Should a FR bridge change tune slightly when rotated?

[ScornEmperor]

I notice on my Carvin that when the guitar is in tune in playing position, rotating it so it's in my lap changes the tuning by several cents (the guitar goes sharp). I haven't seen this happen on my RC7 that has a FR. I assume the weight of the bridge changes the balance of the float a bit, but this seems a little extreme. Maybe nothing to worry about in the course of normal play, but this is something to do with how my setup is done or should I just disregard it?

 

[Hollowway]

Dang, I don't know if I've ever encountered by that. Does the opposite happen if you flip it so the face of the guitar faces the floor? i.e. does it go flat? And does the position of the bar make a difference? And is this a sixxer or a 7? And lastly, what gauge strings (like, 9s or 10s or 11s) and how many springs are in there?

I guess I could just go check to see if mine does the same thing, so maybe I can check that in the morning.

 

[ScornEmperor]

Dang, I don't know if I've ever encountered by that. Does the opposite happen if you flip it so the face of the guitar faces the floor? i.e. does it go flat? And does the position of the bar make a difference? And is this a sixxer or a 7? And lastly, what gauge strings (like, 9s or 10s or 11s) and how many springs are in there?

I guess I could just go check to see if mine does the same thing, so maybe I can check that in the morning.

Good questions.

Okay so I tried holding it strings down. It goes about 10 cents flat that way. 5 cents sharp if I hold it strings up.

This is with no bar. Let me see what happens with the bar on...

Bar position doesn't seem to make a difference.

- 6 String Carvin Becker
- I just put new 10s on it.
- 3 springs, all parallel. The outside springs are on the far outside rungs.
- Standard tuning.

The tuning is stable in playing position and intonation seems correct. The bridge is floating balanced and flat.

Are you thinking that maybe the springs aren't providing enough tension to keep the bridge floating tightly?

 

[Hollowway]

Yeah, I was thinking that if the strings and springs weren't offering enough tension then gravity itself would alter it. Which still might be the culprit. And it could also be that the neck it being affected by gravity (which means that would occur in a fixed bridge situation as well). But I guess I'd have to check my own Floyd guitars. I'm in bed right now, posting from my phone, so I'll have to look at it tomorrow. But hopefully someone else chimes in. Most of the rest of the globe is going to be waking up soon, so maybe someone in EU, GB etc will chime in. I'm going to guess that it's normal, though, and I've just never noticed it.

 

[1b4n3z]

Perfectly normal, best to tune the guitar according to playing position. My tuner registers a change in tune between playing sitting down and standing up. I tend to tune and intonate the guitar as close to perpendicular as possible. I suppose bridge mass and spring tension play a big role there

 

[bluffalo]

Its normal and to be expected. How much depends on heaps of factors, but it happens.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

When facing up it's the weight of the neck/headstock assisting the truss to straighten the neck (thereby pulling the strings sharp), and of course the opposite when facedown.

This is why neck relief should always be checked with the guitar in playing/neutral position.