DIY: Setting Up Strat Tremolo Screws

YOUR GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND SETTING THE COUPLING SCREWS THAT HOLD YOUR BRIDGE ON. JACK ELLIS.

In this article we’re covering a strange, small but crucial part of setting up a ‘vintage’ Strat‑style tremolo – you can have as many goes at it as you like until you’re happy, but once it’s set properly there’s no reason to ever change it.

What do these screws do?

Well for a starter they’re the fastening wood screws for the tremolo. That’s not all though; they also allow the trem plate to tilt just like a hinge thanks to a bevel on the rear of the tremolo plate.

Why are there six of them?

Each screw increases the surface area that’s connected to the wood. This is called coupling – you can set up your six-screw trem with only the outer two screws, but you’ll suffer a worse coupling. Coupling is responsible for the transfer of string vibration to the guitar body and therefore sustain and tonality!

There’s one true setting for these screws that allows your tremolo to be set floating, flat or even blocked – they all need the same. We’ll show you how this mysterious task is done.