Tuning stability

[callen3615]

I have a rg20th. It stays in tune pretty good but I put 10s on it recently and I think the tuning got alittle worse. It goes alittle sharp when I pull back and alittle flat when I dive. Is this normal?

[callen3615]

Maybe the title should be tuning instability.

[Homebake]

have you kept the studs locked?

[callen3615]

Not sure how to do that. I dont think so.

[callen3615]

Ok. I think I figured out how to work the locking studs. But I still have the same problem. Im gonna check the nut. If I dive most strings go about 20 cents flat. If I pull up the go sharp about 5 cents.

[Homebake]

you have to keep the small screws in the studs screwed down as far as they go locking the studs from moving slightly with trem abuse. it also stops the stud holes from becoming ovalled thus allowing the stud to move around.

[callen3615]

Ok. I fixed it. It was the trem angle. It was slightly too far back. I gave my neck some more relief over the spring and never fixed it. The trem was pulled back alittle too far. Now it dives great. Pull ups are a different story but hey...beggars cant be choosers.

[Homebake]

with a perfectly set up trem, you should have like 99-100% tuning stability from dives, but pulling up on any trem that's set up well will not yield as good results.

[Ibanez-Mag]

I have often noticed that some trem Ibanez stay in tune better with 009 than with 010s.
Some stay in tune better with 010s than 009’s.
I have never found an explanation or fix for it.

It must be an act of the guitar god (Holdsworth, I’m gone get you ) that is beyond us humans.

The difference is so small that I can’t even for sure say that it’s actually there and not my imagination. Meaning, you have a guitar and it is the way it is, you change something and gets worried about if it was good or bad. You start to look at things in a new way an notice things you didn’t notice before, but that has been there all the time.

No trems stay in tune perfect.

/Magnus

[Hub]

Except ZR trems

[Bluestreak]

Pop the trem out and check the knife edges, make sure they're properly sharpened, and add some chap-stick to them to keep them greased a little bit. Also check to make sure the trem post receptacles haven't moved or elongated their mounting holes in the wood. On all my Ibby's, I usually pull the trem post receptacles and line the wood with a little epoxy to prevent this. I used to have stability problems until I did these few things to my guitars, now I can beat on the trem bar all I want and it almost always comes right back to tune.

[littlephil]

^Good advice there. Check the setup pages on Ibanez Rules too, Rich has a great in-depth guide to setting up the trem perfectly.