Adding the Spring

• 1). Loosen the locking nut pads on the Ibanez RG5EX1 guitar with the Allen key. There is no need to completely remove them. The pads just need to be loose enough to allow the strings to move freely, just like when tuning the guitar.
  
  
• 2). Down-tune the strings. The strings should be slack, but not so loose that they almost fall off. This decreases the tension force applied by the strings onto the Edge-III bridge and is necessary to perform the rest of the steps needed to add a spring.
  
  
• 3). Remove the back panel from the RG5EX1. You will need to remove all of the screws with a screwdriver. You will be able to see the spring cavity for the Edge-III bridge once the panel is removed. The bottom half of the bridge will be visible. Springs will be connecting the bridge to another metal piece on the opposite side of the cavity. This is the spring claw.
  
  
• 4). Loosen the two screws holding the metal plate to the bottom of the bridge. Do this very slowly. You only want to increase the gap far enough to allow the pointed end of the tremolo spring to fit into the gap.
  
  
• 5). Place the pointed end of the spring into the gap across from the hook on the spring claw where it will be attached. Make sure the ends of the other springs did not fall loose when the plate screws were loosened.
  
  
• 6). Tighten the plate screws. All of the tremolo springs should firmly be attached to the bridge.
  
  
• 7). Slip the ring at the opposite end of the spring onto the hook on the spring claw.
  
  
• 8). Tune the strings to the pitch you play them at. Do not lock the locking nut pads or use the fine tuners, as you would normally do. Just use the neck tuning pegs to bridge the strings to pitch. The bridge will be off balance because of the additional tension provided by the extra spring. The back half of the bridge will be sunken rather than parallel to the body of the guitar.
  
  

Adjusting the Edge-III Bridge Spring Tension

• 1). Down-tune the strings again to relieve the string tension.
  
  
• 2). Adjust the two screws holding the spring claw to the guitar with a screwdriver. Loosen the screws if the back half is sunken into the guitar. Tighten the screws if the back half is raised above the surface of the guitar.
  
  
• 3). Tune the strings to pitch.
  
  
• 4). Check to see if the bridge surface is running parallel to the surface of the guitar. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 if it is tilted. It may take several iterations before the bridge is properly set up with the new spring installed.
  
  
• 5). Tune the strings to pitch. This time lock the locking nut pads with the Allen key and use the fine tuners on the bridge to finish tuning the guitar, as you would normally do.