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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- DISCLAIMER: I knew how to set this tremolo into equilibrium so that it worked perfectly and stayed in tune... but I didn't know about the hidden bridge-post locking screws, not least because the tremolo manual omitted to show them. When I thought the bridge posts were down on their stops as far as they could go was, in fact, the posts being locked by those hidden pins. You'll hear me working my way around what I thought was a lack of bridge height adjustability by choosing between shimming the neck or setting the tremolo at a slight angle. In fact, as many people who own this tremolo will of course know, this was unnecessary. After completing this video I discovered the locking pins and was able to re-set the tremolo so that the plate was level AND I had the action we wanted.
I wanted to show how to prepare and set this tremolo bridge so that it stayed in tune with maximum use - and the method I used to do that (included at the end of the video as a bullet-point list) works really well. Once you get your head around it, it REALLY simplifies the working of the Floyd Rose which can seem very mysterious to many people. It's quite difficult to give a clear, simple account of the process while doing it in real time to begin with but I think that wasn't helped by the unnecessary diversion of the business of the bridge height and my lack of awareness of those locking pins. Anyway, hopefully people can learn from my mistakes :)
![The Perfect Stratocaster Trem / Vibrato Setup [Floating, Flat Or Blocked?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PjVXWyUGpwc/mqdefault.jpg)
The wedge shape of the baseplate throws off many players you have to make sure the knife edge is parralell, also adding a tiny bit of chapstick on the posts also helps (something I read from an interview with satch's tech) the locking studs are so stable would be nice if it was standard for the FR bridges too.
I had a seriously experienced luthier work on, refret and set up my jem vbk777. They think their decades of experience matters..it doesn't. He didn't want to change the frets where the scalloping was, incase he damaged the wood (so it buzzes now) he didn't know that the edge trem isn't supposed to be flat (oh how he argued with me on this) he had a tiny bit of experience with cheap Jem Jnrs, but mine was the big beast (worth about 5 grand), and he treated it like a cheapy. He didn't know that you have to pack the lions claw trem cavity (otherwise you damage it when you take the strings off). He didn't really know how to tune it (you have to tune it in octaves, tuning it normally just puts tension everywhere and on the strings you just tuned). Long story short he made a balls up of it. Sure I could have done a better job and I have never refretted a guitar in my life. Don't take jems or RGs to luthiers if they don't know these basic things.
I dont believe my to Prestige Ibanez with the low pro trem have the locking nut. One of the alan 🔧 on the multi tool goes all the way down. And seens to fit into it. Gut it justs turns and turns. In both directions
That's interesting to hear. Unfortunately I don't know it well enough to suggest what's happening i.e. I don't have any guitars with this bridge on it. Sorry not to be any help!
Some of the later RGs (1990s) with the edge and edge pro did not have the same studs and do not have this internal locking pin. For me, the best Trem in the world 😍🍻
Ah interesting thank you. Could explain why it was something of a surprise to me.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitarsonly the edge pro 03 to around 2010 when the Edge returned, had non locking studs but the dimensions are similar minus the solid bottom with the thread to lock into you can easily pull them and put locking ones in I have an 02 550 it came with an edge and locking studs.
Guys better check the comments first. I've tried with so many videos in youtube about 15 hours to make the bridge not that high but i didn't made it. Now this Man here if u follow his instructions in the first 16min u will get ur guitar in E standard like he did it. I'm grateful. I though its so complicated but nope...😂 also i watched his video about esp ltd deluxe stbc ( i have the same guitar and he helped me a lot so i saved some money 😂) now the intonation is at the top on my genesis the griff is straight. I asked this man for a tools and they are helpful really. Ty my man stay safe ❤ 🙏 sorry about my brocke english...i hope the comment was helpful 👍
Thanks @Dav_e98 - it’s difficult to explain things like this… It didn’t help that there were bridge locking pins that I didn’t know about. But if it was useful then I’m pleased!!
@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars now I have to manage...cz when im using the Tremolo and the guitar goes out of tune. When it arrived it wasn't this way. I'm gonna watch the whole Video again. I just got too exited cz I manage to get this in tune and the bridge straight. I'm gonna repeat every of ur steps now.
Perhaps the guitar just needs new strings.
I came to see how to change strings on this guitar, unfortunately the video doesn't show how to do it, the important part is on the very edge of the screen 😭
I'm sorry! If you want to email me I'll describe the process I did as best I can. Samdeeks@gmail.com
I keep my nut locks totally loose after restringing. Till the strings break in and stretch. I know when to tighten the nut locks. When it stays in tune for days. My trem ibnz are very stable with the nuts loose. But i run my strings in backwards. So the washers on the tuners. So there's no winding to slip. And string changes are much faster. Faster than locking tuners
Yep, good idea to leave the 'caps' loose until tuning is stable. I think the ball end being in the tuner is a very good idea.. I don't know why more people don't do it.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thanks for the replys! The good vids and responding got you a new sub! I will ask my local GC Tech Josh. On Saturday about the edge low pro trem locking jam nut. There having a sale/ jam party. He's extremely knowledgeable and is extremely friendly
Great stuff, as ever, Sam. Guitars and philosophy. Zen and the art of guitar maintenance.
justa heads up Sam, after doing a bit of research Ive found that apparently Gotoh's 1996t, 510 and Wilkinson trems also come with the stud lock mechanism. Some people are in for a surprise I guess.
Very useful info Max! Thanks!
Use the grey squares you see on the sides of the trem to level it. I believe the alignment of the top side of the trem varies across models and is not always a good indicator whereas the little grey squares on the side are consistent.
yeah. thanks for that tip.
Yup those are the knife edges they have to be parallel with the body the angled wedge baseplate can throw people off.
Your locking nut pads are also facing the wrong way. Their apex are supposed to be vertical with the strings, not horizontal.
Thanks for that observation. You're right - and in the past I recall setting them parallel with the strings. I checked back to the pictures I took of the guitar and funnily enough, they show that this is how the nuts were set (perpendicular to the strings) when it came to me. I must subconsciously gone with it 'as it was'. As it happens, it's working perfectly for my customer right now so it's clearly not a critical issue.... but good spot.
Great video. Thank you for making it and featuring this guitar. One comment though. Once the spring claw is set correctly, you should never have to play with that again, unless you are changing tuning or string gauge. At least that's been my experience. That was a neat trick you did with adjusting the springs at the end to get the guitar in tune and level the bridge. I prefer to leave the springs alone, but I appreciate another view and way of doing it. It is a great way to level the bridge with string/spring tension and not rely on guess work or "eyeballing" it. BTW I have this exact same guitar, and while it's not that hard to set up, it definitely has to be precise. Little adjustments make a big difference with Ibanez. I love Ibanez guitars. In my opinion, $1K for this guitar is a steal. Especially for Japanese craftsmanship and quality.
Thanks for sharing your experience. As you saw, I'm not very experienced in that exact bridge but I'm glad the 'tremolo claw screw' technique made sense to you. Agree with you on quality and Ibanez. Lovely guitars.
I use the trem a lot on my rg. The springs stretch slowly over time and about ounce a year I got to adjust
I have one, love these gems, worth every penny
The locking pads on the nut are installed sideways Captain , that’s why it won’t stay in tune., That’s a 5 piece neck, 3 pieces of maple, 2 strips of walnut I think?, the strip ends up between the g and b strings , I have the exact same guitar, my favorite rg550 color! , fitting for an outrageous machine like this one!
Yah. Thanks - you're right. I learned that straight after I posted the video :)
Hot damn that color is beautiful! I think it’s called chameleon blue but im probably mistaken.
I built custom wooden blocks of each of my Floyd equipped guitars for setting up incase I decide to change strings gauge or tuning. Finalizing by adjusting the claw till its set “perfectly “ .
Then fine tuning on the fiddley bits on the bridge.
the name of the guitar is the Ibanez RG550 Gensis PN and the PN stands for Purple Neon , the guitar changes colors depending on the light angle from a dull mauve to sparkling blue to purple , its a great guitar for the $999 price tag especially when you consider its built in Japan
Surprised that the manual no longer mentions the allen screw to lock the bridge pin, the original RG ones from the 80s made a big deal about it! Gotoh licensed Floyds (GE1996T) have the ‘stud lock’ too, no surprise as Gotoh makes the Edge trem. There was a big fuss when Ibanez dropped the stud lock from its trems when the Edge Pro started to be used from about 2003.
I think perhaps less owners than you’d imagine know about such a (vital) detail. On a similar note, you’d be surprised how many Taylor owners I’ve done work for who had no idea their guitars had bolt-on necks!
Why is there a need for this locking pin at all ? To prevent you from accidentally change the post height ? It seems like theres a bit of overengineering going on here...
@@maxmustardman298 I wondered the same...and yes, that can only be the reasoning for it.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Taylor are rightly proud of that innovative bit of engineering! I’m always surprised people don’t bother to find out more about the construction of their guitars. It’s always fascinated me
@@maxmustardman298 it seems that it allows for the use of a coarser thread than that used by Schaller on the OFR posts but still retains stability in the post.
With the edge trem, first you unlock the nut, then you adjust the tuning screws so you have wiggle room, (you will need to go flat) then you tune it in octaves, basically you are tuning it so that the tension is spread). I usually then get the tuning so its there or there abouts, then you tighten the screws at the nut and lock it down (this usually pushes things sharp, be ready for this) then you bring it back down with the tuning screws.
The string retainer bar (at the headstock) is supposed to set to stop your string from going sharp (or flat) when your lock down the nut.
Dude!!!! The tip about putting screws all the way in and then undoing them to tune is AMAZING!!!! This took me (not joking) 6 hours yesterday ! After your tip: Took me 10 mins tops. THANK YOU 🙏!!!!!!!!
lol…. The string tree doesn’t do anything. Better watch more videos.
Short circuit the process and share your knowledge.
Hi, I have same guitar how high should my string action be. Can you say approximately in inches or millimeters?
Hi - sorry for the late reply. Guitar playing action is always a matter of personal preference. But in general, it is comprised of 3 parts (all of which are inter-related) - the neck relief, the 1st fret action and what I call 'last fret action'.
My normal target is: relief = 0.2mm, 1st fret action = 0.3mm and last fret action is a spread from 1.5mm low E last fret over to 1.2mm high E last fret. That action requires some precision fret levelling and with care you may be able to get a tiny bit lower on certain guitars.
Even without fret levelling you can vastly lighten the feel of your action by getting that 1st fret action down to something very low (like 0.3mm) - this alone will make barre chords and anything played in the 1st half of the guitar feel much easier and less draining on energy.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thank you very much for detailed explanation. It will help me a lot. Sorry for my bad English, it's my second language. Have a great day. Cheers.
won't the wage put pressure on the intonation stress I don't fill comfortable having the wedge and having the screws for support seems the pressure would bend or mess the screws up..RocknRollflat5
if that guitar had a microtilt could you use that to lower the action?
I can never get my floyd guitars to play like butter
i seem to get stiff action on the strings
what am i doing wrong?
thanks
Hi - a micro-tilt could lower the action IF it was already in a raised position... In the end I didn't need to shim the neck or tilt the tremolo plate back because I found out how the locking screws in the bridge posts worked!
Re. your 'stiff action' on the strings... I'm a simple guy; to me scale length and gauge of string are all that really make a difference to the 'stiffness' of the strings. If you follow the steps at the end of this video (as a bullet-point list) you should get a good set up out of your Floyd Rose. Note that stretching ALL of the slack out of your strings before you go anywhere near locking them down is VITAL. Without that, you will chase your tail trying to get it to stay in tune.
Mine too
Se ajusta y se afina en la posición con la que se toca. De no ser así varía tanto la afinación como el ajuste.
I had to use my camera to zoom and see the dots on the top of the white bushings ! A nightmare to fit !
Thank you for your craft, sir! You’re the best
Hey Noel - you're welcome. Glad you got your RK Tele sorted out :)
My rg550 has that mark across the top heads stock also...RocknRollflat5
Mine too
Hey sam, can the string slack be removed by pulling up on the whammy bar stretching the strings?
Technically... yes... eventually. You can test this yourself and report back. Try stretching all the stretch out by using the tremolo arm. Then tune up perfectly, then play the biggest bend note you can and check whether that string detunes or not. If it DOES then you've not got all the 'stretch' out....yet.
My headstock has the stripe also
I first set a Floyd Rose by accident, after getting it back from someone who charged me and didn't know what they were doing. But Frudua was really good for me on Strat bridges, explaining why he did what I would get to by trial and error. All you need are Post-it notes and a skwoodriver.
Hah hah the "Skeeuwwdriver"!
Cherry Apple Purple, Your Highness. Floyd Rose rubbish. Have a nice day!
Once I feared the Floyd; now I worship it. But there's NO excuse for that entirely unnecessary string retainer bar directly behind the locking nut. Thoughts?
Thanks for another very interesting video, Sam. As I understand it the purpose of the Floyd Rose string retainer bar is to minimise the amount that the strings are pulled sharp when the locking nut clamps are tightened down. The retainer bar should be adjusted so that each string contacts the nut all the way across from fretboard side to headstock side, ensuring there's no gap at the rear of the nut. This ensures that the micro tuners retain as much of their range as possible after the nut is locked.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars I've only had one Floyd Rose and it was too complex for me, when I can afford a genuine Bigsby, I'll get back to you. Less is more. 1.-Tremelo's seem pretentious. 2.-I'm piss poor. 3.-The tremelo on my Squier Jazzmaster has only been adjusted with a new brass block, the nut has been replaced with a Tusq one, it takes a lot for the thing to go out. The nuts have taken over.
my theory on that one is that Ibanez wants to let the player have the freedom of choice what tuners he uses (ie they dont want to spend the extra money;). Staggered tuners may get you the desired downward pressure without a retainer bar, but not everyone wants to use staggered tuners or has access to them. Jackson does the same thing on their Dinkys or Soloists. I always thought it looks stupid and takes away the reason for a tilt back headstock.@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars
@@maxmustardman298 interesting take, thanks!