Guitar Hero Loose/Sagging Whammy Bar Repair Guide

Skill: Novice
Estimated time for repair: 30 minutes

Learn how to tighten your whammy so it stays in place even during fast strumming.

Featuring large photos of the repairs!

By Josh Straub, ©2009-2010

Please post this website link on forums and share with anyone having loose whammy issues!

(Note: If your whammy has snapped inside and now flops without springing back, you need my Broken Whammy Repair Guide instead.)

Every GH3/GHWT guitar's whammy seems to loosen up and get droopy over time.  Eventually you'll be playing a song and have to reach to swing the whammy back up, only to ruin your note streak.  Wouldn't it be better if you could rely on the whammy being right near the strum bar, ready to squeak that extra star power on a sustained note?

By opening the guitar and wrapping teflon tape around the whammy's friction point, you can make your whammy as firm as you like.

Let's get started.

A Word About Warranty

Before we get to the fixes, you should know the official Activision/RedOctane policy is to visit http://www.activision.com/support and follow their RMA exchange process to get faulty/broken hardware replaced under warranty. The warranty is officially 90 days (although forum reports (March 2009) suggest that some customers have had no trouble getting their equipment replaced). I'm not sure if a loose whammy even qualifies as "broken" or not.

Obviously, opening your guitar and fixing/modifying it may not be warranty-friendly.  If you want a guitar tweaked exactly the way you like it, and are comfortable taking matters into your own hands, then the fixes on this site are your solution.

Opening the Guitar

Tools Required:

• Long Torx T10 screwdriver – available at Sears $3.99 (tight fitting allen/hex wrench can substitute as a last resort if you're feeling gutsy.) I strongly recommend the Sears black/green one.  A small T10 bit probably won't be long enough to reach the deep recess of the screws; the Sears one works like a dream.
• Long Torx T6 screwdriver (only on some guitars! – my Wii GH3 and Wii GHWT guitars didn't need this) – available at Sears $3.99
• Small Phillips screwdriver
• Very small flat blade screwdriver or pick, to help pop E-clip
• Magnet to assist removing screws and to catch E-clip (tends to go flying otherwise)
• Teflon tape (available at any hardware store)

Step 1 – Remove Neck and Faceplate

With the neck out of the way, you can reach into the neck's socket and gently pop the plastic faceplate off the guitar, revealing the screws.

Step 2 – Remove Screws

Make sure you use the correct, tight-fitting screwdrivers.  If your screwdriver has a sloppy fit, you can strip these little screws.

A closeup of the neck area:

Use a knife to gently lift the warranty sticker out of your way.  Use a magnet to lift the screws out of their recesses after you loosen each one.  (Don't just loosen them and tip the guitar over, you're likely to lose screws and they would be impossible to replace.)

Step 3 – Open Guitar by Splitting Case Halves Apart

With the screws all removed, now you can carefully split the case halves apart.  I like to open it a small amount first and shine a flashlight inside to make sure nothing is sticking to the bare case half (all wires and circuit boards should be on one half).  The neck connector circuit board sometimes sticks to the bare half, if so – use a flat blade screwdriver to gently pop it loose.  It should require almost no effort.

Tip: Watch for the black plastic Shoulder Strap Hooks to fall off, easiest to just remove these and set aside until you're ready to reassemble the guitar.

Step 4 – Remove E-clip and Whammy Bar

After removing the E-clip, pull the whammy out of the guitar by swinging it back and forth while wiggling it out.

Step 5 – Wrap Whammy With Teflon Tape to Snug Up the Fit

Use about 6-7" of teflon tape and wrap the white rubber friction part of the whammy bar.  Obviously the teflon tape should only overlap the white rubber area.



Here's the key tip!: 6-7" of teflon tape seems like a lot, but every time I tried just 3-4", it wasn't enough and the whammy was loose again a few days later.  Keep in mind the teflon tape is very thin.  With 6-7" it should be quite snug indeed going back into the guitar!

Step 6 – Reassemble Guitar

Slowly reinsert the whammy into the guitar, using lots of circular movement to ease it in position.  The fit should be QUITE snug and take 15-30 seconds to fully seat.  You know it's fully seated when the E-clip notch on the whammy bar "pin" shows through the other side of the guitar.

Then it's just a matter of reassembling the guitar.  Take your time and be sure not to pinch any wires when lining up the case halves. The neck connector circuit board might need to be guided into it's "home", the matching slot on the bare half of the guitar case.  Don't forget to reinstall the shoulder strap hooks before you fasten all those little Torx screws!

Did this guide help you or save you from having to buy new instruments?

It took many hours to put together as a service to you.  Please consider making a $5 donation towards the hosting costs I pay out of my pocket to serve these guides. Your donation really makes a BIG difference!

Please post this website link on forums and share with anyone having loose whammy issues!