Help on setting up and maintaining floyd rose guitar?

[simeon]

pro tip. before you take the old strings off, look and see if the baseplate of the floys is sitting horizontal...parallel to the body of the guitar. if it isn't, adjust the spring tension and tuning until it does. when you replace the strings, you will notice that the whole trem is leaning forward. do not adjust anything! simply make sure the strings are fully stretched in and the trem should go back to it's level position.

pro pro tip. always use the same make of strings. different makes have different ratios of core to wrap and can have slightly different tensions. if you always stick to the same brand, then the trem will always sit level once the strings are stretched in and you should never have to adjust the spring tension again.

 

[vejichan]

I think you're overthinking this a little bit.


WIth a kitchen towel (if you want) or a paper towel (less laundry ), apply oil to the fingerboard. Put oil on the towel, then user your finger to push the towel under the strings and onto the fingerboard. Don't just squirt oil onto the fingerboard — that's way too messy.

After a minute or so, do the same thing with a dry portion of the towel to mop up the remaining oil from the fingerboard. Then start changing strings.



No need to wait a day between adjustments. Go ahead and dial the truss rod to get exactly the relief you want, and then continue with the setup. When you're all done, play your guitar and have fun. Check again the next day to see if the relief needs any further adjustments.

Thanks, what steps am i missing is this procedure enough for year to year maintanence/upkeep? also no need to oil maple fb only rosewood correct? what about lubricating nut?

 

[vejichan]

pro tip. before you take the old strings off, look and see if the baseplate of the floys is sitting horizontal...parallel to the body of the guitar. if it isn't, adjust the spring tension and tuning until it does. when you replace the strings, you will notice that the whole trem is leaning forward. do not adjust anything! simply make sure the strings are fully stretched in and the trem should go back to it's level position.

pro pro tip. always use the same make of strings. different makes have different ratios of core to wrap and can have slightly different tensions. if you always stick to the same brand, then the trem will always sit level once the strings are stretched in and you should never have to adjust the spring tension again.

I am doing string change one at a time. What about same string gauge .. different brand

 

[Rajnar]

If no one else has mentioned it, the crucial thing to keep FR-equipped guitars in tune is to perfectly match string tension with spring tension.

 

[Fab8040]

Dont touch the truss rod if youre not a luthier.. You can do all the rest by yourself without the risk to do big damages..

 

[Milgromsegal]

Dont touch the truss rod if youre not a luthier.. You can do all the rest by yourself without the risk to do big damages..

Nothing too mythical about adjusting your truss rod. I understand it may seem daunting at first, but just a little bit of common sense will demystify this adjustment pretty quick. That bit is - as with any an adjustment on a guitar really - you really shouldn't need to use much force, if any to adjust your stuff. On modern guitars, you'd have to use a whole lot of force to break your guitar with trussing. You can, of course, strip the nut or round it over if it's very worn but if you're using the right tool which fits well and the nut turns freely, just go ahead and adjust your guitar. Of course, you may have it done by a professional if you so wish, nothing wrong with that either.

 

[Fab8040]

Nothing too mythical about adjusting your truss rod. I understand it may seem daunting at first, but just a little bit of common sense will demystify this adjustment pretty quick. That bit is - as with any an adjustment on a guitar really - you really shouldn't need to use much force, if any to adjust your stuff. On modern guitars, you'd have to use a whole lot of force to break your guitar with trussing. You can, of course, strip the nut or round it over if it's very worn but if you're using the right tool which fits well and the nut turns freely, just go ahead and adjust your guitar. Of course, you may have it done by a professional if you so wish, nothing wrong with that either.

Mine is a raccomandation.. I m not saying is impossible to set the TR and that could be done.. But if unfortunately you make a bad work the neck could become unserviceable..

 

[sprint]

Dont touch the truss rod if youre not a luthier.

Though a broken truss would be a major issue, adjusting it is easy and a little bit of care elimimates any possibility of damage - never more than 1/16th - 1/8th of a turn at one time with proper fitting key, and wait between turns (some necks need hours to react to adjustment) - know how to accurately measure neck relief between turns.

Learning to do my own setups is one of the best things I've done for my guitar playing. All my guitars (6) play/feel great now compared to when I was shy of setups and they only got attention from a shop once in a blue moon. I've gotten faster at it with practice, and check / adjust neck relief, action, pickup height. bridge balance, intonation with every string change as they seem to go out a little every few months probably due to the extreme seasonal weather changes we have here.

I can't do nut filing / fret levelling...yet

 

[vejichan]

Nothing too mythical about adjusting your truss rod. I understand it may seem daunting at first, but just a little bit of common sense will demystify this adjustment pretty quick. That bit is - as with any an adjustment on a guitar really - you really shouldn't need to use much force, if any to adjust your stuff. On modern guitars, you'd have to use a whole lot of force to break your guitar with trussing. You can, of course, strip the nut or round it over if it's very worn but if you're using the right tool which fits well and the nut turns freely, just go ahead and adjust your guitar. Of course, you may have it done by a professional if you so wish, nothing wrong with that either.

My truss rod is very stiff, need to exert some pressure just to get it to budge. is this normal? i see videos of truss rod being so easy to turn even a baby can do it.. my 5 year old can't turn my truss rod

 

[State of Epicicity]

The same string gauge can have a different tension between brands.

 

[Andy Eagle]

My truss rod is very stiff, need to exert some pressure just to get it to budge. is this normal? i see videos of truss rod being so easy to turn even a baby can do it.. my 5 year old can't turn my truss rod

Some designs are easier to turn than others, it doesn't mean there is a problem necessarily. Vintage style in maple tend to be tight.

 

[Romo82]

While on the subject, anyone got a recommendation for a tool to make changing the intonation on a FR easy?

These guys have some nicely machined Floyd adjusters:

https://redbishop.jp/EN_ACCU-LOCATOR_series.html

A much better alternative to the "The Key" tool that I used for many years IMO. Now I dont own one (yet) but I used a friends and it was extremely smooth and easy to turn which is the biggest downfall of "The Key" I find.

If I'm doing a thorough service including fret polish and board oil I prefer to take the bridge out altogether and get it out of the way plus I can then service the trem too. I use two pieces of masking tape either side of the trem cavity and draw a line across the screw hole section of the claw on both pieces of tape and just loosen off the trem screws completely. That way, when I'm all done I know exactly where to set the trem claw again, provided I haven't changed string gauge that is but even then, it helps to get you in the right range. In the past I've gone as far as to have a more "permanent" piece of tape directly under the springs and claw marked with several positions for different tuning and string gauges, saves time chasing the tension.

I find a lot of people are intimidated by Floyds but if you apply a logical process I find them to be no problem.

As for Truss rod adjustment, unfortunately I do it a lot simply because of the constant temp and humidity changes where I live as I have no A/C or way to maintain a steady climate, so much so that I dont keep the truss rod covers on any of my guitars and why I love neck heel wheel adjusters. It gets easier in the winter as the heating keeps things more even but my Mayones 11 ply neck seems to be the most stable of all my guitars and requires little adjustment compared. As long as you make small, gentle adjustments you should be ok and make sure you identify if its 2/1 way truss rod, I've seen people make a horrible mess by not knowing.

 

[Piing]

With so many tutorials nowadays, is there still some pussy that pays to a luthier for adjusting the truss rod?



When I got my first guitar 45 years ago there was no internet or guides, and no experts on my village, so I learnt to adjust everything just by gently moving all the adjustable parts of the guitar to see what was the result, including the "spine-chilling" truss rod. Just use common sense.

 

[Romo82]

With so many tutorials nowadays, is there still some pussy that pays to a luthier for adjusting the truss rod?



When I got my first guitar 45 years ago there was no internet or guides, and no experts on my village, so I learnt to adjust everything just by gently moving all the adjustable parts of the guitar to see what was the result, including the "spine-chilling" truss rod. Just use common sense.

Spot on, though I dont blame anyone that doesn't feel confident to perform maintenance and rather go to a tech.

I remember when I got my first guitar, I moved all the saddles to be in line as it looked neater that way. Thus the lesson of intonation was learned.

 

[secondwindow]

yea but i'm doing this during string change. changing strings right after i oil the old strings/rosewood fb.

Ah, I see your point.

BTW: I use a TremBlock from ShredNeck during string changes. Other companies sell them with different names, I think. See photo for how it's used.

 

[Romo82]

Ah, I see your point.

BTW: I use a TremBlock from ShredNeck during string changes. Other companies sell them with different names, I think. See photo for how it's used.

The only thing I dont like about those is all the pressure going on the threads of the string block bolts. Maybe its insignificant amount but it still makes me reluctant. Might give it a go though.

 

[sprint]

Evryting I know, I learnt frum Joe - hez de man

 

[secondwindow]

The only thing I dont like about those is all the pressure going on the threads of the string block bolts. Maybe its insignificant amount but it still makes me reluctant. Might give it a go though.

I see what you mean. If changing strings one at a time, it seems OK.

 

[Rex]

pro tip. before you take the old strings off, look and see if the baseplate of the floys is sitting horizontal...parallel to the body of the guitar. if it isn't, adjust the spring tension and tuning until it does. when you replace the strings, you will notice that the whole trem is leaning forward. do not adjust anything! simply make sure the strings are fully stretched in and the trem should go back to it's level position.

pro pro tip. always use the same make of strings. different makes have different ratios of core to wrap and can have slightly different tensions. if you always stick to the same brand, then the trem will always sit level once the strings are stretched in and you should never have to adjust the spring tension again.

Good stuff.

Pro pro pro tip: Make sure the bridge is parallel to the strings. Depending on the neck angle, that may not always be parallel to the body of the guitar.


Pro pro pro pro tip: Make sure it's the knife edges that run parallel to the strings. Often, that means the baseplate is parallel to the strings, but not always.

 

[Rex]

Thanks, what steps am i missing is this procedure enough for year to year maintanence/upkeep?

Seasonal weather changes might require adjustment of the truss rod. For example, indoor air gets drier in winter in many climates. That dries out the neck, which gets slightly shorter, which gives you more relief. In summer, the opposite happens, If you notice that your action is getting higher, or notes are starting to fret out, tweak the truss rod to alleviate the problem.

Oil the fingerboard when it starts to look drier or less lustrous than it used to. If you change your strings often, there's no need to oil it with every string change.

Eventually, your fingerboard will get dirty, and crud will accumulate under the frets. Oil, steel wool and a toothbrush can take care of that.

also no need to oil maple fb only rosewood correct?

You only need to oil exposed wood. If the fingerboard has a shiny finish on it, oil won't even make it to the wood, so there's no point in trying.

what about lubricating nut?

If your strings aren't binding in the nut, don't worry about it. If they are binding, the real fix is to file the nut slots. But if you're not equipped to do that, lubricating the nut might help. A tiny dab of Vaseline works great for that. Specialized guitar nut lubricants are essentially Vaseline, anyway.