Edge III bridge woes

[Degra]

For reference, I've got an RG350.
I've been having troubles with my bridge since the beginning, at first the bar was constantly scrapping over the top of my tone/volume knobs and it wouldn't stay in tune.
So, I got it set-up at the shop I bought it just before Christmas, and it was fine after that... till I changed the strings (to the same gauge as before). They've been on for about a month now and they will not return to pitch from using the bar. [Edit] Also, the action and intonation have totally messed themselves up since the change [/Edit]
Can anyone help pleeeeeease?

Degra

[lyconxero]

I have an RG370DX and I've never had any problems with the Edge III bridge. Sure, there are more stable bridges out there but it does a fairly decent job and once the guitar is set up properly, then the guitar stays set up properly. I've gotten the guitar set up a total of two times the entire time I've had it and it's stayed perfectly set up afterwards. The biggest problem that people run into with floating trems is that they don't properly stretch the strings. When I change strings, I stretch each string atleast 4 times and the bass strings twice as many times. After that, my guitar stays in tune very well.

[VB.]

Originally Posted by Degra

For reference, I've got an RG350.
I've been having troubles with my bridge since the beginning, at first the bar was constantly scrapping over the top of my tone/volume knobs and it wouldn't stay in tune.
So, I got it set-up at the shop I bought it just before Christmas, and it was fine after that... till I changed the strings (to the same gauge as before). They've been on for about a month now and they will not return to pitch from using the bar. [Edit] Also, the action and intonation have totally messed themselves up since the change [/Edit]
Can anyone help pleeeeeease?

Degra

How did you change the strings? One at a time or all at once?
All at once is a BAD idea on a floating bridge. It probably
needs to have its action, intonation and springs all setup after a string change especially if you went from old strings to new ones (even with
the same gauge they wont have the sam tention).
All of that is fairly easy to do, there are probably instructions you
can find online i wont go into it cos i would have to write about two
pages of instructions.

[Degra]

Originally Posted by VB.

How did you change the strings? One at a time or all at once?
All at once is a BAD idea on a floating bridge. It probably
needs to have its action, intonation and springs all setup after a string change especially if you went from old strings to new ones (even with
the same gauge they wont have the sam tention).
All of that is fairly easy to do, there are probably instructions you
can find online i wont go into it cos i would have to write about two
pages of instructions.

I did change them one at a time. *Goes off in search of infos on t'internet*

[lyconxero]

I always change all of my strings together because it's faster and easy IMO. I've actually had a lot less problems with the guitar since I started doing it this way. The only thing that I ever have to go back and make fine adjustments to is the trem angle because it does slightly change when you go from new to old strings, but the action and intonation should remain the same if they've been set up properly.

[Racerx2k]

Originally Posted by VB.

How did you change the strings? One at a time or all at once?
All at once is a BAD idea on a floating bridge. It probably
needs to have its action, intonation and springs all setup after a string change especially if you went from old strings to new ones (even with
the same gauge they wont have the sam tention).
All of that is fairly easy to do, there are probably instructions you
can find online i wont go into it cos i would have to write about two
pages of instructions.

Just because you changed all the strings at once, does not mean it'll need all that stuff set back up. Not unless things shifted, like your stud height, or saddles. What do you base this on? I take all my strings off, at once, typically, and have NEVER had one problem with any of those things. If you do, you have other issues. You MUST properly remove string slack, though, as previously mentioned. If you DON'T, you're just asking for tuning problems. I make it a habit of pulling up on each string, one at a time, several times, prior to even attempting to tuning it, and locking down the nut. I , too, have an Egde III Ibanez, and am brutal on reverse dives, and rarely does it go out of tune, as a result of proper precautions.

[Degra]

Ok, a bit of stretching seems to have helped with the return to pitch and strangely enough, the intonation. The action is still high, and another thing I've noticed is, that the whammy bar has become very loose, how can I tighten up the hole thing it goes in to?

[Racerx2k]

there is an allen setscrew, underneath the trem plate, for adjusting the trem bar's swinging resistance. You can access, so I'm told (haven't had to do it, myself, yet), by divebombing the trem, and place something under the trem, like one of those block erasers (ya know, the big, pink, blocky ones), under the trem, to keep it, there, in place, while you adjust out the allen screw.
Glad to see the stretch-out of the strings helped. If it continues to go out quite a bit, all the slack still may not be out of the strings, and you may have to stretch them some more. As for the string height, that can be handled by adjusting the two trem posts in, a little. Just don't go TOO overboard on them. Try a quarter to a half turn, till you get the feel of things.
Hope this helps. Let us know how you make out.

[lyconxero]

As far as action goes, it's a combination of the bridge height and the neck. Most of the time you can't get the action how you want it if you haven't previously adjusted the neck. My guitar tech always adjusts the two together because that's what it takes to get it right. Having said that, after you get it set up properly one time and you don't change string gauge or string manufacturers then it should all stay pretty well the same and the only thing that you might have to slightly adjust is the spring tension on the trem. But yeah, I can't overstate how important stretching the strings are on a guitar with a floating bridge. You'd be surprised how many problems can be fixed simply by doing that.

[Aris_T]

Check this: http://www.ibanez.com/support/howtos.asp#tremoloarm.
There are instructions on how to set it up right. From my experience (I've installed an Edge bridge on my RG470), you will have to set the bridge height-level right first. Then you must set the intonation.
IMO there's no problem in changing all the strings at once if the guitar was previously set up right. String tightening is really important.
Good luck!

[Racerx2k]

Yeah, I've been there, but there doesn't appear to be any actual info on the Edge III's arm adjustment, at least as far as I can tell. That's why I didn't bring it up. And, yes, it's very important that your neck is properly adjusted, too, as it also affects your strings height. I guess it was getting late into the night, and I forgot about it. hehe.

[Degra]

I spent a couple of hours adjusting the bridge angle and it seems to be more stable now and the action has come down a bit . I'll leave it at that for a few days and see how it goes. Cheers for your helps guys

[Racerx2k]

Glad to see you're getting somewhere with it. Yeah, letting it settle in for a day or so is a good idea. I generally try to change out my strings at least 24 hours, prior to a gig, and I REALLY pull on them, to take the slop out.
For a while, I thought I was having serious tuning issues, cause I'd change and tune my guitars out, with my pocket tuner, but once I got up on stage, my guitar would be consistantly flat, and I would end up adding tension on the springs. Well, then next time I would change the strings, I'd end up taking that same tension out, and couldn't figure out WHY. Well, as it turns out, my little pocket tuner isn't so accurate: It was tuning everything off key, and my tuner at my controller was actually IN tune, so it was reading everything the FIRST tuner did as FLAT. Yikes! Lucky, I had my trusty pitchpipe (good, cheap investment), and located the problem.

[VB.]

Originally Posted by Racerx2k

Just because you changed all the strings at once, does not mean it'll need all that stuff set back up. Not unless things shifted, like your stud height, or saddles. What do you base this on? I take all my strings off, at once, typically, and have NEVER had one problem with any of those things. If you do, you have other issues. You MUST properly remove string slack, though, as previously mentioned. If you DON'T, you're just asking for tuning problems. I make it a habit of pulling up on each string, one at a time, several times, prior to even attempting to tuning it, and locking down the nut. I , too, have an Egde III Ibanez, and am brutal on reverse dives, and rarely does it go out of tune, as a result of proper precautions.

The problem isnt actually on the bridge, the thing is when you change all of your strings at once, you remove ALL the tension on the NECK of the guitar.
Now this might not seem like a big deal, but the neck will bow out because its usually setup to counter the tension of the strings. Obviously when you replace your strings the neck will readjust itself to the new setup. However after a few string changes most probably you would need a truss rod adjustment, and consistent bowing and stressing of the neck (as is the case when you take off all of your strings at once) CAN NOT be good for the wood.

[Racerx2k]

I fail to believe that. I have read instruction on guitars that actually stated, that if you planned on leaving strings off your guitar for quite a while, to take the tension off the truss rod. Conversely, by that same comment, if you are just changing string, or leaving them off, momentarily, no adjustments need to be made. I've been changing ALL strings off my guitars (trem'd or otherwise) all at once, for over 25 years, and have NEVER had a problem with trussrod settings, as a result of it.