Locking tuner on Luke III - can I pop the string back in?

[redsf]

Hi everyone

I was tuning my guitar down a step, and I turned the locking tuner's knob (on the low E string) to loosen it. Must have gone too far, and the string popped out of the lock. Is it possible to put it back in a tighten the knob again? Or will I need to restring it?

Also, this is my first guitar with locking tuners. In general, when you're tuning the guitar, do you need to loosen the locking part to allow you to tune? Reason I ask: I notice, for example, that I'll tune all the strings down a step, but when I come back to the first string, it'll have gone back to E rather than Eb.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[DrKev]

You only loosen the lock when you want to take the strings off the neck. You can freely tune and detune as you wish. If they come out, yes, you can stick the string end back in and relock. No problem at all.

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[LesPaul]

What DrKev said. I remember the first time I picked up a guitar with locking tuners. I was naive to how they worked. I assumed it meant that they actually locked the tuning pegs themselves and I made the same mistake you did. It was in a Guitar Center and let me tell you, that was embarrassing! Fortunately, the salesman was cool about it. He reset the string and explained it to me.

Welcome!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[tbonesullivan]

Been there, done that. You should be able to put the string back into the locking peg. You can use the tremolo to help give you more slack, but don't push the string in too far or you'll have trouble getting it back in tune.

 

[redsf]

Thanks everyone! Am relieved to hear that.

 

[redsf]

Thank you for the welcome!

You can freely tune and detune as you wish.

Am wondering why the strings bounce back to, for example, E when I tune them down to Eb. Could it have anything to do with the floating bridge?

 

[beej]

Yep, it's the floating bridge.

The system is a balance between the tension of the strings (pulling the bridge forward), and the tension of springs (pulling the bridge towards the body). When you loosen the strings, the bridge moves forward and, in turn, the springs pull a little more.

It's sort of an iterative process, where you will eventually get stable at a new pitch. But even then, the bridge will come to rest further from the body. If you're going to keep it in Eb, you'll want to adjust the trem claw to compensate.

 

[redsf]

Very helpful. Thank you.