What happened to my guitar??

[Kool Dude]

Hey everyone... I just bought an ESP LTD MH-1000 Deluxe, I played one and thought it was awesome so I went out and bought it, but now I have a problem.

It has a Floyd Rose Bridge... I never had a guitar with this, and I had heard that they're "difficult" to tune, well, I started jamming in Standard and it was a little out of tune, so I tuned it. Then I decided to go to Drop D, I tuned it, and it worked fine. Well, then I decided to go to Drop C.

Well... ... ... I managed to tune everything, but now my sixth string is now constantly touching my bridge pickup, and it seems that there
is nothing I can do now. I tried tuning it back up, but it's still there. Do you have to make major adjusments to your guitar to tune it that low, and does any one know how exactly this happened?

 

[AD Chaos]

Do you have to make major adjusments to your guitar to tune it that low

Yes. Up the bridge w the pivot studs, adjust truss rod, level w the springs and check the action (take the nut locks/pressure pads off first )


http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=614226

 

[Kool Dude]

Awesome thanks for the help!

 

[AD Chaos]

To elaborate further

Raise the bridge a little if necessary, put on a caliber of strings suitable for C (there's a recent thread on that, look it up), level the bridge horizontally adjusting the tension of the springs on the back of the guitar with a screwdriver -as you retune-, and finally adjust also the truss rod along a little, if it's absolutely necessary

Read a lot before doing anything, or you could even end up fucking up the axe

 

[Kool Dude]

Oh yeah, I doubt I'm going to even touch it since it's brand new. I'm going to take it somewhere so they can do it, and hopefully, they'll let me sit in and see how it's done.

And I actually just saw that thread, I always wondered what string gauge(s) was suitable for Drop C. Now I know.

And here's another question... Say I get all this stuff done, would I have to do this all again if I wanted to retune it to Standard?

 

[AD Chaos]

Back to E? Yes, of course

 

[Kool Dude]

Dang, I was afraid of that. Sounds like a lot of work... XD
I better start learning!

 

[kernelxsanders]

Here's how to fix a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo.

Step 1: put your guitar down
Step 2: put your guitar on ebay
Step 3: use the money acquired and buy a guitar with a fixed bridge

Done.

 

[Kool Dude]

Lol nah, I don't give up that easy. Everyone with a floating bridge had to learn eventually...

 

[kernelxsanders]

this is true. i just say that because my guitar which has a FR trem is completely unplayable. im sure it wouldnt be so bad if i could actually afford to have someone fix it for me.

 

[cyril_v]

what issue are you having with your floyd?

floyds always seem like a bitch to set-up if you haven't learned to do it. I know myself, when I had no clue what I was doing, I'd have my trem up at an extreme angle and stupid high action and couldn't figure out the logistics of it all.

Then one day someone took the time and supplied me with a simple set of directions... I followed the process exactly, and it's complete cake ever since.

 

[Kool Dude]

At the moment, my Low E string is stuck on my bridge pickup, there is no space in between the string and the pickup for it to do it's "thing" because the pickup instantly stops the string from vibrating and making sound. I'm not sure how it happened exactly. I was just attempting to tune it to Drop C to practice tuning it, had I realized so much had to go into tuning it that low, I would have just kept it in D.

Then one day someone took the time and supplied me with a simple set of directions... I followed the process exactly, and it's complete cake ever since.

That's good to know, at first I found that tuning it wasn't all that difficult, but Drop C screwed me. I imagine re-stringing it may be difficult at first as well, so I may just have someone show me how to do it, rather than jump into action and get caught up in a predicament such as this. ^_^

 

[cyril_v]

Are you using a bigger set of strings when you're changing tuning? What you should be doing is finding a set of strings that is as close to the trems original tension as possible. That way there isn't as much adjustments involved.

If you're string is so low that it is touching the pick-ups, I can only imagine that your trem is being pulled back into the trem cavity by the springs, which would mean that the strings aren't carrying nearly enough tension, I assume this is a bit floppy to play and probably doesn't sound good either.

Your first step should be to pull up the trem so that it is at the correct angle, then put something under it to block it and keep it from moving.

I'm thinking you tried re-using your strings that were tuned to E? That is your first problem, they aren't going to have enough tension to keep that tuning. Get a proper set of strings for C-tuning... It may have been okay when you tried drop-D, but even then you lose a lot of tension if you aren't getting a bigger string, and if all you did was tune it then your trem angle was probably slightly off at this point whether or not you realized it and your intonation was out as well.

For drop-C, I'd recommend getting a 10-52 string set, or better yet if you wanna do some leg work with a custom set 10-13-17-24-36-54. I'm not sure if anyone makes a set of that later, but 10-52 should be easy enough to acquire.

Heres the simple guide I was referring to.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/2143107-post2.html

Just remember for future reference, if you plan on changing the tuning outside of a simple Drop-D, coming from E-standard; you're going to need new strings to compensate and a fresh set-up (trem/intonation adjustments).

 

[AD Chaos]

Lift bridge by turning the screw labeled 'A' counter-clockwise with the appropiate allen wrench (90 degrees at a time):

 

[Kool Dude]

Yeah, I was using the stock strings that it came with that were intended for standard tuning. I write alot of my stuff in Drop D, but sometimes I would leave D and go to C just for fun every now and then on my old guitar, which had a fixed bridge, I didn't realize that this would cause such a problem. My intentions were to simply practice tuning with a Floyd Rose. I'll keep in mind to make sure I get proper gauge strings when I actually intend on staying in Drop C.

I took my guitar to a place that'll fix it up for... $60.00 . . . I'm going to have to learn this, I can't afford to pay that much everytime I want to drop it down to C

AD Chaos, Cyril_V, thanks for your guys' help! You've pointed me in the right direction, and I really appreciate it!

Stay Metal! \m/