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I Hate Floating Trem

3K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  linuxpenguin 
#1 ·
i dont know what the poop I'm doing wrong but i cant tune this darned trem for the life of me...ive broken two strings today trying to tune it...=[[[ anyone wanna buy my guitar lol...i get the low e tuned(a little sharp) then the high, then the b, then the a, then the g, then the d, but by time i tune the g and the d all the other strings are way flat....GAHHHHHH..then its a never ending circle till my trem is all the way forward and has no room to dive only pull back on trem bar...then *pop* there goes the e and the b string..help super frustrated at the moment
 
#7 ·
"i dont know what the poop I'm doing wrong but i cant tune this darned trem for the life of me"

I'm no scholar but that doesn't say this trem wont let me tune it...or it's the trems fault...it obviously says that I know I'm doing something wrong but don't know what. I've read everything on here...watched youtube videos but I still can't do it.
 
#6 ·
Ok then take it to a pro, it'll save you time, money and patience ;)
The most important thing on any musical instrument is setting it properly, I think paying about 50-100 dollars(guessing) to a pro to set it the way you want is cheap as hell and it's the best investiment you could do to your guitar.It doesn't matter what amazing pups/neck etc it has if you'll always sound out of tune no matter how many times you tune your guitar.
Take it to a pro.
 
#9 ·
http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

Read this.
Try to be patient. If you're new to a trem it will NOT be easy! If needs be take it to a professional or someone you know who's good at setup. Hopefully, they'll let you see what they're doing. Getting the spring and string tension to match on the proper angle is a big part of it. Rich's guide is an outstanding source of info; one I wish I had when I was starting out.
Best of luck!
 
#14 ·
Even the most decrepid, grungiest, POS lo trs 2 will eventually get in tune at some point. what happens after you touch the bar is another thing all together.

OP, for starters, it sounds like your springs are WAAAYYYY too loose. You need to tighten them down a lot it sounds like.

Trick of mine, and I've seen others do it to, take a bottle cap off a 20oz coke or something like that, and wedge it underneath the bridge. The bridge will now sit on top of the bottle cap and it should hold it tight.

Now, start putting strings on and tightening them down. Every so often check the tension on the bottle cap. If you can start wiggling it around freely, tighten the springs on the back until you cant move it anymore (not too tight!). This process will take a while, and you need to repeat as needed to keep it in tune. Once your strings are all on and in tune, make sure the cap is still tight, but just barely. ease out the cap and release the trem. It should be CLOSE to where you need it to be.

Also, keep in mind, new strings + floyd rose = headache for a while. its GOING to go out of tune. In fact I dont even bother tightening the lock nuts until I beat on the new strings for 15-20 minutes (bends, whammies, hard strumming). Tune, repeat. Tune, repeat. I can set a guitar to float in 5 minutes now, but it still takes a while for the string tension to settle on the guitars and the strings to stretch enough to get a stable tune.
 
#17 ·
CHEAP WOODEN BLOCKS!
DUCT TAPE!

37 CENTS!

haha that reminds me of my first mod i did to my s470 as a kid. I took a peice of wood that fit perfectly, and put a piece of velcro on it and attached it to the body. Cheap and easy tremelno, minus the ability to lock the bridge in place :)
 
#19 ·
When you change strings, make sure the new strings are the same brand and gauge. Different alloys and construction (core + windings) may change the tension. If your tremolo is set up for one set of strings it might need some fine tuning if you start to use different strings.

Since you play Ibanez, it's mandatory to use D'Addario strings. ;)
 
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