Bad Floyd? Tuning Problems

[tonemonster]

I think it is perhaps because you have been doing too many unison bends? You have obviously broken it as, despite being the most advanced vibrato tailpiece available, a Floyd just cannot cope with unison bends.

yea, your right. if I try that, my floyd flies right off the guitar strings and all.

[moku]

trust me. lube the post and knife edge with chapsticks. your floyd is not returning to zero, goes flat but never sharp, and everything is tight (not loose), plus the locking nut is fine. all of these signal the typical problem w/ old floyds' knife edge that needs a good lube.

[jrnic]

Check your string saddles to see if they are a bit loose.

That's exactly what was causing my tuning issues. I found that they were slightly shifting because the set screws weren't tight enough.

[shreddermon]

Checked the saddles and nut, and they're snug tight. So were the neck screws. Tuning seems much improved, so the new springs & strings helped. Still not perfect, though - there's just a slight hint of it still there.

I'll give it a few days for the strings to settle in more, and try again.

Moku, if you read the first post, I already lubed the post and bridge knife edge.

[Chad]

How much is it going out of tune? Like, how many cents, roughly?

[adampone]

how old is the Floyd? if it's new, have you considered calling them up for a warranty issue?

if not, I'd suggest to just continue going through each component. have you changed your brand of strings? were the string super old? do you hear anything 'settle' when you release the string tension on the neck when you dive bomb? how does the spring claw look... are the claw screws really in there are out toward their limit... some people put a toothpick in the claw screw hole and re-tighten the screws so there's a snug fit.

and all sorts of other things.... which is to say, that doing tech work on a FR can be a bittersweet science at times - making all FR users like mad scientists. some FRs go forever without hardly needing anything and others demand your regular attention.

[DalyTek]

some FRs go forever without hardly needing anything and others demand your regular attention.

This sums things up pretty nicely.

[straycat]

Good point adampone I failed to mention the claw screws.I had one guitar on my bench that was giving me fits with tuning stability and that was the cause.
It had very slim claw screws so I had to drill a bit and used std claw screws and that fixed the problem.

[shreddermon]

As mentioned in the first post (again LOL), the guitar is only two or three years old. So that's how young the Floyd is. Yes, I could go the warranty route, but that would be more of a last resort. I'd prefer to exhaust all attempts to resolve it myself first.

Strings & springs were brand spankin' new, just bought. Nothing settles or pops when using the trem. And, no, I checked the claw & screws when redoing the set-up. They're good and stable, too.

[MetalMedal II]

It looks like you covered all your bases trying to find the culprit. Maybe the only way to truly figure out the problem is to individually swap out components and see if the prob goes away or not. If you could swap the floyd with another one and the problem persists, you could then exonerate the bridge and move on to other pieces. But, of course, it'll be tedious.

[Twitch]

Could your truss rod be a bit too tight? If you dive bomb, the neck could pull back a bit then settle back in after the strings pull on it for a few. I have my DKMGTFF set up with a little extra pull in it because I used to run heavier strings. I never took the extra pull back out of it when that guitar went back to 10s. Being a TOM string through, I dont have issues while playing, but when changing strings, they will fret out when two or more strings are off of it.

[adampone]

Maybe the only way to truly figure out the problem is to individually swap out components and see if the prob goes away or not. If you could swap the floyd with another one and the problem persists, you could then exonerate the bridge and move on to other pieces. But, of course, it'll be tedious.

agreed.