How to Tuna Floyd Rose

[seeker]

I'm mostly a TOM kinda-guy, but got a couple of FR Hamers. Time to change strings. Acckk. This has always been a traumatic experience for me.

Is there an easy and/or less time-consuming way to change, or even tune a FR? Has always taken me a couple hours all told.

[carfish7]

One string at a time is a good start. What do you mean by "tune"? Just getting it up to pitch is made easier by doing the strings one at a time, too, but if you are talking about adjusting for differing string gauges that is a certified PITA.

[Armitage]

Put something under the Floyd so it doesn't have to move i.e. a pencil across or battery in the hole, change the strings and remove the item and do the final tune.

[murkat]

yup.

if they are at (set up) were you like them to be at,

one string at a time.

replace 1 old with new.

stretch, break in the new string till it just about maintains pitch,

retune all strings, make sure new is still in tune,

repeat till deed complete.

[seeker]

Since the FR is a floating bridge, changing the tension (tuning) of one string by a certain amount throws most of the others out (not talking about the thumbwheels on the bridge itself). Have always see-sawed back and forth ad infinitum. Don't even get me started on intonation, lol.

I'm sure a big part is I just don't do it that often. Last time I paid a guy to do it, but he borked it up. Forgot to lock the strings down.

[HAMERMAN]

Put something under the Floyd so it doesn't have to move i.e. a pencil across or battery in the hole, change the strings and remove the item and do the final tune.

A stack of 3" x 5" post-it's work great. You can easily make the stack the right height to fit the gap between the trem and the body.

Greg has a really interested way of doing it that I still mean to try some day, maybe he can explain it agian.

[carfish7]

Taking all the strings off at once can indeed be done with a carefully placed whatever under the rear of the trem, or even in the cavity between the block and body, but there is always the risk of the whole bridge "popping" out (leaving the posts) which can cause damage to the knife-edges, posts and finish. This is especially true if one uses lots of spring tension like i do due to heavy strings.

Be careful out there.......

[cynic]

If possible I do one string at a time. if not, it goes faster for me if I tune strings in the following order: low E, high E, B, A, G, D.

I start with the claw pretty extended, and tighten it (loosen to add a spring) as necessary to maintain horizontal.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

If I was sat with you, I could show you how to set-up a Floyd in 15/20 minutes! Best place to learn is to go check Adam Reivers videos at FloydUpgrades.com (he's the man & that's where I learnt to do it properly...

To get you started, block the tremolo block underneath so it can't move (divebomb) & tighten the springs tight to the claw. This way, your bridge is horizontal and will not move...

Fk it = I may as well explain the whole procedure.

Do it 1 string at a time & also check the intonation while the bridge is blocked. Once all 6 strings are done, remove whatever it is you jammed the block with & tune by loosening the claw springs. Do this little by little til your bridge is near horizontal then when close, keep checking your A string with a tuner. Once your A string is in tune, the others should be in tune & your bridge is fully floating...

The video explains it better so go watch it

[SteveB]

if you use the exact same string brand and gauge it's not usually an issue. Just block the term temporarily with something and change them out.

[zorrow]

1- Block the Floyd with a piece of wood (or a rubber eraser, or whatever), so it doesn't move downwards. Make sure the bridge remains parallel to the guitar body when you do this.

2- Tune the guitar to the desired pitch.

3- Remove the blocking object. Now the fun commences, as the guitar will go out of tune.

4- If the bridge goes downwards or upwards, play with the spring screws on the back, in order to put the bridge as parallel to the body as you can, as well as with the tuners, in order to reach a point in where the guitar is approximately tuned and the bridge is still well-aligned to the body.

This is because you need to make sure the tension provided by the springs counterbalances perfectly that of the strings.

5- Once you've aligned the bridge to the body, verify how far you are now from the desired tuning.

If you're less than +/- 1/4 tone on every string, you might be able to lock the nut and complete the job using the fine tuners, one string at a time, until the guitar will be tuned.

On the other hand, if you're farther than that, you'll have to repeat from 1 to 5 above until reaching this point.

The good news is that, once the spring tension is adjusted for a string gauge and a tuning, every time you'll change the strings you'll just block the Floyd, tune and then do just very minor adjustments, if any.

[tbonesullivan]

the truly easy way? pay someone else to do it.

If you have an OFR or current issue schaller, you can get "the tool" which helps with intonation. It doesn't work on 90's era schallers unless you replace the tightening bolts.

as for the rest, all floating bridges have the same problem. it's the special attention that the floyd needs that makes it that much more of a PITA.

[Toadroller]

This:

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

That video is good but I block my trem-block from underneath & super-tighten the springs on the claw. I'll post Floyd Upgrades video shortly...

All videos are here: http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=page&id=78&zenid=mq5hfpshf5n5qa93gapqtmeab3

[seeker]

Wow, thanks all!

Hit another snag I want to deal with first. Yes, another thread will be posted.

[Bobby Marshall]

Another thing that helps me to get done efficiently is to put ball end through tuners as this "cuts" the cutting in half.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Another thing that helps me to get done efficiently is to put ball end through tuners as this "cuts" the cutting in half.

Yeah, I do that = great idea

[Bobby Marshall]

I apologize if anyone gave the advice from my previous post already.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Nothing to apologize for here! Help is help and that is GOOD!

[alantig]

Just got my first Floyded guitar, so this is like gold to me!

[Bobby Marshall]

Just got my first Floyded guitar, so this is like gold to me!

The number one most important thing is to make sure the strings are stretched sufficiently. That and a good setup equals a guitar that stays in tune under the worst whammybar wrangling.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Through the years, I've heard many people say 'Floyds aren't worth the trouble' ot 'Floyds never stay in tune'. Both are wrong! I've been palying Floyds for around 30 years and once you've learnt to set them up CORRECTLY, they always stay in tune. There are tricks that you pick up on the way but don't be put off & don't believe those who have 'no real experience' of Floyds or those who just haven't given them the time. I LOVE Floyds...

[zorrow]

Through the years, I've heard many people say 'Floyds aren't worth the trouble' ot 'Floyds never stay in tune'. Both are wrong! I've been palying Floyds for around 30 years and once you've learnt to set them up CORRECTLY, they always stay in tune. There are tricks that you pick up on the way but don't be put off & don't believe those who have 'no real experience' of Floyds or those who just haven't given them the time. I LOVE Floyds...

True, they do stay in tune if you know how to set them up properly.

They are also fun to play and you can actually develop a lot of interesting phrases by using a Floyd.

But I still prefer fixed bridges.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

The only electric I currentIy have is a Samick (Korean) Greg Bennett Explorer & that has a TOM. This is the first time I have been a non-Floyd guitarist in many many years. I do love a Floyd tho so may have to go out and get me something soon. I'd love to get another BCR Mockingbird with an FR again...

[Caddie]

Find a certified luthier.

Another good reason to play simple hardware...like a wraparound.

Cheers

caddie the impaler