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The bridge on my Ibanez RG5EX1 keeps raising when I tune it.?
I bought new strings for all of my guitars and all went on fine, except for my Ibanez RG5EX1. It has a whammy bar, which I don't have on right now, but because it has the whammy bar the bridge has the ability to raise and lower. Whenever I tune it to any tuning from as low as dropped A to standard, the bridge is raised. Because of this the strings end up being very far away from the fretboard and it becomes very hard to play and tune, I really need this guitar for my band because we're covering a few songs in standard but we play in dropped C#, tuning my RG3EXFM1 from dropped C# to standard would take a little bit and it would be so much easier to just use a second guitar. How can I solve this? If need be I have a Pro Coverage warranty from Guitar Center that I can use to get the money for a new guitar.
4 Answers
- gtarczarLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
The problem lies in the fact that you normally play in such a low tuning. Your guitar is set up for that low tuning. As soon as you raise the pitch on your strings you are increasing the tension on your tremolo springs. To counteract that increase, you need to tighten the tremolo springs. This is how Floyd Rose type tremolos operate. It is a balance between string tension and spring tension. You must keep the two balanced to keep the bridge level. The higher the string tension, the further forward the bridge tilts.
It is possible that you will need to install new springs or add a couple of springs to the set up. Keep in mind that this "tension balancing act" means that you will NOT be able to go from such a low tuning to a standard tuning without re-adjusting the spring tension every time you do so.
You could block the tremolo which prevents it from moving backwards into the recess cavity. This involves using a metal plate or a rubber block, either in the tremolo cavity, or across the recess to prevent backwards (pitch up) motion. You could then tighten the tremolo springs as far as they can be tightened and the bridge should remain stable regardless of the tuning. I suggest letting the technician at guitar center do this for you.
This is not a defect in the instrument, it is simply the nature of the mechanics involved with a floating tremolo. By blocking the tremolo as described, it no longer "floats" and will always return to the same position.
Source(s): G.I.T. graduate 30+ years playing/teaching http://www.youtube.com/user/gtarczar - 6 years ago
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The bridge on my Ibanez RG5EX1 keeps raising when I tune it.?
I bought new strings for all of my guitars and all went on fine, except for my Ibanez RG5EX1. It has a whammy bar, which I don't have on right now, but because it has the whammy bar the bridge has the ability to raise and lower. Whenever I tune it to any tuning from as low as dropped A to...
Source(s): bridge ibanez rg5ex1 raising tune it: https://shortly.im/Q2UCc - OnTheRockLv 71 decade ago
If you're not using the tremolo bridge I'd just block it so it doesn't move and then you won't have the problem of the bridge raising or lowering based on the tension of the springs. I did that on my Parker guitar and it stays in tune much better now. You can adjust the tremolo springs for whatever string guage you're using, but this won't help if you're alternating between standard and drop tuning a lot.
