Questions about some Guitar setups

[WyrmDL]

Hey guys,

I'm currently using an old Yamaha SE700HE guitar, but it needs some serious adjustments.

Now I wont be doing most of the touch ups (frets, etc, the nut is worn and breaking into pieces), but I am just confused by the bridge.

It is a locking tremelo, but I have never seen one like it, and I'm unsure of how it should actually be set up.

If the bridge is set up flat with the body, then it cant be "pushed in", only pulled. Is that how it is supposed to be, or is it supposed to be set at an angle? I might explain it badly, so I attached some pictures.

Thanks in advance!

[BigOldHarry]

Uh...

TalkGUITAR.com might be a better place for this...

[Slax]

Set ups have a lot to do with personal preference. What some might like, others might hate. I'd personally set the bridge flat because the higher action from it angled like that would drive me nuts.

[Stay Gold 1337]

the bridge should be flat (parallel with the body). there should be some springs that you can adjust the tension of (usually by turning some screws) under the bridge (usually accessed by removing a cover on the back of the guitar). it's kinda tricky to get it right, but it gets easier with practice. but depending on what gauge stings/what you use your string tension will be different so the springs in the bridge need to be adjusted accordingly to make sure that floating bridge floats at the right angle.

[202dy]

Luthiers know how to setup many different kinds of stringed instruments.

Floyd Rose trem


This post was the first one that came up using the TB Search Engine. There are several more:

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Type "Floyd Rose" in the search box and highlight Setup and Repair Forum.

[WyrmDL]

Sorry for the "Guitar" part; I just have a lot of respect for TB and I know there are a lot of people here that could give some advice too.

Thanks for all the help though! I knew the basic process to get the bridge set up; I was just wondering if it should have been flat or not.

I think with this guitar though, it is a bit easier to get it flat, since with enough tension on the springs, the bridge just "sits" on the body anyways, or should it be a perfect balance like all other floyd roses?

[Al Heeley]

Some trems are designed to only bomb - as in slacken, some truly float or pivot so can slacken or tighten. I am not familiar with the one in your pic but I would assume its supposed to lie parallel to the body.

[the_fooj]

If you don't know what you're doing, I would take it to a tech. BUt if you want to try to tackle this yourself, this is what you want to do:

Locking tremolo's need to be setup so that they they parallel to the body of the guitar. Otherwise it compromises their tuning stability.

So, to get the bridge level, you have to tighten the springs in the back of the guitar until the base of the bridge is parallel with the body. At that point, depending on whether the bridge is actually resting on the body, it's up to you whether you want it floating or flush mounted. It looks like that Floyd is supposed to be flush mounted since there's no recess behind it (the wood isn't cut out right behind the bridge, which would allow for higher pull ups).

If you decide you want to lower it all the way to the body, you can lower it by adjusting the posts on either side of the trem. If bringing the bridge down to the body leaves all your strings buzzing or your action too high, you're gong to need a neck shim.

This all might sound a bit complicated, but it's really not. It just takes a long time to adjust everything and kep srewing and unscrewing things until it's perfect. I actually had to do just this a few weeks ago on my Kramer Baretta Reissue. The Floyd was setup prefectly level, but it was off the body just a smidge, allowing for about 1/2 step of pull up. I lowered to the body and my strings buzzed (mostly at the higher frets) so I installed a neck shim at the back of the neck pocket.

[WyrmDL]

Thanks for all the help!

I have one last question that I completely forgot to mention, and I'll be taking the guitar to the tech anyways, but I checked out the truss rod a while back to loosen it a bit, but then I found out that it was already completely loose.

Is this normal?

[Mark Heller]

No the truss rod should not be completely loose. When the truss rod is completely loose that often means that the previous owner loosened the truss rod, perhaps because it had a backbow. If you loose the truss rod all the way and there's still a backbow, that means that the neck is backbowed, which is not eqasy to fix.

Btw, what guiatr tech will you take it to?

[WyrmDL]

I live in Vail, AZ, which is right next to Tucson, and I've asked a lot of musicians that I know who would be a good tech I could go to, and several of them recommended one at Rainbow Guitars, which is a pretty well respected shop.