The Dreaded Floating Floyd String Cha...

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Author Message   Stevebrand Username: Stevebrand Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 8:08 pm:    Ok chaps & chapettes! In case you're one of those players who is 'terrified' of the thought of changing strings on a floating (gasp) locking (shock) Floyd (horror) check out this vid that we've just edited up on www.ovrdrvn.com : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwNVjNohOt4 We're always eager to hear feedback (positive or positive ;) ) ....so do let us know if this is helpful etc, ok? Cheers! Steve.   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 7:07 am:    Well, you worked systematically and quickly. But in your example, the situation is such, that you are satisfied with the old gauge. For this particular situation your video is excellent. However, when you're not satisfied with the old set of strings, if you are going to use a heavier gauge you may have to ad a spring and intonate again. (I had to do that once, so I know what I'm talking about.) I had the luck to find "The Key", that's the Ibanez Lo Pro Edge intonation tool, but at home I found out, it's not made for the Ibanez Edge. It's for the Lo Pro only. So, what would be nice is:two videos of a gauge upgrade from .009-.42 to .010-.46 + intonation. One on a Lo Pro Edge using "The Key" and one on an Edge using whatever the most suitable tool is in your opinion. So, yes it was helpful and yes, we want more... Ginger   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 8:53 am:    Changing the strings one at a time reduces problems also. Eliminates the need for the "wood".   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 10:48 am:    That's even better, because you keep 5/6 of the tension on the neck, so that it doesn't start to lean backward. That's what I normally do, actually. But putting the ball ends through the machine heads was new to me. BTW, d'Addario also sells Kahler sets, with no ball ends. The situation that you need to remove the whole set only occurs, when you need to clean and oil the rosewood, ebony, wenge or pao ferro fretboard. So, a piece of wood can be handy, just not for finished maple fretboards. Ginger   Brentm Username: Brentm Registered: 03-2005 Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 1:34 pm:    I found the video on another site... I used a wine cork instead of wood. Removing the string tension for a short period of time isn't a big deal in the big picture, and the 'block' keeps the trem floating in place. This technique took a 30 minute job down to about 10 minutes. Some may be able to retring individually faster than me, but it always seems to take about 30 minutes from old strings/in-tune to new strings/in-tune. Now, it's about 10 minutes, which takes the 'dread' out of restringing. I also strech my new strings. Something I suggested on another site to Steve. And I always clean the fretboard of all my guitars duing a restring, regardless of the type. I'm going to build a 'fuzzy stick' and use that instead of the cork, as the lion claw on my JEM is delicate. The cork actually chipped away the ends of a few claws under the trem... not a big deal. The 'fuzzy stick' is Jim Donahue's innovation, which essentially performs the same function as the block, but leverages the sides of the body. He uses a piece of wood, covered in rubber, felt or cloth. The dimensions are 5mm thick, 30mm wide, and 100mm long.   Mr_roadstar Username: Mr_roadstar Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 2:25 am:    If you're that scared of a simple string change, you shouldn't own a floater. The Bear   Stevebrand Username: Stevebrand Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 2:49 am:    Hey all! Thanks for the responses...appreciated! The point of that video was to assist people who hadn't changed strings on a Floyd Rose equipped guitar before or who had found it awkward to do. As there is absolutely no harm in removing all of the strings from a guitar in a controlled manner, we opted to demonstrate that method over the one-string-at-a-time method. (Just don't take a great big pair of wire cutters and cut all of the strings in one go whilst they're still tuned up to pitch...that would potentially be bad for any neck!) That way people could get used to having access to the fretboard and pickups etc and get used to dusting them and cleaning them....a habit sorely lacking in some players' routine! The number of guitars that I have had the 'pleasure' of working on that had fretboards so filthy that you could plow them rather than scallop them! It's nice to know that there are plenty of players out there who own all manner of weird and wonderful guitars and know how to do everything in terms of maintenance & service to them. But, y'know what, they're not everybody!!!! And...if they're honest about it....there actually was a time in their life when they hadn't ever changed strings on any guitar...let alone one with a floating, double-locking trem! Chances are there's been a few times that they've tried to do something...and it didn't work first time either! How quickly some people forget those times, eh?! Anyway, yes we do actually plan to do a video shoot covering such details as balancing the trem (like when changing gauge of strings etc), adjusting action & intonation etc. We're also going to cover pickups and wiring options as well. We just wanted to start at the beginning and then get more advanced from there, ok? We're welcoming any and all suggestions for any technical or technique based issues that we could cover in a video episode. So, please feel free to let us know if there's anything you like to see us tackle..... Cheers! Steve.   Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 4:28 pm:    Steve: I definitely learned some new things from your video! Thanks. The biggest mistake I made when I went to change my first set on my Ibanez LoPro Edge was I changed stringe guages. This is no big deal on fixed bridge guitars and so I had no idea it was going to cripple my new guitar. All I did was go from 9s to 10s but it was a total disaster and rebalancing a floating trem is not a minor subject to deal with either. Especially if you don't have any extra springs and need them! If there was anything I would change in your video it would be putting the "don't change string guages" part at the beginning. Otherwise, I think I'll try your method next time I change. Currently, I don't use a block of wood (duh) and I change one string at a time. I don't know if you deal with this in any other video, but I like to set my fine tuners to a middle position (half in, half out), before I loosen the locking nut screws and get the guitar in close tune. This way, I don't have the fine tuners too far in or out when the "fine" tuning stage begins. If I don't do this, I've run out of adjustment room before finishing the process and have to loosen the locking nut(s) again. Thanks for taking the time and effort to put this valuable info on the web where all can benefit from it for free!   Munch Username: Munch Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 10:14 pm:    How about a video on properly locating a floating bridge on an archtop and then setting intonation correctly? You could then go into more advanced issues such as common causes of bridge drift, how to properly diagnose and correct. Cheers, Mark   Stevebrand Username: Stevebrand Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 11:56 pm:    Hey Johns! Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad that you found the video useful. We will be producing a video in the very near future showing how to rebalance the trem following either a string gauge or tuning change. Stay tuned..... Hi Mark! Yeah...that would make for good subject matter...thanks for the input! All the best, Steve.   Flatbag Username: Flatbag Registered: 09-2004 Posted on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 2:02 am:    "Just don't take a great big pair of wire cutters and cut all of the strings in one go whilst they're still tuned up to pitch...that would potentially be bad for any neck!" I fail to see how this would be any different to heavily divebombing the trem... The only reason I wouldn't cut all strings at once while tuned to pitch is fear of injury. Guaranteed at least one of the suckers is gonna bite me!   Brentm Username: Brentm Registered: 03-2005 Posted on Thursday, November 30, 2006 - 9:56 am:    I'm with you on that one Flatbag... I've seen some guys use wire cutters on strings tuned to pitch and pieces go flying... definitely a case where glasses or eye shields should be worn. I did change the strings on my JEM last night using my new trusted tool. A tape covered cork that has been cut in half. Thanks again Steve for demonstrating this technique. -Brent

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