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You may have heard about my earlier Ibanez Edge-III tremolo woes (I'm finding out that the thing is as bad as it's made out to be by experienced players).

Now I've got a new one. I've found that the trem has 2 'Zeros'.

Let me explain: I drop the bar all the way down (slacken the strings), let it settle and then tune up. I find that I'm at 1 imaginary 'Zero' and my guitar is still in tune. Now if I pull the bar up (tighten the strings) and allow it to settle I'm at the other 'Zero'. At this point, I find I'm about half a step sharp. This is my first Floyd-Rose style trem, and it doesn't seem at all worth the hassle.

Any suggestions for resolving the issue? I think I'm going to drop an Original Floyd Rose into this guitar at some point...

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I think your solution is the only one - pop in a proper trem:-) – Dr Mayhem♦ Apr 22 '11 at 13:17
1  
These nightmares (on top of the fact that I have enough trouble playing guitar without an extra input) are why I have hardtails! – gomad Apr 22 '11 at 15:27
@gomad, I'm a fan of hardtails as well. I only bought this guitar because some clown on eBay was selling it at just over a quarter what it's supposed to be. – Aurum Aquila Apr 22 '11 at 23:40
Yeah, I bit the bullet and bought an original floyd. Unfortunately, they don't have the exact hardware color of the Ibanez... But Black should be fine. Now I need to replace the crappy pickups in the thing, lol. – Aurum Aquila Apr 23 '11 at 7:52
Ibanez provides an owners manual for the Edge III at this link (PDF) ibanez.co.jp/world/manual/english/1.pdf – Wheat Williams May 7 at 15:20

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

It's possible that the pins where the knife-edges of the tremolo rest are defect. I mean they have like two points where the knife-edge holds, and when you push down the bar it 'jumps' to one spot and when you pull up it jumps to the other. This defect usually happens when you set the height of these pins when the tremolo is still in place, and the knife-edges 'cut' in these pins as you turn them. This is tuning-killer number one by the way. ;)

If that's the case, a solution would be to either replace the pins with new ones or use some kind of lip-balm on the pins (remove the tremolo first, of course). I heard of the lip-balm trick a while ago and this should be the easiest an cheapest way for you. (I haven't tried it myself yet, so I can't guarentee it works!)

Another solution is to buy a new tremolo system, it's the most expensive solution thought...

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Well, I already ordered an original floyd. I'll inspect the screws with a magnifying glass tonight. When I look at the knife edges on the thing, there's little bit of wear on the non-curved edge... – Aurum Aquila Apr 27 '11 at 21:02
hmm, seems like I was right. (if there's really something visible) Anyway, since you got an OFR (excellent choice) you've got the solution anyway. Just be sure to remove the bolts too. (Don't laugh, I've seen people not doing that and their new Floyd, as the result, worked as 'good' as the old one.) – Anonymous May 2 '11 at 7:34
@Markus, I knew about removing the bolts. Do I have to remove those metal dowel things that have the threads on the inside for the posts? Or can I just screw the new posts in? – Aurum Aquila May 2 '11 at 10:03
@Aurum, In general you can re-use them, as long as the new fit tightly. If the dowel of the OFR fits better, then you should use them. The easiest way to get the old dowels out is to screw the bolts in and use some kind of tongs to pull it our of the body. This can mean a lot of work, especially when the new dowels don't fit in perfectly. In this case you need to glue some wood pieces in and redrill the holes once the glue is dry. -> You can't avoid this procedure if the spacing between the two bolts are different... if you're not a trained craftman in some kind, I'd suggest you ask a pro. – Anonymous May 2 '11 at 10:50
@Markus, I did research on Ibanez player sites - they say the Edge 3 poles line up. If they don't, I'm just going to sell the lot and get another Fender - I've never had a problem with them. – Aurum Aquila May 2 '11 at 11:40
up vote 1 down vote

I've had various Floyd Rose Type tremelos. They all hardly go out of tune for months. Doesn't matter if you're rough with it, pulling up or pushing down. I quite like the Edge III; however you need to set it's angle proper (something like 15 degrees angle) to guitar body. OFR are set absolutely level with the guitar body.

The other thing regardless of who makes the Floyd Rose; the locking posts usually rock ever so slightly between your fingers when the trem is not inserted. IT SHOULD NOT. A good safe trick is to use one thin layer of masking tape over the threads of the locking posts. (cover the first 5 threads minimum)...it will be tight...but you'll enjoy the results. The sustain is usually good also after that.

Sometimes I put copper grease between the locking posts and Knife edge.

Cheers...Enjoy

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This sounds good. I'm selling the guitar on, as I prefer the technical challenge of getting over the top sounds without the aid of a trem system - however the friend that is buying it may appreciate it if I can get it working perfectly. I'll give it a try :) – Aurum Aquila May 18 '11 at 12:11
up vote 0 down vote

I also had such tuning issues. Especially since I use .10 strings.

I solved it with a simple little device called a Floyd rose stabilizer. I used the Göldo Backbox and installed it within one hour.

It causes the pull resistance be much higher then the dive resistance resulting in a stable middle.

Just search on google and YouTube on Floyd rose stabilizer or goldo back box to find photo's, video's and installation guides.

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