Floyd Rose Doesn't Stay In Tune? Solved

Hey hope this helps anyone with a floyd rose setup that refuses to stay in tune. Let me know if you'd like an in depth tutorial in setting up your guitar, or at least the way I do mine.

[SisGuitarGAS]

I’ve been battling tuning issues in my Floyd for the past six months and was convinced I had a problem at the bridge. I tried your advice on the nut and it worked perfectly- cheers mate!

[brianmcdonald]

Never had any problems with my floyd's, but can't hurt to learn what to do just in case.

[lithiumirl]

so guys. lesson learned. 90% of it is in the nuts!

[SuicidalGrind]

Oh dude, you just probably helped me fix a guitar that I recently bought. So I bought this Ibanez GIO GRGA42T, has EMGHZ's, Edge III bridge and stuff, but it wouldn't stay in tune. I noticed a clicking noise every time I used the bar, and you described it's in the nut, which I thought was the issue, and that's probably why it wouldn't stay in tune. So thank you very much for making this video, cause I probably have a gotten a great deal on a guitar now!

[sixslinger]

I was about ready to throw my guitar out the window with older style floyd rose until I saw your video. I have the kind of nut that has two allen screws in the back of the neck. I just tightened them up and it is back to how it used to be. I can dive bomb all day long and it stays in perfect tune now! Thanks man! I can't believe I never thought of this being the culprit?!

[crzami]

whoa man, GOLDEN advice on the nut moving! I had a problem driving me crazy, I thought it was a faulty neck, thruss rod, whole guitar.... you saved me...

[MelconWagner]

You're a miracle worker!

One of your tricks worked for an old Jackson I have that for the life of me wouldn't stay in tune. I tried every trick in the book (I thought) and somehow stumbled upon this video of yours... immediately grabbed my old miserable Jackson that refused to stay in tune. Glued the nut down (it was already on there pretty tight, but what the heck... it won't be moving again until someone grabs a hammer and chisel.

Then I took the three Floyd Rose locking nut pieces off and flattened the bottoms of them with a sharpening stone. Re-strung and tuned it up, and to my absolute astonishment it not only stays in tune, I can even do full-on whammy dive bombs on the thing and it stays in tune!

Holy crap! I can't remember the last time that near ancient (90's) guitar could do that.

Thanks LambChopper!!!

[THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS]

I don't even lock the nut for a long time now, just tensioned enough to keep the screws in but still use the tuners for quick changes from standard to E flat, it holds tune just fine even after whanging on some Slayer

[Slormer]

Killin' with these back-to-back uploads my man! Good, informative video. Rock on buddy

[tobiasknolle]

Thanks for these great tips! I was trying and researching for hours, but my Floyd Rose was out of tune so easy. So tip 1 and 2 fixed it in 2 minutes 😎

[dar]

When you was talking about the saddles at the top of the neck. I once had a problem with them this one time. I couldn't undo the saddle nuts, so I used WD40 spray to unlock them. It wasn't the saddles that make nuts stick, it was the make of string that I was using. So I went back to the make of strings that I had on the guitar before and the saddles nuts was fine after that.

[isaiahmarquez]

I just came up on a 1998 Peavey Wolfgang. The Floyd was perfect with the thicker strings that came with it. As soon as I changed them out for 9’s, it refuses to stay in tune now. I went through your checklist. I can’t swear it’s the nut but we’ll see.

[ivankrushensky]

3 other main areas to check:
1) MOUNTING STUDS: cheaper Floyd Rose systems have floppy mounting studs that move several degrees. Try wrapping them with teflon tape so they don't flop around in the socket.
2) CLAW SCREWS: if you have someone that's been pounding on the trem, the screws for the claw can be wiggly, and you'll have to get larger ones or do the ol' toothpick trick to tighten them up
3) THE ROUTE: if your Floyd Rose is recessed, which most are except the one in this video apparently; some of the routes are so tight to the bridge, that when you actually use it, it scrapes against the body. I've had an ESP come directly from the factory this way. I live in a climate which can be extremely hot and humid all the way to extremely cold and dry. When I adjust the action at certain times of the year, that is when it rubs the body- otherwise it is fine.

[Martos]

Thanks for the great tips👍 I’m having it staying sharp when I pull up on the bar, so I’ll check those things you mentioned out

[lectn]

A lot of 80s metal guys in my area are buying Floyd Rose axes for the first time around now...me, personally, I went through that in about 2003 just after I’d graduated high school & I had no idea about Floyd Rose tremolo’s when I went out looking for a Floyd Rose equipped guitar... and I bought an Ibanez RG220B (which had a Floyd Rose Bridge which didn’t lock at the saddles...) and I gave up for about 3 months & then I grabbed a navy blue Jackson Professional RR3 (Randy Rhoads Flying V) equipped with a double-locking Floyd Rose bridge & so, I couldn’t keep that one in tune either and I started googling and searching YouTube and through all my research and all my experimentation what I’ve found is that the proper function of a Floyd Rose Bridge is dependent entirely on there being a *PERFECT BALANCE* between the tension of all six strings and however many tremolo springs are pulling back against the string tension on the bridge... so, I figured out how to increase/decrease the pull by the tremolo springs (by adjusting the tremolo claw screws) & I repainted _”Dimeslime” (neon yellow to neon green burst)_ & rebuilt my Ibanez RG220B, swapped locking saddles onto it, put a Schaller sure claw in place of the tremolo spring & two Göldo Back Box tremolo stabilizers with 3 green Floyd Rose Noiseless tremolo springs in it, a Seymour Duncan SH-13 Dimebucker in the bridge position & a Seymour Duncan SH-1n ‘59 _(neck)_ in the neck position... with the tremolo which returns to pitch through my Marshall JCM 800, it’s *KILLER*

[normbarrows]

Note that the clamping surfaces of a Floyd Rose locknut are curved, not flat. Be careful when sanding them.

[wyldmanwgrable]

Well done! I was chasing a very slight change in tuning on my 3rd string and found one of the nut screws was slightly longer than the other. Just enough to “touch” the nut lock. Swapped them about and GTG! Cheers mate!

[NathanMichalik]

Great video. I've also heard not to adjust the height of the bridge while it's under string/spring tension. It can dull the knife edge and cause 'flat spots'. Only one of my really has an issue where if I pull the notes sharp with the bar, they remain a little sharp until I depress the bar (note flat). It's only that one guitar (of 4 floyd guitars), but I'll check the nut when I get home.

[mitchellcolina]

That poping sound of the string in the nut is exactly what I experience when I’m touching my tremolo. Finally I know what to do lol

[brandonsmalleyorblspinc]

The tree helped the tension on my KVXMG Slime I didn't see how it was slightly curved too tuner's great advice man