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Background: D-Tuna is a device developed by Eddie Van Halen that sits on the screw of your 6th string that drops one step in the tuning of that string quickly (according to a few videos I've seen on YouTube, it takes about a second to reach out for it and make the change - if your bridge is already locked).

It does need the bridge to be "locked" (using a separate device such as a Tremol-no or Tremsetter) so that the variation in the total pull force from the strings that happens when you change the tuning using the device doesn't change the balance of the bridge, and effectively detunes the whole guitar.

PS: for the sake of the question, assume that the device is present, but you don't want to use it for a particular song, and that whatever bridge stabilizer you have in place is not active. Does the physical presence of the device limit the range of the bridge?

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    If I recall correctly, EVH always used a rear-blocked tremolo. He only used it for lowering pitch, so hitting the body or going out of tune with a D-Tuna was impossible. – NReilingh Aug 17 '11 at 21:10
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It appears that the answer will be dependent upon the guitar on which it is installed. If your bridge sits nearly flush to a flat-top guitar, then it will likely strike the body and limit your range. However, on a carved-top it's less likely to strike the body.

If it does indeed strike the body then a luthier may be able to carve a notch into the top to allow full-range without interference.

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  • By range, do you mean the motion of the bridge when you do a dive bomb? – Chris Serra Aug 18 '11 at 15:03
  • close. Since the device points away from the headstock it would be fine for dive-bombs, but if you the opposite (a reverse dive-bomb?) it would potentially strike the body of the guitar. – STW Aug 18 '11 at 17:49
  • Right, that's what I figured you were referring to. I'm not sure how it's installed exactly on the Peavey EVH I've seen with it, but I don't believe I've seen anyone add it aftermarket. It's definitely a pretty cool piece of hardware, so if you can do it without destroying your guitar, go for it! – Chris Serra Aug 23 '11 at 4:26
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Just for extra clarity, I have both the Peavey Wolfgang and the Ernie Ball Music Man guitars.

Both guitars' tremelos, by way of Eddie's preference, push down and return to flush. So STW is correct, the EVH D-TUNA will get raised away from the body at the fulcrum point. When the tremolo is disengage, the D-TUNA returns to a horizontal position parallel to the body.

The Peavey's Floyd Rose is recessed into the body, but this does not affect the performance of the D-Tuna and subsequently does not affect the operation of the Floyd Rose.

The Music Man, in contrast, is not recessed into the body. I put a D-TUNA onto the Flyod Rose and it has the same effect as the Peavey. On my guitar however, I noticed that the Floyd tuning screw seems "tighter" to manipulate compared to the Peavey, so the action for engaging the D-Tuna is also "tighter" and not as smooth. It still works however.

Because the "butt" of the DTuna extends out further than the other fine tuners, any floating Floyd will be restricted particularly if there is no recession for the fine tuners' 'claw'.

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  • What are you using to stabilize the Floyd Rose bridge of your Music Man? – Rafael Almeida Nov 4 '11 at 0:13
  • Hi Rafael, the Music Man isn't recessed, but it's the same as the Peavey. The Floyd swings back on it's base and 90% of it is flat on the guitar so doesn't really need any stabilizing. As Eddie himself says, because it's locked to the wood in its natural position, there's more sustain compared to a floating bridge. – Vlad - geetarCOACH.com Nov 4 '11 at 9:47

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