GUITAR PLAYERS WITH A TREMOLO: READ THIS ASAP!

[kernelxsanders]

ok so i just picked up a pack of d'addarios .13 -.59 and for the life of me, i cannot restring my guitar. ive never had this problem before, then again ive never bought any gauge thicker than 11-56 before today. my first problem was that when i get the strings in the saddles, ill start to tune up and the tension is so high that one or more stings will just pop right out. so i loosened all the strings, switched some of the saddles around thinking that maybe that was the problem, and as you know, with a FR trem, when there is no tension, the trem sits flat on the guitar. now when i tighten the strings, the trem doesnt rise any. so the tension is there, but the trem takes no effect to float. and i have a benefit show to play for a girl who passed away in a couple of days, and i need this guitar restrung with these strings in my usual A# tuning.

WHO CAN HELP ME?!?!?!

 

[Clockwork]

Okay, when you put tension on the strings and the bridge remains flat against the top have you then gone and adjusted the springs on the underside of the tremelo? If not you should do that because reducing spring tension should let the string tension start to take over and pull it up a little bit (at which point you will have to retune again, I hate having to balance floyd roses!). Let me know if that helps.

 

[Harry Hughes]

How the fuck can a Floyd sit flat on a guitar when there's no tension? You're really not explaining yourself well.
The trem will only sit flat/parallel to the body once the appropriate tension and setup has been completed.
Get the screw driver out and get working.

 

[kernelxsanders]

@Clockwork: yea ive tried adjusting the springs, ill try doing it some more and see if that works. FR is such a bitch! i just need a fixed bridge.

@Harry Hughes: i dont mean flat like parallel, i mean flat like the tuners on the trem sit right on the body, completely "relaxed" if you will.

 

[Harry Hughes]

Yeah, as I said, get the screw driver out and hit up google for some guides on setting up Floyds, that's about all there is to it really.

 

[Clockwork]

Monkey with the springs man, you may have to adjust them quite a bit more than usual since you jumped up in gauge. Thats the only possible solution I can think of, just got to balance it. Have you tried putting your old strings on? Because if it works fine then, then you know the problem should just be the tension balance. I used to have to set up like 6 FRs a day, glad I don't do lutherie full time anymore. Tune-o-matics for the win.

 

[kernelxsanders]

yea i just want to find a balance of intonation and action, because i adjusted my springs for the first time with my last set of strings, and it made the sound tighter overall, but messed with the action. but its just hell right now

 

[kernelxsanders]

omgfml ive pretty much loosened the springs about as much as i could, the action is pretty high, and strings STILL keep popping out. i cant go any higher than dropped G# before it happens. could it be the truss rod? if so, then id like to know, otherwise i dont want to mess with it if its unnecessary.

>:{

 

[Clockwork]

Hmm, not really sure why the saddles would be popping out... I really doubt the truss rod has anything to do with it, if it did I feel like you would be noticing considerable bowing in the neck if it was bad enough to pop saddles. How well do the strings sit in the grooves leaving the saddles? Are they in the grooves entirely or are they too big? Because if they aren't fitting completely in the grooves then the tension will just be trying to force them down and it will pop the saddles out before it forces them into a size compact enough to fit in the slots, I;ve seen that before.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Ok. No, it has NOTHING to do with the Truss rod. Don't go messing with that.
Now, if you went up in gauge on your strings, they're going to pull the bridge up from increased string tension. Depending on how big of a gauge jump you made, you'll need to tighten the screws in the back just a bit.

BUT FIRST:
If the strings are popping out of the saddles in the FR, don't go moving saddles around. You need to make sure you've got the end of each string buried firmly into each saddle opening down to metal on metal. Then you need to tighten those saddles down with real elbow grease man. If you have the slack available, I would suggest clipping off the ends that you've already crimped in the bridge and starting fresh.

Once you get them in there good, as I said before, the extra string tension will pull the bridge up a little further than normal, but new strings are going to do that anyway. You'll need to stretch them a bit before making your final bridge adjustments, because as they stretch, the bridge will start to lay down gradually. If you can post some pics of the bridge up-close and the back/springs up-close, we can help more I think.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

How the hell did you get to the assumption that the strings where popping out from the bridge due to tension? And furthermore, how the hell would the truss rod be responsible for that?

Plain and simple, you are not locking the string to the bridge correctly. The block has to go in all the way, string has to go flat against the edge all the way down the saddle, as you tighten the screws to lock the string, be sure the block does not move around and be sure it stays flush with the saddle. Then, be a fucking man and tighten that shit down. My strings when I replace them are almost flat as a pancake where the string was between the saddle and the block, meaning, i tighten them down to the bridge like they are about to go through a fucking hurricane.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Plain and simple, you are not locking the string to the bridge correctly. The block has to go in all the way, string has to go flat against the edge all the way down the saddle, as you tighten the screws to lock the string, be sure the block does not move around and be sure it stays flush with the saddle. Then, be a fucking man and tighten that shit down. My strings when I replace them are almost flat as a pancake where the string was between the saddle and the block, meaning, i tighten them down to the bridge like they are about to go through a fucking hurricane.

Yes. This.

 

[Auroras]

last two posts are right i get the ocassional string popping out when putting new a fresh pack of strings on my guitars the cure is to tighten more

 

[chrisdodge]

To easily setup a tremolo with new string gauges you should proceed like this :

- without strings, increase the spring tension a lot
- Put some wood block under the tremolo to get it parallel
- Tune up your guitar (the extra tension will stick the tremolo on the wood blocks)
- Release slightly the spring tensions until loosing the contat between the tremolo and the wood blocks
- Fine adjust the tuning

And that's all.

 

[Tommy Gun]

To easily setup a tremolo with new string gauges you should proceed like this :

- without strings, increase the spring tension a lot
- Put some wood block under the tremolo to get it parallel
- Tune up your guitar (the extra tension will stick the tremolo on the wood blocks)
- Release slightly the spring tensions until loosing the contat between the tremolo and the wood blocks
- Fine adjust the tuning

And that's all.

I see where you're going here, but if you're explaining something step-by-step, it's assumed you are giving said explanation to a novice, in which case you might want to include ALL the proper steps.
Also, the OP is clearly more an issue of someone's wrist going a little limp when it's time to lock down the strings.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Your lowest string might be to thick for the saddle to fit all in. I had that issue with a Dean guitar before, the .060 kept on popping out no matter how hard I locked it.

Solution was to flatten the end of the string with a hammer, so it would go all the way in haha.

And of course you'll have to rebalance your Floyd in the end, when there is much higher string tension in the end.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Tighten the locks on the saddles good but careful!! I've heard stories of people shearing them off. And like said, make sure you clip the squished end of the string off if it keeps popping out. Happened to me last restring with .46 string and I was getting sooo pissed.....never happened before and all I had to do was cut the end.

 

[kernelxsanders]

ugh you guys make it sound like im a noob. ive had this guitar for about 8 years and i know it like the foreskin of my own dick. i wish i could even begin to describe how tight the strings are in these bitches. i make sure as fuck that the strings are all the way in the saddles and then some, then i tighten it all the way with an allen wrench, then to be sure, i take pliers and tighten it even more so that screw wont go any fucking where. so i know the string couldnt possibly be more secure in there.

@clockwork: the saddles arent popping out, the strings are popping out of the saddles.

@wintersnow: how else could i think that the strings pop out? tension only seems logical being that the strings are in the saddles are firmly as humanly possible. i wasnt convinced it was the truss rod at any point, it was just an idea as to how my problem could just be due to intonation.

 

[Clockwork]

Ah my mistake, I assumed you meant that the little blocks in the saddle were coming loose and popping out. Can you post any pics of the ends of the strings and how they look when in the saddles? Some pics of the situation would definetly help with a diagnosis.

 

[sprack]

Intonation will only make fretted notes sharp/flat and has nothing to do with string popping out.

Jam the clipped end of the string down as far into the saddle as you can. Crank the fuck out of allen bolt that tightens it into the saddle. And replace strings one at a time on a floyd so you don't have to block the trem.

Red circled bolts need to be cranked the fuck down.

Blue circuled bolts are for intonation.