Setup Instructions for Floyd Rose Bridge/Trem System

[stratman50th]

Many thanks to zero an ZampraZ for taking the time to post setup instructions for the Floyd Rose Bridge/Tremolo System.
This question gets asked a lot by our members so we needed to put it in our Trade Secrets guitar encyclopedia.
Thanks again guys,
Strat....

[zero]

I will give it shot since I spend more time setting up my floyd than I do actually playing the thing :rolleye:

The key to getting a Floyd Rose or any floating trem is getting a perfect balance between string and

spring tension. The strings will natually pull the bridge towards the headstock as you tune them and the job of

the springs in the back of the guitar is to counter that tension from the strings. Unless you balance that tension

between the springs and strings and get your bridge perfectly level your guitar will constantly go out of tune and

never return to level.

When changing strings on a floating trem it is best to change one at a time, if you remove all the strings your

bridge will slip off the studs and you will never get it back to level. I will say again only remove one

string at a time.

As with any work you do on your guitar it helps to have lots of space and a flat soft area to work on so lay some

towels or blankets on a table so you dont scratch your guitar up. Ready ? Let's begin...

All this comes from personal experience

String Change

Step 1 - Using a allen wrench unlock the 3 string clamps at the nut (they are usually 3mm) pull the clamps off and

put the screws and pads somewhere safe. you do not want to lose these.

Step 2 - Loosen the string by turning the machine tuner on the headstock. Never cut the string at full tension, the sudden tension release can damage both your bridge and your neck which will require a pricey setup by a professional.

Step 3 - Unscrew the string clamp on the bridge and pull the string out

Step 4 - Uncoil the new string and snip off the ball at the end (some people will put the string in backwards so the ball is at the headstock, its up to you but personally I cut the ball off)

Step 5 - Insert one end of the string into the bridge and tighten the clamp so the string will not pop out, continue the string up the neck and under the string retainer bar into the machine head and twist. (There are many different ways to wrap a string in the machine head you will have to find what works for you)

Step 6 - Finish changing all the strings, as you tighten the strings chances are your bridge will be pulled up off the guitar pretty far, this is normal and I will go through that next.

--up next leveling out the bridge

[zero]

Ok now you have all your new strings on and your wondering how are you going to get your bridge back to level. This is where the springs come into play.

*Tip* Before you start this step losen the fine tuners on the bridge until they are all the way up and then give them a quarter of a turn down. Trust me this will save you some time.

Step 1 - Remove the panel on the back of your guitar giving you access to the spring cavity. In here you will see your springs attatched to the block coming from your bridge and the claw that is screwed into your guitar.

This is where it gets tricky and the most important part in getting your Floyd Rose to work correctly. Also this step is what scares people away from floating trems. It will take some time to get used to but after you've done it a few times its easy. The first time I changed stings on my floyd it took me 2 hours!

Step 2 - Using a screwdriver tighten the screws to pull your bridge back level with the body. If the screws are all the way into the body already and your bridge is still not level you will have to losen the strings at the headstock. Once you losen the strings your brige will fall back to the body, but the strings wont be in tune. Keep going back and forth between tighten the strings and springs until you get the perfect balance between the two and your bride is level with the body.

Step 3 - Using the headstock tuners bring the strings close to being in tune, they don't have to be perfect at this point but they should be close

*Tip* To check if the bridge is level look at the flat sides of the bridge, just eyeball it until it is level with the body. I have read stories of people using a carpenters level to check, this is a bit overkill and you can usually just use your eyes to check

--up next locking the nut and fine tuning.

[zero]

You have your bridge level and your strings are almost in tune. Your almost there! All we have to do now is lock the nut and use the fine tuners to get it perfect.

Fine Tune

Step 1 - Replace the string clamps on the nut and lock them down snug but dont overtighten, these strip very easily and you dont want that! Once the nut is lock you will not be using the headstock tuners anymore only the fine tuners on the bridge.

Remember how I said to give each fine tuner a quarter turn in? This is because once you lock the nut your strings will sometimes go sharp. If this happens you now have some room in the fine tuners to fix that

Step 2 - Check the tuning of each string and use the fine tuners on the bridge until you are perfectly in tune.

Step 3 - With everything locked and tuned now its time to stretch the strings and get some of the frustrations out. Using your whammy bar do some divebombs, slam the bridge around, pull up on it, just go crazy. Do this a few times to stretch the strings so they keep a tune.

Step 4 - If your strings go out of tune after the divebombs then unlock the nut and retune. Keep doing this until you can do a dive bomb and your guitar stays in tune.

Congratulations you have completed a string change on a Floyd Rose.

I might cover intonation on a Floyd some other time or if someone else wants to do it your more than welcome to. I am poor at doing intonation and it took me about 2 days to get mine perfect.

[ZampraZ]

Shortcuts & Troubleshooting

This section is for tricks and tips and problem solving.

Some tricks:
1. When changing strings, you can dive all the way, put in something like a 9 volt battery between the body and the bridge and change all strings at once.

2. When changing angle of the bridge, you can dive as far as you want it to be, block it and tune up, the bridge should be at the position where you blocked it. If it retracts a bit into the body then you might want to loosen the screws a bit, if It flys away from the body you might wanna tighten the springs. The springs can be found behind the plastic plate in the middle of the back of your guitar. You tighten the two tremolo springs which holds the metal claw.
If your tremolo angle is too far out from the body, and you wanna lower it a great deal, de tune the strings so they are all saggy and the bridge is as far into the body as it will go. Now dive and block it in the desired position. Adjust springs as I described before.

NOTE: This quick and easy bridge angle change only works if you have changed your strings to the same gauge as usual. This is because if you do the spring and string tension doesn't need adjustment, but if you change to a higher gauge then the strings pull alot harder and you will probably have to tighten the tremolo claws a big bit. The trick also works if you just wanna change bridge angle withouth changing strings.

A video that helps alot, explains the tricks I described and is a generally good video for setting up a floyd rose.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1c-7-VMY_w

Stretching Strings

This is a vital point when it comes to changing strings, especially on a floyd. What happens is that the strings will expand when they are new, causing the string to de-tune, causing the rest of the strings to go sharp, screwing up your tuning. Basically what you have to do is the last step before you lock your just is you need to stretch the strings. Bascially you pull them, the heavier gauge string the more stretching it needs, eg the low e needs most and the high e needs least. Be very careful when stretching the high strings, don't pull to hard. Try not pulling only on one spot at the time. You can pull prettey hard on the low strings. Now stretching them can take some time, so don't excpect to stretch them in 5 minutes. You need to stretch them over and over. If you have problems with this, you can try stretching them and stretching and leave the nut open for two days and under theese days stretch. And before you stretch you must tune up the string to tune-ish.


Troubleshooting:

Problem: When I perform a dive bomb I hear a crack in my neck.
Solution: You'r nut is probably not tightened hard enough to the guitar, look at the back at the neck and look for the two holes near the headstock. There are 2 screws in there, tighten them with an allen key to tighten the nut. This should solve the problem.

Problem: When I dive bomb, my guitar comes back flat, and my bridge is in the right position!
Solution: Even if the bridge is in the same position the spring/string tension might not be evened out, try tightening the springs a little bit and try again.

Problem: When I raise my tremolo the strings stay sharp
Solution: Try adjusting the string tension, if you have an Edge III tremolo like me, this is probably a fault with the trem. You can get a Hipshot tremsetter do do this, I had to.

Problem: I can't tune the damn thing! Everything goes sharp/flat all the time!
Solution: Cross tuning is something I like. If all strings are say, 15- cents for example, try tuning the low e sharp, maybe 30 cents, the A just a tiny bit less flat, and less flat until you get to the high e which you tune to perfect pitch. If done right the guitar should be in tune.

Problem: When I lock the nut, the strings go sharp.
Solution: The string tree might not be tightened enough, its the thing that holds down the strings on the headstock right before the locking nut. It kinda works like a finger, it frets the strings there, so when the nut is locked it's like the nut frets it so the strings doesn't go sharp.

Thats about it, any further questions feel free to ask :)

[sl3shredder]

great job

just a tip, after setting up the floyd and getting it close to proper tuning, i like to play it a little while without the nuts lock, loosen some slack out of the strings and repeat a couple of times by tuning back up and playing some more just to make sure. i sometimes even get my thumb underneath the string at the bridge and just kinda pull on it all the way to the nut to help pre-stretch it before i lock down the nuts.

i then set all of the fine tuners completely level with each other and about 1/2 way unscrewed (this allows for equal play in either direction if the note is sharp or flat)

i then tune as perfect as i can one last time, then lock the nuts, and do whatever fine tuning i need to.

this seems to help from the strings stretching, and i have yet to have a problem with an axe going out of tune, so i dont know if my way is necessarily the 'proper' way, but it definitely gets the job done.

[ShiggityShwa]

also.

does anyone know the proper method on torquing down the nuts, and strings holders

obviously under-torquing will causing messed up tuning/strings popping out on ya, but is there any adverse effects in over torquing the nuts, because i usually tighten them as tight as i can

On the locking nuts, I'm pretty sure that if tighten it too much you could get a crack in the neck.