Floyd Rose Setup Height...

[dinkyguitar]

Hi,

On a Floyd Rose, or any other floating tremolo, should the bass side of the tremolo be the same height as the treble side?

I believe on Jackson guitars it's 1.5mm string height at the 12th for both bass and tremolo...but since the high E string is thinner then the low e the base plate of the tremolo will be higher on the bass side than the treble side...

Is the right/normal? I've been doing it this way for years but never really gave it a thought if it was right or wrong..

dinkyguitar

[DonP]

There is no right or wrong. Only what feels and plays best. The low E is larger than the high E, so naturally it needs to be higher off the fretboard.

FWIW, I don't measure at all. I do it all by feel, and by tone (buzzing / fretting out). I just got a USA BC Rich that was all messed up and it took just a few turns here and a few turns there to get it running in tip top shape. Same with the USA Jackson. It had a shim in the pocket but I didn't need the bridge so high off the body, so I removed the shim and tweaked it all back into shape.

[moku]

if the neck is straight, just lower both studs til they buzz. then start from there to raise the floyd until you don't hear buzz at all on all frets. then, you'll have the lowest possible action for that guitar.
don't make the low e purposefully higher than the high e. the radius of the floyd must match the radius of the neck. if you purposefully raise the low e higher, you're going to mess up the radius and hence, the playability in the action of the strings.

[ralph]

Its all down to your personal preference, set it up how you like, ive heard that in the early days, EVH set his frankenstrat up with really high action so that he could pull up more on the non-recessed floyd, also ive heard that Dimebag set his guitars up with a bit higher action on the bass side

Also, the radius of the trem does not have to match the radius of the neck

Experiment a little and see what you find best, cheers

[DonP]

if the neck is straight, just lower both studs til they buzz. then start from there to raise the floyd until you don't hear buzz at all on all frets. then, you'll have the lowest possible action for that guitar.

That sounds like good advice

don't make the low e purposefully higher than the high e. the radius of the floyd must match the radius of the neck. if you purposefully raise the low e higher, you're going to mess up the radius and hence, the playability in the action of the strings.

I think it would be pretty hard on a Floyd to raise the low E all by itself. We are talking about leaving the bridge radius alone and adjusting the bridge posts higher or lower, which doesn't change the radius. It moves whichever side of the Floyd you are adjusting.

[moku]

floyd rose bridge has 10" radius. if you raise the post on the lower e string, then the bridge will not be leveled, which will affect the action on the neck. if the radius on the neck is 10", it would be a perfect fit with the floyd. that would get you the lowest possible action. now imagine you raise the lower e post....

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I set my Floyds up at 1.5 mm on the bass side and 1.1 mm on the treble side. You may not be able to go that low, but it's common to have the action higher for the larger strings, as they tend to buzz more when you play single notes.

[dinkyguitar]

OK...thanks guys!!

dinkyguitar