Things You'll Need:
- New set of strings
- Correct Allen wrenches for your Floyd Rose
- Tuner, pitch pipe or a good ear
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Step 1
Pay attention to string gauge. A well tuned Floyd should sit flat with the face of the body. The bigger the strings the tighter they need to be to reach pitch. This will cause more pull on your bridge and will make the rear of your bridge sit higher than the front. A lighter gauge of string will not be a big issue if your Floyd is not recessed because it will just sit against the body but if your Floyd is recessed (giving you the ability to pull up on the tremolo bar to raise pitch) than going to a lower gauge string will allow the back of your bridge to sit below the face of the guitar. Both situations will require a complete set up which can open it’s own bag of weasels.
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Step 2
Unless your guitar is suffering from broken string syndrome you can complete a visual audit of your set up. I will assume that your guitar has the correct amount of strings on it. Again, the base plate of the floyd should be level with the body and should not tilt to the front or the back. Second, check the action (distance between frets and strings on the fret board.) you should not fret out and each string should ring freely when fretted. Lastly, audit the springs holding the bridge onto the guitar. Most set ups will have at least three springs and usually they will be in a triangle like this. Depending on string gauge you might need to add more.
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Step 3
This is the most important step in the process. Never under any circumstances should you remove all the strings from any guitar at once. This can cause the neck to do crazy things and in rare cases it can be so bad it can’t be fixed. You should never use wire cutters to cut a string in half while tuned to pitch. Erratic tension changes can do bad things to a neck and can cause more damage. Do the right thing and detune the string to take it off.
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Step 4
Let’s get started. I always start on the bass side and move my way to the treble side just out of preference. You’ll need to unlock one Allen screw on the locking nut. One screw will loosen the lock for the E and A string. Only unlock one at a time. Detune the E string and remove it from the tuning post. Next, unlock the Allen bolt locking the string to the post. This process can very on any given Floyd Style bridge. Once this is done, the string can then be removed from the guitar.
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Step 5
Cut the ball off of the new replacement string so it can be set into the bridge. (some Floyd Bridges allow you to keep the ball on the string but most require that you cut it off.) Lock the string into the bridge and then slide the other end into the tuner post. The critical part is to tune the replacement string to pitch to ensure the bridge returns to a level position. You probably noticed that removing the string caused the bridge to lean back into the body. Tuning it should return it to a level position.
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Step 6
Repeat this process on the A string and then move to the D and G and then to the last set, the B and then high E. Remember to leave the locking nut unlocked for the duration of the process. Once all 6 strings are tuned to pitch, lock all three Allen bolts on the locking nut.
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Step 7
Generally when you lock the nut the string will go flat slightly so use the fine adjustment screws on the bridge to bring everything into pitch. If all of this sounds simple it’s because it is. The most common mistake it to remove all the strings before tuning. If you do that you’ll constantly be trying to get the guitar up to pitch because adding each string will cause the bridge to pull up in the back and subsequently it will cause the previous string you tuned to pitch to go very flat. If each string is removed one at a time and then restrung to pitch you avoid this issue and you get back to jamming even quicker!
