dropb81

I'm hoping I can get a little help here. I'm going to look at and possibly purchase an S prestige 1625FB this friday. The closest thing I could find on the internet is a closed ebay auction that can be used to see an example of the guitar I'm talking about.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ibanez-S-Pr...=p2047675.l2557

The guy I'm talking to says its in good condition with minimal scratches and a loose whammy bar. Thats where my problem is... I have virtually no experience with tremolos so Im hoping to get a little help from the forum here. How big of a deal is a "loose whammy bar" Is it likely the bar itself that needs replacing? or is it more likely the trem itself that is worn out in that area? It's a ZR trem if that helps. Also is there anything else I should look at that is particular to the S series guitars? i.e. known issues, etc.

I'm kinda stoked but the tremolo worries me. Any more info you need please ask.

thanks

Prophecy69

By loose i take it that he means the bar wiggles around in the hole? If thats the case then either the arm itself or the hole could be stripped/lost its threads. If thats the case im sure there must be a way to fix it.

CowpokeFromHell

I'd imagine the bar doesn't fit tight in the socket. The trem itself should be fine. I think I've heard of that happening to a few Ibby's. Jemsite would be the place to look for that knowledge.

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dropb81

found a better link on the guitar http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/S1625FB

Supernaut2k

Could be.

This is the first thing you should check for; whether the problem is to do with the Arms fit within its holder socket or the socket itself. Best way to check this is to put some tape around the bar above the thread and then put it in and see if it fixes the wobble.

If it doesn't fix the wobble, it's most likely that the socket that holds the trem arm in place needs to be tightened. You can do this by taking off the back plate then finding the nut just below the hole where the trem arm goes into the body and tightening it. It'll most likely be under a plastic cap which is the bit where your trem arm actually screws into, you can unscrew the plastic cap, tighten the metal bolt then screw the cap back on.

That's pretty much all you can do without replacing parts, which isn't that expensive, so in worst case scenario you won't have to replace the whole tremolo.

Like others have said, it's best to ask over at Jemsite with this kind of thing.

Krauser

Many of the earlier S series Ibanez models had trem arm holders that could easily break or become loose. It's most likely that the arm holder is just loose and needs to be tightened by taking off that back of the trem cavity and just going in there and tightening it. That said, if it's broken and causing the arm to be loose, the piece that is needed is the same as the aftermarket pieces available for Floyd Rose arms. I know because I have a Floyd Rose arm socket in my Ibanez S Prestige myself. They're much better made and will not break and if that's just the problem with it, and you're looking at using the tremolo arm heavily in the future, it's a worthwhile purchase (and is only something like 10 bucks).

That said, I can't be completely certain without seeing it. Like Supernaut2k said, ask over at Jemsite. I know my way around Ibanez guitars, but that community will be extremely helpful.

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CowpokeFromHell

AFAIK, ZR trems don't have the same type of arm an OFR does. The bar sort of pops in doesn't it? There's a good diagram of it in the setup sticky if you don't know what I'm talking about.

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Skullivan

I have an Ibanez S670 with the ZR trem. Unless you're really going for completely accurate dives/raises then it's really not a problem. Mine wiggles a bit and it doesn't bother me much.

One thing you can do (if you're confident you won't mess up your guitar in the process) is to remove the ZR trem and there is a nut that tightens the trem from the back of the guitar. This becomes loose after much use (like months, not days/hours), just tighten that up every so often. I usually do maintenance every 3-4 months and tighten it then. It may also just be the nut itself, in which case I'm sure you could find a new one.


The "2ZR2-10" is the nut in question. The bar (at least on mine) can rock back and forth a few millimeters without actually initiating a dive or raise, nothing big though.

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W4RP1G

According to that site, the guitar has the original ZR trem. That trem arm holder was prone to breakage. They fixed with the ZR2 though and you can order the part from IbanezRules.com, but I think he might require a minimum purchase amount on orders.

But it might not be broken. That trem uses a Floyd Rose style trem arm with a collar, fyi.

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Supernaut2k

It's a screw in with a collar, although interestingly the pop-in style trem arm from my edge trem fits perfectly.