Can someone help a newb out with his Schaller tremolo?

[ddrisgood137]

Hey there, I'm pretty new to floating trems, and a couple months back I got a sweet 1989 Jackson Professional series Randy Rhoads with a Schaller bridge. I had no clue how much of a pain this would be. I mean, after six months of this thing, I still can't get it set up right.

Here's what I basically do:

Unlock the nut locks

twist the fine tuners all the way out

Tune each string to the right tuning, repeat a bajillion times until they all level out where they should be

If the bridge is not flat, adjust the springs and then retune another bajillion times

Lock the nut

Get angry because the tuning instantly goes wacky

Repeat the whole process a couple of times until they finally get decently in tune with the nut locked

Fine tune each string

Realize that the bridge is slanted a little and just accept it

And finally break a string two weeks after setting it up.



There's gotta be something I'm doing wrong, as I don't think there's anything wrong with the bridge. I know most of you don't want to answer such a rudimentary question, but y'all were so nice when you helped me buy this thing that I figured I just ask. Can anyone give me some tips? I've looked around on the internet a ton, but I just can't get the setup right.

Thanks in advance.

[etepbbb]

The biggest secret with regards to tuning a Floyd trem is stretch the the strings before locking the nut. When I restring the process looks like this:
1 Remove lock nuts, place block between trem and guitar body(so trem stays semi-parallel), remove strings.
2 Put new strings on, wind string tuners until they all look to have some reasonable tension. Remove block.
3 Back micro tuners off all the way then forward about 3/4 of a turn.
4 Pull, bend, play strings hard-just trying to stretch them.
5 Begin tuning, keep in mind since the bridge floats, when adding tension to one string your detuning the others at the same time. I usually over shoot pitch on the low E, then repeat for the next 5 strings. Repeat until strings are in tune, making smaller adjustments each cycle. This part comes more with experience, you'll learn this more by trying then anyhting else.
6 Put lock nuts on tightening to where the string flattens out on the nut, but still able to adjust with tuning pegs.
7 Play guitar for 5-10 minutes, adjusting the tuning as it go's out with tuning pegs.
8 Once the strings stay in tune while playing I the lock nuts down all the way and adjust micro tuners as the string probably go a little #.
If your just changing strings the trem should go right back to parallel with the body. Otherwise, if you change the tuning, you will have to adjust the springs in the back to match the string tension, till the trem floats parallel.
I also clean the guitar, and oil the fretboard with strings off, but thats a different story. Hope this helps.

[jdr94]

if the tuning is already close then this is my way(not that its better/worse than any other way, just mine)
first i set my fine tuners to middle
get the strings in tune with eachother doesnt matter if its E,D,or anything in between(equally sharp/flat). doesnt matter as long as they are all in tune with eachother
look at the bridge...if its lifted and my goal is tune higher than it is now, i tighten the springs equally keeping the strings as close to in tune with eachother as possible
now if after getting the trem level its still not up to where i tune to then i tighten the spring halfway to what i want and tighten the strings the other half way which usually ends up with the trem level
of course if the trem starts tilted back and i want to go tune up, just tune up to pull the trem to level. if it still isnt where i tune to then ...yup you guessed it. tighten the springs halfway then tighten the strings the other half which usually ends at level.
if its the otherway around and the trem is sitting back, but i wanna tune lower then loosen the springs to level still need to go lower then loosen the springs halfway to desired tuning and then the strings to balance. i'm not gonna type the final "if the trem is sitting high and i wanna tune lower" cause the rest of my post should give you the idea. like etepbbb said, make sure to stretch new strings. i simply pull back on the trem a couple times, get the strings in tune with eachother and repeat til i feel they're stretched enough. my test is usually bending notes afterward.

-edit oh and if in the end you're extremely pissed and cant take anymore just sell it to me. ha ha

[84sups]

Honestly if you are only changing strings do one string at a time and use the same string/guages. The guitar should stay set up the same or very close. Also as etepbbb said stretch the strings. I usuallu do this as I change the strings. The floyd is actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

[dinkyguitar]

It can be tricky..It took me awhile to get the steps right. But I usually take all my strings off. It is easier if you do them individually but once I get all the strings off, and the new ones installed, I screw in all the fine adjustments half way in.

Give each string an equally amount of turns till the bridge starts floating and see where you are at tuning wise. You can tighten the springs while watching your tuner and stop when the bridge gets level if you get past level.

It's not easy but you have to keep bouncing between the strings and the springs to get there. Also, when I'm tuning up I over tune the string so on my next pass the strings will be closer in tune. Also, after you are in tune locking the strings can also cause some string to go out of tune. Takes notes so that the next time you change strings you can compensate the string before you lock it down.

There's also plenty of you tube videos out there. Don't get frustrated. Everyone here that has a Floating tremolo's been there.

dinkyguitar

[Tommie]

I have a piece of plastic which fits the gap between bridge and body perfectly, so all I do is rip the old strings off, put the new ones on, stretch them a bit and tune to pitch, whilst setting the fine tuners to the middle of their travel. This is usually enough for the piece of plastic to be held so lightly I can pull it out, lock up, fine tune and away we go. This is by far the fastest most reliable way to restring and tune a floating floyd Rose.

[Soap]

You know, this is 2010 and we have had the whole internet thing for some time now. This very thing is all over youtube.

[Newc]

I'm with dinky - don't back the fine tuners all the way out, but set them halfway in. This will give you more room up and down for fine tuning.

As well, overly-dramatic adjustments of the fine tuners will alter the baseplate angle. They're fine tuners, meaning miniscule.

The downward slope of the nut itself will usually result in the strings going slightly sharp once locked down. This is where the fine tuners come in.

Also you should understand that thicker strings will require less fine tuning and thinner strings will require more turns to achieve the same degree of change in pitch.

And that's great advice about over-tuning above your target note so that as you tune each one, the over-tuned strings seat back into their proper pitch but maintain the correct directional tension (you want to tune UP, never DOWN - even when detuning, go below your target and then back up to it to keep the upward pressure on the string).


Take the trem you have now and set the fine tuners halfway down, string it up, and tune the guitar. If you're not changing string gage (9s to 10s) then the springs should not need to be adjusted (unless you've completely borked them).

Once the guitar is tuned to pitch, stretch the shit out of the strings (not with the whammy, by hand) and retune. Ignore the bridge angle for now.

Retune and stretch until you have very minor change in pitch after each one is stretched (you'll get some slippage at the tuners, hence the need for a locking nut).

Retune to your target pitch and check the baseplate angle. It should be parallel to the surface of the body, not angled like the neck/fretboard (unless you want the extra pullup range) since the saddles pivot to match that angle.

Adjust the spring claw screws half as much as is needed to get the baseplate angle where you want it, then use the tuners to get it back in tune. At this point your baseplate should be where you want it, and you should be in tune.

Lock the 5th and 6th string nut lock and check the tuning of those two against each other and the 4th. Use the fine tuners for the 5th and 6th to match them up to each other and the 4th.

Use the tuning keys to retune the 1st-4th strings, as fine-tuning the thicker strings will adjust the baseplate's angle, and thus the tuning of the other strings.

Lock the middle lock and retune again.

Lock the 1st/2nd string lock and retune using a combination of the fine tuners and spring claw adjustment to maintain pitch and baseplate angle.