Floyd Rose wound E going sharp after use

chris5150

Inspired
I have a USA wolfgang tour relic guitar which is a great thing, but have an issue with it as above
When using the trem, once it returns the wound E string goes sharp, the other strings more or less stay in tune, it is strung with EVH 9 -42's.
Bit of a mystery to me as the Floyd is locked down , in that only allows for dive bomb movements , and the strings are obv clamped at the nut end,..it really is pretty annoying. Have googled it , and it seems one thread came up from years ago and it was solved by changing the strings, faulty wound strings can be a common thing apparently. Got Some EB Paradigm to put on so we shall see if that solves it, hope so as looked over it all and just cannot see why it would go sharp on just the one string....
anyone had a similar issue?
 
One string sharp typically means that something between the nut and the bridge on that string only isn’t allowing the string to return to normal position. It may be getting caught somewhere, and it could be very minimal, hard to see.

Just know that this is not a trem spring issue :)
 
Could be worn pivot edges or loose posts. Remember, don't adjust the posts under tension. Learned the hard way on that one. It will dull the edges
 
2 other things to check:
1. Is the spring metal on that screw making solid contact like the others? I have one spring plate (I don't know the proper name) that somehow had this issue. I took it off and bent it a little more and it solved my issue.
2. Are the pivot posts tight. A wrap of plumbers tape will tighten up loose ones.
 
Check the part that clamps down at the nut. Make sure it's not grooved , and make sure - if the clamping nut is held in place by a pair of screws - from the back of the nut - toward the fretboard , that the screw isn't too long , preventing the piece above to be clamped down tight.
If the predrilled hole is too deep , the screw can extend even a fraction too much , and prevent proper clamping of the string.
 
Is the nut level? With the nut clamp loose and you tune the string then when you clamp the nut does the string pitch change slightly? If it does then you should look at either installing a string bar or adjusting the existing bar behind the nut and make sure the string lies flat across the nut before clamping. (Either that or the nut rout needs leveled - not a DIY task for most)

Also check that the nut is aligned well - if the E string touches either side of the V slot it is potentially a hitching area

With wound strings you can also get some slippage at the bridge clamp because the winding can unravel if not clamped good and tight

The spring claw is another area to be wary of - if you do a pull up the springs loosen and the claw can sometimes move a little on it's screws and then catch on returning to tension. I make sure the claw is as straight as possible and the screws are screwed as straight as possible into the body wood too. A bit of lube behind the claw screw heads never goes amiss.

[edit] Oops .... seems my tardy compose time has allowed 2 replies similar to my suggestions .... but I've typed it so I'm sending it!
 
I have a USA wolfgang tour relic guitar which is a great thing, but have an issue with it as above
When using the trem, once it returns the wound E string goes sharp, the other strings more or less stay in tune, it is strung with EVH 9 -42's.
Bit of a mystery to me as the Floyd is locked down , in that only allows for dive bomb movements , and the strings are obv clamped at the nut end,..it really is pretty annoying. Have googled it , and it seems one thread came up from years ago and it was solved by changing the strings, faulty wound strings can be a common thing apparently. Got Some EB Paradigm to put on so we shall see if that solves it, hope so as looked over it all and just cannot see why it would go sharp on just the one string....
anyone had a similar issue?

I was told by a luthier that if you want to use a Floyd Rose system you had to stick with the same brand of strings or else it had to be intonated again.
 
All good advice , thanks, ..forgot to mention that once its gone sharp I pull up on the string ,stretching it then it goes back again to tune, or even flat, so yes it does seem to be catching somewhere. All the problems I have had with FLoyds before have been the other way, ie goes flat ...anyway as I say thanks for the help will have a good check about with the above things
 
Another thing I had a problem with (and the fine folks here diagnosed it right away) with a striped series I have is that the retainer bar behind the locking nut was too high so it was not providing that angular tension needed. This was causing my pitch problems when I was locking the nut but that adjustment (down) also (inexplicably but I'll take it) resulted in pitch stability when using the trem as well.
 
So just to round up this thread, couldn't figure it, looked over everything, changed strings, still the same issue. Gave in took it to the techy.
Seems the lock nut was actually slightly loose, so that was tightened. The D tuna had the small spring missing, that was allowing the Bass E to go sharp. Anyway played it quite heavily over last couple of days and stayed in tune spot on
Interestingly tech said , if you were gigging this guitar, I would take the EVH Floyd off & put an original /german Gotoh one on.
& this is a guitar made by Chip , one of 20 , exact replica of Ed's tour relic, seemed to work ok for him,he certainly does abuse a trem...
wonder why the D tuna spring was missing as well

Anyway all good now, thanks for the all the tips/info etc
 
Dude I forgot about the D-tuna on the Wolfgang. Yeah those things are trash. I had one on one of my EBMM's. Regretted it, got rid of it.
 
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