Issues with Bearings
Almost every TransTrem and S-Trem equipped guitar that we’ve seen requires a bearing replacement. The original Steinberger factory installed basic open bearings, which don’t hold up well over time. Even guitars that haven’t been played often need new bearings as the original lubrication dries up.
How to identify a faulty bearing
There are a couple symptoms to look for:
- There is “drag” on the bridge when using the tremolo arm.
- The guitar does not return to pitch when the tremolo arm is released
Solutions
We recommend replacing these bearings with permanently sealed ones:
and we also suggest changing out the TransTrem spring during this process:
In order to replace these items, the bridge must be carefully disassembled and put together the same way. This can be daunting, but it isn’t impossible.
Take-Aways
This is a relatively inexpensive job that significantly improves TransTrem and S-Trem performance. If your guitar tech is unfamiliar with this work or doesn’t believe it’s necessary, contact us—we’re happy to handle the job for you.
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