Floyd Rose Tuning... what a bitch

[Kapo_Polenton]

Now i know why i always prefer my epiphone Les Paul with Alnico II's in it. Love the fat strat dive bomb thing but seriously, I always seem to have problems with the high B and E strings! I mean what gives.. you loosen the lock nuts and you hear the pitch dip.So you need to adjust. Tune slightly flat, throw the nuts back on and the pitch goes up to say E. But then you might have pesky strings which clearly are in tune when the lock nuts are off but when back on, wtf happens? Do i need to set the intonation or play with the of the floyd saddles? Damn annoying.

 

[rokker]

It doesn't have to be problematic.
If you want to dive only put a Goeldo Backbox in the spring compartment....it won't go out of tune then.

If you want to pull up and dive, get a tremelno (not as good as the backbox) but it will make it stable.
Both are easy and highly effective mods.

 

[gbsmusic]

Patiences grasshopper Just keep messing with it and once you get it you can........................




say it with me..........





set it aaaannnnnnnndddddd forget it!!

 

[Code001]

You know you have fine tuners that you use after you lock the nut, right?

 

[sandman]

Patiences grasshopper Just keep messing with it and once you get it you can........................




say it with me..........





set it aaaannnnnnnndddddd forget it!!

 

[steve_k]

Put the fine tuners about midway through their range.

Tune the guitar about a "cent" lower than your target tuning. At this point, you need make sure the trem is flat. If it is laying back or forward any, adjust the claw to get it floating level. Retune again and check level. Repeat until it is right.

Tighten the string locks.

Tune with fine tuners.

Play big.............

 

[Digital Jams]

Put the fine tuners about midway through their range.

Tune the guitar about a "cent" lower than your target tuning. At this point, you need make sure the trem is flat. If it is laying back or forward any, adjust the claw to get it floating level. Retune again and check level. Repeat until it is right.

Tighten the string locks.

Tune with fine tuners.

Play big.............

I have my fine tuners almost 3/4 or more since as you play you always go flat and not sharp

 

[steve_k]

Put the fine tuners about midway through their range.

Tune the guitar about a "cent" lower than your target tuning. At this point, you need make sure the trem is flat. If it is laying back or forward any, adjust the claw to get it floating level. Retune again and check level. Repeat until it is right.

Tighten the string locks.

Tune with fine tuners.

Play big.............

I have my fine tuners almost 3/4 or more since as you play you always go flat and not sharp

True that....

 

[Ventura]

As per the title.

Yep.

V.

 

[Anonymous]

Now i know why i always prefer my epiphone Les Paul with Alnico II's in it. Love the fat strat dive bomb thing but seriously, I always seem to have problems with the high B and E strings! I mean what gives.. you loosen the lock nuts and you hear the pitch dip.So you need to adjust. Tune slightly flat, throw the nuts back on and the pitch goes up to say E. But then you might have pesky strings which clearly are in tune when the lock nuts are off but when back on, wtf happens? Do i need to set the intonation or play with the of the floyd saddles? Damn annoying.

Shit dude - that is what the fine tuners are for after you've locked the nut... Easy as hell...

Steve

 

[Ayrton]

If the pitch changes greatly when you lock the pads, that is usually a sign the retainer bar is not low enough.

In a perfect world, the pitch will not change when you lock the nut. However, the fine tuners should be able to dial it out.

 

[sandman]

Put the fine tuners about midway through their range.

Tune the guitar about a "cent" lower than your target tuning. At this point, you need make sure the trem is flat. If it is laying back or forward any, adjust the claw to get it floating level. Retune again and check level. Repeat until it is right.

Tighten the string locks.

Tune with fine tuners.

Play big.............

I have my fine tuners almost 3/4 or more since as you play you always go flat and not sharp

this

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Seriously guys, I've been playing 18 years, I had fine tuners on my first floyd and i have them on this one. I know what they are and how to work with them. The issue is that i throw that lock nut back on and i seem to have to tune them up past their range which leads me back down the chain to the initial tuning. I was just looking for additional tips so thanks to the folks who mentioned some tips as opposed to the "you must be an idiot, that is what fine tuners are for" what are we TGP ...yes that was a joke, you guys are much nicer and i am not really offended at the mention of fine tuners.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

"If the pitch changes greatly when you lock the pads, that is usually a sign the retainer bar is not low enough. "

I'm gonna take a few pics later on of front and back, maybe you guys can let me know if you see anything that doesn't alighn. Check back in later on! The floyd does seem to be sitting a little back which might affect why i feel it is changing pitch.

 

[mentoneman]

i've honestly tried to be patient with fr but i cannot stand them due to the hassle

schaller or gotoh locking tuning pegs for me.

besides i don't ever envision myself missing the ability to use dive bomb or harmonic horsey whammy bar effects. the shimmer i can get by depressing the bridge with the side of my hand/no bar is where it's at for me.

 

[Chris6870]

If you think tuning a Floyd is tough try setting the intonation.

 

[Motorpud]

I see people complain about this all the time but I've never had a problem Most of the Floyds I've had have stayed in tune for weeks/months at a time and the fixed bridges usually go out tune left and right for me. Come to think of it, the tuning stability is the only draw to a FR for me, I rarely dive bomb these days.

 

[glip22]

Seriously guys, I've been playing 18 years, I had fine tuners on my first floyd and i have them on this one. I know what they are and how to work with them. The issue is that i throw that lock nut back on and i seem to have to tune them up past their range which leads me back down the chain to the initial tuning. I was just looking for additional tips so thanks to the folks who mentioned some tips as opposed to the "you must be an idiot, that is what fine tuners are for" what are we TGP ...yes that was a joke, you guys are much nicer and i am not really offended at the mention of fine tuners.

Clamp the lock nuts down just a tiny bit. The string will still be able to move as you tune. Tighten the nuts down after you tune and you should be very close. Obviously as you already know you have to keep going over the strings until the springs hit their set point. I tune Low E, High E, B, A,G,D, I keep doing this until I hit tune. I set my intonation with the lock nuts a little tight so when I lock them down its usually dead on.

 

[Qweklain]

It doesn't have to be problematic.
If you want to dive only put a Goeldo Backbox in the spring compartment....it won't go out of tune then.

If you want to pull up and dive, get a tremelno (not as good as the backbox) but it will make it stable.
Both are easy and highly effective mods.

You can still pull up with the Goldo Backbox (or FU's Black Box), it is just there will be more resistance.

 

[rottingcorpse]

as it has been posted, if your strings go sharp when tightening the nut, you have issues with the string retainer... or the nuts base is not level or installed properly per your guitars headstock angle.

it's actually better to run the string retainer bar down a tiny bit more than needed to make sure the strings stay seated all the way across the face of the nut, from front to back.

also, i have found after years of using a super heavy bottom 3 wound strings that the middle locking nut will sit at an angle because of the thickness of the last wound string (D) and the thin first plain string (G). i have gone so far as to have the middle locker machined (brother in law has a mill) on the D string side just a hair so that the locker remained level. this kept the G from slipping due to lack of contact with the locker. eventually, i went to a lighter D (normal light top heavy bottom gauge) and just beefed up the A and E from 42 and 52 to 48 and 58 to avoid the problem altogether. (ok, if you think that was kind of extreme to machine the locker, don't ask what i had to do to the low E saddle on a floyd to get one of my guitars to intonate with the 58 low E)

this is gonna sound stupid, but be careful about the torque on the lockers if your are using the standard parts. upgrading to stainless parts from floyd upgrades or one of the other companies is a sure way to keep from having an "uh-oh" moment before a show.