Vibrato amplitude

[Bruno]

Hello,
what vibrato amplitude can we reasonably get (without damage) with a fly ?
I cannot find sources on the subject...
than you

[vjmanzo]

By “amplitude” do you mean pitch bend range? If so, see this post from @mmmguitar!

[Bruno]

ha! that's it : "pitch bend range"
on mine, I reach 2 semitones, so it's "correct"
Thank you VJ

[vjmanzo]

Happy to help, @Bruno!

[Voice Of Reason]

I was wondering about this…but mainly the pull down range.

I’m asking since I have an 11 spring with a 10-52 set (usually in Eb).

I can barely pull down 3 semitones (with effort).

I’m wondering what is considered more normal pull down range with lighter springs and strings.

Thanks.

[vjmanzo]

I can barely pull down 3 semitones (with effort).

It sounds like your spring is way too tight. Is the spring angled on the upper of the three ridges inside the cavity? It could be that too.

[Voice Of Reason]

I can barely pull down 3 semitones (with effort).

It sounds like your spring is way too tight. Is the spring angled on the upper of the three ridges inside the cavity? It could be that too.

Thanks for the response.

The spring does not seem angled (I opened the cavity; further I had it put on the groove closest to the bottom of the guitar for supposedly maximal whammy action.)

The bridge balances fine in floating mode (and touches the step stop lightly. I’m not sure I should fiddle with this again. I haven’t changed gauges in a really long time).

The spring is old (about 13-14 years, bought new from the factory), so I’m not sure if that plays any role. It hasn’t seen heavy usage.

[Voice Of Reason]

I also have an unused backup spring. I did the swap and compared.

Both springs seem indentical (no obvious deformity unless you go at the microlevel).

As for the down range….identical (3 semitones max - 11 gauge spring / 10-52 strings / Eb flat (tuning did not affect range).

So, unless I had bought two defective Parker factory springs (bought at the same time), I’ll have to live with this.

N.b. Still interested to know what the downrange is for people (and their string gauge/spring).

Once VJ and his team is able to manufacture springs, I will experiment more (if I know there is a good bit more range I could get).

[mmmguitar]

I must apologize, @Voice of Reason - I’ve been forgetting to respond to this since the 28th:

With my three Ken-era Flys, lowering the pitch/compressing the spring until the foam tip of the bar is against the body detunes the high e down a m3 (give or take a few cents) to a C#. The B varies between the three guitars; ending up anywhere from G (down a M3) to A (down a 2nd). The rest of the strings go nearly slack (detuning more than a 4th).

On my 2011 USM-era Supreme , there’s much more downward range: The high e detunes down a 4th to B, the B down goes slack after a TT (F), and the other strings go as slack as diving on a Floyd Rose. the E string spacing/alignment quirk specific to the USM-era Flys of that era of production being reset to a 14” constant radius appears to play a role in the string going slack enough to seem to want to pop out of the nut slot. It managed not to in the course of multiple divebombs - But I was anticipating it each time.

All four Flys are in E standard, strung with D’addario NYXLs gauged 10-46, and balanced/calibrated with 10-rated springs for intended use (with regard to step-stop functionality switching between down-only and floating without affecting pitch).

[Voice Of Reason]

I must apologize, @Voice of Reason - I’ve been forgetting to respond to this since the 28th:

I greatly appreciate, mmmguitar. It’s really interesting to compare (and with USM). I now understand more why constant radius was chosen on refined Flys, although the nut slot popping out issue hadn’t been figured out. Makes me wonder what Music Man did with some of its models to keep this issue from occurring (while maintaining tuning stability).

As I’m more of a Eb player, I guess I could switch to 10-46 with a 10 spring (one day) see what would happen. An 11 spring is much too stiff. I am fighting the trem all the time…any more effort and I feel I’d break something…and the foam tip is far from touching the body.

Thanks again.