Floyd Rose Low E won't stay in tune

[irem22]

Hey, I'm quite new to Floyd Roses and been having way too much trouble with my first one. It's a Washburn N2, a cheaper model of the Nuno Bettencourt guitars. I bought it used and some parts later appeared to be really tightly stuck, so I recently took it to the music store for a pro setup with a new set of 10s strings.

It was great for a while but as soon as I got home the bridge started to rise upwards and the strings would go flat so I added a spring and now the bridge is level again. The neck's straight, action's fine and everything feels great overall except the low E's tuning. Suppose there shouldn't be any other problems with the setup, then.

The problem is that the low E keeps going sharp even though other strings are in tune (standard). I've read that some people have the low E going flat and the problem might be in loose screws or some dirt in the nut, but haven't heard of anyone having a constantly sharp E. Could some parts be overtightened? Can something in the nut cause a sharp note?

Thanks for any help! I'm getting desperate with this piece of **** after months of trouble. I'd sell it away and start avoiding floyd bridges at all costs if I just hadn't loved playing this guitar so much, the way it was before.

 

[stratamania]

Welcome to the forum.

Perhaps check the sticky at the top of this subforum. For convenience here is a link to it.

Setting up your Tremolo or Floyd Rose

Obviously no one here can see or inspect what you have which in addition to needing to being adjusted properly could have worn parts such as the knife edges etc.

When does it go sharp? Is it after using the bar etc.

The bridge should not be rising upwards of its own accord, perhaps the inserts or one of them in the body is loose. You may need to take it to someone who has more possibility to fix it than a set up person in a music store, who may or may not have the knowledge to analyse any underlying issue.

 

[aarontunes]

As stratamania rightly points out, it's tough to diagnose the issue without the guitar in front of us. Nevertheless, here's my stab at it:

If the low E is going sharp after you dive the bar, it's because the locking nut is not getting a firm purchase on the string. When you dive the bar you dramatically lower the tension of the strings on the fretboard side of the nut, while they remain at full tension on the tuner side. If one of the nut's locks isn't adequately holding the string in place, the imbalance in tension will cause it to slip slightly through the nut in the direction of the tuners. When you return the bridge to the zero position the active part of the string will now be sharp.

Your initial response to this might be to crank the locking nut down harder, but don't. A gentle but firm twist of the hex wrench should always be enough. If it's not, there is a problem with the nut.

If all this geek-speak leaves you confused I would take the guitar back to your tech and ask for their first-hand advice. Good luck!

 

[irem22]

I'm gonna check the nut just to be sure, but it's not about dive bombs, I can't even tune the string. It won't stay in E for 10 seconds when I'm trying to tune. Tried to do that after levelling the bridge, locks off and fine turners set to the middle.

 

[stratamania]

Is your string retainer screwed far enough in? When tightening the locking nut the string should just be locked and not need to be pressed down.

See the video at the link I posted earlier, 5 Most Common Floyd Rose Setup Issues Problems Solved, go to around 1:56 of the video about strings going sharp when locking the nut.

 

[irem22]

I put the retainers on again, leaving all the strings little flat before that. Afterwards, they were in tune. Also loosened the E string's screw just a bit from the bridge saddle, the screw might've been overtight. Whatever the problem, it seems solved

 

[stratamania]

Good...perhaps look at the rest of the first link I posted so you have more information about Floyds and tremolos and their set ups.