Drop D tuning on a locking trem system

[heshanj]

hey guys...
i got a new guitar, an ibanez S320 with a locking ZR trem system...
since this is the first time im playing a guitar with a double locking trem system, im wondering wats the best way of tuning my guitar to Drop D...i managed to drop it down to D using just the fine tuners on the bridge...is that advisable? is there anything wrong with doing that? just checking coz i dont wanna do anything bad to my new guitar coz it seems a lot easier this way than loosening the nut with allen keys, then tuning down and tightening again....coz i hear that if u do unlock the nut and adjust tuning, u need to adjust the bridge to compensate for the different tension

 

[Dime]

you can adjust from the fine tuners on the bridge itself.but the down side of these floyd bridge guitars is that they arent versatile in tunings.can only play one tuning.

like you've said by turning the fine tuners.

 

[jerryoc221]

Dropped D Tunning On FR like bridge

Hi, I have tried that too, the problem is that FR like bridge are not stable enough and a bit tricky (e.g. youll adjust it now & then). You have to consider the tensions of the strings. I own an IbanezRG320dx and what I do is changed to gauge 10's this way I have a decent action & more chunk on those power chords. You can tune via the finetuners but you'll notice that the nut will nut be even with the rest, so what I did, I unlock it and adjusted it from the head. When it's done,lock it back & then use the fine tuners to get the desired tuning.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

If you want to change tunings often, you have to get your Floyd setup for that particular tuning. Which is why I avoid tremolos of any kind, because with my current band, I have to switch between dropped D and standard E tuning in-between songs.

If you want to use different tunings here and there, this is what you should do. Invest in a Tremol-no or some similar tremolo-locking device. It's temporary so if you take it off it becomes a tremolo again. With it on, it becomes a fixed-bridge.

And of course, remove the locking top-piece on the nut because if your bridge is fixed, no point having it there.

 

[heshanj]

you can adjust from the fine tuners on the bridge itself.but the down side of these floyd bridge guitars is that they arent versatile in tunings.can only play one tuning.

like you've said by turning the fine tuners.

thanks for the replies. yeah, i think doing it with the fine tuners is alright, i just want to check if its not good for the bridge or something...i know locking bridges arent meant to be tuned differently much, but i dont, i just needed to learn this one song which needed the bottom E dropped..my bridge is an ibanez ZR, not an FR, and the fine tuners do the job perfectly..if i start doing this more, that gadget 'tremel-no?' sounds useful...but like i said, i had never done this before on a floyd rose style bridge before so i just wanted to check if its alright doing it this way, if its alright to use the fine tuners to tune down a full note..thanks!

 

[Dime]

yeah its alright.

tip to do so is that when you change to new strings.set the fine tuners to the middle height so you can roll up and down the tunings pretty easily.