Trying to tame my damn Floyd (SOLVED!!!)

[croquet hoop]

The Tremol-no is a great device, but it is not essential to set up a trem or to get it to work correctly. It is designed to expand the possibilities of a floating trem, not to fix any particular problem. A malfunctioning, unproperly set up trem will have issues whether or not using a tremol-no.

Also, +1 on the string retainer suggestion. The purpose of this bar is to lower the strings after the nut to seat them properly on the nut so that they are not moved by the downward pressure of the locking pads.

If the strings move when tightening the nut, lower it — just give a few turns to the two screws until you don't see the strings moving whan you lock the nut.

edit : well, the pictures posted by SustainerPlayer beat all explanations!

 

[Cederick]

I don't have a string retainer at all on my guitar, it's a Jackson headstock

I cannot afford a tremol-no, I've had no income for the last 7 months (I fortunately happen to have a very kind girlfriend I can live with)

And what good would a string retainer do anyway since the problems start after having the clamps down?!

 

[croquet hoop]

You can do fine without the tremol-no, it is useful but not necessary. However, you do need a retainer bar.

 

[Cagey]

I'm curious about this "sharping" bit...

Unless a string hangs up on something after a deep dive, it's pretty rare for one to sharp as that means the string has gotten shorter or tighter.

Does your low E sound sharp, or are you using an electronic tuner and taking its indications as gospel?? Some tuners can be hyper-sensitive, hearing harmonics or what-have-you, and if you're just checking one point in time to another after a few minutes of noodling and exercising the wang bar in between, the tuner is liable to tell you all sorts of stories that don't mean a lot.

Maybe just relax and play for a while. Don't bother re-tuning until it sounds like it's out of tune. Electronic tuners have made a lot of today's players unnecessarily obsessive. You see guys checking/adjusting right in the middle of songs sometimes, and certainly in between songs. That's nuts. Even in the old days nobody did that, and those vintage guitars were terrible about staying in tune. That's why Floyd invented his bridge. Listen to some old Hendrix. If that guy was ever in tune for more than a few bars, I never heard it.

 

[Cederick]

Yes I can hear it and it doesn't help matter the least bit Hendix didn't care about tuning because I do

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, I know. Hendrix was a maniac, and his habits shouldn't become yours. I used him as an extreme example to show how letting go and letting the fates have their way doesn't necessarily mean the end is nigh.

I guess if it was me, I'd be pulling that low E off and getting out a magnifying glass to look at that low E bridge saddle. It may have a burr on it that's grabbing the string between outer wraps on the string. Bump it one way, it's sharp, the other it's perfect or flat. Happens a lot on Tune-O-Matic bridges, which is one of the reasons I don't like them. A bit of filing with something fine on the saddle to smooth it out may do some good.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I don't have a string retainer at all on my guitar, it's a Jackson headstock

If you got your Floyd Rose from Warmoth there should be a retainer bar supplied. Floyd Rose @ Warmoth

And what good would a string retainer do anyway since the problems start after having the clamps down?!

As I stated in my initial post it was a side remark to the statement that the strings always would go sharp when locking the nut.

Your current problem is obviously another. But it won't hurt getting everything right.

 

[Cagey]

Also, if this is a new neck, are you used to those frets? If they're taller than what you're used to, your own playing could be making the thing sound sharp.

For instance, I put 6100s on all my necks, which is a huge fret. Many who come over here and pick one up immediately want to retune the thing because it sounds all off, But, it's usually because they're manhandling the thing. The frets are tall, so if you press on the strings too hard, they sharp. A lot. Depending on playing style, some fingers will press harder than others, which leads to seemingly mysterious anomalies.

 

[Cederick]

I don't have a string retainer at all on my guitar, it's a Jackson headstock

If you got your Floyd Rose from Warmoth there should be a retainer bar supplied. Floyd Rose @ Warmoth

And what good would a string retainer do anyway since the problems start after having the clamps down?!

As I stated in my initial post it was a side remark to the statement that the strings always would go sharp when locking the nut.

Your current problem is obviously another. But it won't hurt getting everything right.

I've never seen a Jackson headstock with a string retainer?

 

[Cagey]

Finally, there's such a thing as "Twilight Zone" guitars, where mysterious things happen for no apparent reason. So, you compensate. If the thing goes 20 cents sharp the first time you play it after tuning it, tune that string 20 cents flat right from the git-go. Let it talk itself into being right.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I've never seen a Jackson headstock with a string retainer?

Does the strings go sharp when you lock the nut?

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Finally, there's such a thing as "Twilight Zone" guitars, where mysterious things happen for no apparent reason.

:icon_scratch: I beg to differ.

Failing to find the source of the problem can only be a lack of ability on the "problem solvers" behalf. It's OK not knowing everything about everything. It's not OK to hide your own shortcomings with fairy tales.

 

[Cederick]

I've never seen a Jackson headstock with a string retainer?

Does the strings go sharp when you lock the nut?

Problem is the low E string go sharp after playing with the trem arm... Now it seems like the A string goes sharp too but I have not investigated much yet

 

[croquet hoop]

You stated in your first post that the guitar stayed in tune for three days after your friend set the trem up, and that the tunig problems started after you intonated the guitar, right?

 

[Cagey]

Finally, there's such a thing as "Twilight Zone" guitars, where mysterious things happen for no apparent reason.

:icon_scratch: I beg to differ.

Failing to find the source of the problem can only be a lack of ability on the "problem solvers" behalf. It's OK not knowing everything about everything. It's not OK to hide your own shortcomings with fairy tales.

While that's certainly a possibility, sometimes users get fixated on non-existent equipment issues. Have you ever heard of PEBKAC? <grin>

 

[Cederick]

You stated in your first post that the guitar stayed in tune for three days after your friend set the trem up, and that the tunig problems started after you intonated the guitar, right?

Yup. I also lowered the stringheight about one quarters turn with the allen key.
Which meant I had to adjust the springs...

I now tested adjusting the springs a bit more, and it seems like the thinner strings hold the tuning better but the low E and A still gets sharp after some trem arm stuff

 

[Cederick]

A GLIMPSE OF SUCCESS!!! :hello2:

I adjusted a bit with the springs, and it now holds the tune MUCH better on all strings... However I don't know if the bridge is any straighter or tilted now than before...  :dontknow: I only turned the screws so little that I could barely know which way I turned them hahaha. Can it really make that much difference???

 

[Cederick]

Ok it still goes out of tune, better sit and tweat those spring screws back and forth because that's the only thing that has made something better since I woke up about 8 hours earlier...

 

[pabloman]

If the guitar was fine before the intonation adjustments I would definately look at what happened there. The saddle screws may not be tight enough. Go back and check the intonation again. See if anything changed. Check to make sure the strings are locked in the blocks properly. If the problems are isolated on 2 strings I would look there first. All of these other suggestions are aimed at the whole bridge, why when almost all the strings stay in tune? After that start from square one and don't skip a step, regardless of how sure you are. Good luck. :headbang1:

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Have you ever heard of PEBKAC? <grin>

Every day - and in an estimated 90% of my support work. Yes.  :icon_biggrin:

Here we call them "fejl 40" which translate to something like "error 40" (the error (the user) is placed 40 centimetres from the equipment).

Well - this is not the case here. Let's get the OP up for whammy work.