Severe tuning probs

[tTz]

Oooookay, strange one here.


I had a set of 9s on my guitar (RG550) a few weeks ago. I had switched to Slinkys, since they were the only 9s in the shop, and the tuning on the E and A strings was pretty bad (the others were fine), and so I put it down to a freak occurance. I stuck a set of 10s on it a few weeks ago, and after a marathon nightmare trying to get the thing in tune with the trem at the proper angle, all was well. Until, that is, I went to use the trem.

For the last 2 weeks or so, even the slightest trem movement sends the strings way out of tune, and the trem doesn't return to any sort of zero point, leaving the strings as much as a half step sharp or flat. But here's the strange bit...some strings go flat, some sharp, some stay the same. Whatever ones change tuning, after a bit of whammy bar wiggling, the guitar is totally out of tune. As you can imagine, it's a bit of a nightmare trying to play it like this, constantly retuning every few minutes.

I've already checked the Ibanez Rules tech section, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, and didn't find anything to help me out. I'm considering getting the guitar set up by someone who knows what they're doing (important, as I *may* have a gig coming up in a month or so with a currently half-formed band).

So, advice, anyone? Or shall I blow £80 on getting it set up, and possibly move the purchase of a PGM back by a few months?


Thanks
tTz

[vhaanlen]

hey i had the same problem i usually use 9s but anyway

first i would check the to see if ur bridge is parallel to the body
all the info u need is on that page about the angle of ur bridge
http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/angle.htm

then i would check to see if ur locking nut is lose if it is tighten it on the back of the neck where the 2 screws are

and i think this might b ur problem since u changed gauge strings u may hav changed ur action too and if u hav a regular edge pro bridge the bolts u used to change the action needs to be locked in place so they dont move
to do this you stick a little allen wrench into the hole located in the center of the screws that u use to adjust the action and tighten little hidden screws located at the bottom of the hole
if the screws are loose it will shift ur bridge messing up the tuning

so summary is
check parallel of bridge
tighten locking nut if loose
stick little allen wrench in the hole on the bolts that adjust the action to lock the bolt in place

well i noe im a little confusing but i hope i helped

[ibanez2005]

Might be the locking nut, i found the allen bolts on my strat wouldnt stay clamped down, think they were just worn, so i replaced them and it did the trick.

[ibanez2005]

The parallel bridge shouldnt affect the tuning, once the locking nut is tightened it should stay in tune regardless of the trem position.

[tTz]

The nut seems to be tight, and I already did everything vhaanlen suggested. Maybe I should check the nut a little more closely before I try anything else.

[ibanez2005]

Yeah, it took me a while before i found out that it was the nut, its not easy to find, the way i did was to lock the nut down and press the strings behind the nut, then see if the guitar has gone out of tune, if so then thats where your problem is.

[tTz]

Sounds like a good, simple way to test that, thanks. I'll take a look later.

[brothersnowgone]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but did you make sure your strings were fully stretched out? Not asking to be a smartass, but it is a common mistake with floating bridges. Anyway good luck with the guitar...

[tTz]

Yeah, they're all fully stretched out and everything.

[vhaanlen]

wel.. if all fails u can go to ibanezrules and get an esp arming adjuster for about 50 bucks or an original Ibanez back stop lik me on that site where people bid that starts with the letter e and ends with bay
i mean the bridge stay in tune but not as perfect as i wanted
but after i installed a backstop i found on that site where people bid that starts with the letter e and ends with bay everything was 100% perfect not matter wat i did
but an original back stop goes for about $150 and if u find one if ur really realy lucky u find one for about 100

[tTz]

A backstop won't solve my problem, since the guitar was perfectly in tune up until a month or so back. This infers that there's a problem with the guitar that I should fix, then it'll be fine. Buying an extra piece of gear seems a bit of a waste when it won't actually solve my problem.