Re: Floyd Rose tuning stability

"John" <ihatespam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dIDWf.19$9f.11@xxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks all for the replies. PK, to answer your questions: regarding the
whammy bar, when I practice on the Kramer and get bored, I have a tendency
to rapidly and repeatedly bring the whammy as far down as it goes. Trying
to see what kind of crazy harmonic effects I can get out of it. The pitch
responds as it should, I think, although one thing I noticed is that the
lighter strings respond less to it. For example, pulling the bar all the
way up (instead of down) can make the low E go up a fifth, wheareas the
high E only goes up a whole step. This may be normal though, I dunno.

It seems to go out of tune at about the same rate as my other guitars...
after a day or two, I start noticing that the strings aren't lock-step in
tune with each other anymore. BTW, I retuned it again last night, and I
also noticed the G string seems to be having a problem going sharp... now
that the entire guitar should be in tune, I'm just going to let it sit
there for a day or so and see what happens. But yeah, I think it does
drift if left unused. No string lubricants or anything like that.

What is an AP tuner? (More importantly, is it under $50?)

It's a PC-based tuner with a display of a tenth of a cent. It's shareware,
so you can easily decide if it suits your needs.

Download the current version from here:

http://www.cerlsoundgroup.org/cgi-bin/aptuner/apmain.html


If you're able to test the pitch of the string section between the locking
nut and the tuning gear, you can determine whether or not that lock is
slipping.

HTH
-pk



The only tuners I have are a TU-12 and the one on the PODXT and I don't
think they measure down to that degree of accuracy.

Also, I posted a couple of pictures of it, maybe someone could ID which
model of Floyd Rose it is:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1557/dsc012724ki.jpg

I noticed in that picture the camera flash makes it look like the parts on
the Floyd Rose are rusted - specifically, the fine-tuning knobs, those
screws coming out the back that lock the strings in, and whatever those 6
things are that are between the string saddles and the humbucker. I'm
thinking maybe they could be replaced, or perhaps the entire Floyd Rose
itself. When I originally got the guitar two years ago, it was in a state
of disrepair... it came with a case that was practically coated in dried
candle wax, the nutlocks were missing, and it was paired up with a
Strat-style whammy bar. It also had this nifty bit of battle damage on
the back:

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/8646/dsc012734lu.jpg

I still wonder to this day how that chunk of wood came off, considering
the rest of the guitar has a minimal number of dings and the finish looks
brand new.

Anyone think that replacing the Floyd Rose bridge entirely with a new one
would be worth it, or would at least solve the tuning problem? Thanks for
the help BTW.

John

"Patrick Keenan" <test@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EulWf.1638$m35.131515@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It should stay very close to pitch, but.... there are a few reasons why
it can drift, partiulary flat. If you carefully examine the behaviour
and work out some tests, you can probably figure out exactly why.

How heavily do you use the arm? How does the pitch respond?

How much does it go out of tune? Does it drift if it is unused? Do
you use any string lubricants (fo example "fast fret")? It's possible
for the locks, particularly the nut locks, to be either polished or
lubricated which can permit the string to slip just a little bit... they
should be dry, with no lubricant at all. A slight roughness can help, but
bear in mind that the lock parts are probably plated for hardness and you
should not try to roughen the plating.

Does the bridge have a single point of rest? To test that, connect to a
tuner with an accurate display that includes portions of cents (for
example the AP tuner). play a note and note its pitch. Tap the arm up
lightly. Recheck the pitch. Tap the arm down and recheck. If there is
only one resting point, the bearing points are fine.


HTH
-pk







.

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