Guitar set up w/new floyd rose

[Fingerer]

Sorry for a guitar question in a bass forum, but I'm not getting the assistance I need elsewhere. I'm glad I switched to bass a few years ago.

I have an Ibanez RG550 I bought new in '88 and needs work. I'm looking for a luthier or tech I can ship it to who loves the challenge of a Floyd Rose. I want to pass the guitar on to my son, so I have been upgrading hardware, pickups, etc. I can't get the new Floyd Rose dialed in (intonation, string height, etc.) and I can't find anyone in the local area with the expertise, or patience, to get it right. Any recommendations will be appreciated!

 

[Gary_M]

Sorry for a guitar question in a bass forum, but I'm not getting the assistance I need elsewhere. I'm glad I switched to bass a few years ago.

I have an Ibanez RG550 I bought new in '88 and needs work. I'm looking for a luthier or tech I can ship it to who loves the challenge of a Floyd Rose. I want to pass the guitar on to my son, so I have been upgrading hardware, pickups, etc. I can't get the new Floyd Rose dialed in (intonation, string height, etc.) and I can't find anyone in the local area with the expertise, or patience, to get it right. Any recommendations will be appreciated!

Well, as you mentioned it does take a great deal of patience. There are a lot of "back and forth" operations when setting up a Floyd. If you can't find someone, there are several good videos on YouTube that detail Floyd setup... maybe you could tackle it yourself?

 

[Fingerer]

Well, as you mentioned it does take a great deal of patience. There are a lot of "back and forth" operations when setting up a Floyd. If you can't find someone, there are several good videos on YouTube that detail Floyd setup... maybe you could tackle it yourself?

I tried the DIY option and failed miserably. Lol! I replaced everything else with no issues, but that darn bridge is a challenge. At some point, you gotta find an expert.

 

[Roland GR 88]

There not difficult to dial in, you just need a couple hours to set it up, re-string, check and do it over again a few times until you get it right.
As mentioned above YouTube is your best resource and it's where I learned by putting on a football game and dedicating 3hrs of trying not to lose little parts.
You will get it.

 

[RSBBass]

I haven't set one up in several years. What I remember was it was necessary to block the trek to get it intonated.

 

[b/o 402]

In a nutshell:
1. Set the approximate bridge height with the studs
2. Block the trem with wedges on both sides of the trem block, so it is sitting at your preferred neutral position
3. String it and tune, being sure to leave the nut clamps loose (or off.)
4. Make final bridge height adjustment
5. Set intonation
6. Pull out the wedge on the spring side of the block. Install springs and tighten the claw until the other wedge becomes loose, at which point you can pull it out too.
7. That's it. Before you clamp the strings, give them all a good "stretch." Also make sure the fine tuner screws are almost all the way up so you have room to raise pitch without needless unclamping.

 

[Fingerer]

Definitely appreciate the 'how to' advice. But I should clarify - I am so done with working on it. It's been months At this point, I am willing to ship it to stranger and pay that person to get it done right - as long as it is a legit business. I wacthed many youtube videos, bought the tools from Stewmac and invented numerous cuss words in the process. I need pro.

 

[vid1900]

Schaller makes a tremolo that is designed for people who are fed up with their Floyd.

For some reason it's called "Schaller Vintage Tremolo" but it does not fit any vintage 2-post Fender, it only fits the 74mm Floyd post spacing.

As soon as I see the box being brought in with the frustrated look on the owner's face, I know they bought the Floyd Spaced Schaller by mistake.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

What you have is an Edge vibrato bridge, not a Floyd Rose, but it is a double-locking vibrato setup.
Use the Ibanez Rules guide:

IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup

Edge is The Best double-locking vibrato-bridge out there, but it does take some patience to get it set up correctly.

If you replaced the original Edge bridge with a "Special" Floyd Rose, don't do that, because it's a serious downgrade.

 

[Mechayoshi]

I have only locking floyd Rose guitars. It ain’t hard. What’s really the issue? You mention intonation and height but you can’t really fail at that. Intonation is sliding the saddle back or forward, while you need to detune the string the bridge does not have to be blocked for this If you do ONE string at a time. The action is again adjusted by the studs and an Allen key.

What I’m thinking is that it’s not level, the bridge entirely, or you’re going out of tune. What strings are you using? Are your tremolo springs strong enough to counter the string tension? Is the hardware failing?

There’s way more knowledgeable people than me, but if you want quick help PM me I guess. A rg550 is an epic guitar and I have a RG7620 that similar. I love to see your Ibanez back on track.