Floyd Rose Drop Tuning Question

[cannibal corpse]

My guitar is in standard tuning, I think it's horrible that I wasted almost $700 so I can stay in standard forever, I see people with Floyd Roses tuning them down like it's no big deal, I researched a bit and someone said that if you tune the floyd rose down you can under no circumstances tune it up again, I becamse very hesitant about so I researched a bit more, so I asked some dude on youtube that has a drop tuned floyd rose and he said nothing happens if you tune it down etc but my question is, are there any consequences to tuning down and / or do you have to stay in that same tuning? I'd really not want to ruin my guitar, warp the neck or anything, fucking Floyd Roses.

 

[The Ozzman]

That's why you don't buy a Floyd Rose

 

[razoredge]

There are alot of floyd rose topic here. I cant say enough against the houswife tales surrounding the system but it only shows lack of basic mechanical knowledge amounst the nay sayers. A man doesnt have to be that smart to outsmart a piece of steel. You can do anything with that floyd you want, it just needs to be re set up every time you change tuning pitch or string gauge. So if you drop, its in your best interest to stay dropped. It takes around half to a full hour to reset the spring tension and get fully tuned, depending on experience.

Otherwise there are NO consequences to the structure of the guitar. Its just a piece of attached steel, not a fast moving freight train.

Hardtails are for people that cant handle a tremolo. Im currently playing a hardtail because its my new guitar that was not available with a floyd and I prefer its sound and fit. However for the songs I need my whammy for I can grab that old Kramer that sits 98% of the time now and its in tune and ready to go. I cant say the same for my hardtail, its much more tedious to tune and keep in tune. I have to monkey with it every time I play and during. Cant beat a double locking system w/fine tuners.

 

[cannibal corpse]

Some people say that the neck won't stay straight if you drop tune it, will it be something that will hinder my playing ability or anything? Cause most of the stuff I listen goes down to Eb/D/C and come to think of it I don't listen to anything seriously in standard tuning. Are you positive there are no consequences, I just tune down to my tuning of choice, tighten the screws on the back until the bridge is level and just like that, no loss in anything, no warped neck, etc, I paid good money for this, I don't want to see it get ruined.

 

[The Ozzman]

There are alot of floyd rose topic here. I cant say enough against the houswife tales surrounding the system but it only shows lack of basic mechanical knowledge amounst the nay sayers. A man doesnt have to be that smart to outsmart a piece of steel. You can do anything with that floyd you want, it just needs to be re set up every time you change tuning pitch or string gauge. So if you drop, its in your best interest to stay dropped. It takes around half to a full hour to reset the spring tension and get fully tuned, depending on experience.

Otherwise there are NO consequences to the structure of the guitar. Its just a piece of attached steel, not a fast moving freight train.

Hardtails are for people that cant handle a tremolo. Im currently playing a hardtail because its my new guitar that was not available with a floyd and I prefer its sound and fit. However for the songs I need my whammy for I can grab that old Kramer that sits 98% of the time now and its in tune and ready to go. I cant say the same for my hardtail, its much more tedious to tune and keep in tune. I have to monkey with it every time I play and during. Cant beat a double locking system w/fine tuners.

What in the fucking hell are you talking about? You just indicated in your post that a Floyd Rose is tedious to set up for whatever tuning you use without saying it directly.

 

[razoredge]

The Floyds no diifferent than any other tailpiece in that respect. If you place less stress on your neck by running less string tension the truss rod needs to be adjusted accordingly... how could a simple tailpiece have anything to do with that. The tailpiece does not affect string tension, tuning the strings does. Total hogwash

 

[razoredge]

What in the fucking hell are you talking about? You just indicated in your post that a Floyd Rose is tedious to set up for whatever tuning you use without saying it directly.

Yes I did, I said it directly. What ? do some people change tunings every night ? Once you have your string gauge determined and your desired tuning, the guitar is set up accordingly, tremole spring action, truss rod resistance, and intonation. Every change to any tunings or string gauges effects all of these items. So like what are you talking about ?

 

[The Ozzman]

Saying that a guitar without a Floyd Rose is more tedious to set up than a guitar with a Floyd Rose system

 

[cannibal corpse]

It is... and it isn't, since it goes out of tune so easily, you have to tune it regularily, the double locking floyd rose, you don't however.

 

[razoredge]

where did I say a hardtail was harder to set up than a floyd ?

I only said my floyd stays in tune better

and what does any of any of it have to do with the questions asked in the origional post ? jeeze Ozz

 

[cannibal corpse]

So is it safe or not?

 

[razoredge]

The Floyds no diifferent than any other tailpiece in that respect. If you place less stress on your neck by running less string tension the truss rod needs to be adjusted accordingly... how could a simple tailpiece have anything to do with that. The tailpiece does not affect string tension, tuning the strings does. Total hogwash

.

 

[cannibal corpse]

How do I adjust the truss rod, and is it necessary?

 

[viewerfromnihil]

How do I adjust the truss rod, and is it necessary?

unless you know how to, don't. you can ruin your guitar. take it to a professional

 

[razoredge]

Take it to a tech the first time and have him show you and explain whats going on, its just simple stuff really. Too straight or back bowed and you have buzzing frets, the neck should just bow slightly forward. Too much and you have high action. I cant explain this stuff on the internet. You can visibly see what you have for bow by simply pressing the string down at the 12th fret and checking the gap is at about the 6th or 7th, there should just be a little, less than a heavy pick (1mm) as a gauge. Then again at the 22nd or 24th and see what you have for a gap around the 11th or 12th fret. Then you have to listen for fret buzz, too much and you let the neck bow forward more. Its just tiny adjustments with the RIGHT size wrench held firmly and squarely in place without bulling on it.

 

[DemonJay]

How do I adjust the truss rod, and is it necessary?

Yes, it's very necessary to make this work. If your neck has a
"tilt back" head stock (which I suspect it does) the truss rod nut will be under that plastic cover near the nut.

Normal wrench sockets will most likely be too big to fit into this cavity so you need to use a nut driver to tighten the truss rod nut. A nut driver is basically just one of those screw drivers with the switchable tips except you don't use any tip on it at all, this should fit into the cavity.

Adjusting the truss rod involves a lot of trial and error for a newbie, but it is not rocket science though. With no string tension tighten the nut (for drop tuning) about a 1/4 turn then tune up the guitar again and see how the string lay against the fretboard. Depending on how the neck reacts, you might need to tighten it up more, or loosen it a bit, again this is all trail and error and very time consuming.

Good luck!