locking tremlo
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Posted on Jan 22, 2003 12:47 am
Gray Hunt
Member Since: Jan 22, 2003
just got me a dkmg jackson. first time to have a locking trem. what is up w/ tuning this thing....it seems like im back and forth for an hour making upper.. and then.. lower and then.. upper tuning adjustments. SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 22, 2003 09:42 pm The string's need to stretch a bit on a locking trem. I have used them for year's (Ibanez) and love them. It take's some getting used to though. You may also want to have the intonation checked if you are having that much trouble tuning it. some minor adjustment's sound like what you need and you'll be good as new.
Jan 23, 2003 11:29 am awesome...but what the heck does intonation mean?
Jan 23, 2003 11:33 am Intonation is the height and position of the saddles on the bridge, they need to be adjusted sometimes if you change string gauge or brnad to compensate for the string differences and help the guitar hold tune...
Jan 24, 2003 05:03 am The easiest way to do that is take it to the shop you bought your guitar at, and tell them you want the intonation checked and ajusted, and they might even do it for free... I know a lot of the shops around here do it free if you bought the guitar from them...
Jan 24, 2003 10:52 am floating trems with a locking nut can be tricky to tune, but once tuned they STAY tuned ;O)
i really recommend just finding some info online about it and just doing it yourself. its the best way to learn in my opinion. i have a B.C.Rich Warlock with a Floyd Rose floating trem and it's been the source of a few headaches. I really figured out what I was doing when I had to wrench on my last band's guitarist's Washburn. It took a us a half hour just to tune that thing up! so...
i'll go over some pointers real quick:
first, loosen the locking screws at the nut so that the tuners on the headstock work. next adjust the tuners at the bridge until they all have room to move in either direction. this will save you the trouble of having to loosen the locking nut later.
now tune up. this might take awhile. as you'll notice with the floating trem, each time you tune up a string the whole bridge rises therefor the other five srtings go flat. don't pull your hair out yet. just keep tuning each string until they're all close to in-tune. also, note the if the bridge rests too low or if it begins to rise too high, you may have to open up the back plate and adjust the screws that control the spring tension on the bridge. if the bridge rises too high screw the springs in deeper. you should only have to do this once if you always use the same gauge strings. the bridge should sit parallel with the strings.
once the guitar is pretty much in tune there should be enough tension to start messing with intonation and height adjustments. you want to get the action as low as possible without causing the strings to buzz off the frets. every bridge is different. most use a hex key (allen wrench).
intonation can be checked by playing a string open and then fretted at the 12th fret. the 12th fret should be exactly twice the pitch as the open. if the 12th is flat you need to move the bridge saddle towards the nut. if its sharp you need to roll it back towards the end pin. most bridge's saddles are simply adjusted with a screwdriver.
you'll notice that as you tweak one thing, another get out of whack. just keep going back and forth and checking and double checking each item. it may not seem like it, but you ARE making progress.
finally when all is sounding and feeling good, tighten the locking nut. now the hard part is remembering that the tuners are at the bridge instead of at the head. its a hard habit to break!
good luck and happy shreddin'! -j
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 26, 2003 12:40 pm Yes it is, dB has tried to tune my Ibanez (Frankenstien model) several time's with the head tuner's. It took about 3 or 4 time's and now he tune's at the bridge.
Jan 26, 2003 12:51 pm Ya, that took a little getting used to not being a tremelo guy myself...
