Help with floyd tuning precision! (Edge Pro 7)

[Martis93]

Hey guys, posting again with a different approach. So apparently the Edge Pro 7 is a good bridge and is supposed to hold the tuning great, yet something isn't quite right on mine. I have a 2011 MIJ Ibanez RG 1527, bought it used. I'm thinking it's a relatively young guitar and, by it's looks, it hasn't been played much. I've already done everything posted on ibanezrules.com up to the point where you have to take the trem out. The problem is this: the bridge holds tune well for some time yet after longer playing goes out of tune. This is the reason why a few techs didn't see any problems with it - it's in tune after a few dives but after playing for 20 or more minutes you have to retune it using the fine tuners. It's not terribly out of tune, but enough for me to hear it and as far as I know, it shouldn't be like this. Now perhaps I have overlooked something, but I've been fighting this bridge for about a week now, anyone have any ideas? I have already taken it out, will post pictures after a few hours, maybe the knives need to be sharpened, or the posts are bad, it's my first floyd so I'll need your help guys. If everything fails I'll just block it, but damn it, I've always wanted a floyd and it was partly why I bought this exact guitar.

EDIT: Here are the pics.

 

[Larrikin666]

Let us know what you tune to and the gauge of your strings to help give us a better idea of your situation.

 

[Martis93]

Let us know what you tune to and the gauge of your strings to help give us a better idea of your situation.

Standard 7 string tuning. BEADGBE

 

[Larrikin666]

And the gauge of the strings

 

[lemeker]

The posts and bridge are fine. I feel safe in saying it's a setup issue.

The Edge trems don't sit parallel to the body of the guitar like a Floyd does. There should be blocks on the side of the bridge that you line up the body with. The bridge itself will have a slight angle to it.

Next, depending on what gauge of strings your going to use will determine what else you might have to do. Higher gauges will produce more tension, and you may have to adjust the amount of springs you will use, and or adjust the claw screws.

 

[Martis93]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Sorry I somehow overlooked the gauge - I use D'addario 10's. Lemeker - can you really tell just by looking at these pictures? Should the knives be even everywhere? One side of the upper knife (the round one) appears to be a bit more flat. Also, I have 3 springs installed, if that changes anything. In the Ibanez catalog it is shown that the Edge Pro is supposed to be installed parallel to the body, that's how I have it installed. Not sure what else could be wrong.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Are you stretching the strings thouroughly during string up, prior to final fine tuning & performance?

The reason that I ask is, some of what your describing can be attributed in many cases to not stretching out the strings well. Even under normal playing conditions, a little fine tuning may be needed. 20 minutes of heavy wammy abuse on a well setup guitar can even cause some of those well stretched strings to stretch further.

Even though Via uses a trem-stabilizing unit, even he doesn't use a guitar much after some trem abuse, it goes to get tune while he uses another. Same thing with Satriani, who doesn't use any sort of trem-stabilization at all.

 

[lemeker]

can you really tell just by looking at these pictures?

yeah, I can see it well enough.

One side of the upper knife (the round one) appears to be a bit more flat.

Mine is the same.

Also, I have 3 springs installed, if that changes anything.

3 springs should be fine with 10's, you might need to back the claw screws a little, to help balance the tension.


....and yes (which I forgot to mention and Tony pointed out), stretch those strings a bit.

it is shown that the Edge Pro is supposed to be installed parallel to the body, that's how I have it installed.

ok, cool. The bridge plate on mine sits at a slight angle. Just make sure that little block on the side is even with the body.


Have patience grasshopper you'll figure it out.

 

[1b4n3z]

....and yes (which I forgot to mention and Tony pointed out), stretch those strings a bit.

The low B string takes quite a while to settle, causing other strings to go sharp in the meantime. I agree to posts above on the condition of the trem & posts - they look fine - and I'd turn my attention to the nut and springs. One possible culprit might be the pressure pad on the thickest two strings. In my case I had to swap the original hex screw to a longer one, as the short screw couldn't catch the threads anymore. A screw that Schaller uses under the trem arm cyliner is the one I used - works great. Called 'hasp socket screw' here.

It's also possible for the springs to wear out in time, though not very likely if the system is only about 2 years old.

 

[Leuchty]

Are you saying you have done the trem stud mod?

 

[Scordare]

I agree with the others...you need to let the strings stretch out a bit longer. D'addarios are great for tuning stability.

I don't think you have any mechanical issues because you say it is fine for some time and the pics of the knife edges look ok...double check that all the hardware is tight though.

When I put on new strings, I let them stretch and settle in for about 24hrs before locking the nut and fine tuning. During that time I play the guitar like normal with mild trem use, occasionally do a few extreme dives and pull ups. Just keep stretching and retuning...tweak trem spring tension during this time to ensure it is level. After a while it will stabilize...then lock it down and fine tune. I also lube the knife edges with some Chapstick...I think it helps.

Every guitar seems to have its tuning quirks but my locking trem guitars stay in tune the best. Give those strings more time!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Additionally, I (as many other here do as well) use a Tremol-no.

I always change strings with it locked in Hard Tail Mode, stretch the living doo-doo out of them, re-clamp, re-tune, re-fine tune, then put the unit into freely floating, see how it is. If necessary, some more stretching may be in order, but not likely.

Anytime the guitar is not in use, in the case, it's always a good idea to keep the unit in Hard Tail Mode, as it maintains consistency.

Also, I have to mention that I have much better "return to zero" since I switched to 4 springs. It takes less stress on the strings and evens out the tension across all 4 springs.

 

[Steve_U1S]

You should also make sure the nut itself is well-tightened to the neck - if shrinkage ("it shrinks?") has caused that to become a little loose, that can cause all kinds of interesting tuning issues.
And also the important question was raised above, and I second: did you put in the Stud Mod? That can make the EdgePro bridges into tanks for tuning.

 

[Martis93]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, don't want to bump this thread again but I've found the problem and someone might find this useful in the future. I don't know what a Stud Mod is (not yet familiar with all ss.org's definitions), but the problem wasn't in the setup at all. I took the guitar to a tech and he told me that someone must've adjusted the height of the bridge without taking the strings off first, which caused the trem posts to move slightly. Two ways to solve this: fix the trem posts so they don't move, or partially block the bridge so that it would only go down - that's what I chose to do. I only dive now but the guitar stays in tune all the time.