Trem switch question

[Spivonious]

Yes I know this has probably been answered before, but searches for "jt580 jt590" came up with nothing relevant.

I have a Charvel Predator that I love. It has the JT590 bridge.

I also have a Jackson Kelly which is fun. It has the JT580 bridge.

The problem is that the locking screws on the JT580 are stripped, so the strings will not stay in their place. I have obtained a what appears to be a JT570 from a friend's old Charvel Rhoads. The trem fits in the cavity fine, but the poles are different. Specifically the 570's poles are noticeably thicker than the 580's.

My question: will this cause a problem? Should I swap the poles too? My problem with swapping the poles is that the anchors for the poles are still in the Rhoads' body, and I don't feel like ruining something if I don't need to.

And I guess my final question is: can new locking screws for the 580 be purchased? That way I can have three guitars, rather than one without a bridge

[Sunbane]

You don't need to swap the posts, unless the current ones are bad somehow.

As for the 580 locking screws - are you sure it's the screws who are stripped, and not the saddles? Getting new screws should be possible (have a look at guitarpartsdepot.com for instance), but getting a new set of saddles sounds potentionally costly(?)...

[Spivonious]

Yes it's definitely the screws. The allen wrench just turns and turns and turns and it's hard to make out the hex shape anymore.

Will these work in the 580?
click here

[jackson1]

All things considered, I would stay away from the JT-570 and try to fix the JT-580. Yes, new locking screws (bolts) for the JT-580 can be bought at stewmac.com for instance (direct link here).

I have the same concern as Sunbane; the saddle(s) could be stripped (too).

One last question: you DO mean the locking bolts are stripped, right? Not the small saddle locking bolts? Stripping the latter (or the baseplate) would be much more common.

EDIT: Ah, saw you answer regarding this... so it's the Allen head that is stripped. Using the wrong size Allen wrench will do that!

[Spivonious]

Using the wrong size Allen wrench will do that!

It was the right size about 7 years ago...