Killer Bob 912

I recently bought an Ibanez RG4EX model. I was looking for a nice shredy guitar with a floating trembolo bridge. I was totally satisified with my guitar, until I lowered it to drop C. Now the bridge is completely flat and I don't know how to straighten it back up again. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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350EX

Quick fix would be to loosen the 2 screws at the back of the guitar in the cavity.

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Killer Bob 912

Where the springs are at?

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Heideck

Behind the guitar, you have a square/rectangular plastic thing to remove

krehzeekid

follow the floyd rose set-up thread at the top of this forum (it is very thorough and easy to follow).

because a locking trem system is based on the principle of balancing string tension with spring tension (to create float at the zero point), changing string tension- which you did by changing tunings- needs to be accompanied by a compensatory change in spring tension. essentially, every time you change the tuning on your locking trem you have to change the spring tension to match.

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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things...

astholkohtz

you gonna have a bad time

Killer Bob 912

http://imgur.com/86ISD.jpg
http://imgur.com/kDHNu.jpg
http://imgur.com/3bPJW.jpg
http://imgur.com/07TZ3.jpg

Please help. I'm trying to set up my guitar properly. Here's the pics of my current situation. Thanks a billion!

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OhLongJohnson

First post was right.
Loosen strings, loosen the two bolts in the left of the first picture. Try a full turn each or so.
Retune strings and see how it is. Repeat until its good then check your intonation.

Killer Bob 912

Okay, I'll give it a shot. Thanks bro, this new guitar/bridge is entirely new to me.

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T00DEEPBLUE

One thing that you must never do is adjust the action without slackening the strings off first. Not doing so will destroy the bridge by dulling the knife edges (the sections of the bridge that the whole thing pivots on).

The edge III bridges are poor bridges overall. They're cheaply made out of cheap materials, so the knife edges wear out on them very, very quickly and once happens, the guitar will never stay in tune again unless the bridge is blocked permanently. One tip is to lubricate the knife edges with Vasoline or Chapstick and that'll help the knife edges to pivot on the posts will less friction. But eventually within a few months of owning the guitar (or a year if you're lucky) the bridge will need to be replaced.

Setting up the action and the intonation on Floyd Rose style guitars is really time consuming for the reason that you have to slacken the strings off to adjust anything. Intonation is especially a pain because getting the guitar to intonate right once the bridge is level and the action is set up OK is purely a matter of trial and error.

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OhLongJohnson

^I've found it destroys the bridge posts more often then the knife edge itself. Softer metal and whatnot. Also mac, my edge III is 5 years old. Still fine.

Op: NP, I remember the hell of setting up my first trem.

Killer Bob 912

Wow, I did not know that. I should have saved another couple hundred for a better guitar, but oh well. What bridge do you recommend I exchange it mine with?

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Killer Bob 912

Man, I feel so useless. This damn bridge is still flat. I loosened the screws in the first picture more, but it didn't really help.

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OhLongJohnson

Dont buy the hype Bob. Its surely a bad trem, but it will hold up for a few years with proper use!
Also I don't know what bridges are direct fit replacements for an edge 3, but if you can get an edge pro, do it. Its likely the best floyd style trem ever made.

Edit. Keep loosening , by equal turns of course, eventually you'll get it or you'll pull it right out, lol. Dont go that far. If you cant seem to get it up remove the middle spring.

Offworld92

What gauge strings are you using? They don't look very big. For a low C you should be using something in the ballpark of 56-60, if you want it to be tight.

Thicker strings will help counteract your spring tension, and will make it a lot easier to balance your trem.

Otherwise, just keep unscrewing the trem claw, it should start to balance sooner or later.

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In your mind, you can fly.

HUMANIZER

This isn't 1968. Use the volume knob.

Main Rig
Ibanez | S420 |
LTD | EC-1000 |
Peavey | 6505 | MS412 (WGS) |
Boss | TU-3 | CS-3 | GT-10 | NS-2 |
MXR | M77 |

T00DEEPBLUE

Well the best permanent solution is to get an Original Floyd Rose or n Ibanez Edge Pro (either are just as good). They're very costly pieces of hardware but provided you look after them, they will last forever. A Schaller OFR will probably set you back almost $200.

What would be better is to sell the guitar and get something that has all the features you want right out of the box. There is an excellent used market for Ibanez RG's from the mid-90's such as the RG550 and they can be had for around $400 used. They are amazing guitars and they have all the high quality hardware that you need.

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Killer Bob 912

These are Ernie Ball Cobalts .09, but I also have a pack of Elixir .52. I'll just change them. I should have researched more before buying this guitar honestly. But this is how my guitar is looking now.

http://imgur.com/a/XJlM8

I have a question about the last picture. Does tighting or loosening this affect my action?

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OhLongJohnson

Yes, but don't worry about that until the bridge angle has been sorted. Also loosen string tension before messing with those studs.

Offworld92

Those trem claw screws are long. Just keep unscrewing until it's level.

__________________
In your mind, you can fly.

HUMANIZER

This isn't 1968. Use the volume knob.

Main Rig
Ibanez | S420 |
LTD | EC-1000 |
Peavey | 6505 | MS412 (WGS) |
Boss | TU-3 | CS-3 | GT-10 | NS-2 |
MXR | M77 |