Keeping a Floyd Rose in tune?

[STAT1STICK]

I recently obtained an Ibanez RG470 and I've been trying like mad to keep this thing in tune. It seems like it's getting closer but it still goes a little flat overnight. Not as bad as when I first got it, though.

I keep having to loosen the locking nut, tighten the strings and then fine tune with the bridge knobs. Is there something I'm missing? I even resorted to some YouTube video of some guy tuning his Floyd Rose... That didn't help. What am I doing wrong?!

Please help.

 

[Riffmaster]

I wouldn't complain much if you have to tune every day. As long as it stays in tune for those lovely dive bombs while you're playing.

 

[metalj]

Sounds like all you need to do is once its gone flat, open up the back cover and maybe give the springs a little tightening just enough to pull it back into pitch. That may be just barely a fraction of a turn, so dont go cranking your screwdriver right away, just give it a nudge. Also, start on the side that is attached to your lower pitched strings first and try to even it out on each side.

Make sure your entire trem is completely even, flat, parralell with the body of the guitar. No steep angles.

Every guitar is different, but I alway had perfect luck with making sure I had 4springs hooked up in the back and all of them spaced perfectely making sure the outside ones are on the furthest hooks on each side then evenly spacing the two in the middle. Spring adjustment is the most important thing in getting this type of system to work.

1) even out spring placement in back.
2) make sure the metal bar that the springs hook onto is straight not angled.
3) make sure like i mentioned above the trem is even with the body of your guitar, not sticking up too high, or burried too deep into the body, just get it flat with the body.

these are just general guidlines that i used with my guitar, maybe it will work for you too.


Its a chore but it can be done and once you know how it will keep getting easier.

good luck

 

[jb4674]

Keeping a Floyd in tune......

You have neglected to do the simplest thing that is a must when playing a guitar with a floyd-style trem. You need to make sure that your strings are properly stretched. I would disregard every suggestion made thus far in this thread, as in no way applies to your situation just yet, unless of course the guitar is used and has never been properly setup.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

You have neglected to do the simplest thing that is a must when playing a guitar with a floyd-style trem. You need to make sure that your strings are properly stretched. I would disregard every suggestion made thus far in this thread, as in no way applies to your situation just yet, unless of course the guitar is used and has never been properly setup.

Bolded for emphasis. HUGE thing to keep in mind when you're stringing up a Floyd. I usually re-string one string at a time - I'll detune one string, pop it off, put the new one on, string it up to pitch, and then yank on the string pretty hard a couple times. I'll let it go, and now the string will be flat. Tune it back up to pitch and then do this a couple times more until the guitar doesn't really shift tune, then move to the next string.

Also, the tech section at www.ibanezrules.com is excellent.

Finally, it's worth noting that while the LoTRS-II on an RG470 is certainly serciveable, it's not really on the same league as an Original Floyd Rose or some of the better liscensed ones (such as the Ibanez Edge or LoPro Edge, or the Gotoh Floyd). The Edge isn't a drop-in replacement, I believe, but an OFR SHOULD be. It's about a $175 replacement for a six string, I think, but I just made the switch from an Ibanez LoPro Edge 7 on my Universe to a chrome OFR7, and so far I'm hugely impressed, and this is a guy who's played nothing but Ibanez Floyds his whole life.

 

[Valley Arts Kid]

I'll third the stretching advice. That is almost certainly your problem. What I do is string all 6, then before locking down, give em all several big bends. Bend, re-tune, bend, retune, repeat until they hold their tune, and then (and only then) lock it down. Mine keeps its tune very well after doing this.


Oh and don't forget to center your bridge knobs before locking or you'll just have to open it back up when you reach the end range of those pesky little bridge tuners. Good luck.

 

[Roguetitan]

also you can use some chapstick or some bow string wax on the nut this will help to keep the guitar in tune once the strings are fully stretched out and make sure the bridge tuners are not bottomed out.

 

[Sloan]

Stretching is one of the most important things you can ever do to keep your guitar in tune. I find that grabbing the string around the 12th fret and stretching it away from the neck about 50 times gets in the ballpark. Tune it up, stretch it again. Keep tuning up the string and stretching it until you pull on it and it doesn't go out of tune. Easy to do and will save you an assload of frustration.

Also, after I stretch all my strings and tune the back up, I just strum really hard and bend the shit out of all of them all over the neck - abuse them and you shouldn't have many tuning problems after that.

 

[Light]

At a guess, you need to take it to a good repair person for a setup. Floyds are a bitch to get right (I still struggle with them, and usually just let our shop manager deal with them), and if the setup isn't just right they will not stay in tune for anything. I'm sure someone will come along and say you can do the setup yourself, but particularly with Floyds I remain unconvinced. The balancing act with them is very fussy, and it really takes a lot of experience to get them right. Leave it to someone who knows what they are doing, and you will be much happier.

Also, don't expect the setup to stay stable for very long. They require frequent adjustment. More of a pain than they are worth, imo, but of course with the way I play I really don't need one.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[DrewPeterson7]

also you can use some chapstick or some bow string wax on the nut this will help to keep the guitar in tune once the strings are fully stretched out and make sure the bridge tuners are not bottomed out.

Close... There's a school of thought that lubing the trem knife edges where they touch the post will give you better return to pitch when you dive and pull back. This doesn't stop it from gradually going flat over time as the OP is describing, but is certainly not going to hurt anything. The nut, however, would do nothing - since you simply lock it down after you're in tune, there should be no problems with friction pushing the guitar out of tune. Or, to put it another way, since friction is what's holding the strings locked in place on the nut, then you want all the friction you can get there.

Also, while some people do recommend chap stick, technically chap stick is not intended to be a lubricant. I follow Kevan Geier's (of Tremol-no fame) school of thought, where really your best bet is some sort of a PTFE lube (it contains Teflon). The one I strongly recommend is Pedro's Extra Dry Chain Lube - it's a lubricant specifically designed to repeal dust and dirt, for mountain bike chains. I figure anything designed to be used in that much dust and mud can probably deal with a little bit of pick dust without too much problems - it stops gunky buildup, which rules.

Besides, it was the only PTFE lube I happened to have around. :lol:

@ Light - setting up a Floyd is certainly a bit of an art form and has a steep learning curve, but if you're patient and willing to spend an hour or two the first few times you do it, there's no reason that anyone with a couple allen wrenches, an understanding of how the trem works, and some time on their hands (and probably a beer or two) can't get a good setup on their own. There's certainly nothing wrong with just bringing it to a good tech, butonce you get the hang of it you'll save yourself a LOT of time and money by just doing it yourself.

Besides, in a twisted sort of way, it's kind of fun.