Hi,
I read on one of the blog posts here, that you shouldn't use Ernie Ball Slinky strings with a Floyd Rose, is this correct?
If so which strings are good with the floyd rose?
I had swapped my power slinky for the super slinky which are a lighter gauge due to the dire warnings in the handbook about only using certain gauge strings.. Which was of course before I'd read about not using the slinky strings...
Thanks
Caveat - I have never owned a guitar with a Floyd Rose trem, so I have limited knowledge, but....
Ernie Ball strings will be absolutely fine. The only problem is the actual ball-end of the string, which is present on all electric guitar strings (okay, so Fender Bullets have a bullet in place of the ball-end, but you'd have to snip that off, too). You should snip that off with a pair of pliers. Standard practice amongst people I know personally tends to be: string the guitar so the ball-end is at the headstock end of the guitar, then snip the excess string-length plus the ball-end from there.
The only major thing with Floyd Rose bridges, aside from snipping off the ball-end is, as you mentioned, not to use heavy gauge strings. I think the standard for Floyd Rose bridges is 9. 10s should be okay, but anything higher than this may cause problems.
Thanks Scrybe, I'm very pleased to hear that, as I've got 4 packs in (having snapped 2 strings in my first attempt at restringing it I decided bulk buy was the only option!)
Also putting the ball end at the top and snipping with the excess is a very good idea too - will def do that :-)
I have Ernie Ball Slinkys on a Floyd Rose right now, they work great for me. I am currently using 9's... As for stringing the trem, there are some great youtube vids on that.
I prefer to string through the tuning keys first & pull the ball end up tight against the pegs. From there you can cut the string to the proper length at the trem. Been doing it this way for a few years now & I feel it is the easiest/best way to go.
I learned it from this guy...
When I had a guitar with a Floyd I used to cut my balls off. :shock: Ouch! :lol: Never heard of "NOT" using Slinkys though. Why the heck not? You are fine.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Ernie Ball Slinky's are exactly what we used on our FR's. What else would you use? :lol: Bend 'em, bend 'em, and bend some more. 8) It's probably not relevant, but my son's teacher made him use 3 fingers and bend the 1st E till it rolled over the top and off the board. They had it calculated as 7 semi-tones, but I don't know, I wasn't in the room to verify. I just know that it wore out the fretboard on that green Ibanez - pity and a shame. :roll:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Got a floyd rose- like it.
I also like to try out strings- got GHS boomers (10s) on it right now, but have had up to 11s on it, no problems, and slinky's down to 8s.
If there doesn't seem to be any reason why not, I say try it.
Best,
Ande
Excellent - thanks everyone, I won't put my slinky strings on ebay :-)
this was the entry that made me think they didn't work with a floyd rose:-
STRINGS
You should know first of all that you can't use just any strings with a floating bridge. I particularly like Ernie Ball Slinky strings. They allow you to do all sorts of effects and they just have a good feel to them. Unfortunately, they're no good with a floating bridge. Because of their elasticity, they can't keep the bridge in position. Therefore, use these strings only on guitars with fixed bridges.
That's just weird. I have always used Ernie Balls on my strat and have never had a problem with them. If they're good enough for Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Jeff Beck, and Buddy Guy, they should be fine for just about everybody.
(That said, I was fortunate to try some Thomastik Infeld Jazz Fusion strings and man do they feel and sound nice! Bloody expensive and hard to find, though)
You use a floyd rose? You are very brave!
I have Ernie Balls on both a US Strat and a Burns Marquee, both with floating bridges. No problems whatever - other than with my playing, that is.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
You use a floyd rose? You are very brave!
No just naive.... LOL
I have Ernie Balls on both a US Strat and a Burns Marquee, both with floating bridges. No problems whatever - other than with my playing, that is.
Oddly enough the playing is my main problem too :-)
Apache - after I get back from the US, I should organise another GN jam at mine. You'd be more than welcome (it isn't a public jam with an audience like the RSJ, it's just a private in-house thing with a few GNers - very relaxed and fun).
Apache - after I get back from the US, I should organise another GN jam at mine. You'd be more than welcome (it isn't a public jam with an audience like the RSJ, it's just a private in-house thing with a few GNers - very relaxed and fun).
Thanks - that would be nice, although I'm not quite up to jamming yet (only been playing 6 months), so as long as you don't mind me as an interested spectator that would be excellent :)
Apache - after I get back from the US, I should organise another GN jam at mine. You'd be more than welcome (it isn't a public jam with an audience like the RSJ, it's just a private in-house thing with a few GNers - very relaxed and fun).
Thanks - that would be nice, although I'm not quite up to jamming yet (only been playing 6 months), so as long as you don't mind me as an interested spectator that would be excellent :)
By 'jamming' I mean we play through a few songs. You can pick some tunes you already know if you'd like, or learn....(trying to think of some regulars we do)....The Weight (by The Band), and, um, ask Vic. Vic is way more organised than me. I'm crap at remembering stuff like this! Angel From Montgomery is another we do.
