Vintera I vs II : tremolo arm / collet

[mschafft]

Hi everyone !

I am looking at Vintera Jazzmasters and looking up the differences in specs between Vintera I and II.
Can anybody confirm that Fender went from a screw-in tremolo arm to a push-in type in the new series?

[mschafft]

And BTW how do screw-in trem arms work on offsets? Is there room for a srping in the cavity like there is on strats? Thx

[timtam]

The original Vintera's (I) had the Korean-made Classic Player trem (0076232049) that is the usual trem on MIM guitars that have a lock trem (other MIM guitars have no-lock trems). It has a screw-in arm. The Vintera II is presumably the same, but there is no service manual for the Vintera II's yet to confirm that. The CP trem has a grub screw in the bottom of the collet (only accessible from underneath) that sets the end-position on the arm (and probably also how easily it moves, but it's not something I've fiddled with).
https://darrenriley.com/homepage/fender ... 076232049/

[mschafft]

Thanks a lot, very informative. I'm not too sure about that tremolo unit...

[ryanthellama]

I haven’t seen one in person, but since “push in tremolo arm” is listed on Fender’s website for the Jag, JM, and Bass VI, I would assume that’s correct.

[mschafft]

Do you mean for Vintera II (push-in) ?

[Surfysonic]

I can confirm that the Vintera II Jazzmaster has a push in arm, not screw-in.

[mschafft]

Thanks

[timtam]

That's interesting. IIRC the only previous non-MIA trem with a lock and with push-in arm is the MIJ trem. That MIJ trem is already widely sold as a spare part by Fender, but AFAIK has never been on a non-MIJ production guitar before. Pics of the Vintera II's do show what looks like it could be the more oval-shaped collet opening of the MIJ trem. Or maybe this is a new trem (or even an MIA one) ? We'll have to wait for the service manual to find out.

[mschafft]

Does anybody know how the grub screw acts in the Vintera I tremolo collet?
Does it adjust depth and also tightness? How does the screw-in type settle at various angle?

[tqi]

-

[timtam]

Does anybody know how the grub screw acts in the Vintera I tremolo collet?
Does it adjust depth and also tightness? How does the screw-in type settle at various angle?

Just got around to testing this on the Korean-made CP trem like on the Vintera I.

Firstly, the grub screw in the bottom of the screw-in arm's collet takes a 2.5mm allen key (the screw is only about 4mm long, and appears to be M5 diameter). And how far the grub screw is screwed in does indeed set, or at least affect, the end rotation point of the arm (the default screw position is with the screw head level with the bottom rim of the collet). The arm becomes harder to turn as you approach the set end point, so it typically does not swing freely in that range ... and so can usually remain at the angle where you put it within that range.

If the grub screw is removed, there is still something fixed within the collet (you can't poke something all the way through the collet). What that is is unclear - but it's definitely more than the little spring in some strat trem arm sockets. It seems to serve as a softer interface between the flat bottom of the grub screw and the end of the screw-in arm. And probably explains the range of increased resistance near the end point. The lack of a solid, hard end point means that the end angle of the arm would not usually be at the angle when the grub screws actually blocks any further movement of the arm completely. But the end point can be made somewhat 'harder' by screwing the grub screw in further once the arm is near its endpoint. But maybe at the expense of crushing whatever is between the arm's end and the end of the grub screw ? So leaving the screw at its default position seems like the best approach (?).

Of course the grub screw is not accessible unless you take the whole trem off the guitar. Which reminds me of my preference for future offsets to come with an open back trem cavity, covered by a plate, like on a strat.

Several related last things ... I vaguely recall that perhaps not all CP trems have come with the grub screw (eg early ones ?). The Am Pro I that has an MIA trem with screw-in arm (not the Panorama) also has a grub screw (what its size is - probably not metric - and whether it works in exactly the same way, is not clear). Perhaps curiously, both the CP and Am Pro I trems use an arm with a 10-32 thread.

[mschafft]

Just got around to testing this (...)

Thanks a lot for taking the time to post such a thorough description of how the grub screw functions in the screw-in tremolo unit.

[unreal77]

I got a vintera I this weekend and yeah, not vibing with the screw arm trem. Ordered an avri. The bridge is also out. Nice guitar and very light. Also got lucky and the pau ferro is a dark as a nice rosewood.

[jakeisjake]

I don't mind the screw in arm at all. In fact, I like that it stays in place.