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Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 01:27 PM

Hi,

Ok ive not been playing my Jackson for a while now because when I changed the strings something screwed up...

So ive bought two new sets of ERNIE BALL COATED HYBRID SLINKYS and I want to try starting from scratch

Now what I need if its possible is a video showing me in detail how to change the strings on the Jackson RR24 Floyd Rose and also how I should have it looking on default with the springs and level-ness etc...

Its really killing me not being able to play that guitar

Do if someone could help me get all this detail and info so I can get the strings tomorrow in the mail, sit down, put them on right and play away without having the 1/2cm gap between the fret and strings.

Thanks,

Rowan

Posted by: skennington Mar 17 2009, 02:05 PM

Hi Rowan,

This link that Andrew and MickM provided help me a ton getting use to string changes on a floater. Good luck man.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=7476

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 04:25 PM

Thanks alot m8, hopefully this will be fixed tomorrow..

if not I think ill cry lmao

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 04:41 PM

Whats the condition of the bridge now?

Is it level?
Is the action too high? Too low?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 04:43 PM

Well ive cut the strings off now to be all ready to start tomorow, but the bridge in my opinion looked ok, bt the strings where too high from fret...

Ive watched two videos now on this and kinda understand but same time I get the feeling im gonna do the same mistakes...

Another thing is the videos say do 1 string at a time, I never do that, I know its stupid but it shouldnt cause a major issue should it?

Also, right now the strings are off, and the bridge is really loose, should it be like that?

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 04:55 PM

yes, loose right now is normal.

You dont have any tension on it.

Go ahead and put them on.

(are you cool doing that? cutting the ends off, loosening the little blocks that hold them in, etc)

Bring up tension on all of them until they are all in the neighborhood of normal tuning. Do you have a tuner or another guitar handy to use as a ballpark as you tighten them?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 04:59 PM

I dont get the strings till tomorrow morning,

Right now my guitar is loose, the springs would probably fall out of the back its that loose. The bridge is point into the gap.

So I would cut the ball of the end of the strings, place them in, lock it up, and tune it.

Posted by: ZakkWylde Mar 17 2009, 05:02 PM

Well there is a reason for the *1 string at a time rule*...

Don't worry it won't cause any damage, it just makes it A LOT harder to restring the guitar because you'll now have to set up and balance of the floyd rose bridge from scratch which is a real pain in the ass work to do and might be impossible for someone who has no experience with floyd rose guitars...

You see, the springs in the back of your guitar are set up at a tension level that is the same that your six strings when they are tuned right - which keeps the bridge in balance and floating. If you remove only one string at a time, replace it and tune your guitar with the new string on, this balance is not altered. You can do that until all strings are changed and youre done, because the set up is the same as it was, just with new strings.

Unfortunaltey if you use a diffrent string gauge/or remove all strings at a time you will have to set up the guitar to the point where spring and string tension are in balance again which is a frustrating and time consuming task as it requires a lot of fine adjustments and patience...You might save youself this task and bring your guitar to a tech, he'll set it right for you and the next time you'll do it string by string!

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:04 PM

I was going to get a tech, but I asked the shops around my area:

2 of them want £45 and it will take about a week :|
And the other wants £75 **CLAIMING TO BE THE CHEAPEST** and will take same day


My friend was also gonna come round but hes busy just now

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:04 PM

yep, its very loose. Thats all normal.

How many springs are on it right now?

Are you doing 9's or 10's and tuning to E?

Was it tuned to E before? What strings were on it before?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:06 PM

I jump between 9-10 and my tuning goes from Drop C to Standard... yeh im bad lol

Im keeping my schecter on standard/drop d and my jackson drop c (or DGCFAD) now

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:07 PM

so what strings were just on it?

and how was it tuned?

And what strings are going on next?

and how are you tuning it?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:10 PM

Emmmm, If remember right....

Elixir Super Thin 9s and tuning CGCFAD/DADGBE
now going to be
ErnieBall Coated 9s and tuning CGCFAD/DGCFAD

Btw appreciate all your help

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:11 PM

was the bridge flat with the body before? Or did it tilt forward or back?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:13 PM

Im not 100% sorry

I just remember thinking my floydrose doesnt move as easy or pitch as easy as it should... So I followed a guide about putting a spoon under it to level then just put the springs on, so I done that but then strings where highish off fret board and I followed another forum topic here on how to fix with the springs etc but nothing worked

Best thing I can do is if someone can tell me the way it should look just now where everything should be and how tight the springs should be etc so ive got a starting point, then ill follow that video for putting strings on one by one.

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:16 PM

well, its all variable. Changing one part of it affects the others.

I would start with 3 springs.

And the goal is for the bridge to float level with the body. So you need to tighten the strings up to your desired tuning and balance that with backwards spring tension and in a perfect world it will be even and the bridge will be level.

Do you follow me here so far? (I'm not assuming you are stupid, sometimes message posts arent the best for explaining this)

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:19 PM

Yes man I think so lol, again though I wont know till tomorrow, I sent you a PM btw to make things easier.

Also I will post up some pics etc... but so far I think its:

1) Cut ball and put strings on, tune to CGCFAD
2) Now look at the bridge, if its going up then tighten the springs, if its dipping in, loosen them
3) Play around till you get it level and in tune

That sound right?

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:24 PM

Exactly.

You can watch the bridge moving as you get the string closer and closer to correct pitch. You'll know if you need to turn those spring tension screws before you even get to your tuning.


Also,

If the strings have always been high, you'll want to lower the action. If you can do it without the strings on then thats great. Its easier on the bridge pivot posts. Do you know which ones lower the bridge? They are the 2 bolts that the bridge sits against and pivots. Since you dont have strings on you cant be sure how far down you need to go. If the strings were high enough before that there was no danger of buzzing I'd lower each one a full turn. Then when you have the strings on and in tune you can go a bit further or back it out a bit.

QUOTE (Rowan @ Mar 17 2009, 11:19 AM)

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:27 PM

Good,

As far as the bridge pivots go, Im sure ive got them turned as far as they can go down, now when I turn it basically makes a grinding crunching noise.

I will get some pictures up in the next hour or two to let you see how it looks just now you can tell me if I need anything adjusted before I even start.

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:33 PM

Hmm.... all the way down doesnt seem right.

That probably means the bridge was pulling forward (up) otherwise your strings would have been VERY low. Probably buzzing like crazy.

Pics right now wont really help. Without strings on we wont be able to see anything yet.

You have 3 springs on in the back yes?

We'll have to see what happens when you get the strings on and start adding tension. I would do each one a little at a time. So its coming up to proper tension fairly evenly. Not one string all the way up, then the next, etc.... If you do that its a tuning nightmare. Since bringing one up that far will lower the rest.

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:35 PM

There is 4 spring on the back,

If its any help heres the topic I had before that had pics:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=14036
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=14035
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=14034

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:39 PM

hmmmm. yeah, its leaning a little bit forward.

4 springs... I'm not used to 4. That seems like a lot to me. But I guess it depends on how far in those spring tension screws are. Yours dont look that far in.

remember that if you change tuning and dont adjust the bridge position too its going to pull forward when you tune UP and lay back when you drop it DOWN.

Posted by: Rowan Mar 17 2009, 05:43 PM

Well once this is tuned it will be staying at this and my schecter (solid bridge) can just change tuning if I need

Like I said ill take some pics soon of the guitar just now so you can see the difference and if it helps any.

That video I was watching is telling me things like getting the bit above the bridge of the harmonics right etc.... so theres lots I need to take into account, I love learning the likes of Alex Laiho who uses the whammy and harmonics for alot of stuff so it would be good to learn into this.

Posted by: jer Mar 17 2009, 05:47 PM

Cool.

Posted by: Rowan Mar 18 2009, 02:25 PM

Ok I got my strings through this morning, now I dont know if its cause ive watched about 100+ videos on it, got alot of help especially from you, or just that someone took pitty but it seems its fixed lol.

I put them on but used a bit better knowledge on what im doing and ive got it, the bridge seems to be level, its staying in CGCFAD tuning and the strings are close enough to play, thers a little buzz but I record direct via USB so I dont mind that as much.

I will post some pics later once I find my damn camera,

Btw see when im changin a tuning on it, like from CGCFAD to DGCFAD, do I unlock the nut, and change with the tuning pegs or just use the fine tuners?

Posted by: jer Mar 18 2009, 03:40 PM

buzz - A small amount of buzz isnt an issue. If you want low action, sometimes you have to deal with it. A professional luthier can take care of it for a cost.... If you cant hear it thru the amp I wouldnt worry about it. To raise the strings a bit turn those bridge screws counter clockwise a half turn at a time and see what happens. This will effect tuning so be prepared to retune.

fine tuners vs pegs - thats up to you. If you can make it all the way to your drop tuning with fine tuners go ahead. No harm in either one really.

Bridge is level? Awesome. Did you drop to 3 springs?

Posted by: Rowan Mar 18 2009, 05:31 PM

No funny enough it was just a little off balance, then I put the 4th spring in, retuned and it was level lol.

Posted by: ZakkWylde Mar 18 2009, 05:43 PM

HOW CAN YOU PLAY DROP C WITH A SET OF 9's ?!?!?!?!?

I need at least 11 or better 12 gauge strings or else its wabbly like hell!

Posted by: jer Mar 18 2009, 05:51 PM

Posted by: Rowan Mar 18 2009, 07:01 PM

I usually get 10s for DropC but they never had any in stock so I had to go for 9s temp.

So when I get new strings I just:

Take one string off, put one string back on, tune
Then the next, same thing
and again

Then just tune all again, put nuts on, tune again and done?

Posted by: jer Mar 18 2009, 08:51 PM

yep!

If you go to bigger strings, that will mean more tension. So you may need to tighten the spring screws a bit to get the floyd flat again.

Posted by: Rowan Mar 18 2009, 11:08 PM

But first rule is take one string off, then replace it before taking another off

Thanks for all your help

Now get back to practising and get my first video online