I need help with Floyd Rose Double Lock

[MMx12]

I just bought a B.C Rich Kerry King V Signature Series. well it has a floyd rose double lock on it and i need help with three things.

 

1.It does not stay in tune at all

 

there are new strings on it but i dont think thats why, because the strings should have gotten used to it by now.

 

2.The wammy bar was once at good height, i tightened something for a different reason and now its too low to the strings, i loosened it and its still there.

 

3.the strings are too high off the neck

 

the only one caused by me is number 2 but if i did it, it can be fixed.

 

any help is greately appreciated. thanks in advance.

[baronedo]

I would try a couple of things:

 

1. First, your trem springs may be too loose which can cause the bridge to excessively float all over the place. Take the back cover off your guitar to expose the springs and you can increase the tension of each side by turning the screws on the spring plate clockwise. I would do this until the trem feels slightly stiffer and more stable when using the whammy bar and so that the bridge is in a somewhat neutral position which allows both up and down tremming.

 

2. After you've set the trem springs to your liking, you will likely need to adjust the string height. Unfortunately, most Floyd Rose trems do not allow you to individually adjust each string height via separate string saddle adjustment screws (this is one of the reasons I don't use Floyd Rose trems). However, there are usually two bridge height screws (one on each side of each E string) that allow you to make gross bridge height movements of each side of the bridge. I suggest that you adjust the bridge height so that for the High E string, the gap between the bottom of the High E string and the top of the highest fret is a little over 1/16 inch. For the Low E string, I would increase this gap to about 3/32 inch. The key thing to strive for is a low action for ease of playing but high enough so that there is not fret buzzing on any strings and any fret when played acoustically.

 

3. After you have made adjustments 1& 2 above, you will probably have to reset you string length adjustment (i.e. intonatation). To do this, get out your electronic tuner and first tune each open note to pitch. Next, one string at a time, play and tune the 12th fret harmonic and then play the fretted note at the 12th fret. If the fretted note plays sharp compared to the harmonic, the string is too short and needs to lengthened by turning its string length adjustment clockwise. If the fretted note plays flat compared to the harmonic, it is too long so make the opposite adjustment.

[baronedo]

I would try a couple of things:

 

1. First, your trem springs may be too loose which can cause the bridge to excessively float all over the place. Take the back cover off your guitar to expose the springs and you can increase the tension of each side by turning the screws on the spring plate clockwise. I would do this until the trem feels slightly stiffer and more stable when using the whammy bar and so that the bridge is in a somewhat neutral position which allows both up and down tremming.

 

2. After you've set the trem springs to your liking, you will likely need to adjust the string height. Unfortunately, most Floyd Rose trems do not allow you to individually adjust each string height via separate string saddle adjustment screws (this is one of the reasons I don't use Floyd Rose trems). However, there are usually two bridge height screws (one on each side of each E string) that allow you to make gross bridge height movements of each side of the bridge. I suggest that you adjust the bridge height so that for the High E string, the gap between the bottom of the High E string and the top of the highest fret is a little over 1/16 inch. For the Low E string, I would increase this gap to about 3/32 inch. The key thing to strive for is a low action for ease of playing but high enough so that there is not fret buzzing on any strings and any fret when played acoustically.

 

3. After you have made adjustments 1& 2 above, you will probably have to reset you string length adjustment (i.e. intonatation). To do this, get out your electronic tuner and first tune each open note to pitch. Next, one string at a time, play and tune the 12th fret harmonic and then play the fretted note at the 12th fret. If the fretted note plays sharp compared to the harmonic, the string is too short and needs to lengthened by turning its string length adjustment clockwise. If the fretted note plays flat compared to the harmonic, it is too long so make the opposite adjustment.

[doc taz]

Don't be surprised if you have to repeat the things Lancer mentioned if you choose to use a heavier gauge than the ones that come with the guitar. I know I did when I moved from .009's to .010s. Kerry King prefers .009s in Eb tuning (1/2 step below normal).

 

Good luck.

 

Yeah, Kahlers are cool, but a well set up Floyd Rose system could eat those things for lunch.

[sourmash]

That intonation tip also helped me out. Thanks again fellas.

[Bodiddley]

Take dat thang owf an put on a good tailpiece an a ol' tune-a-matic bridge. Dat oughta fix it.

[doc taz]

Originally posted by Bodiddley:

Take dat thang owf an put on a good tailpiece an a ol' tune-a-matic bridge. Dat oughta fix it.

On that note, there is a version of the Kerry King model that has a tune-a-matic bridge. I did try one on Tuesday, and it played well acoustically, but I thought the pickups were slightly mismatched. The neck was slightly louder than the bridge 'bucker.

[Tedster]

Originally posted by Bodiddley:

Take dat thang owf an put on a good tailpiece an a ol' tune-a-matic bridge. Dat oughta fix it.

I'm with Mr. Diddley here. I've never owned a Rose. I do, of course, have stock issue trems on my Strats and Talman...which I only use rarely for some surflike "shimmer"...

[Dennyf]

With regard to your tuning problem, does the guitar have a "locking nut" or a string lock behind a conventional nut?

 

My Floyd guitar has the former, and I had an "impossible to tune" problem until I discovered that the screws holding the nut weren't tight, allowing the nut to shift a little , especially when the whammy was dumped. Bad intonation at the bridge end is nothing compared to bad intonation at the nut end.

 

Of course, if the guitar has a lock behind a conventional glued-in nut, this is probably not the problem.

[flagshipmile354]

take it to a professional and have him do redo the fulcrum points. they wear down over time and they get burrs in them. the best floyd rose i ever owned was a kahler steeler it was a floyd made with tool steel. makes a difference in tone but the fulcrum points where the bridge floats on the screws is usually the problem with tuning issues..