Floyd Rose Tremolo & Locking System! !!

Hi..everyone..

I am using an IBANEZ PGM30 with a flody rose tremolo and locking system..

I mean..i am facing some problems..coz i am new in using floyd rose...coz last time i am using a Squier Strat...so its easy to tune..

can anyone give me some tips how to tune the guitar?? first...i noe..have to open the neck locking..then tune..then locked the neck...then tune..the knobs on the bridge....rite? but i am having problems to tune it correctly..coz when i tune the low E string..then okie..then i go tune the A sting....then after that..i go tune the d string...then...G ...then...B..then the high e...
But after i complete tuning the last string...i found that the low E(first string) sounds lower already...then i tune again...the same process....over and over..
its kinda hard to get the perfect...sounds..but I STILL GET IT AFTER PLENTY OF MINUTES>>>>>>....and also...the knobs on the tremolos..should i adjusted it to the lowest point??? or the highest point??

PLease....hehe.

thank you very much..


winghoong

try to tune each note a half a step higher than standard. do that to all the strings then once you come back around it should be almost in tune so do it again and again until its in tune. It works wonders. :)

Floyd Rose bridges are tricky in the beginning, in stead of explaining ya how to set one up properly, check out this url

http://www.jacksonguitars.com/Techtips/floyd_setup.htm

explaines it all pretty well i think


Greetz, TK

HI..its me again...

This time i really need all of you all helps..
My Ibanez guitar...with floyd rose tremolos..

This time is problesm about the tuning..

When i tune..
okey..first...i unlock the neck locking.
then i start to tune...from low e..to a..then until the high e...when the low e..in tune...i continue..tuning the next string until the last string..
but after all...i found the the low e..sounds lower from the standard...then the A string..sounds lower..then i continue tuning like that..and very very difficult and suffering to get the perfect..all in tune..then..i saw my bridge..became higher and higher...!!! Will this bring any negative impact to my guitar..like will the cause my guitar neck to offshape..of do they cost the srtings to be very very tense???

Another thing is...after i got it all in tune.
then i start playing for a while..after a while...after fo some bendings...i saw my bridge...(i mean..when i bend..i saw the bridge move)..then after playing for a while...i found it off tune again..and really kill me..

THen another thing..is..i found two (allen key wrench) holes...on the bridge...what are they for???
please help me....or please show me the correct way to deal with this Floyd rose...please help me..how you all...tune your guitar...(wats the procedures and cautiongs...or tips..) or any websites that can help me..

thanks..please help me...i'd been sitting 2 hours..just now..to get my guitar in tune..its a new guitar...hehehe

thanks you..

winghoong

Ok, i assume you didnt see the url i posted earlier, hehe.

I'll try to explain how to basically get your guitar in tune, with the bridge parallel with the body.

You say your bridge becomes higher when getting your guitar in tune, did you put a higher gauge of strings on it?
If you put a higher gauge of strings on, you should adjust (tighten) the springs in the back of the guitar, who are attached to the trem.
Best thing to do when the bridge is too high is tune the guitar below the wanted tuning, and just tighten the springs. As they get tighter, the bridge becomes lower, and the pitch of the strings gets higher.
Do this a couple of times till the trem is parallel to the surface of the body, and till the strings are in tune in that position of the trem.

However, if you cant tighten the springs anymore, and the trem is still too high, go out and buy an extra spring.

If you put on a lower gauge, just do the exact opposite of all of this.


Usually when changing strings, especially on guitar with floyd rose trem, its a good thing to adjust the trus rod of the neck, and the intonation. If you dont know how to do that properly, you could mess it up though, so its best to let a tech set your guitar up properly (not everytime you change strings, just when you change gauge).

I hope this helps a bit, and if someone sees something i said is absolutely wrong, please tell me! hehe


Greetz TK

One other thing, a new set of strings has to stretch a bit first, thats why your guitar gets out of tune after playing for a while. Re-tune it a couple of times, then you should be fine.

And those two allen wrench screws on both sides of the bridge are to set the hight of it, a.k.a. the action.
Better to let a tech adjust this, cause it messes with the intonation.

Thank you trenkillah for replying my msg...hehe..

OKie...I am little bit silly..hehe..
WHat you mean by 'higher gauge' ?? Whats that mean??

OKie..i got the idea...but i am really lack of confifdence..to open and fix it myself...coz i am scared to mess all around with it..should i fix this myself..of get a well tech or qualified person to do this...??

Another thing is...what is 'the trus rod of the neck'??

Thank you very much...

Well, the gauge of the strings is for example 009 or 010, how thicker the string, the higher the gauge.
So if you put on a set with a higher gauge, the overall strings tension increases, wich causes the bridge to raise.

The truss rod is the long screw inside of the neck, you can normally see it at the headstock.

If youre not sure about what youre doing, go to a tech with it, and ask him to explain how to change strings and stuff.


Greetz, TK

this might help http://ultimateguitarpage.com/tips/change.html

OKie..i am new in using floyd rose...before this i use a squier strat with normal bridge tremolos....

SO my question is...whats so speacial...about this floyd rose...that made them so famous..and so expensive??
I knoe its looks cool..but i mean,.....do they really that great..once you get the correct setup????


thanks...
winghoong

Dude they make all types of cool noises. They are different cause they are able to bend way more than a regular styled strat trem (i'm sure you see the physical difference). Dude it ain't nothing better than i love to hear is when some one does a pinch harmonic and throws that floyd around. I'm not sure but i think van halen made em really popular and every guitarist coming up wanting to sound like him bought one. I may be dead wrong but that's what i was told about how they became popular.

Floyd Rose tremolos' are great. Mine right now, though, is starting to really piss me off! I dive with it, and I can tell that the bridge is higher up off of the guitar than it was before. If I pull back on it, it goes lower down towards the guitar. I've had so many guitar techs mess with the thing and they still can't do anything about it. I think the problem is that none of the guitar techs I go to are very farmiliar with setting up a seven string guitar. One of these days I'll probably figure it out myself. I always do.

I've got the exact same problem BadHorsie!!

Can't get it fixed either.

The only explanation I can think of is that there are low quality springs in it, wich don't get into their original shape again right after being stretched or compressed.



Greetz, TK

Why like this? Isnt that Floyd Rose is famous..becoz it has the locking neck system that can keep the guitar in tune... better then those normal termolos???
Then..why such great artist like Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani...also those thrash and hardcore bands..like korn and limpbizkit usign them/??? Wats good about floyd rosE?? at least to cure my heartbreaking heart....hehehe..

Thanks a lot...

Well, those floyd trems are pretty cool, if they are setup right.

If you only use em for adding slight vibrato, they will stay in tune all the time.

But if you do heavy drops or high raises, it better be setup the right way, and be of good quality, or you'll be in trouble! hehe

Btw, the quality of the neck of the guitar also has a great deal to do with the guitar staying i tune while using a floyd trem.


Greetz, TK

Hey guys! I got a problem on my hands and I am not sure what to do. As I can see people on this messageboard know a lot about Floyd Rose so I hope you can hear me out and help me.
Since I am new at this I did some mistakes along the way. I didn't know about gauges and that when you change them, the tremolo will need adjustments. And now that's the problem that I am facing. I cannot fix it. The tremolo keeps on rising. And the strings get out of tune. It was stupid of me to mess with it but I've learnt a couple of things along the way thanks to some of the messages posted here.
So I hope you can help out here. Thanks =)

I have to put new/additional springs on mine because I put 13 gaugers on and the bridge is still bucking somewhat.

With a handgun, if you want stiffer trigger pull (i.e. go from 3 pounds to 6 pounds) you get a stiffer spring. If you want to convert a revolver to double action only (where you can't **** the hammer for single action; all you do is pull the trigger) you get a lighter spring because there's no need for the hammer to go all the way to locking position (because the part that locks the hammer has been chopped out), and because it makes it quicker/easier to fire from double action (making it quicker and safer).

So with a Floyd Rose, instead of replacing the old spring with new and stiffer springs... you add another spring (or two or three) to the preexisting springs? :confused: