How long does it take you to tune a Floyd Rose or floating tremolo?

[nexion218]

While I’ve got your attention....

What is the appropriate torque for the bridge string locking screws? I know they are easy to strip but I also don’t want strings letting go.

I got this piece pf advice from luthier I take my guitars to when need be and he also happens to be an official Floyd Rose distributor. He taught me to tighten in two steps. First, tighten it lightly. Like with one finger and let it sit for a few minutes and then tighten again, still fingertight. The reason behind this is that with the first "batch" of torque you make the strings flatten out a bit under the force creating a bit wider surface for the second batch of torque to spread over. Stripping the saddle is one thing, but (over)tightening immeadiately will create indentations in both the saddle and the string lock block and if that indentation gets too big, you'll basically have a string sized channel between the saddle and the block and when that happens, no torque will save you from the string slipping. This is especially true for the Special units, but will happen with the steel stuff too.

Didn't answer your question about the torque, but I hope it helps a bit.

 

[dave74]

^^^This. Don't even need to touch the pads. Pop out the springs, bridge comes out, do yer thang with the fretboard, bridge goes back in. Since you haven't touched the locking nut, you don't even have to tune, it will be in tune. Then come the new strings one by one. I feel like sometimes people make string change and setup of a Floyd look worse than actually is...

Can you do that with medium or heavier tension setups?
I think I remember seeing someone do it without loosening the strings but it was a standard 9-42 at E setup. Then when I tried it at home and the knife points wouldn't come out of the grooves enough to pop the bridge off unless the strings were loosened a bit,(even with no springs in),,,,,,,,,but I was probably using a power slinky 11-48 at Eb at the time.

 

[nexion218]

Can you do that with medium or heavier tension setups?
I think I remember seeing someone do it without loosening the strings but it was a standard 9-42 at E setup. Then when I tried it at home and the knife points wouldn't come out of the grooves enough to pop the bridge off unless the strings were loosened a bit,(even with no springs in),,,,,,,,,but I was probably using a power slinky 11-48 at Eb at the time.

I do with 10-46 tuned to E standard all the time and I believe it worked with the 7 string too. In my experience it's not so much the string tension, but rather the routing itself on some guitars that makes it tricky. Some just don't have enough space to buckle forward completely. In those cases I usually rotate the bridge sideways a bit around the treble side post, parallel with the guitar body until I can lift up the low E side from under the head of the post and then the other side is smooth sailin'.

 

[Top-L]

Can you do that with medium or heavier tension setups?
I think I remember seeing someone do it without loosening the strings but it was a standard 9-42 at E setup. Then when I tried it at home and the knife points wouldn't come out of the grooves enough to pop the bridge off unless the strings were loosened a bit,(even with no springs in),,,,,,,,,but I was probably using a power slinky 11-48 at Eb at the time.

On all my Floyd guitars, I have to remove tension to take out the bridge. Because the routing.

On all my Ibanez Edge guitars, the bridge comes right out.

I use a string winder to remove exactly ten winds from each string. When I put it back together, I add exactly ten winds to each string. Makes it much easier to tune it.

 

[Mincer]

On all my Floyd guitars, I have to remove tension to take out the bridge. Because the routing.

On all my Ibanez Edge guitars, the bridge comes right out.

I use a string winder to remove exactly ten winds from each string. When I put it back together, I add exactly ten winds to each string. Makes it much easier to tune it.

Never heard of that method. I'll have to try it.

 

[dave74]

Ok I'll try it again next time I need board access. That would indeed save even more time. I'll try one side first method if need be, like nexion said. Thanks guys!

 

[Artie]

I hope I'm staying on topic, but how does your Floyd "set" when tuned? I'm trying to tune mine now, and it keeps coming up higher and higher without settling down. Shouldn't it set somewhat "flat" ? I wonder if I should add a couple more springs. I have three on there now.

 

[Artie]

I think I answered my own question. Just found a FR set up video that said it should float parallel to the body. I guess I need more springs.

 

[PFDarkside]

Yes the baseplate should be parallel to the body. What gauge strings are you using? Do you still have more room to tighten the claw? With 9s or 10s, three standard spring should get it to parallel.

In the back cavity, put a 9V plus some pics between the block and the wall to get it to sit parallel. Then tune and set intonation, then tighten the claw until the picks/battery/block just slip out.

 

[Top-L]

I think I answered my own question. Just found a FR set up video that said it should float parallel to the body. I guess I need more springs.

You can get more tension by angling the side springs inward. Then screw in the claw farther if you need more.

This will also tighten the bar action, less detune during bends and double stops.

Everyone has to find the tension/setup they prefer. I like 3 straight strings.

 

[Artie]

Yes the baseplate should be parallel to the body. What gauge strings are you using? Do you still have more room to tighten the claw? With 9s or 10s, three standard spring should get it to parallel.

In the back cavity, put a 9V plus some pics between the block and the wall to get it to sit parallel. Then tune and set intonation, then tighten the claw until the picks/battery/block just slip out.

Right now I have 9 - 46's on it, but I prefer 10's. I'll try that technique later. Right now, 4 springs seems to have done the trick.

You can get more tension by angling the side springs inward. Then screw in the claw farther if you need more.

This will also tighten the bar action, less detune during bends and double stops.

Everyone has to find the tension/setup they prefer. I like 3 straight strings.

Outside two angled in is what I initially had. The claw was tightened down pretty far. But for now, 4 springs seems to have worked. It's fairly level now and stable.

Thanks all.

 

[PFDarkside]

As a side note, I have my main Strat setup with 5 springs, 10-52 and floating. It keeps it very stable while still allowing trem use. Just like relief and action, I’d say there’s a decent range of “correct” amount of tension and you can customize the feel for the player.

 

[Artie]

I'm actually surprised that it took four. My Strats have 10's and have always done fine with the "angled-3" configuration. Maybe it's a Floyd thang. :dunno:

 

[PFDarkside]

Were these the springs of questionable origin?

 

[Artie]

Not really. Quite some time back, I bought a genuine Fender Strat replacement trem. These are the springs that came out of that pack. As an aside, I think I'm going to order the genuine FR springs from FR's website. I want to put the Fender springs back into the Fender pack.

 

[Gtrjunior]

I hope I'm staying on topic, but how does your Floyd "set" when tuned? I'm trying to tune mine now, and it keeps coming up higher and higher without settling down. Shouldn't it set somewhat "flat" ? I wonder if I should add a couple more springs. I have three on there now.

I use 2 springs with .09g. And as mentioned angle the springs in toward the middle of the claw and don’t be afraid to tighten the claw screws to flatten the Floyd.
I have a foolproof method.



Find a small block of wood that you can wedge between the Floyd block and the back of the Floyd rout. The block needs to be just big enough to hold the Floyd in a level, parallel position.

Tune the guitar to pitch.

Slowly and evenly tighten the claw springs until the block of wood falls out.

You should be just about floating parallel

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Who needs blocking? I don't block. I just hold the bridge with the trem maintaining a parallel position to the body; tune up until the bridge sits either parallel to the body or points upward; then shoot for zero balance by tightening/ loosening the springs and tuning up/ down. You get the idea. Very easy.

This works especially for guitars with no recess, like those crap Jap Charvel So Cal.

 

[ErikH]

It's called a Tremblock. I still have one of these from the late 80's/early 90's.

 

[Artie]

I use 2 springs with .09g. And as mentioned angle the springs in toward the middle of the claw and don’t be afraid to tighten the claw screws to flatten the Floyd.
I have a foolproof method.

Find a small block of wood that you can wedge between the Floyd block and the back of the Floyd rout. The block needs to be just big enough to hold the Floyd in a level, parallel position.

Tune the guitar to pitch.

Slowly and evenly tighten the claw springs until the block of wood falls out.

You should be just about floating parallel

In that pic, I have 3 springs installed, with the outside two angled in. The claw is tightened all the way down to where the screws show no more thread. (There's about 1/2" unthreaded.) That's what was perplexing me. Just didn't seem right. Adding a fourth spring pulled it down almost parallel, but it still seems odd.

It's called a Tremblock. I still have one of these from the late 80's/early 90's.

I saw that on the FR website, but they didn't show a pic in action. I was wondering what it was. Thanks. Looks easy enough to build.

BTW, I use a Jenga block. Works pretty good.

 

[Gtrjunior]

In that pic, I have 3 springs installed, with the outside two angled in. The claw is tightened all the way down to where the screws show no more thread. (There's about 1/2" unthreaded.) That's what was perplexing me. Just didn't seem right. Adding a fourth spring pulled it down almost parallel, but it still seems odd.




I saw that on the FR website, but they didn't show a pic in action. I was wondering what it was. Thanks. Looks easy enough to build.

BTW, I use a Jenga block. Works pretty good.

Sounds like you need a set of the high tension springs.
You can get them directly from Floyd Rose or a variety of online stores.

As far as the block, this is what I have.


https://skyscraperguitars.com/store/#!/Trem-Wedge-Floating-Tremolo-Setup-Blocks/p/75945611