Axis floyd & D-tuna setup HELP!

[bvrox74]

Hi there,

I just bought a brand new axis with the locking trem a few days ago. From what I can see it looks perfect and has no flaws mechanically. I've had floyd guitars before. Some are a bitch to set up and some you can drop off a building and it'll still be in tune. I've heard nothing but praises on all musicman guitars, including this one.

When I got it, it played perfectly, but slight dives and heavy dives...or pushing down on the trem bar hard or even slight...causes the pitch to raise a bit....knocking all the strings sharp. I'm no stranger to setups and intonation and even floyds, but my strenghts in setting up are mostly with standard bridge guitars. Floyds are a pain to get perfect, this I know. But I do know...string tension needs to even out with spring tension...the bridge needs to be even/parallel with the body of the guitar and in this case making sure the bridge doesn't have any room to float. The basics, especially after it being professionally setup, are there.

I've got 2 springs in the cavity and I wanna keep it that way. Any more, tuned to E, makes it to stiff to push down on the trem bar.

I got annoyed and had a luthier set up the guitar and adjust the trem for me. I got it home...I was very nice to the guitar out of fear it might wack out of tune too much. Played it for a while, (cuz it's new)...and then started doing typical EVH type of whammy tricks just to test it. Sure enough....it started pitching sharp and stayed there. Because it had been set up well, the stirngs stayed in tune with each other, but all raised a tiny bit.

The trem is all the way flush with the body and even...doesn't appear to slip out of the anchor holes, strings are stretched and dont' really have any slack.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to ensure an Axis stays consistent using the trem bar?

And secondly, with a D-Tuna on there, when releasing the device to drop D...all the strings sharpen in pitch as well. Same behavior as the floyd.

And the floyd pitch change happens even w/out the Dtuna installed.

I just received this guitar on Wednesday. I really wanna use this guitar...but if I can't get it stabilized, it'll have to go back, be sold...or I'll have to contact EB and get help or exchange it.

Thank you.

[Jack FFR1846]

Are you saying that you're getting tone changes after using the whammy bar? Like...you check to standard tuning and it's off? Or that you bend a string and the others change tone. If the latter, you need more spring tension or more springs. Since the trem is locked to flatten only, you only get a bit more effort to make the dive. I can't see where more than 2 springs would be too hard to work. 5 springs.....(done that), sure....but going to 3 should not be hard. Unless those 2 springs are really cranked down in the back.

jack

[bvrox74]

The strings easily go out of tune, when using the trem bar. Most floyd guitars feel best with 2 springs. The string to spring tension ratio is pretty even. The Axis floyds are pretty solid to where 3 springs feel a little too tight. But nevertheless, it's something else. It's been looked at by a really respected guitar builder in Norcal.

Not sure exactly what it is.

[glip22]

Floyds are a pain to setup properly. I have played them for about 15 years. Even if you think your strings are stretched they probably are not. I usually stretch them over several days. It's amazing that I will stretch them out and the next day when I give them a few tugs they go very flat. It is also important to lube the knife edges. A drop of 3 in 1 oil works well. Guitar lube(graphite) is also good. I have found they will work best with a very slight tilt backward(barely noticeable from parallel). Make sure your claw underneath is even. Most importantly is the string tension. I bring all strings flat and then begin cross tuning the strings. I go low e,high e,b,a,g and then d. I continue tuning in this pattern until I am at pitch. This will give you an even tension. Once you are at pitch check the trem angle. If you have to tighten it, make sure you loosen all of the strings flat and begin cross tuning again. This should help.

[grumpyoldman]

I have four Axes (Axises, Axii, whatever....), all with Floyd Rose bridges and D-tunas. All have three springs on the claw. I play 10s on my guitars, and two springs just will not provide enough countertension to keep the plate of the Floyd against the body of the Axis when the strings are tuned (and I tuned a half-step down). If you want the Floyd on the Axis to be stable, I have found that you must ensure that the plate lays on the body perfectly flat (no trying to get it to float a bit - leave warbling to the birds....), and set the countertension of the springs so that you can bend any string at least a step and a half without having the bar move. When I set mine up this way, AND after ensuring that the strings are all fully stretched, they stay in tune no matter what I do with the bar.

When I use the D-tuna, I have to admit that all the other strings go very slightly sharp, but so minutely that it cannot be noticed by ear, only by the VU meter on my chromatic tuner.

My $.02 worth - I hope some of this helps out!