Why Won't My Floyd Stay in Tune.

[messenger]

My Gotoh Floyd goes a bit flat all the time. Its on my Super Strat Build. The posts and knife edge are good (its new). But I'm constantly going flat. Any suggestions where to look? I'd take it to a tech, but every local tech that I have tried has left me disappointed.

 

[steve_k]

My Gotoh Floyd goes a bit flat all the time. Its on my Super Strat Build. The posts and knife edge are good (its new). But I'm constantly going flat. Any suggestions where to look? I'd take it to a tech, but every local tech that I have tried has left me disappointed.

Do you have a locking nut? If not, look to the nut slots. Bends and release leave one flat. If the nut is good, make sure the Floyd is level when you are tuned and spring tension is good for return and the claw is run far enough forward to keep tension in the springs suitable for return. They can be a pain in the ass sometimes. One thing I found, is once I get it set, I stay with the same strings, same gauge, same tuning. Otherwise, it is back to several hours and 2 6-packs of messing with it.

Steve

 

[Jakem]

Have you checked if the screws that fasten the whole locking nut system to the neck are tightened. Also check all the other screws in the neck/headstock...

-Jaakko

 

[tituba]

My Gotoh Floyd goes a bit flat all the time. Its on my Super Strat Build. The posts and knife edge are good (its new). But I'm constantly going flat. Any suggestions where to look? I'd take it to a tech, but every local tech that I have tried has left me disappointed.

Do you have a locking nut? If not, look to the nut slots. Bends and release leave one flat. If the nut is good, make sure the Floyd is level when you are tuned and spring tension is good for return and the claw is run far enough forward to keep tension in the springs suitable for return. They can be a pain in the ass sometimes. One thing I found, is once I get it set, I stay with the same strings, same gauge, same tuning. Otherwise, it is back to several hours and 2 6-packs of messing with it.

Steve

AND
#1 did you drill the holes for the posts? if they are off a bit there could be friction there
#2 make sure the sustain block,bridge plate, screws are not touching anywhere.
#3 even though its a new floyd doesnt mean there isnt a defect on the knife edges or the posts themselves.
#4 your springs just might need to be loosened a tiny bit

does the trem stay sharp when you raise pitch instead of dive?

 

[rupe]

All good advice. Also make sure that your springs are not making contact with edge of the cavity when the bar is pushed down.

Do you stretch your strings?

 

[guitarslinger]

does the trem stay sharp when you raise pitch instead of dive?

CHECK THIS FIRST.

IF that's the case, you might need to sharpen the knife edge and/or add some chapstick to the knife edges.

 

[XSSIVE]

start simple...

make sure the strings are good and stretched and the lock nut blocks are properly tightened. also make sure the fine tuners aren't at their extremes either all the way in or out, when you tune up using the tuners then lock the blocks the goal is to hardly need to use the fine tuners. this is based on the height of the string retainer bar, if your strings go sharp when you tighten the nut the bar is too high.

check the lock nut and make sure it's tight to the neck (not the string lock blocks, the actual nut to neck) if it's top mount tighten the screws under the lock blocks, if it's rear mount tighten up the hex screws from below. when they get a bit loose the pitch can drift since the nut will shift ever so slightly when the strings go between slack and tight.

also make sure the trem is set up perfectly level with the body to start then check to see if it returns to perfectly level when you dive or pull up and just let your hand off the bar at the low point allowing the trem to go where it wants. you need to adjust the tension of the springs to make sure it's perfectly level and does that.

-Mike

 

[Bronco]

Have you checked if the screws that fasten the whole locking nut system to the neck are tightened. Also check all the other screws in the neck/headstock...

-Jaakko

^^^
This...

 

[messenger]

Thanks for all the tips. Just to give a little more info

-There is a locking nut (rear mount)
-The floyd is non recessed and resting on the body
- I didn't drill the stud holes, Warmoth did
- Nothing seems to be rubbing (springs, block)

I'll check the screws later.

 

[mikeyen]

One other thing to consider is that floyds tend to be pretty temperature sensitive, so if you've left the guitar in the car in cold (or hot) weather, the tuning will definitely change by the time it becomes room temperature. Guitars with fixed bridge have the same issue, but in my experience it seems to be more pronounced with floyds for some reason.

Mike

 

[stratotone]

Lock the strings at the nut, then see if you can affect the tuning by moving the tuning keys. If so, there's your problem. If not, since your floyd rests against the guitar, tighten the springs up a bit. Do you feel friction when you move the whammy? Try some graphite or nut sauce on the pivot points where the floyd meets the two posts. (chapstick works well too here, believe it or not).

Pete

 

[Ethn Hayabusa]

Is it one string, or every string? I once had a Jackson that would never come back to it's zero point. I used to have problems with my Jem, but only on the G string. If it's just one string, then you can probably rule out a lot of things.

The most common culprit is strings not being stretched enough. I stretch mine for about a half hour the first day, and then I repeat it a little bit for the next few days after. I can't stress that enough.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

What tuning and string gauge do you use?

 

[nbarts]

Are you sure it's not your guitar's neck that causes this?

 

[RJF]

Not to hyjack, but what if you have the same problem after a modest divebomb, but just a gentle fludder back and forth with the trem pulls everything back in tune?

 

[5150GSX]

Make sure your neck screws are tight if it's a bolt-on. My PC-1 was having some funky problems awhile back and it turned out to be the screws that hold the neck on were just a bit un-snug. A quick half turn for each and it was fixed

 

[tituba]

Not to hyjack, but what if you have the same problem after a modest divebomb, but just a gentle fludder back and forth with the trem pulls everything back in tune?

then your knife edges or posts ARE worn. maybe both.

 

[Jakem]

How did it go?

 

[RJF]

Not to hyjack, but what if you have the same problem after a modest divebomb, but just a gentle fludder back and forth with the trem pulls everything back in tune?

then your knife edges or posts ARE worn. maybe both.

That is what I am thinking too.

 

[messenger]

How did it go?

I have to pick up some strings this weekend and restring it as the strings are getting old (my singer is always breaking strings and bumming them off me so when I checked I don't have a complete set). I tightened the neck about an eighth of a turn and tightened the springs a bit ( which caused the guitar to go a bit sharp, so I'm hoping that was the problem).