locking tremelo??

Hi Almann,

When they say locking it, I suspect they mean across the strings at the headstock, not down at the tremelo.
Chances are that the guitar you have has some poor quality tuning heads which slacken off with excessive vibrato playing.

If you're not using the tremelo then you'll probably be ok anyway. However, if is is a problem, then you can have a "locking bar" fitted at the headstock. This clamps all the strings down before the tuning heads. This means the strings are fixed at the bridge (at the tremelo) and then at the top. This makes it very difficult for the strings to slacken and go out of tune.

Cheers,

Ed

thanks - si in short, unless i decide to use a tremelo, i need not worry?

sounds good to me - thanks

Looking at pics of the x6, it has a locking nut fitted. the tuners aren't locking tuners. to string and tune (and bear in mind I've never owned a guitar with a locking nut, so double check this elsewhere to make sure I've covered everything and in the right order, there's a good chance I've missed something out).....

you loosen the locking nut. string and tune the strings to near-concert pitch (i.e. they should look properly strung, no slack, but you'll be fine-tuning at the bridge, so it doesn't have to be spot-on perfect). then screw the nut back down, locking the strings at the nut. then fine-tune up using the mini-screws on the floyd rose bridge.

there are plenty of people on here with guitars featuring the floyd rose system, so they're better placed than I am to give full instructions, but that's the general gist of it. if you still experience tuning stability problems, it may be the quality of the locking nut, or the quality of the bridge. I don't use FR bridges because I don't like their tone, but as this model retails around £170 (according to harmony central reviewers)), I'm guessing the bridge (and possibly also the nut) are not of the highest quality available. I'm pretty sure with these guitars you cut the ball end off the string, too. as the string is locked down and fine-tuned at the bridge.

again, not owning one of these guitars, I can't say for sure, but if you don't use the whammy bar, you might be able to clamp the bridge down (and thus increase tuning stability) using the "hardtail strat" method I've just outlined in the Guitar Repairs section of GN for ph0nage. Real simple fix, just not sure if it works for FR trems or not.

additions to Scrybe's posting:

when setting up and doing initial tuning (locking nut "unlocked"), start with the bridge tuning adjusters centered within their ranges of adjustment ... or slightly toward the neck, as strings stretch. tune up as a 'normal ' guitar, stretching new strings as required to attain reasonable tuning stability. check floating bridge position relative to the body (usually parallel), check intonation. do final tuning. lock down the nut. now do all remaining tuning from bridge. never tune from the headstock if the nut is locked down. if a string ever is too far out of tune for the bridge tuners to correct, you will need to unlock the nut and use the headstock tuners to recenter the tuning ranges on offending strings.

on FR trems, some players install the strings with the ball ends up at the headstock to avoid having to remove them.

Props for the additions there Greg. 8)

It appears that it is true, I really am an idiot.

thanks for all your responses, but when i read them i couldnt relate then to my guitar. So i had a closer look and it appears mine is a Cort x-6 HT, which is apparently different to a cort X-6 (i just didnt spot that in the reviews as they had no pics).

http://www.guitars.co.uk/acatalog/Guitars_co_uk_X_6_SM_WP_283.html

It is on this page, in the "middle" column - about 3rd or 4th guitar down (its black). This definately is my guitar this time. As im not familar with terms like floating bridge, tremelo etc, i think i made a pretty stupid mistake when reading reviews for the X-6.

but, just to ease my eary brain, can somebody have a look at the specs posted to it and confirm whether my guitar will end up being difficult to keep in tune or not for any reason??

Well i bought a new guitar, it felt great, has 5 pickups plus coil tap, and i think it sounded great - so i bought i happily.

on reading interent reviews people have said it is very hard to keep in tune because of the tremelo - and that it needs "locking".

i have no idea what this means - i believe it is something to do with a whammy bar - which i never ever use (i dont even own one). Do i need to worry about "locking my tremelo"?? :shock:

just in case you wondered, its a cort x-6
Wait... it has 5 pickups ??? O_O seriously ??

So, the guitar I bought recently is an Ibanez 2550 E GK Prestige and since it is used it came with a tremol-no ( tremolo locking thing). It has nice locking tuners but it also has that so I suspect it will never ever go out of tune ( xD yah right ), and the termol-no like Scrybe said kinda clamps down the strings and thats it, but if u don't use the tremolo bar ur ok :), but if you are planning to do some divebombs then expect to re tune.

I think he is counting each of the humbuckers as two... so it is really a 3 pickup guitar.

ohhhh ok H-S-H same as mine

The only thing I don't like about locking the tremolo is that its a hassle to change tunings quickly

i should have said 5 pickup combinations - it is 2 humbuckers and one single :D

What I've done with these Floyd Rose or extinct Kahler-type locking trems, is to start by loosening the 3 blocks which constitute part of the nut, up at the headstock. Now you can turn the tuning keys, or pegs.

Set the thumb screws at the bridge maybe about 2/3 of the way down, fairly even across. Now tune the guitar to A440 or standard pitch, and lock down the 3 blocks with your hex key. This will physically raise the pitch, but you can't help it. 8)

Fine tune the guitar by backing out the thumb screws until all 6 strings are in tune. :wink:

This guy has a very detailed video on changing strings on a flying v with a floyd rose.

I am not sure if it is the best way, but he really looks like he knows what he is doing... and from seeing his comments on the Schecter guitar forum and his other videos... he seems to know what he is talking about and can play very good.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmg3o7fHpQg&feature=related

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeEckzGepg&feature=related

I've just had a look at the picture you posted- seems to me that the X-6 HT is a fixed bridge guitar. This means that there is no tremolo at all- the bridge doesn't move. (I imagine that HT stands for hardtail, or something.)

If this is what you have (neither a whammy bar nor the kind of bridge that one would attach to) then there should be no problems at all as far as tuning stability goes.

Is your guitar staying in tune well at the moment? If it is, then I'd say stop worrying. If it isn't, you'll have to do some investigating, but I'd be surprised. A reasonably good quality guitar with a fixed bridge will usually stay in tune well. Seems like your guitar will probably stay in tune as well as most, and better than mine. ;-)

Best,
Ande

Ande - you're right.
because im not familiar with terms lick locking nuts and tremelo, i got myself very confused and read X-6 reviews which said my guitar would go out of tune - i didnt realise these things didnt apply to my guitar (the x-6 HT)- which is why i posted my now, somewhat redundant question.

still, at least i now know what all these new terms mean - and after looking at how to change strings on those things, i now know i never want one :D