Adjusting and
Intonating a Floyd Rose®
Style Floating Tremolo
STRING TENSION««↔»»SPRING
TENSION
A Tug of War
Two forces affecting the angle of the tremolo's base are at work
here... STRING TENSION and
SPRING TENSION. The
strings are pulling the back side
of the bridge up, the springs are
trying to pull it down towards the top. Changing the string
gauge or the amount of springs directly effects the "stance" of
the tremolo. In order to have our bridge sit correctly we must
balance these tensions.
Located beneath the bridge,
accessible under the back trim plate are the
springs. Their pull
counteracts the pull of the
strings. The tremolo
springs are attached at one end to the spring claw (which is
screwed into the body), they hook to the sustain block at the other end.
|
Because changing the gauge of string
you use changes the tension placed on the bridge, it is
extremely important to use the exact same gauge
every time.
If not, adjustments will be necessary. |
With only 3 strings at full
tension on the bridge pictured below it has already begun to take a nose dive,
raising the back side of the bridge excessively. By using a heavier gauge string they increase the
tension on the tremolo and as a result the "balance" of tension
is lost. Obviously the easiest way to remedy this condition is
to simply use the gauge of strings it was set up to handle...but
what if we want to change string gauges? Adjustments are
necessary.
Outa Wack!
In order to get this floating
bridge to sit properly I had to balance it by increasing the spring tension. We can
do this by adding more springs and/or by screwing the spring
claw screws further into the body. The choice as to how many
springs are used and how close the claw sits to the body is
often
based on factors that will differ from one instrument to the
next. Some players require a looser/touchier tremolo and others
like a rigid feel.
Adjusted
Tremolos and Tuning
One common challenge for
tremolo users is keeping their instrument in tune. Each time a
tremolo is used it must return to the exact same location
(center itself) in order for the instrument to be in tune.
It's a fact that some models are better at this than others. You
should insure that the tremolo has been adjusted properly and
eliminate or lubricate any areas of friction. You may also wish to try
a tremolo stabilizer such as the Tremsetter® offered by
Fender®.
Guitars Without Locking
Nuts
When a guitar is not equipped with a locking nut
or tuners it is very important that the strings are wound
properly around the tuning post to prevent string slippage.
If a string is not anchored and "locked" at the tuner repeated
tugging can cause it to slip causing a loss of tension.
More
More On
Tuning Problems
Stretching, slipping,
binding, friction...these are all culprits when it comes to tuning
problems on tremolo equipped guitars. Regardless of the
kind of tremolo your instrument is equipped with, friction and
binding can cause tuning problems as the tremolo struggles to
return easily to it's starting point. Pivot points should be
properly lubricated to reduce friction and any areas where
strings must slide across a surface (nut, string trees) should be free from burrs or
tension that can inhibit the movement of the string.
Intonating Your Instrument
After tuning the instrument to pitch, fret the E string at the
12th fret. The 12th fret is half of the strings length and
one octave higher than the open string. When fretting the string
naturally at the 12th fret your E note should be in tune and
neither flat nor sharp.
Note is sharp - move the
saddle away from the fingerboard
Note is flat - move the saddle closer to the fingerboard
When intonating Floyd Rose
style tremolos be prepared to test your irritation meter. While
it looks intimidating, experience makes a world of difference.
Because the saddle itself must be "unlocked" on most
models before the saddle
can be moved, you will need to remove string tension first or
the saddle will fly forward when you unlock it. De-tune the
string or use the whammy bar to do a nose dive and release the
tension before unlocking the saddle. Now
you can nudge the saddle a bit forward or backward (depending on
what's needed) tighten the screw, retune the instrument and
check intonation on that string again. The aggravation is
created when a lack of experience (or just bad luck) has you sliding a single
saddle back and forth a dozen times before arriving at the
perfect position. The good news is that if you exercise
some patience and take the time to check and re-check your
adjustments your ears will thank you for it. I think nearly
anyone can do it, it's usually a question of whether they want
to do it.
Now that you've spent a few
minutes adjusting the saddles you can see how important it is to
avoid changing your string gauge or messing with the tremolo's
adjustments once set properly, otherwise you get to do this all
over again!
More information about
intonation and common problems can be found
here.
Blocking A
Tremolo
If you are not
going to use your tremolo you can have it "blocked", which
stabilizes it and makes tuning much easier.
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