floating trem..changing strings..

[Carrier Flux]

alright a question to those of you with floating trems and locking nuts. (nyuk nyuk nyuk)

when you put on fresh strings, do you lock the nut immediately? or do you wait until the strings have broken in for a day or two then lock the nut?

for those of you who lock the nut immediately after changing your strings and tuning up, do you find that you only have to use the fine tuners in the bridge after that point? or do you have to unlock the nut, tune using the pegs, then lock the nut again once the strings are broken in?

thanks.

 

[cobhc]

you should theoretically stretch the strings yourself around the 12th fret, play it for a few hours, leave the nut unlocked over night, then retune in the morning, and relock the nut.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

warning.. long winded...

You should stretch the strings pretty liberally... what I do is fret/hold the string down at random spots on the neck with my fret hand and yank with my right hand (insert "yank with right hand" joke here).

anyways, something along the lines of hold down 1st fret with fret hand and then yank yank yank on string near 12th fret... by yank i mean pull the string up and down, and stretch it side to side (insert another yank joke here). Then fret 8th fret, yank yank yank.. 12th fret yank yank yank... 17th fret yank yank yank, then yank yank yank open string grabbing it near the 12 fret... The idea is to stretch the string equally along the length. Be pretty judicious about this otherwise you will constantly be unlocking, tuning, locking tuning, unlocking, et al.

every time you go to tune after stretching, the string will be flat until its stretched enough to where it wont go flat anymore.. also helps do to outrageous dive bombs and upward yanks while doing this. this of course means you will be tweaking the spring claw in the trem cavity to keep the bridge parallel to the body when its tuned right. tighten the screws to bring the bridge plate down, loosen to raise it. when you tighten strings it will make the bridge go up, loosen it goes down.. the springs counteract this.

they are called "fine tuners" for a reason.. they FINE TUNE.. assuming your axe is pretty much tuned up using headstock tuners before you lock, etc.

Floyds can be brutal and frustrating when you first get one... once you get the hang of them and get them dialed they kill.

end of long wind explanation.

 

[SickBoy]

When I change strings on my guitar I can play a gig after maybe a half an hour time for them to settle a bit... No overnight stretching, no locked/unlocked nut philosphies...

It's simple, I change one string at a time. I then tune it to pitch and then put my finger behind the nut on the string freshly changed while stretching it heavily over 12th fret. The reason why I hold my finger on the string behind the nut is because I can feel when it stops stretching, "slipping" under my finger. I then repeat the same procedure with the next string and when I finish the pair, I lock their clamp. After all the strings have gone through the same procedure, if necessary I unlock all the clamps, tune them all to pitch, then lock and fine tune them and voila - it's ready for a gig!

Contrary to widespread belief, FR is not too hard to tune if you do one simple thing. If you have problem such as your bridge tilting forward or backward while tuning the strings (let's say someone removed them all for the sake of argument...), you just need to block the bridge by inserting something that will keep it straight in the back pocket where the springs are AND by loosening the spring claw. This will push the bridge hard against the thing blocking it and it won't move anywhere. While it's blocked you can fit all the strings and tune them as if tuning a tremless guitar... When all is tuned, lock all the nut clamps and then slowly tighten the springs by screwing the claw back in.
When the blocking thingy feels like getting out easily, you have probably brought the spring tension equal to the tension of the strings and the bridge will remain straight. If the tuning goes off a bit, you can fine adjust the claw until it's back to pitch. As simple as that!

Mind you, this advice applies to ALL floating bridges, such as Wilkinson or similar. Just ignore the locking nut bits (as they are not present ) and that's it.

 

[Splat88]

- Replace with the same brand and gauge of string once you find one you like.
- Change one at a time.
- Stretch each string out with some hign tension bends.
- Lock the bolts.

I never have to retune once its locked, even right after changing strings.

 

[Nitronium Blood]

Why do Matt and Ether have semi-nude men for their avatars?

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

I HATE my Floyd Rose, though it's an old one

For a start, it doesn't hold it's tuning any better than my hard-tail - the current strings have been on for about a month, it's kept in a room that doesn't change temperature much, and I don't even play it that much, yet every time I come back to it all the strings have dropped around a quarter-step. So every third time I play it, I have to undo the nut and tune up because the fine tuners are all the way in.

I also get a massive choice of two slots in which to screw the saddle, meaning it's impossible to get the intonation perfect. The high E is as far from the bridge as it can be (choice 2), and yet is still really flat - and there's nothing I can do (unless I alter the truss rod and screw everything else up too).

I don't even use the damn whammy bar! So yeah, next time I need to change the strings I'm just going to sell the damn thing - preferrably to someone I don't like.

/doesn't like whammy bars blog

Steve

 

[SickBoy]

For a start, it doesn't hold it's tuning any better than my hard-tail - the current strings have been on for about a month, it's kept in a room that doesn't change temperature much, and I don't even play it that much, yet every time I come back to it all the strings have dropped around a quarter-step. So every third time I play it, I have to undo the nut and tune up because the fine tuners are all the way in.

My Kramer has Kramer's FR bridge and tunes perfectly! I can even get it out of the case after it's been in my car's trunk for a week and play it without tuning... Sounds to me like you have some kind of a cheapo good-for-nothing FR and/or guitar type, eh?

 

[Kenneth R.]

I do pretty much what SickBoy does, and i've found it even stayed in tune after dropping it (in the case) out of the trunk of my car accidentally.

 

[Tachy]

Originally posted by Splat88
- Replace with the same brand and gauge of string once you find one you like.
- Change one at a time.
- Stretch each string out with some hign tension bends.
- Lock the bolts.

This is the best way

 

[dreamcatcher]

Why do Matt and Ether have semi-nude men for their avatars?

Same reason you are completely nude in yours.

 

[Where She Wept]

I HATE my Floyd Rose, though it's an old one

For a start, it doesn't hold it's tuning any better than my hard-tail - the current strings have been on for about a month, it's kept in a room that doesn't change temperature much, and I don't even play it that much, yet every time I come back to it all the strings have dropped around a quarter-step. So every third time I play it, I have to undo the nut and tune up because the fine tuners are all the way in.

I also get a massive choice of two slots in which to screw the saddle, meaning it's impossible to get the intonation perfect. The high E is as far from the bridge as it can be (choice 2), and yet is still really flat - and there's nothing I can do (unless I alter the truss rod and screw everything else up too).

I don't even use the damn whammy bar! So yeah, next time I need to change the strings I'm just going to sell the damn thing - preferrably to someone I don't like.

/doesn't like whammy bars blog

Steve

Dude, you have to be doing something wrong. All of my guitars but 1 have Double locking trems. and the ones that give me hell are the couple of guitars i bought used cuz no one took care of them. I bought a used RR1 that was setup so bad the first 2 strings buzzed out in every position and the threads on the saddle screws were stripped out so i couldn't intone the thing.

Ok, on to the stretching thing. I'll paraphrase an what i read by Floyd Rose himself . he said that the strings themselves hardly stretch, the problem is that the string has to deform to the curve around the saddles and at the nut.

so when i restring, i push the strings down on the saddles and nut to help them conform to the shape and i briefly stretch the strings with the 12th fret wiggle. i just do it quick to pull out and slack in the tuning pegs, if your not careful you'll snap a string (did that right before a gig once, it wasn't funny).
Another trick that helps is to tune all the strings up uniformly(if you chage them all at once like me). if all the strings are slack and you start tightening them to pitch individually, it'll pull uneven on the trem.

And if you don't use the bar, don't bother locking the nut. but if you do used the bar it will eventually go out of tune, no matter what. and you'll spend what feels like forever tuning it back up. it's the nature of the beast. I've spent many a night cursing my Floyds.

 

[JBroll]

My 6-string (an old Dean ML XT bought used for $150) has a licensed FR, and I've found that just as important to tuning as the strings' age is the angle the trem is at. The tech pages all say to ease the tension on the strings up and up until the trem is either level or very close... incredibly inefficient. You'll get and stay in tune much quicker if you either half-block the trem (so that it can't pull up and stays level with no tension on it) or hold it more or less at the middle when tuning the strings. I have to clean the fretboard after every couple of string sets (ebony doesn't look or play well when it's grimy) and even when I'm putting all six new strings on at the same time I'm set up in less than half an hour and have the nut clamped down about an hour after that. The trick is, as has been stated before, to hold the strings down at the saddles and nut (I usually push down on the small area between the bridge-side of the bridge pickup and the trem itself to get the string 'set' at the bridge and then push down at the first fret and behind the nut - hard enough to raise the pitch a step or so above the original fretted nut - while either yanking on the string all up and down the fretboard or taking a bit of aggression out on the bar) and to keep the bridge level as much as possible (putting all six strings on at the same time is a total bitch unless you either half-block or hold the bar down; it takes a bit of extra effort, but the strings stay in the tuning you put them in, whereas an unbalanced trem will slowly drift higher or lower - the main source of problems that I see). Suicide_As_Alibi, if you're consistently dropping a quarter-step, check your spring tension and try tuning up with the trem half-blocked and level, if this doesn't fix it send me a PM and I can all but guarantee that it'll start staying in tune if you get all of the tricks together.

I'm able to go between C# and D between sets without adjusting the springs using the same string gauge if I keep the trem level and leave it where it is overnight (my 6 likes 11s, but I'll do a heavier bottom or a set of 12s for C or B). The day after I lock the trem I pretty much murder the whammy and it comes out just fine.

Jeff

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

Sounds to me like you have some kind of a cheapo good-for-nothing FR and/or guitar type, eh?

It's a on mid-range Jackson...

the ones that give me hell are the couple of guitars i bought used cuz no one took care of them.

... which I bought used but in great condition.

There's not really much you can do wrong is there? My guess is it's an age thing and the nut doesn't lock quite as tight as it should. Whatever, it's a pain in the ass for an accessory I don't use - it's just not my thing.

EDIT: JBroll - even tuned to standard, the block is flat to the body (because I don't use it), and I normally play in dropped-C. Getting it balanced when I restring isn't an issue, because it never lifts off the body. So if anything the spring tension is too high - and yet the strings go flat. I've had it set up normally too, and it was no different. Next time I restring it I'll try setting it properly again following your steps though - and if it doesn't work, I'll send you an angry message

Steve

 

[kev]

I reckon you guys got to the bottom of this one pretty fast, ive got nothing to add