power freak

Hi evry1
Yesturday I bought a S/H Rg550
it rocks but Im having problems with the floyd this is my first guitar with a floyd and I cant tune it.
do u have to undo the nut tune then tighten the nut at evry tuning??? co I have snapped 2 sets of strings and it is pissing me off now. I think it was because I left the nut tite but I just making sure.
Cheers

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beatallica_fan

Im not sure because i dont own a floyd rose guitar, i did teach someone for a while while, i always tuned that for him by undoing the nut, getting the strings in tune as best i could, locking the nut, and then using the fine tuners on the bridge for any further adjustments needed.

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Mr Vile

what I do, is tune the high E and low E to the correct pitch, then work my way on string at time, constantly checking and re tuning the E strings to the correct pitch as I go, and that usually keeps the strings nice

dmal

Tuning a Floyd Rose is a combination of what Beat and Vile are telling you.

Start by tuning in as close as possible at the headstock, working from low E to high E. Repeat this step as necessary until the tuning is exact. The reason you will have to repeat the process several times is because there is a system of springs in the back of the guitar that helps the bridge to float. So when you tune one string, subsequently the others will go out slightly.

When you get the tuning correct, tighten down the locks on the headstock. Then retune using the fine tuners. You will find that tightening down the locks has caused the guitar to go out slightly. Tune with the fine tuners the same as you would with the tuners on the headstock. Work from low E to high E and rep-eat as necessary.

Some hints to keep your Floyd Rose and strings in good shape:
Stretch your strings. This will keep you from tuning as much. Basic concept for any guitar, Floyd Rose or not.
Be sure to get as close as possible when tuning with the headstock. The more you use the fine tuners, the more likely it will be that a string will break at the bridge.
Keep the fine tuners as close to center as possible. Otherwise, you will find yourself unlocking and retuning at the headstock.
Change one string at a time. If you don't, your springs will go out and will need to be reset.

Remember, everything you so will effect something else when it comes to a Floyd Rose. Because the bridge is balanced between the tension of the springs and the tension of the strings, if you reset your action, intonation, or change the gauge of strings you are using, you will need to reset the other properties of your bridge. For example, when you reset the action, check the intonation. If you change to a heavier string, you will need to reset the springs in the back of the guitar. Just keep these things in mind.

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Answers to your questions

Jaguar_5

Ugh... i have come to hate the floyd rose, i own a RG220B, and had the saaame problem... Let me tell you this from experience, never try to adjust the action, i did, with success, but it did take about... oh, 5 hours? Oh and same thing with using a different tuning, dont bother.

Floyd Rose is evil (the ibanez licensed version at least)

So yeah for a summary of what everyone said, loosen the locking nuts, back out the fine tuners to about centered, start tuning the low E, then what i like to do is tune alternating strings, it seems to go faster at balancing the bridge and tuning. I.E.: Tune Low E, D, B, then A, G, High E, keep doing it til your close, and dont forget when you tighten the locking nuts, its gonna displace your strings a bit! (stretching the strings and messing around with the whammy should take care of it though, then fine tune)

Jaguar_5

And another thing, when replacing all your strings, do it 1 at a time, and try to always stick with the same guage strings, if you switch, itll take a long time to re-balance the bridge springs.

MadMax1786

man...all of this is making me scared of ever buying a floyd rose/tremolo thingamabob. is it worth going all that trouble? thank god for my fixed bridge.....

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dmal

yes....it is worth it.
wouldn't trade mine in.

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Answers to your questions

wickedfingers

I agree....they can be a huge pain in the ass, but it is worth every ache....I love mine...

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whatson

Neither would I.
Really, it becomes no problem in the end, after a bit of practice things become so easy! De-tuning the thing really isn't even that hard. You just need the know-how, and most people who own em can give it to you.

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Jaguar_5

I agree with you whatson, but ive never learned the trick on detuning, care to shed some light? =)

power freak

Cheers guys the problem was the neck was bent.

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