WHY WILL MY JS NOT STAY IN TUNE?!?!

Smitty · #1 04-19-2007, 08:14 PM

Ive had my JS1000BP for a little over a year, and its been giving me trouble from the start. I switched from 9s to 10s, and that helped it stay in tune a little bit, and I changed from 3 springs to 4, and that helped a little too, but its not enough. No matter what brand of strings I use, how much I stretch them, whether I use the arm or not, etc, it goes out of tune quite quickly. Too quickly for an Edge Pro. When I screw on the locking nut after tuning, the guitar goes out of tune. Some strings flat, others sharp. This does not make sense to me. And then, once I fine tune it (which is VERY annoying, because I have to fine tune it so much from the beginning that I dont have much tuning room until the next time I tune...) it goes out again. I bolt down everything perfectly, I have intonated it, I have checked the neck bow (perfect), set up the action and bridge angle (perfect) and it still will NOT STAY IN TUNE. I am very pissed and will hopefully sell it tomorrow for a prestige S. But I would still like to know if anyone has had any problems like this. Its really quite a mystery that I would like to solve and avoid in the future.
smitty

Dee · #2 04-19-2007, 08:38 PM

Does the trem cause the tuning to go sharp after pull-ups on the bar? It sounds like you already checked the obvious stuff.

By the way, the strings going flat or sharp when locking the nut is usually caused by the string retainer bar. Try screwing it down some more.

S-man · #3 04-19-2007, 09:13 PM

That's probably the root of your frustration.

I always have to tweak the tuning after locking down, but not that drastically. There is always plenty of room left on the fine tuners after locking down.

So adjust that string tree!!

S-man · #4 04-19-2007, 09:34 PM

Side note... I can almost always run 10's on a 3 spring trem, sometimes it requires the arrow pattern for an optimal setup.

Your guitar was originally setup for 9's which just further complicates matters.

Changing string gauges to "fix" other problems usually doesn't work in the end. Though it can "mask" problems.

If I could give one piece of advice to the floating trem newbie....it would be...don't change the gauge of your strings until you get familiar with the floating trememlo system.

I'm not implying anything about the orignal posters tremelo knowledge...

Why do people insist on changing things before they sort out the stock configuration? I will never understand this. After all, 9-42's are the most commonly used gauges for Standard tuning. Rant off.

David McCarroll · #5 04-19-2007, 10:28 PM

Check that the Locking nut is tightly bolted onto the neck - the tuners also - I set up an RG 570 for a friend, and both the locknut and ALL of the tuners were loose! There was absolutely no way that guitar would stay in tune as the nut actually rocked back and forth as you used the trem! While you are at it, check that the neck screws are tight, and that there is nothing (including the ground wire to the trem claw) binding anywhere against the bridge or the springs - again, instant problems with returning to pitch.

Also suggest the Rich Harris trick of a little chap stick on the knife edges for lubrication - it all helps! If you are having problems with one Edge equipped guitar, swapping for another is most likely not going to solve your issues by the way!

David McCarroll · #6 04-19-2007, 10:31 PM

Oh, one other thing - did the guitar stay in tune okay when you first tried it? Did the problems start to appear when you first changed the strings? If so, my guess is that you are not locking either the bridge clamps or the locknuts down quite tight enough. They are ALL fixable, so don't give up too soon!

Smitty · #7 04-19-2007, 10:50 PM

Thanks guys. The help is greatly appreciated.
Im definitly not new to the Floyd Rose (original, Ibanez, etc...all of them) and Ibanez. Ive been playing Ibanez Floyds for almost 3 years now, and 1 year and a boring rainy day is all thats needed to know the things inside and out.
I changed the string gauge a month or two after I bought the guitar. Ive never liked 9s much, theyre just too damn tiny, and of course heavier strings generally stay in tune better. And like I said, it did help, but only a bit.
Everything is bolted down nice and tight. Tuners, locking nut, saddles...except maybe the string retaining bar...
The string retaining bar and the knife lube sound like the most obvious solutions now. Ive tried everything else. And who knows...maybe Ibanez just screwed up on one guitar? But nonetheless, Im getting rid of it anyways. Now is the time that I try to make a name for myself, and playing a signature model wont get you very. And I like the S series more anyways

Like I said, thanks alot dudes. Now I know what to look for in the future.
smitty

Dee · #8 04-20-2007, 12:38 AM

Good luck man, I hope you get a solid guitar that you like. I agree with you on the sig model thing too. If you're carving your own identity, playing a Joe Satriani model ain't gonna cut it, as good a guitar as it is. They're for fans, hence why I choose RG over JEM.

OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S · #9 04-20-2007, 12:48 AM

To me it sounds like your guitar might not be set up correctly or you have the typical stud issue that the edge pros have! I would have adviced you to keed your JS and had a real pro set up your guitar but whatever makes you happy!

PeteO · #10 04-20-2007, 06:05 AM

My JS1000BP low edge pro trem gets a good whanging and the guitar just stays in tune! Fantastic guitar. I agree with Ollie, get a pro to set it up.

nuno · #11 04-20-2007, 07:40 AM

often (very often) locking nuts would NOT rest firmly in place even if you tightened its screws a lot. i use to fill the gap between the locking nut and the "head" of the fretboard, with folded brass foil. you can spot the gap when you depress the bar, by looking closely at the nut-to-fretboard contact point, better with a light behind.

shogun · #12 04-20-2007, 01:13 PM

go to the setup page and fly through the checklist

shogun · #13 04-20-2007, 01:14 PM

sounds like its ur string retaining bar being too high.. the nut is pulling the strings down

Smitty · #14 04-21-2007, 05:40 PM

Lowered the string retaining bar, and I simply re-set it up, and now it works like a charm

But, I have been recently debating whether or not I like floyds in general, and they just arent for me. Im gonna sell/trade the guitar, for anyone thats interested.
It works perfectly now!! Woo!
Thanks alot guys. Youve been a real help.
smitty