Floyd Rose Tuning Problem? Need some help!

Taycod4ever

New member
So I recently tried to tune my Ibanez Floyd rose to standard but after I finished I don't think I correctly tuned it.

As you can see in the pics below the bridge is a little high and the guitar doesn't really sound right for higher notes.

I thought I did the tuning process correctly for this guitar but sometimes the Floyd rose can be tricky.
Where do you guys think I went wrong? And what can I do to fix it and tune it back to standard?

All help and insight greatly appreciated!
 

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This is the trem angle you should be going for.

Tighten the springs at the back of the guitar until the trem sits almost flat to the body like in the pic I posted.
 
@NaturalBornBoy ok, should I remove the nut locks and put the fine tuners all in the middle position first..... or just unscrew the back plate and tighten the springs as it is now??
 
Taycod4ever":2vfuxwtp said:
@NaturalBornBoy ok, should I remove the nut locks and put the fine tuners all in the middle position first..... or just unscrew the back plate and tighten the springs as it is now??

Do not lock the nut while doing this.

As for the fine tuners, yeah middle position sounds good.

Take your time with this. Tighten the springs a bit, tune, check the angle again, tighten the springs again, retune...............repeat until you get the tuning and trem angle spot on.
 
If that bridge was setup for half (or so) step down from standard, the intonation may need to be checked in addition to adjusting the bridge springs.
 
loosen the nut locks....take of the back plate where the springs are and start balancing...spring tension with the tuning you want with the floyd parallel to the body...
 
I had so many similar problems with floyd rose trems that I swore them off. Now I have a LP and 335 type guitars...
 
Thanks for the help Naturalbornboy,War Admiral, and Mrdowntown! All of your answers were very helpful, especially NaturalBornBoy, the photo was great and I got mine straight and I tuned it pretty good, maybe a tad bit flat but it still sounds great and I don't feel like going through the process of tuning this Floyd rose anymore lol. And Rabies, I'm right there with you. I don't think I will be buying anymore Floyd rose guitars for a while lol. Good thing I have my trusty Les Paul just incase I need to switch or use a special type of tuning, (Hell of a lot easier to tune) as I play a lot of different versions of metal. Think I'm gonna buy a Gibson or PRS soon.


Well thanks again everyone!
 
The floyd is definitely no rocket science, but simple physics.
A change of string gauge or tuning always results in a unleveled bridge position.
 
I know it's not rocket science. But sometimes I'd rather not unscrew 3 nut locks, tune all 6-7 strings 5 or 6 times each, rescrew all the locking nuts, and then finally fine tune again just get my guitar in tune. Don't get me wrong, I love my Ibanez for all the dive bombs and staying in tune for the most part but I'm probably not gonna have a lot of Floyd rose guitars in my collection lol. Or maybe I will? We never know what the future holds.
 
tune your strings low E to high E.
you'll pull your hair out tuning high E to low E.

get the springs set, with your lockers open, and the fine tuners set to middle. start tuning low to high. as the bridge pulls forward, tighten it down more. once you figure out the routine, it's not so bad.
 
Don't forget to check for any need of truss rod adjustments.

With the bridge that high it appears you tuned a couple of steps up from where it was.

That could have an impact on your neck shifting as well. Nothing to do with the Floyd but is worth noting.
 
maddnotez":1ewuamup said:
With the bridge that high it appears you tuned a couple of steps up from where it was.
True. I also remember changing strings from like 9-46 to 9-42 which resulted in a really significant drop of the bridge.
And i definitely agree on checking the truss rod adjustment, maybe not immediately but after a week or so.
 
I had a problem with the first floyd guitar i bought but after figuring it out in 10 min, i realized i really like them. Once I lock the strings down at the nut I never have to touch the main tuners or unlock the nut until i'm changing my strings again. Not to mention the INSANE tuning stability (as long as you dont break a string ;) )
 
Agree - once you live with them you learn how to deal with them. I guess it took me a while because on my first guitars with trems I was an idiot but now its the only way I go.
 
What I recommend doing is once you found the right balance between the springs/strings and its in tune, DO NOT lock the nut again, play the guitar for a day or two (or just let it sit) with the nut open for the strings to really settle. Try not to use the trem before you lock the nut again and when the strings settled (i leave it like that for like 2 days and try to play it a good amount of time) re-adjust the tuning and lock the nut.

I've been doing this for a while and found it leads to a MUCH better tuning stability over time. Realizing you're tuning is off after a few days because the strings tension adjusted in the strings/springs and having to unlock the nut again and spend time retuning and rebalancing is a nuisance that almost made me give up on Floyds until I started doing this.
 
stanbog":3j1xuq9j said:
A change of string gauge or tuning always results in a unleveled bridge position.


THIS. Did you change the string gauge? Easy fix of what others have said -- loosen the strings, get it closest to level as possible, then tighten the bolts in the back cavity.
 
I have to say that I have one guitar that has an Original floating Floyd and it's the most stable of all the guitars I own (Anderson, Tyler, Gibsons, PRS). I very rarely ever have to tune during a gig as it's always spot on.

Once it is set up correctly (following the great instructions posted above) for a particular brand/gauge of strings, you should have no problems. When changing strings, I get them all tuned to pitch without the nut locked and with the fine tuners at a little higher than half way. Then, I grab each string and stretch the crap out of it at the pickup area and at about the 7th fret. Retune, play. Repeat this two or three more times. Then I lock the nut. I rarely have to unlock the nut again until I change strings. I think I read this technique from a Brad Gillis interview years ago.
 
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