Floyd Rose and alternate tunings

[primaltone]

After the recent acquisition of a bitchin' Studio Custom with a Floyd Rose, I'd like change its setup from an Eb tuning back to standard E. I realize that the tremolo "claw" will have to be adjusted in order to get the base plate parallel to the body, but will the truss rod also require adjustment?

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

It may need the tiniest of a turn but in my experience, it will be fine without adjustment. I've dropped from E to D without adjustment of the truss rod without a problem on many guitars...

[Jeff R]

You shouldn't have to adjust the truss rod on so little of a tuning/tension change, but you will have to tighten the claw slightly to make up for a little extra tension from the now-standard tuned strings.

Easiest way to reset the bridge tilt is the tighten-the-claw trick BCR Greg shared with me and the HFC years ago. Here's the abbreviated version:

* Unlock the nut and over-tighten the claw so that the bridge starts dipping backward into the body cavity a little more than where you want it to finally sit. Guitar will go out of tune sharp, that's okay - that means you're doing it right.

* Use the bar to position the bridge plate where you want it to sit in relation to the body and use a shim of some sort (folded cardboard, wadded heavy paper, sometimes a 9V battery works, be creative) to hold the bridge where you want the plate to sit. Reset the fine tuners if any are max'ed out tightened or loosened.

* Tune to pitch, lock the nut and remove the shim. The bridge will then butt back into the body and the guitar will be out of tune. That's okay, that means you're still doing it right.

* Re-tune the guitar by loosening the claw with your screwdriver. Go gradually screw by screw and the guitar will slowly retune itself as the bridge rises to the zero point you established with the shim action.

I haven't looked but there are probably YouTube videos that show the process. I've used floating Floyds for 30 years and this is the BEST way to set the float on one. I wish I would have known this time-saving and precise technique decades ago when I started using Floyds.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

That ^^^ is the correct way to block/float your bridge except I'd add; When loosening the claw springs to get back into correct (floating) position, once your open A string is in tune, the other 5 strings should also be in tune. Adam Reivers (from FloydUpgrades.com) has great videos showing the whole process...

[primaltone]

Thanks for the replies and for posting BCR Greg's recipe. It sounds straight forward enough. Now I just need to set aside some time, have a couple of beers ready, and give it a shot.

I'll check the neck before and after to see if I can tell a difference, but it sounds like it may not even be an issue. I'll post back when I complete, in case it helps an other guitar tweaking newbs out there.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Adam Reivers videos at FloydUpgrades.com takes you through it step-by-step & I can vouch for his (and BCR Gregs method). I have also been a Floyd player for 30 years. It's a 15 minute job (inc intonation) start to finish once you get the nack