OK Guys I have another question for ya. I recently bought a axis and you will have to forgive me, but I was a bass player that has converted over to the other side. I am not used to having to tune so often. I practice for about three hours a night and I have to tune at least three or four times. Is this normal for a axis with a floyd rose, or am I doing somethig wrong? The other question sounds a little weird or stupid, but Im going to ask anyway. Can a guitar have a flat note on the low E string @ "G" when I have tuned correctly. It just dosnt sound right, sounds flat, but only there??? I dont know, maybe you guys can help. I also want to thank everyone that answered my floyd rose questions a couple of weeks ago. Please forgive me for my stupidity about guitars, still learning.
- Thread starter MRM4712
- Start date
With Floyds you really, really have to stretch the strings well when you're stringing the guitar, or you end up retuning a lot for a while as the strings stretch themselves... I seem to tune my Floyds about once a week (and they hardly need it then) but I've been playing and setting them up for ages. I presume your Axis has the trem flush against the body and is not set up as a floating trem?
As for the flat-sounding G played on the low E string, it might be an intonation issue? You need a really good tuner to set the intonation properly, but once you're sure that the intonation is correct, use the same GOOD tuner to check and see if the G really is flat, or if you're just hearing it that way... Cheaper electronic tuners are often out by 3 - 5 cents on any given note; the little LCD ones are notoriously bad for this - and so you look like you're in tune but aren't. Additionally, guitar tuning is always a compromise anyway, and the bottom line is that depending what chord you're playing, you can sound quite discordant unless you temper the tuning. The Buzz Feiten system does this at the price of off-setting some harmonics, for instance. Anyway, your best bet if you don't want to invest in an expensive Seiko or a Peterson VS-I or VS-II is to have the guitar professionally set up, then test the results with a Boss TU-12 or whatever...
Personally, I own a high end Seiko and a VS-I, and either is excellent for intonating guitars (the VS-I is probably slightly more accurate). Peterson ad copy claims the VS-I and II are 30 times more accurate than the average needle tuner found in most guitar cases, and I can vouch for the difference - it's quite dramatic. The Peterson tuners also come with a built in "tempered" tuning for guitars that is quite musical (don't use it to intonate, tho'!!) - I use it often and am pleased with the results.
my 2¢
As for the flat-sounding G played on the low E string, it might be an intonation issue? You need a really good tuner to set the intonation properly, but once you're sure that the intonation is correct, use the same GOOD tuner to check and see if the G really is flat, or if you're just hearing it that way... Cheaper electronic tuners are often out by 3 - 5 cents on any given note; the little LCD ones are notoriously bad for this - and so you look like you're in tune but aren't. Additionally, guitar tuning is always a compromise anyway, and the bottom line is that depending what chord you're playing, you can sound quite discordant unless you temper the tuning. The Buzz Feiten system does this at the price of off-setting some harmonics, for instance. Anyway, your best bet if you don't want to invest in an expensive Seiko or a Peterson VS-I or VS-II is to have the guitar professionally set up, then test the results with a Boss TU-12 or whatever...
Personally, I own a high end Seiko and a VS-I, and either is excellent for intonating guitars (the VS-I is probably slightly more accurate). Peterson ad copy claims the VS-I and II are 30 times more accurate than the average needle tuner found in most guitar cases, and I can vouch for the difference - it's quite dramatic. The Peterson tuners also come with a built in "tempered" tuning for guitars that is quite musical (don't use it to intonate, tho'!!) - I use it often and am pleased with the results.
my 2¢
I really appreciate your input. I will go and buy a better tuner and see what happens. It sounds as if the tuner that I have is not really TUNING the gutar correctly. Do you think that taking it somewhere to be set up would help the buzz that I get around the 15th fret on the 6th string (e) I dont get it on the other strings except for e, a, d. ??? I am very happy with my purchase but kind of out of my league with the floyd and all. I have never had anything like this before and appreciate all of your input. If a bass had a floyd I probably wouldnt have an excuse(HAHA)
Warg Master
Well-known member
REad the FAQ, it will tell you how to get rid of buzz... May be just needing a simlpe truss rod adjustment....though from what you say you may need to remove the neck and move some shims around.
MRM4712 said:
I think that any guitar can benefit greatly from a good set up, and that if you can't do it yourself you should take it to someone else. If you get a good tech, he'll let you pick his brains - combine that with a decent book like one of Dan Erlewine's and you'll be able to do your own set ups in no time... It's not rocket science, but it can be meticulous and finicky process, and you have to do it a few times before you begin to get a feel for how to best approach it, imho...
Warg Master
Well-known member
Jimi D said:
Agreed. I feel the Axis floyd has been the easiest to deal with as it' a non-floating trem which makes things alot easier.... but that's just mho as well.
So in other words I am not tuning it wrong with the floyd, it just sounds like I need to get the guitar set up correctly. Should it go out of tune so often though? I mean its not like its sounds like a shot duck or anything, but it goes flat??? Thanks for your advise,
With new unstretched strings it'll go out of tune fairly quickly with whammy use but after a short while (depending on the strings) it will all settle down and the whole guitar should pretty much stay in tune no matter how you play it...at least thats what I find with my Axis. From this point on it will need only occasional tuning (once every 7-10 days to mainly ensure everything is perfect!). Of course this all depends on how much you play!
Remember to always stretch new strings...you can give them pretty strong tugs!
Remember to always stretch new strings...you can give them pretty strong tugs!
