Axis doesn't stay in tune

[jrh779]

I just bought my first Axis off of e-bay (green Quilt top) with Floyd Rose and a D-tuner. Beautiful guitar and tone!!! I'm having problems with it staying in tune - esp the high E, B and G strings. Also, when I have it in tune and use the D-Tuner, the other strings go out.
It appears that the bridge is level with the body. Any suggestions?

I have the same problem with my standard Wolfgang with Floyd and I just had that set up.
It's frustrating when playing at a gig and I feel like I have to tune after every song. Somethings not right.

 

[Jimi D]

Welcome to the forum!

Well, you're correct in saying something's not right... The first thing to check is that the bridge returns to it's resting position on the body - it is supposed to rest on the body, not "float", when a D-Tuna is installed. The next thing I'd look at is whether the nut is worn - maybe it's not gripping when the blocks are locked down? I'd also make sure I had three springs attached to the trem block, and tighten up the springs a bit by screwing the trem claw a little further into the body, just to make sure they're tight enough to keep things stable... I have an Axis with D-Tuna, and I have rock solid tuning stability. I can't say why you're having problems, but I can say that if the guitar were set up properly, you wouldn't. So my #1 recommendation would be to take the guitar to a guitar tech and have them set the guitar up for you, explaining clearly what the problems seem to be and getting them to tell you exactly what they did to fix them. Bottom line is that it's not the guitar's fault - every instrument needs to be maintained properly to remain in good operating condition. Obviously the previous owner of this guitar didn't keep it set up properly...

 

[jongitarz]

Jimi has some good points. Another thing I have seen a lot of is over tightening the strings on the bridge end.It forms a groove in the block, and distorts the shape of the block making it impossible to move in the saddle, and if it won't move it won't hold the strings. The E B and G strings would be the ones to slip...The wound strings sort of have their own grip because of the windings.

 

[nobozos]

Sounds to me like it's a simple matter of the trem springs just not being tight enough. Just try tighthening the spring claw until the trem rests on the body. The easy way to check if this is the problem is to hook up your tuner, and then push the trem bar back instead of forward. The strings should not go sharp. If they do, then your trem springs are too loose.

Not tech needed. No money spent.