I changed the strings on my Jackson Dinky JS11. Normally I use light gauge, but this time I went with medium. After tuning it and noticing the difference in thickness, the bridge is on a sharp angle, and the whammy bar couldn't even swivel past the volume knob.
I tried loosening the two bridge screws which helped a bit and raised it to be less sharp of an angle, but it also raised the action considerably. At least the whammy bar can swivel freely. But the amount I can "wham" seems less than before, too. (Pictures are after this adjustment)
Is there a way to get the back end of the bridge downward so it is more "even"? That would reduce some of the action and give me more whammy room?
You need to rebalance your spring tension in the rear recess. Or just go back to the same gauge you had before.
I've just tried opening it up and tightening the screws attached to the spring mechanism to get it to pull back more. I don't see a noticeable difference on the bridge angle, though.
Sounds like this JS11 might not be designed to handle the higher gauge?
I'd recommend going back to the previous gauge or getting it set up at a shop then. I don't feel comfortable recommending you cranking on the string retainer screws any more if you're not comfortable with it.
I've tightened them to the point they're practically flush so I can't go further. And yeah, tight springs are scary to begin with.
Did you loose the tension on the strings as you were tightening the screws? Because that also matters in order to balance the tension
I have now, after the fact. Still not much difference on the bridge angle.
How many turns? You'll probably have to crank them quite a bit. And don't forget to loosen the strings!
All the turns. They're as tight as they can go without stripping.