Help! Preventing Floyd From Popping Up

[OU812]

This seems to be the norm or at least in my experience with FR guitars. The only guitar I've not had this happen to on was an '83 USA Kramer Pacer but maybe that was just a fluke Anyways, if you release the tension on all the strings the Floyd pops up off the pivot posts.
Is there a way to prevent this without releasing the tension on the claw/springs in the back? I don't wanna loosen the screws in the claw each time I wanna clean the neck etc. Maybe place something underneath the bridge so it pivots it forward a tad so it doesn't move? How do you guys do this?

 

[beej]

I generally stuff something between the trem and body, to keep its position in tact when I remove the strings. I use cardboard, some guys favour a rubber door wedge, etc. That's always done the trick for me and prevented it from coming off the posts.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

To elaborate on what Beej said....put the trem arm towards the lower body. Put something soft on the body and then something on top of that to hold the arm up......diving the tune of the strings. Now you can remove the strings and nothing is going to move.

 

[cm_17]

As the other guys said, that's normal. On my Axis with non-recessed trem I stuff folded paper towels underneath to not scratch the finish:

A really good way is this, yet needs a reliable clamp:

 

[OU812]

cm_17 do you place the napkin underneath the bridge, as in dive the Floyd, slip the paper napkin under it so its between the bridge and the body?

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Cm, on the 2nd pic, I would think that could really stretch your springs out too much and may be detrimental.

Eric

 

[dibart77]

I roll up one of the yellow polishing cloths that came with my EBMM guitar. Fold it 2" in from the edge, then continue folding until you have a 2" 'strip' and then put that under the bridge cross-wise (like the paper towel example above).

The key is you don't want something abrasive that will scratch the finish. Also, if you have a floating Floyd, you don't want to use anything too hard or it might crush the edges of the route hole or make the paint on the edges crack. So the yellow EBMM polishing cloth handles that well, too.

I have also, on a guitar that was super-special to me, I rolled up another yellow polishing cloth and "blocked the trem" in the rear cavity so the brass block couldn't move forward or backwards, by shoving the cloth into the space on either side of the brass block. Kind of double-insurance.

I would NOT do the clamp option above. Even if you have a clamp that won't damage the body, look at how the clamp is mounted. Since the "bottom claw" of the clamp is on the back-side of the body, now you can't rest your guitar flat on its back while you do your string change. One false move and you accidentally knock the clamp off and the trem flies out of the body like a bat out of hell and your guitar is ruined.

-J

 

[Astrofreq]

I don't have any Floyd guitar anymore, but my answer was to not release the tension on all the strings at a time. I'm assuming we are talking about changing strings, so just change two at a time.

 

[cm_17]

Kramer, yes indeed, the easiest is, as is the consensus here, to dive the trem, put a rolled up cloth or stiff paper napkin or similar under it, and slowly let the trem rest. Also helps to adjust intonation pretty fast, the one pain on a Floyd.

Actually, these days I usually use a piece of wine cork that I made from a cork that I cut in half along its lenght. Fits also perfectly when the Floyd is rear-routed.

The clamp is safe, too, but yea you cant put the axe flat on the back, which is however also not necessary. The pic is not mine, but that guitar in the pic is too expensive to try out bad methods . It also doesnt stretch the strings in a way that damages them. If anything then it will keep the springs from stiffening and forming spring memory. YMMV.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I'm not a floyd man but heard that someone used rubber door wedges

like these

BDS Door Wedge Rubber Stopper 9132 698114