Fine tuning a floyd rose from drop to standard...?

[ItsAFugazzi]

Can you do this? So say the guitar is tuned to C, G, C, F, A, D and you need to play a song with the low string tuned to D - rather than change guitars can you use the fine tuner?

I've done it in the past but over time the guitar goes out of tune and I have to take the locking nut off again etc.

But would it be alright for a gig? Because I don't have any other guitars that i'd consider to be good enough to play on stage...

 

[Jevil]

I have exactly the same string set up as you, sometimes Drop C sometimes D standard
Once you tune a string, the rest will be affected cause floyd rose's tension changes.

Solutions
- You can block the bridge by using a piece of wood, but your tremolo will be useless.
- You can buy another guitar.

- You can use one of these:
http://www.tremolno.com/

I have one in one guitar and it works, what it does is to lock the FR when you want, so this way you can tune your guitar with the fine tuner (the range of fine tuners is about 2 tones).

So this gadget has 3 positions, one for using your tremolo free, normal position (this position doesn't allow you to fine tuning cause other strings tension changes.
Another position is semilocked, so you can lock tremolo, do the fine tuning without tuning issues... BUT your tremolo only be used downwards, not upwards.
The final position is totalblocking, FR will be stuck and totally blocked, you can fine tune without problems, but your tremolo will be useless, like a fixed bridge.


Inconvenients:
-Not so easy to install. Be very careful. Very important to understand how it works. There are 3 types of FR so you will have to buy the correct one. You have videos about how to instal, which type you need...

Here is a demo of the gadget.

 

[ItsAFugazzi]

Cheers for the advice...

I guess I won't be doing that then. The tremolno - although that name is fucking awesome, it sounds like a lot of hassle & since I've got this gig in a couple of days haven't got the time. I guess I'll just have to use my horrific Black Epi LP uke:

 

[Jevil]

Cheers for the advice...

I guess I won't be doing that then. The tremolno - although that name is fucking awesome, it sounds like a lot of hassle & since I've got this gig in a couple of days haven't got the time. I guess I'll just have to use my horrific Black Epi LP uke:

Try putting a piece of wood in the floyd rose, easy and fast, but you won't be able to use the tremolo stick.

 

[ItsAFugazzi]

I can't, I use the tremolo a bit

 

[slashvanyoung]

You can also use this: http://www.thomann.de/gb/allparts_evh_dtuna_drop_d.htm

http://www.dtuna.com/

Instead E to D you're going from D to C... should work equally well.

 

[Norris-wf]

That'r really cool that it keeps it in tune. It's some pain in the ass when you break a string during a gig

 

[Jevil]

You can also use this: http://www.thomann.de/gb/allparts_evh_dtuna_drop_d.htm

http://www.dtuna.com/

Instead E to D you're going from D to C... should work equally well.

It is good to avoid the fine tunning turning the little screw manually, but the problem will persist unless you put the wood or a Tremolno.
Floyd Roses are floating and strings are in perfect harmony... if you downtune by Dtuna, the FR will mget loose a bit and all strings will be out of tune.

 

[Jevil]

That'r really cool that it keeps it in tune. It's some pain in the ass when you break a string during a gig

That is one of the disavantages, fixing a piece of wood in between the FR and the body you wouldn't have that problem, but you wouldn't be able to move the whammy bar upwards.

 

[Executioner213]

Changing guitars is quicker than fucking with your tuning on a floyd bridge, fine tuners or not.

D-tuna does the same thing as playing with fine tuners, just does it faster...also puts you out of tune on the rest of the bridge...

 

[slashvanyoung]

Yeah, you should also block the trem with the dtuna to have it work smoothly without tuning issues.

You don't need to set the Floyd completely into place though. Can't you adjust the tremo-no so that it only allows the trem to be pulled down? I know there are other devices out there that do that... So you could still use your trem in one way but also use the dtuna to safely change your tuning in a second.

 

[ForefrontStudio]

get yourself a tremsetter (a Hipshot product). it's a device that has a counter-spring. they're are amazing! they make a "zero point" on a floating bridge (or a "bump"). the bridge always returns to the same spot. I have actually broken a string before and the other 5 strings were still in tune thanks to the tremsetter. they're super nice! they run around $40 on ebay and are fairly easy to install. if you have one of these you can still use the trem for everything except "crickets" (where you get that flutter sound by tapping the whammy bar). some bridges have enough threads to tune back and forth from C to D with the fine tuners, some don't. if you don't have enough threads, get a d-tuna.

http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=115

edit: I should add, the d-tuna doesn't normally take you exactly to the right note. you still usually need to do a little fine adjusting, but only on that string.

 

[Executioner213]

^ they also make your bridge fucking almost impossible to do any bar work with, so you might as well just block it out. I had one on a guitar and fuckin hated it. Either get used to having some shit go a little out of tune by doing the fine tuners or a d-tuna...or just set up two guitars and swap them when you need to. Singers like to run thier mouths a little, 30 seconds to swap guitars isn't a big deal. IMO, there is no half-assed way to do it and have it work perfect, so either do it the right way or settle for something being a compromise.

 

[ForefrontStudio]

I loved mine. I installed it on my Ibanez RGT42DX. I didn't do a whole lot of whammy work though...

 

[JBroll]

Using either the fine tuners or a D-Tuna requires half-blocking the trem so that you can't pull up. There really is no elegant solution to this mess.

Jeff

 

[ItsAFugazzi]

How about if the last song I play is the only track I need to play in standard? Or will the string balance suffer straight away??

 

[slashvanyoung]

How about if the last song I play is the only track I need to play in standard? Or will the string balance suffer straight away??

The moment you move the tuner, the other strings go out of tune. And tuning a whole step up can be quite significant...

Why don't you just try it out and check with a tuner how much the other strings go off? If you have a Floyd that is set up really well/balanced you might get away with it for one song without a cringing audience... I wouldn't recommend it though.

If your other guitar is quite shitty, it will still sound better than your "good" guitar out of tune.

 

[ForefrontStudio]

just found this. may be of use to you.

http://joe.emenaker.com/TremStabilizers/