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JorisTheVile
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 5:05 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Kazakhstan
PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:40 pm 
 

Hi, how would I go about re tuning a floyd rose? Or more specifically from standard tuning to drop C.

I tried to tune the guitar down to D# standard the other day but it wont let me cause whenever I change the tone of one string it affects the others and when I change the others it makes some other strings go out of tune its so annoying!

I guess I would need thicker strings too if i'm tuning down to drop C too right?

And if I wanted to go back to standard tuning from drop C would i have to change to thinner strings or would the thicker ones be okay?

Surely there must be some way of being able to switch between standard and drop c without having to re string the guitar all the time!

oh and by the way i know some of you are going to say get another guitar well i would if i had the money but im only 14 and there isnt really any way of getting a decent income around here at least not enough to afford a guitar any time soon..

on an unrelated note if you can suggest a way for me to get a nice income great! if you can give me £500 straight up even better!

thanks

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korgull
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:53 am
Posts: 930
PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:39 pm 
 

Put a thin block of wood under the bridge and tighten it down onto the block, essentially making it a stable, fixed bridge. That will make things much easier, but be aware the guitar will likely need other setup adjustments (neck tension, intonation, string height) whenever you drastically change tunings and/or string gauges.

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Zodijackyl
63 Axe Handles High

Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
Posts: 7601
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 3:08 pm 
 

JorisTheVile wrote:
Surely there must be some way of being able to switch between standard and drop c without having to re string the guitar all the time!


Not at all. Floating bridges like a Floyd Rose require a certain amount of tension to stay in the same place, so when you loosen one string, the others tighten. Ideally you want strings that provide roughly the same amount of tension for tuning to drop C, so if you're using standard 46-36-26-17-13-10 for EADGBE, you would want something like 58-42-30-20-15-11 for CGCFAD. If you use the same strings for both tunings, they will be much looser in the lower tuning, you will probably get a lot of buzz on the lowest string and it will be hard to keep in tune.

The easiest way to explain it might be this: The springs inside the guitar pull the bridge the opposite direction that tightened strings do. 10-46 strings tuned standard provide somewhere around ~104 pounds of tension, so the strings pull against that. Tuning each string down one step (EADGBE -> DGCFAD) reduces the tension to 82.2 pounds, so the springs will be pulling harder than necessary to balance it. When there is less tension on one string, the other strings pick up the slack, which is why loosening one tightens the others.

For reference: Tension (in pounds) of a .046 inch string
Tuned to E = 17.5
Tuned to D = 13.9
Tuned to C = 11.0
Full chart here: http://www.daddariostrings.com/Resource ... _chart.pdf

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QuoteKiller
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:24 am
Posts: 190
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 1:09 pm 
 

You've got to adjust the springs with a screw driver by opening the guitar. You're going to have to tune and retune and readjust and retune.

I just took my Floyd Rose apart and soaked it in WD40. These bridges are such a pain in the ass, such a pain, but when you get down to the wacky lead parts its all worth it.

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kurtdaniel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:55 am
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:09 am 
 

I detune my Dean Platinum V to C standard every now n' then after having my guitar lesson. Pretty fun to crank the gain and riff away.


Last edited by kurtdaniel on Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Xanzotire
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:49 am
Posts: 117
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:16 pm 
 

JorisTheVile wrote:
I tried to tune the guitar down to D# standard the other day but it wont let me cause whenever I change the tone of one string it affects the others and when I change the others it makes some other strings go out of tune its so annoying!


This isn't impossible to get around. I've tuned down from E to Eb standard on .09's before without a problem. You just have to spend more time than you wold with a fixed bridge. Tuning each string slightly lower than you actually want them to be at the start usually speeds things up. If you want to tune to drop C you'd need thicker strings though. Standard gauge's will have too much slack for you to play anything properly in those low tunings.
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deathprog23
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 3:39 am
Posts: 6
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:11 pm 
 

My second guitar had a floating trem and I was so excited to play with it... until I discovered the tuning problems. Has ended up getting dusty in a corner of my front room :/ Just too much hassle for me. Fixed bridges from now on!

But yeah, if that's what you've got to work with, you'll need a screwdriver handy and eventually you'll come to learn how many 1/4 rotations you need on the springs to adjust the tension between your tunings, or when restringing.

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MalignantTyrant
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 3:27 pm
Posts: 1647
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:08 am 
 

boy am I glad I play bass guitar, no goddamn floyd rose to deal with ever. . .
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Misfit74
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:23 am
Posts: 1623
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:46 pm 
 

I specifically bought my newest guitar w/out a Floyd Rose. I knew I was going to change tunings a number of times and didn't want to fight the trem. By the sounds of this, I'm glad that was the route I chose. That said, it was in part due to MA members that I did so. ;)
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