Accent Vibrato

wwittman · Post by **wwittman** » Sun May 11, 2003 12:44 pm

The part of the Accent Vibrato that the strings attach to (the plate with the lever arm attached) seems to be arching UPWARD on my 325. (rather than lying parallel to the guitar's front surface, if you know what i mean).
Almost as if you pulled UP on the arm and it stuck that way.
Anyone else have this prob?
IS it a problem?
Advice?

thanks

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Mon May 12, 2003 5:42 am

It's just a matter of the low low tension strings you must be using. These springs only come with one resistance and if your tension is different than that, it'll come to rest in a different place.

As a very low tech and decidely vintage design, there's no provision for adjustment. However, despite its shortcomings, if you think about it, it's a very elegant design, one which completely gets away from surface to surface friction as all others suffer from.

wwittman · Post by **wwittman** » Mon May 12, 2003 9:48 am

Thanks John,
hhmm I'm using Pyramid Flat 13's. Not THAT light.
But i could try something heavier.

It's indeed an elegant design (similar to the one on the 60's Gibson SG vibratos, isn't it?) that works well.
I suppose my main question is if i am doing any real DAMAGE.
Am i?

thanks

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Mon May 12, 2003 10:34 am

Yep. an elegant design. For sure.

But .013's ain't light...

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Mon May 12, 2003 4:45 pm

No damage is being done!

13's aren't light on a 325 but even 10 lbs across the whole set will move the arm. I have no idea where the Pyramids weigh in tension-wise, as compared to a standard round wound string but I'll guess from how you describe your guitar that's it's less.

The folks that originally licensed their patent to us later also licensed Gibson.

wwittman · Post by **wwittman** » Tue May 13, 2003 5:46 am

Ah! Well that explains the 'similarity'.
I always liked it on the SG as well.

Thanks John, for getting back... nice to know that at least I'm not doing the thing any harm.

best
w

haplesscowboy · Post by **haplesscowboy** » Mon May 26, 2003 8:47 am

Greetings.....I'm new to the forum here and am intrigued by this particular topic as I have recently purchased a 66' 365 out of a gentlemen's trunk at a gig. (long story, good ending) The accent tailpiece seems to all be there except the arm. When I put it together as in the schematic for the re-issue part, the string holder piece angles up at a 45 degree angle from the top of the guitar, and the curved "spring" part is rocked all the way back so the two resting pads are barely touching the top of the guitar. It sure looks screwy, but none of the parts appear to have been bent. I guess I'll attempt to string it up and see if the string tension moves it down at all, but I can't for the life of me see how tension is going to move it. Can I take some pictures and send them to somone here to verify that all is in order? thanx , eddie

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon May 26, 2003 9:51 am

By all menas send in some photos or post them here using the upload attachment below. Just be sure you photos don't exceed 36K. As in most things in life, sometimes a little tension can be a good motivator.

haplesscowboy · Post by **haplesscowboy** » Mon May 26, 2003 11:37 am

Alright, well strung up the Accent bridge did indeed flatten out a bit and seems to look like others I've seen pictured. Now I seem to have a new problem. I think this guitar sat for years with no strings. The neck now has a slight "back bow" when strung up. I've loosened the truss rod nuts and re-strung it hoping the neck will succumb to the string tension over the next week. Anybody got a tip?.....I'll post pix soon.....thanx

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Mon May 26, 2003 2:50 pm

What guage string are you using? Are you at concert pitch? If you are using 10 -46 guage, w/ loose rods, maybe try a set of 11s for a while to coax the neck into pulling fwd.If this works, leave it that way for a couple weeks; just keep an eye on it, and when it starts developing any fwd. bow, then lightly tighten up the rods again, if for no other reason that those old rods, when loose, can rattle inside the neck, which is annoying, to say the least.

rnm97345 · Post by **rnm97345** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 10:52 am

I was just reading this old info on the infamous accent vibrato. I just changed strings from Pyramid flats 11 gauge to GHS 10-52. Man I had all kinds of problems. Took me 2 hours, the string plate on the accent was sticking up like William said. Now, if I push down on the accent arm, it goes into a parking mode (snaps down). When I want to play it, I have to pull up on the arm to place it in the 'play' position. I don't know if that's right but at least it appears now that I can slip the ball end of the string out if I want to change them. I couldn't get them out before. Does anyone know if this is correct operation?