Hey, everybody! New here and I'm sure this question is a bear but I'm not particularly good at guitar setup and need some help. I originally played in a low tuning of C standard with a gauge of .11 - .56 and have decided that I want to return to E with .9 - .42 (Detuned metal was a phase, it seems) and I plopped my original 3-spring configuration onto my Floyd's tremolo claw, did some truss rod tweaking to compensate for the gauge change and everything went swimmingly right up to tuning the high e string. It starts feeling about as taut as the others (E, A, D, G, B) at C. I have a good 4 wraps around the post with no noticeable kinks. It's mind-numbing! Any ideas? (And, yes, I'm sure it's not the B string I'm using by accident =P)
If you have a string retainer bar, it is putting undue tension on the 1st E string, that you aren't used to at the present time, since you made those changes. Take a Q-tip and dab some Vaseline, graphite or lithium grease and butter up the bottom of the bar, a bit.
The other thing, is to make sure that your string retainer blocks are loose or removed, initially while installing/tuning, and facing in the right direction with the high spot, ridge, rib or spiny protuberance parallel with the string, or at a right angle to the nut and frets.
You don't require an E note at A440 immediately, because replacing the block, will put pressure downward, and tune it up, sharp. On that string, you want to start with the microtuner, thumb screw fairly high, backed out to give you latitude to tune clockwise, after it stretches.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Thanks very much for the quick response! I'm going to give it another go in a short while and see what I can do. I'll report back when she's in tune or on fire :lol:
How's the wood burning? :shock: 8)
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
I was able to alleviate a little bit of the tension but nothing significant. I noticed a rather deep, uhm, 'gouge' in the high E groove of the locking nut ( that description was probably horrible ) where the string sort of settles in, pressing down on the string behind the nut moves it in and out, but I can't be sure if that would cause enough stress for that kind of off-tension. I could kick my own arse for ever tuning down.
Yes, I believe that the .11 string would have acted like a knife blade there, almost a hack saw :shock: being moved through that slot and even on the plateau of the nut, so much. Don't feel bad, you can change the whole locking nut, blocks and all, they do wear out.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Cheap enough fix! The poor lady has been through so much this last decade; various tunings, dive bombs, yanks, cranks, string changes, spring tightenings, having a jackaloof drop her twice - I should probably invest into some new saddle blocks too :roll:
