|
|
 |
 |
|
SETTING
UP YOUR GUITAR
|
|
You can click
on the title below that interests you, or go back to the main
page of tutorial topics
|
|
click here to return to the homepage
|
|
This is one of the most fundamental
things every guitarist should be able to do. And there is only one correct
way. Without diagrams it is going to be difficult to describe but at a
later date I will try to get some photos organised. |
 |
| I've been using locking trems since 1984 when I had my first "real guitar" - a Tokai SX 65 original series. The beauty of them is that they stay in tune perfectly but there are many misconceptions surrounding the Floyd and in this tutorial I'd like to clear them up. |
| "It's a Floyd Rose" |
| I spoke to a lot of manufacturers
the other weekend who have guitars equipped with locking trems and refer
to them as Floyd Rose systems. The design of them was certainly borrowed
from Floyd Rose but many of the guitars were fitted with licensed copies.
The thing, which separates the "real ones" from the "fake ones", is usually
the material they're made from and the way the material is processed. The problems I've had with my own trems is usually to do with the knife-edges. The knife-edges are what the bridge pivots on and they sit in a groove in the two bridge pins. If they become blunt then the trem cannot come back to its neutral position by itself. This means that after you've used the trem, the strings will either be sharp or flat depending on the last thing you did - whether you pulled it up or pushed it down. Most trems are covered in a finish such as chrome, which is a very hard material. Sometimes, however the chrome can flake and leave the knife edges exposed. If the trem is made of a softer metal like brass then the knife-edges will quickly become blunt. Steel or hardened steel is a better material to use and this is what the best trem manufacturers use. |
| Buying a guitar with a Floyd Rose: |
| Even when the guitar is brand
new, the knife-edges may be blunt so always rock the trem to see if the
strings return to pitch every time. This is the procedure to follow: 1. Make sure the locking nut is locked 2. Play the open G string 3. Push the trem towards the body (about halfway to the body should be sufficient) and let it come back under its own steam - don't pull it back up, just let the springs do the work. 4. Play the G string again to see if the note has gone flat. A small amount of variation is acceptable but if its too large, chords will sound too out of tune. 5. Play the G string again. 6. Pull the trem away from the body - raise the pitch by a tone (2 frets worth) 7. Let the trem return to its neutral position again. 8. Play the G string to see if the note has gone sharp. If you're like me, you need a trem that stays in tune so you can concentrate on playing. There are licensed trems that do work but always carry out that test first because if it does it in the shop, there's no simple way of fixing it. If the G string goes flat or sharp as a result of using the trem then the knife-edges are blunt and the trem may be scrap. The only way around this is to file the knife-edges sharp again but if the material is too soft then they'll become blunt in no time. You'll also have to re-set the intonation as the position of the saddles will have changed. |
| Over-Tightening the Clamps: |
| On a real Floyd Rose trem all the parts can be replaced but on some licensed trems this may not be the case. Therefore you need to treat it with respect. |
| At the Bridge: |
| Locking the "Ball-End" end of the string at the bridge can be difficult to judge. You need to do it by trial and error so always make sure you have a spare set of strings ready when you're re- stringing. If you tighten the string too hard it will become embedded in its own groove in the saddle. Next time you re-string you will need to tighten it more and more and so on until the string is embedded so far that you're not clamping it at all. |
| At the Locking Nut: |
| You can check for tightness at the locking nut by pushing each strings down behind the nut - towards the headstock. If the string moves , you need to tighten it more. If you use a "Gung-Ho" technique and tighten the clamps so hard that there's no way the strings can move then once again, the strings will carve a groove into the metal and you may even create a rough edge which will cause the string to snag and break. |
| Stretching the Strings: |
| I keep reading articles about needing to stretch the strings in order to make your Floyd Rose stay in tune. This is absolute and total bullshit. The strings stretch mainly at the tuning peg end where stretching the strings removes the slack. If you tune the guitar perfectly, clamp the locking nut, adjust the fine tuners the strings cannot move. The strings may stretch a little as you play them in but nothing like they do on a conventional guitar. All I do when I re-string is to wind the fine tuners all the way out first then back a couple of turns before I put the strings on. That way you've got plenty of adjustment for the small amount the strings stretch during the normal course of playing. Not stretching your strings will also help them sound better for longer. |
| As I said earlier, not all Floyd Roses are real Floyds. There are very few salesmen who know the difference and that's why I've written this article. The trems which are the most reliable are as follows:- |
| Ibanez Edge: |
| Fitted to earlier Japanese RG models Circa '87-'93 and one or two current models lower in the Japanese range. |
| Ibanez Lo-Pro Edge: |
| Pointless Re- vamp of the Edge trem. It sits slightly lower to the body and the locking clamps are in a different position. Most licensed Floyds follow this design as it looks slightly better. Fitted to current Japanese models. NOT fitted to Korean Ibanez's such as the Jem 555 or the JS 100. These are fitted with TRS trems which are not the same quality. |
| Floyd Rose Original: |
| The real McCoy. |
| Floyd Rose Lo-Pro: |
| Same quality as the original with the Ibanez style modification. |
| Schaller Floyd Rose: |
| As good as the Floyd itself. Actually uses hardened steel inserts for knife-edges for extra longevity. |
| Schaller Floyd Rose Lo Pro: |
| Same idea as before. |
| Gotoh Licenced Floyd Rose: |
| As fitted to my Palm Bay - excellent bargain trem with a locking collar for the arm. Available from Touchstone Tonewoods (see my links page). |
| If you really like a guitar but the trem doesn't work properly a new Floyd Rose trem will set you back around £180. This may still be worth while if the guitar is up to it as guitars fitted with real Floyds tend to be around £1000! |
|
|
| 1. Start by unlocking
the top nut and setting fine tuners to about half way. I usually set them
so I can tighten more than I loosen to accommodate string stretch later
on. With brand new strings, I set the fine tuners all the way out. 2. Slacken strings right off so that they're all really slack and well below pitch (make sure they're put on correctly otherwise they might come off completely). 3. Tune from High E to Low E. Use an electronic tuner to save time. As you have slackened all the strings they will all be below pitch to begin with. This is important as it is always better if you're tuning all the strings in the same direction rather than some up and some down. On any guitar, if you tune the other way, from sharp to flat, there will be back-lash in the machine heads. With a Floyd Rose equipped guitar, as you clamp the locking nut, you may take out the slack caused by the back-lash and the string will actually go flat. Of course you can compensate for this using the fine tuner - providing there's enough travel - but you should only use the fine tuners when absolutely necessary. So the golden rule for tuning is:- ALWAYS TUNE FROM FLAT - NOT SHARP!!! This also means, if you accidentally go past the correct pitch and go sharp, you must de-tune the string and start again. You must stop turning the machine head at the exact point the string becomes in - tune. 4. When you've tuned the Low E, go back to the High E and start again. The strings will be flat so you need to keep tuning them from top E to bottom E and gradually they will get closer to pitch. What happens is, the strings are balanced against the springs in your trem. As you tighten one string, the other five will go slack. As you loosen a string, the springs pull the other five strings tighter. Tuning can be a long process but that's the price you pay for having a trem. Even guitars without a trem suffer this problem although to a lesser extent. As you tighten a string, the neck will bend slightly, causing the other strings to go flat although the effect is very small. I have always loved trems and so I've learned to cope with their foibles. As long as you understand why they behave the way they do they're not such a problem. Good luck |
|
|
| First of all, tune your guitar
as I described in my article "Tuning a Floyd Equipped Guitar". Follow the
procedure exactly. Now push the trem towards the body ("pump" the trem), as far as you can (within reason). When it comes back up, check your tuning. Some of the strings will have gone sharp (the G string is probably the favourite for this). Now here's the clever bit. Are you sitting comfortably? Contrary to my previous advice, tune the sharp strings by slackening them until they are in tune. You have to be careful because if you go past the point and the string becomes flat you'll have to "pump" the trem and start again. The sharp strings have to be tuned in by slackening them to pitch. If for some strange reason some strings have gone flat, tune them in the normal way, but likewise, don't go past the point or the method won't work. When you've tuned all the strings by the methods described, pump the trem again. You may need to repeat the process a few times before it settles, especially on a cheap guitar. Eventually you will have the situation where each time you pump the trem the strings will come back in tune. The Side Effects..... When you bend one of the strings which went sharp as you pumped the trem, it will go flat. If you do a lot of string bends this can be a bit of a pain. However, when this happens all you have to do is quickly "pump" the trem and as if by magic, the strings will be back in tune! Amazing! Note: To help with tuning stability you need to put your strings on correctly in the first place and I will write a separate article on this. Have fun, and buy me a drink for the money I've saved you by not buying a Floyd Rose!! |
|
|