Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I'm the lead guitarist in my band and i play a Jackson DXMG Dinky and i have so many questions about it. i guess i should have done my research before i purchased a guitar with a floyd rose, but oh well. i know all the mechaincs on it (the locking nut, fine tuners and what-not) and i know how to use them all properly. but stuff like making the bridge parallel to the body and the tunings i can have with it and stuff all get me.
the guy i bought it from put 2 extra springs in the body because he played with 10's on it. now i'm not sure if this was because you should, or if it's just preference, but i don't think the bridge was parallel when he sold it to me. when people talk about it being parallel, what part are they talking about? the back of the fine tuners, the side plates, what?
and now i play metal. is it a wise thing to drop this to C? i've read some reviews on guitars with a floyd rose and a lot of people say that you get a lot of fret buzz when dropped to C. these people could have been talking about the stock strings and just not have bought heavy gauge strings, but i don't really know. this being said, if i wanted to play in drop C, what should i do? buy heavier strings (not even slinkys)? take out the springs/tighten or loosen the tension? and what about regular drop D? same deal? and does tuning it to a dropped tuning affect the balance of the bridge at all? cuz i know they're a floating bridge (and someone told me they're built on a razor, but if it's dropped, does it hurt the bridge at all?
and how about re-stringing? over the past 2 or 3 days, i've gone through two sets of string (D'addario and ghs) and they still keep breaking on me. i make sure that both ends are tightened down, i make sure to stretch the strings, and to cross tune. and the high E still keeps breaking. the strings that were on it were fine when i got it, so i know that it's just me and not the guitar.
and what's the best way to stretch the strings before tuning it?

sorry for all the confusion. I used to be strictly a bass player and a drummer, so i never got aquainted with guitar till recently. i wonder if they have a book out called "Floyd Rose for Dummies" because i think i really need it

Hi TDDWF: Ok here goes.....the string gauge is a preference....10's don't break as much as 9's....it is a preference as is Drop tunning....not really a requirement. Since you are playing in a metal band, and are the lead guitar player, i would think you would want to stick with super slinky's....and take 2 of the springs out ......keep the inside one from both ends. You can have only 2 springs... What this will allow you to do it to really take advantage of Dive Bombing...something a metal player might prefer. concerning the bridge...just make sure it is not cocked slightly to one side or the other, you should be fine. If in doubt have a good tech look at it. Having a tech look it over is also a good idea because the prior owner may have had it set up for 10's....and it could need to be set up for 9's again....heck you can even set it up for 8's.....it is a preference thing.
the higher the string gauge is the more hand strength is required to play....also the tone deepens with each increment of higher string gauge. I suspect the fret buzz you mentioned is a result of strings on the guitar that the guitar is not set up for. Drop tunnings will alter things.....alternate hi and low strings while tunning....this will keep the floyd rose in a more stationary position with better end results.

yeah, but i keep reading in other forums that you want to make sure the bridge is parallel with the body, and i don't know what part of the bridge they're lookin at. also, i guess i forgot to mention that the guitar (when first bought from my friend) had three springs. he then put two in, giving me 5 springs, filling up the back part. if the bridge isn't level, then it's definately tilted back. but he told me when giving it to me, he put the other 2 springs in there so i could play it with 10's. that if i wanted to play with 9's, i should take those 2 out. yes, i do enjoy dive bombing, but i'm more into getting fast, repetitive dips in the tone, like what you hear in most solos. not so much like the huge dive bomb kerry king does after his solo in "Angel of Death".
but going back to drop tunings, it wouldn't hurt the bridge to play with the low e string less taught than the others? i guess as long as they're all tuned right it doesn't matter. i'm just thinking that it would pull the bridge a certian way and would throw it off. i suppose a lot of bands play in drop tuning with their floyd roses (lamb of god?) i may have to take it to a tech to look at it and to get the best playablility out of it, but i'm cheap and don't want to spend the money, though i bet it's the best thing to do. when i got the guitar the action seemed perfect, but once i decided to start changing strings on my own, everything went downhil. now i'm playing it with a broken high e which i beleive is worse for it than anything else. but i'll start picking up either super slinkys, or what a local music store manager suggested, dean markley "high top-low bottoms". i think i'll stick with the earnie ball's though cuz i hear they have a better reputation.

How tight or how far are the springs in back. That may also effect the bridge. Also where are the strings breaking? Part of setting up the guitar is to eliminate any stress or rough spots on the strings.

after thinking about what you said mr sprocket about the spring tension, i took it upon myself to take a chance and fiddle with the tension myself. so i ran out and got myself some new strings, cuz like i said, i was missing one and i didn't want to adjust my level with an awkward set. I then put them on, and risked opening the back and adjusting the screws that all five springs were attatched to. now some of you may think "oh, that's no big deal" but i have the worst luck when it comes to stuff like this. but i was able to sucsessfully level the bridge, and put all the strings on with out the high e snapping this time! so thatnks for all your help guys. i just hope anyone else who is a member of this site will look to these forums with the same questions i had and try to get some answers out of this thread.

TDDWF that's the best way to learn. I have make mistakes working on guitars. I remember the first bass I routed out for a new bridge and pickups. I had to make a custom pickguard to hide my frankenstien route job.

in short, many people miss the plate in the back of the guitar that the springs anchor to...remember even though these two screws are wood screws the do adjust the tension as well...messing with springs is a personal thing, getting the feel you like...I use many alternate tunings and can switch to most tunings with a rose in no time at all

Also, remember , to make adjustments on the truss rod, get low enough so it won't buzz

After every 1/4 turn of the truss rod, give it a day or 2 to settle in.

Used to work as the tech for a local store... done a thousand setups on everything from a mosrite to a sixty something strat.
1. bought the wrong guit if yer doing drop tunings. I'ts a pain to tune a floyd.
2. doesn't matter if bridge is parallel...just gives you ideal play up or down. they mean the flat part of the bridge... under the saddles. It's not necc ideal to have it parallel... like on my jem... it's idea a hair cocked.
3. if yer doing tunings I'd first get a block and block up your trem... it will make things easier on ya -it won't move anymore... then you can take it out if you so decide.(not that it's not possible w one... just a pain as the bridge compensates on every string for every turn of one tuner)
4. or, get an eddie van halen d-tuna... works ok
5. I like as few springs as possible... but then you have to tighten the screws that hold those springs to compensate.
6. fender or someone makes a special spring that returns the trem to exact sm spot every time... works ok. called a trem setter.
6. pick a string type you like... thicker = better sound qty, thinner = easier on the fingers... little faster play. pick one, set the guitar up, always use the sm one.
NOTE: each time you change strings you are screwing with the intonnation... let me know if ya wanna know more about this. The saddles compensate... set them once and use the sm string brand/gauge from there on in.
high e breaking is likely caused by flexing in a diff spot all the time from drop tuning and compensating for tension... block it up to cure this.
could be sharp saddle too, where does it break. right at the fulcrum on the trem? = saddle issue. right at the tuning machine = drop tune is culprit.
lastly, if you are dropping the whole set down... perhaps buy one of those digitech pedals that can change yer tuning. sound ok and are a 10 for ease of use.
HOPE THIS HELPS... feel free to pm me.

don't f with yer trus rod unless you really know what yer doing. you won't see probs now, but yo uwill later.
pick a gauge, set it up... stay with that gauge.
rule of thumb... hold down first fret... hold down fret where neck meets the body... there should be just enough space to fit a very thin pick between the string and the fret -right in the exact middle between the first fret and where the neck meets the body.
I'll send you the bill, no thank you required.
mv

in short, many people miss the plate in the back of the guitar that the springs anchor to...remember even though these two screws are wood screws the do adjust the tension as well...messing with springs is a personal thing, getting the feel you like...I use many alternate tunings and can switch to most tunings with a rose in no time at all

like i said it can be done... it's a hellofalot easier on a fixed bridge... or
just get a dozen or more guitars and tune one to e one to d, one to a drop e chord... works for me!

I thought a couple links to some setup instructions might be helpful.

Here's the Floyd Rose sites' setup guide:

http://www.floydrose.com/originaltremolo.html

Here's another setup guide from glowingtubes.com that seems to be pretty good also:

http://www.glowingtubes.com/p/FloydTuning.htm

Finally, one more guide I found that's also pretty good:

http://members.aol.com/TBoling125/FR_setup.html

There are more guides available, just Google for "Floyd Rose setup".

Hope that helps.

Strat

Great post, Stratman! I've been flighting with Floyd's on various guitars for years, and these links are VERY helpful!

Hey Guys, I am new here. I own Vengeance Guitars. I think I can help clear this issue up for you. When we say in the industry(Level the bridge) we are talking about the actual Floyd Rose Main metal peice that has the Floyd Rose name engraved on it. If you look from the side of the guitar you want the plate that says Floyd Rose to be level with the body. To do this you tighten the claw in the back of the guitar to make the bridge pull down if you need it or the reverse if it is to low down it the cavity. Loosen your locking nut before you do this. You will have to re- tune the guitar as you adjust the spring claw. If you run 10's you will need 3 springs in the back, 9'2 and even 8's you can use just 2 springs. Hope this helps.