New Springs or ????

Just got another bass with factory Kahler that seems to have been owned by someone who didn't know how to set it up and didn't take very good care of the trem hardware. So I set it up somewhat last night.
When comparing it to the FAME/Hondo that plays perfectly and is setup VERY nicely with factory Kahler(same strings, same tension, same roller heights, etc.), the trem on this "new-to-me" bass seems pulled higher like the internal springs are weaker or tired(losing the K factor). It did have very heavy strings on it that got replaced by Alice light gauge strings(same as I use on the FAME) and I did back the "bottom out screw" out to match that on the FAME(allows you to pull up slightly).

Has anyone ever had to replace or replaced springs before?
Is there a big difference between using the standard tension vs. the heavy tension sprngs?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

JC

never replaced springs.

dont know the difference between light and heavy springs. the bass trems are the heavy ones.

but yes, they do stretch out after several years and are a regular replaceable maintenance part.

Got some of each coming so I can test for the differences if I review Hooke's stuff(F=-kx) and physics I had decades ago in engineering school. Also, I can put a fixed weight on the "good springs" and measure the distance it is stretched. Then put the same weight on the springs that "seem" to need replacing and see if they are stretched further with the same weight.

Nice physics experiment! I am looking forward to the data!

i use alice strings, in fact i sent Eric a set so he could see that 5.00 a pack strings arent as bad as everyone thinks.
I took one of the springs out of my 7410, to make it feel like the older 2410's and I never had a tuning stability issue from doing it.
It has been that way for years.

I have noticed a difference between the old 2400 springs, and the newer 7410 springs. The 7410's seem stiffer for some odd reason.

I once broke a spring on my 2410 back in the late 80's. This happened while I was onstage with my band playing at a military base, and was right in the middle of a song. Not good! I ended up jacking down the tension, and not playing trem for the rest of the gig. When I got home, I order a replacement spring, and threw it in. Quite an interesting learning experience!

Whow! Broken a heavy spring

I didn't think that was even possible. The worst I did was bend a trem arm while pulling up to hard on my bass

I tend to be fairly abusive with my bar, but this was especially so back in the 80's!

I also used to snap a string every couple of weeks. It was a bit of a pain, but it was also comedic in a way. The looks on peoples faces when it happened was priceless! During a break, I would have people come up to me saying "how did you manage to break a string???"

Eric, with the Alice strings it seems one breaks about every 3~3.5 months(5~10 shows per month) so I change strings about every 2 months on Kahler-equipped basses that are regulars. I'm not abusive or "overly active"(whatever that is) with a trem but I do make some cover tunes a bit less plain.....

The springs got here Friday with the Kahler T-shirt. Got a crazy week at work and 3 band gigs this week(one yesterday too) so my "experiment" to find the K factors and spring differences ain't gonna happen this week. Patience.

Aww... i want a t shirt.

Hell....I don't have a t-shirt!