should not move when the trem is locked or unlocked.

 

To achieve this just do what the instructions say on the 2nd page. Lock the trem for setup and tuning, then unlock. The trem jumps up or down and goes out of tune. Now use the big master tuning knob to adjust the spring tension until the trem returns exactly to the position it had when locked. This is also the position the trem returns to correct tuning, so just use your tuner to determine the correct position.

 

Bernd

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If the strings go sharp there is already too much tension on the spring. Turning counter-clockwise would reduce the tension.  Do you mean you cannot reduce the spring tension enough to get the tuning correct when floating? That would be very unusual… not getting enough tension happens from time to time (especially on worn trems), but having too much from the beginning is a new thing. I cannot imagine how this would happen, except for a) using a non-standard tuning (down) or b) having a spring that's too long.

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The strings go sharp when I unlock the trem, which means that the trem has too much tension on it. 

I've turned the Master Tuning Knob counter-clockwise to the point that no more change in string pitch occurs. In fact, the Master Tuning Knob is almost completely unscrewed.

I'm using .008 gauge strings, so they probably don't provide the tension required for the trem bridge to be properly tensed with the Master Tuning Knob. That's why I'm wondering if there is a way to "center" tension applied by the Master Tuning Knob.

 

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OK, the .008 string set and its (lack of) tension is definitely the reason. The R-Trem was not designed with a string gauge below .009.

As there is no other way to "center" anything than to adjust it via spring tension, you'll need a different spring. One option to test would be using the standard spring size for the TransTrem, which is 1.75", instead of the 2" spring you've got now in your R-Trem. This would be the TransTrem spring I'm talking about. If you're not living in the US, let me know. There are other sources for these springs.

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Many thanks again, Be.eM, for the reply.

I'm living in the US, and I've submitted a request for a quote on that spring.

I'm using .008 for three reasons. 
1. Steve Beato's "Size Matters" youtube video.
2. I read somewhere that Allan Holdsworth used .008 on his headless guitars.
3. I have a touch of arthritis, and .008 are easier to play.

In spite of all this, when I tune the Steinberger without locking the bridge, it seems to stay in tune just fine, anyway.
;)

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