Pierre
Stratologist
I don't know what are people takes on articles here... but well I wrote that and maybe some people could be interested.
And it's me again. I couldn't just stop at a full restringing and set up, so I decided today be the day I would block the Floyd Rose.
'but what is the point of having a super-cool-whammy-bar-that-never-detunes-from-hell if it's to block it?' will you ask me.
Well there are several reasons. Let's examin them.
1) I want to drop D. DAMN FLOYD!
Block it! I set mine up for E standard, which means that I can drop it by any steps I want, on any strings, and the Floyd will not move (unless of course I tune up )
2) I don't use the Floyd. What's the point?
See 1) and why it's good to block it
3) I never pull up with my Floyd, I only dive, and it annoys me that it's floating.
Well block it, and you may still dive
I'd also add that mine doesn't stay too well in tune. The E string is big and the wound part comes out of the center whenever I pull up on the whammy bar (I hope that made sense?).
Anyhoo, what I did:
I blocked my Floyd from the bottom of the cavity (space 1) so that I could loosen the spring claw and take the springs out. Then I measured the spaces that I need. You want (for sustain and tone reason) as much wood to make contact with your guitar and spring block.
Set up your Floyd in whatever position you will want it in. Don't bother about tuning or action as of now, and leave the locknut locked (you won't need to adjust the tuning too much unless you'll want to change it, so there's no point in unlocking it)
The measurements I took were:
1)Thickness (space between guitar and spring block): 8 mm
2)Height (from guitar's 'bottom' (from behind the guitar) of the cavity to under the springs): 15.5 mm
3)length (of the spring block, to maximize contact): 49mm
These were not extremely accurate measurements but I couldn't really do better with what I had.
I went to a small shop selling tools and DIY stuff, and they cut me the piece of wood, for free (
).
And I installed it. I didn't glue or tape it. I just repeated what I did to take the measurements (blocked space 1, untighten the springs, took them off), inserted the block (it fitted fine, but the thickness is 9mm. They didn't have anything with 8 and therefore my Floyd id slightly raised upwards. Not such a big deal, but it minimizes the amount to which you can dive), put the springs back and tightened them. I used 4 this time. I use 11/49 string gauge and with 3 springs I couldn't tighten them enough. It's at this point that tuning starts to matter. Tune up to standard (or whatever will be the HIGHEST tuning you will use, the one having the most tension in the strings) and check to see if your block is tightened properly inside and doesn't move. You may experiement with the number of springs and such depending on your string gauge.
I suggest to spend time finding the proper balance. The difference in string tension between E standard and dropped B for instance is VERY big. If you tighten your springs too much in your highest tuning and then drop it loads, it may just... make your Floyd come out of its posts. You have to make tries and such I guess. I'll work on this tomorrow myself and give you news.
If you will want to dive, you will want to glue or tape your block. Tape can't be too great because it may take off some paint out of your cavity. It's no big deal but it'd matter to me so well, you may as well know. With glue it'd be quite annoying to take off.
And it's me again. I couldn't just stop at a full restringing and set up, so I decided today be the day I would block the Floyd Rose.
'but what is the point of having a super-cool-whammy-bar-that-never-detunes-from-hell if it's to block it?' will you ask me.
Well there are several reasons. Let's examin them.
1) I want to drop D. DAMN FLOYD!
Block it! I set mine up for E standard, which means that I can drop it by any steps I want, on any strings, and the Floyd will not move (unless of course I tune up )
2) I don't use the Floyd. What's the point?
See 1) and why it's good to block it
3) I never pull up with my Floyd, I only dive, and it annoys me that it's floating.
Well block it, and you may still dive
I'd also add that mine doesn't stay too well in tune. The E string is big and the wound part comes out of the center whenever I pull up on the whammy bar (I hope that made sense?).
Anyhoo, what I did:
I blocked my Floyd from the bottom of the cavity (space 1) so that I could loosen the spring claw and take the springs out. Then I measured the spaces that I need. You want (for sustain and tone reason) as much wood to make contact with your guitar and spring block.
Set up your Floyd in whatever position you will want it in. Don't bother about tuning or action as of now, and leave the locknut locked (you won't need to adjust the tuning too much unless you'll want to change it, so there's no point in unlocking it)
The measurements I took were:
1)Thickness (space between guitar and spring block): 8 mm
2)Height (from guitar's 'bottom' (from behind the guitar) of the cavity to under the springs): 15.5 mm
3)length (of the spring block, to maximize contact): 49mm
These were not extremely accurate measurements but I couldn't really do better with what I had.
I went to a small shop selling tools and DIY stuff, and they cut me the piece of wood, for free (
).And I installed it. I didn't glue or tape it. I just repeated what I did to take the measurements (blocked space 1, untighten the springs, took them off), inserted the block (it fitted fine, but the thickness is 9mm. They didn't have anything with 8 and therefore my Floyd id slightly raised upwards. Not such a big deal, but it minimizes the amount to which you can dive), put the springs back and tightened them. I used 4 this time. I use 11/49 string gauge and with 3 springs I couldn't tighten them enough. It's at this point that tuning starts to matter. Tune up to standard (or whatever will be the HIGHEST tuning you will use, the one having the most tension in the strings) and check to see if your block is tightened properly inside and doesn't move. You may experiement with the number of springs and such depending on your string gauge.
I suggest to spend time finding the proper balance. The difference in string tension between E standard and dropped B for instance is VERY big. If you tighten your springs too much in your highest tuning and then drop it loads, it may just... make your Floyd come out of its posts. You have to make tries and such I guess. I'll work on this tomorrow myself and give you news.
If you will want to dive, you will want to glue or tape your block. Tape can't be too great because it may take off some paint out of your cavity. It's no big deal but it'd matter to me so well, you may as well know. With glue it'd be quite annoying to take off.
If you ever get bored of your Floyd Rose, this is a very good alternative to the tremsetter (especially if you don't want to drill a hole in your beloved shredmachine) while being way simpler and cheaper to use, however with more trade offs.
