Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

It was backwards (at least compared to the old block) flipped it around, springs are now attached and fitting correctly. I'm guessing that was a side-effect of buying my bridge and block 'open box'.

Will report back in after I get strings on and try to balance tension, hoping everything goes good.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Irrelevant comment

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Status Update: Installing the new bridge, block, and components.

Firstly, figured out how to remove stud things and put new ones it (pain in the ass)

Secondly, fitted the new bridge in - looks good.

Thirdly, flipped the guitar over and setup the new spring, spring catch and tension screws (just making up words here, hopefully you know what I'm talking about)

Finally, tried to get the spring in there - wouldn't work. Noticed that the hole makes a ' \ ' shape (see picture to understand) which when tension was applied, would push the spring back out. After scratching my head and googling a lot, either I messed something up along the way or I think the block might have come installed backwards, maybe?

Including a picture to illustrate my problem, please help!

View attachment 68658

there is a trick to getting those springs on.. I ALWAYS do the block 1st then use a needle nose pliers to attach the springs top the claw..(i.e.saves thy fingers) If you it claw first, your gonna have some frustration

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

not to burst your bubble dude but that guitar goes for like 240 new.. this is from a 2006 blue book.. prices,even 9 years later on what guitars that are listed in here.. hold true for the most part



do what ya want.. just realize this is an entry level guitar and no matter what you do.. is still will be entry level..not telling you not to do anything as long as you do the work yourself..LOL only way to keep the cost down IMO

now.. i bought a 100 dollar used guitar from a pawnshop.. modded it to hell and spent 350.. AND i was watching the cost as i had a budget.. Really easy to go over budget btw...Plays and sound pretty decent . Is it worth the money I spent. Yes and no.. yes because I learned alot which was really the whole point of this odyssey ,guitar looks pretty sexy, elaborate wiring was a success, and the playability is pretty good and and it isnt because..no matter what it is still a 100 dollar guitar. could of used that 450 or so and bought a very nice DK2 and still have money left over. or a guitar like my squire stagemaster deluxe.. spent 360 used compared to my modded guitar.. there is no comparison... stagemaster is a much better guitar

Hey, I get it. I know it's not an expensive guitar - I know its entry level. It's not my guitar - it's a friends guitar (who is a casual player, no gigs - just jamming in his garage and such) Sentimental value. Regardless, I'm just asking for advice about installing a Floyd Rose into a compatible guitar. I'm not even trying to mod it, just fix it. I appreciate your advice from earlier, would appreciate more of that.

Thanks.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Hey, I get it. I know it's not an expensive guitar - I know its entry level. It's not my guitar - it's a friends guitar (who is a casual player, no gigs - just jamming in his garage and such) Sentimental value. Regardless, I'm just asking for advice about installing a Floyd Rose into a compatible guitar. I'm not even trying to mod it, just fix it. I appreciate your advice from earlier, would appreciate more of that.

Thanks.

NO need to get so defensive dude... I was just responding to your post which you stated its alleged value.. I was just informing you that you were mistaken w/ proof....UNLIKE some that give "advice" w/o any pros/cons... i was advising w/ pros and cons.. could care less if people follow it

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

So I got it strung up, a lot of dead-notes - a lot of adjusting to do. Watched a couple videos to try and get it back together right.

First problem I've noticed is that the bridge sinks in (too much tension from the springs), but I can't take away any more pressure from the springs without the screws falling out. Not sure what that means, I double-checked my neck for warping and watched a few videos on that, made some adjustments to the truss rod but there's still too much tension from springs. Not sure what the problem is at this point, but I can't get the bridge parallel with the body, and adjusting the springs in the back isn't helping.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

So I got it strung up, a lot of dead-notes - a lot of adjusting to do. Watched a couple videos to try and get it back together right.

First problem I've noticed is that the bridge sinks in (too much tension from the springs), but I can't take away any more pressure from the springs without the screws falling out. Not sure what that means, I double-checked my neck for warping and watched a few videos on that, made some adjustments to the truss rod but there's still too much tension from springs. Not sure what the problem is at this point, but I can't get the bridge parallel with the body, and adjusting the springs in the back isn't helping.

how many springs are you using.. a fr takes some practice to adjust ....I find the ideal # of springs for me is 4 for a fr type tremolo..

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

I'm using three, but if I was using four it would just dip in-wards more I thought.

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

A lot of my strings are just completely muted right now, mainly because the bridge is dipped too low causing them to rest on the frets. I need to figure out a way to get the bridge parallel with the body.

It could be the truss-rod, but I'm thinking it might have to do with the two studs holding the bridge in place, not sure how that adjusts. It's suppose to change the action height, but I'm not seeing much change from manipulating it.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

I'm using three, but if I was using four it would just dip in-wards more I thought.

here are how my springs look... i use 10-46 strings..tuned a E and the bridge is dead level... Some like 2 or 3 springs.. I think 4 gives much better stability but is a tad stiff for some, I imagine

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

A lot of my strings are just completely muted right now, mainly because the bridge is dipped too low causing them to rest on the frets. I need to figure out a way to get the bridge parallel with the body.

It could be the truss-rod, but I'm thinking it might have to do with the two studs holding the bridge in place, not sure how that adjusts. It's suppose to change the action height, but I'm not seeing much change from manipulating it.

thats how you adjust the height... the allen wrench for the nut lock should be the same..

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Okay. With yours, it seems like you need a lot of tension from the springs, but with mine

I have to back all the way out, and my bridge is still pointing down into the body. I will try the four springs like you have when I work on it next, see if it makes any differences.

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Also, when I try to adjust the action studs, they just don't budge. They get stuck so easily, making it impossible to adjust the action height.

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Final note for today.

Managed to get the action studs moving. Tried adjusting the action, didn't help. Still muting all over the place. Some strings have no fretted noise, it's just a mute all over. Currently I'm trying to just get the low 'E' to sound right. The first 12 frets at least sound normal, but everything after the 12th fret is muted. Possibly a neck / truss rod problem?

Switched to 4 springs on back, same prob. Not seeing enough tension from the strings and the neck. The only thing I can think is the truss-rod, but I'm no expert on that, but can the truss-rod alone provide the tension I need to balance the bridge?

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Final note for today.

Managed to get the action studs moving. Tried adjusting the action, didn't help. Still muting all over the place. Some strings have no fretted noise, it's just a mute all over. Currently I'm trying to just get the low 'E' to sound right. The first 12 frets at least sound normal, but everything after the 12th fret is muted. Possibly a neck / truss rod problem?

Switched to 4 springs on back, same prob. Not seeing enough tension from the strings and the neck. The only thing I can think is the truss-rod, but I'm no expert on that, but can the truss-rod alone provide the tension I need to balance the bridge?

truss rod has no bearing on the tension of a bridge..... if your not carefull you will snap you truss rod..

i have always read that : buzzing on frets 10-24 is usually bridge height problems and buzzing 2-7 is truss rod relief.

a fr was probably not the best choice to experiment with setup'ing a guitar imo..they can be frustrating , even for the more experienced

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Good to note, I will focus on experimenting with the bridge then, since a lot of the lower frets are not buzzing out. Hey, a Floyd Rose is what I have - I will never learn until it gets done, just looking for solid information.

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

So here's another question that I would like to solve: which way (clockwise (up) or counter (down) brings the bridge up and down? It almost seems like if I screwed them in further it would push the bridge up, but usually they just get stuck and hard to turn at that point.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Good to note, I will focus on experimenting with the bridge then, since a lot of the lower frets are not buzzing out. Hey, a Floyd Rose is what I have - I will never learn until it gets done, just looking for solid information.

well on the internet.. alot of good information if you have patience for alot of bad IMO..common sense and critical thinking goes a long way too

best thing id do would be to research the factory specs and use that.. then tweak it to personal preference.. in order to do that.. its really helpful that you have a setup ruler or metal ruler that read in 1/32's

proper order to a setup IMO.. the way i do it anyway..
truss rod
action
adjusting the springs
INTONATION
adjusting the springs some more.. lol

then double check the setup again and even again.. play it some .. might need to do some tweaking as the bridge settles

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

So here's another question that I would like to solve: which way (clockwise (up) or counter (down) brings the bridge up and down? It almost seems like if I screwed them in further it would push the bridge up, but usually they just get stuck and hard to turn at that point.

counter-clockwise to raise the bridge.. you raise the screws the bridge raises.. there is some debate on if you should decrease the tension in the strings before adjusting the screws.. if i need more that minute adjustments i will detune the strings a bit.. adjust the height..then tune to pitch.. but others do it under full tension

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

I saw that on some videos, I loosened up the strings before manipulating it. I raised them a bit, noticed some improvement on the treble strings, but even fretting the first fret of the high 'E' is fretting out. It's def an action problem, the bridge is just dipping in - if it was parallel I bet a lot of the action problems would go away, just can't seem to get it to raise - at all.

 

[Teapole]

Re: Replacing Floyd Rose in an LTD MH-50 guitar

Btw, using 9's for strings, so a little lighter, but I don't think that's the grand issue here as I had the same problem 10's before.

So the low 'E' is almost good - I can almost fret and play all the way up and down, but the other strings are still sitting on frets. I will upload a few pictures - maybe you guys will see something obvious that I am doing wrong.