floating bridge question

heshanj said:
thanks a lot for the replies guys...
i notice that u call the strat bridge as a tremolo and the other as a floating...
ok, i understand now...the floating bridge is the floyd rose type, that has different methods of restringing, etc, and actually floats...
the strat bridge is technically not meant to float, and hence not a floating bridge..however, as shown in pics, and in some strat bridges ive seen, the bridge can be lifted a bit and 'float', allowing movement in both ways..
also, a strat bridge is very stiff, right? like, when palm muting, it doesnt affect the note at all..while on my ibanez, i gotta be carefully when muting coz if i push too hard, and at a wrong spot, the bridge gets pushed quite easily and the note goes way off....thanks again for the awesome response

EDIT: both strat and floating bridges are screwed on to the guitar, right?
Click to expand...

A floating bridge is any bridge that has movement both ways - up and down. Its nothing to do with the brand, method of restringing and what not. Its just what it is... can move both ways? Then its floating, regardless of floyd rose or a vintage trem.

A floyd rose system can be made to NOT float. Block it so it can only dive, can't pull up - that's not floating anymore.

A strat bridge - well, let's go to Fender to ask how SHOULD a vintage trem be setup okay? http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php Looks like floating or dive-only can be done, no hard & fast rule.

Finally, a strat bridge or a floyd rose or any other bridge that is FLOATING - no choice, you gotta learn how to apply less pressure when palm muting. Is this a problem? No. It might be an inconvenience but I find it a relatively minor bug... I'm more worried about a tremolo returning to pitch. Just get used to it... shouldn't be a problem to adapt.
 
sorry to revive this thread again, coz i basically understand the main question in my thread...but i have one more question:
the problem with tuning floyd rose style guitars is coz there's a locking system, right? ive heard some people say that when u tune one string up (or down), the others go out of tune immediately..this is coz its a locking system, right? not anything to do with the floating bridge? thanks guys..
 
heshanj said:
ive heard some people say that when u tune one string up (or down), the others go out of tune immediately..this is coz its a locking system, right? not anything to do with the floating bridge? thanks guys..
Click to expand...

When tuning, tune the low E string first, follow by the rest. Repeat the tuning and then lock the nuts. After that, do some fine adjustments and you are good to go.
 
heshanj said:
the problem with tuning floyd rose style guitars is coz there's a locking system, right? ive heard some people say that when u tune one string up (or down), the others go out of tune immediately..this is coz its a locking system, right? not anything to do with the floating bridge? thanks guys..
Click to expand...

Let's look at the words.

Locking System. Floating Bridge.

Locking System - what does that tell you? Something is locked... something is made immobile... something can't move now. Basically, a locking system is one that 'locks' the strings in place so they can't move.

There are Single locking bridges and Double locking bridges. Can't Triple - a string has 2 ends. Heh.

A single locking bridge example is an old TRS505 licensed floyd. There is a locking nut but the strings just string-thru the trem - only 1 side of the strings is locked down.

A double locking bridge is what you usually find on a floyd rose. You lock/clamp the string at the nut and at the bridge - double locking. Another example is on the Ibanez Mick Thompson signature model and the RG2228. Basically a fixed Edge3 bridge with a locking nut - double locking.


Now. Floating bridge - what does that tell you? Everything else mentioned above has answered that, right?

So, now we know, a locking system and a floating bridge - they are 2 different aspects that describe a ... bridge.


Therefore - does it mean that a floyd rose, because it is double locking, will go out of tune when a string breaks?

Give a little thought to it first. Let's hear what you conclude.
 
thanks again, but my question is...ive heard people say that tuning a floyd rose style bridge is hard, coz when u tune one string, the others seem to go out of tune etc, while restringing especially.. i understand wat the two 'components' of the bridge now, but i wanna clarify that its the locking aspect of the bridge that makes the tuning hard..yes or no? thanks
 
even though i do not own a FR-equipped guitar, I doubt it has to do with it being locked or not. When you restring a FR guitar you just do it like any other guitar first, after you have tuned everything (going through a few times, just like any other guitar, because as you tune more strings the tension increases and the tuning goes off), you lock the nut and fine-tune again using the tuners at the bridge.

i don't think you're supposed to tune again after locking? correct me if i'm wrong but everything should be tuned before you lock, and unlocked before you want to tune again
 
heshanj said:
....i understand wat the two 'components' of the bridge now, but i wanna clarify that its the locking aspect of the bridge that makes the tuning hard..yes or no? thanks
Click to expand...

Hey Heshanj,
The reason why I post in a Q&A thing or I question your question... is because, the personal thought process and revelations one discovers are (usually) so much more fulfilling than if one throws out an answer straight away. Besides, you seem genuinely interested so I assumed you would like the research game.

That said...

I think there needs to be more clarification.

Between 'locking' and 'floating' - like you said, its 2 different components. If I had a fixed bridge system that was LOCKING and I broke a string... does the bridge move? If I had a non-locking trem system (e.g. vintage trem stuff) that was set to float and I broke a string... does the bridge move?

The reason why a guitar goes out of tune is when... something moves.

Locking has nothing to do with movement of the bridge.

Floating has everything to do with it.

So if a bridge is floating - moving any of the strings (break lah, tune lah) then its like a see-saw system aye?

Strings pulling on the trem springs - if one side changes, then things HAVE to move.



A floyd rose is double locking and you can set it to float. Same thing. If a string breaks, the balance is broken... springs now have lesser load and the bridge shifts = out of tune.
However, if nothing breaks - the floyd then locks a section of string down which results in ridiculous stability.


I think you can see now - its about how the bridge is setup (floating or fixed or what have you) that could "make tuning hard".
 
hutkahn said:
i don't think you're supposed to tune again after locking? correct me if i'm wrong but everything should be tuned before you lock, and unlocked before you want to tune again
Click to expand...

On a Floyd Rose system - if the string tree isn't set at the right angle from the locking nut, then when you lock the nut, the strings will go sharp/flat by a couple of cents.

So you do have to tweak somewhat to get it right.

Then once set, on a good Floyd Rose and stretched strings, you probably don't need to tune the guitar for a month or so.
 
thanks everyone, especially shredcow...very helpful, and thats about it, i get it all now :D yeah i AM genuinely interetsed, i dont want to be one of those players who play their instrument without knowing anything about how to set their guitar up, or about its workings..so thanks again
 
No problem... I love to look into guitar stuff so I tend to ramble a lot about everything else anyway.

Its good though, to spend some time thinking about what makes certain things tick.


If you wanna carry this discussion further, here's a good query that has been popping up on SOFT recently:

"Can my Floyd Rose be tuned to Drop D and back using the D-Tuna?"
 
Sorry to hijack but i just re-stringed my fender strat for the first time with Everly .01-.046 strings and my bridge is slightly floating. Any idea why is that the case? Did i string it too tight or wrongly? :(
 
i know this thread has been dead for a long time but, just asking, Does the Ibanez Floyd rose / Edge pro break easily? because they look lik plastic in the website. lol. and if it does brake how much do you think it would cost to change bridge/ repair?
 
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