How to Change Strings on a Floyd Rose: Restringing a Locking Tremolo

11 Nov 2023 by Guest Contributor | 3,7 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 4 Minutes

How to Change Strings on a Floyd Rose  ·  Source: Bonedo

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Changing the strings on guitars with Floyd Rose tremolo systems can be a challenge – not just for beginners. But it doesn’t have to be hard! Read our guide to find out the best way to change the strings on a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo.

In order to facilitate the whammy bar effects we all love, most Floyd Rose systems are recessed. This can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. On the one hand, the recess makes it possible to bend the strings in both directions, which lends itself to some pretty wicked stuff – just think of Steve Vai or the Korn brothers.

On the other hand, restringing a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo can be quite tedious – at least when you need to change more than one string at a time. What’s the reason for this? Here are the facts:

• The combined tension of all strings keeps the tremolo bridge in balance. The spring tension and string tension neutralize each other.
• If you loosen all strings at the same time, the springs pull the system all the way back into the recess. Of course, this also happens to a degree when only one string is loosened, but not as significantly.
• After putting the new strings on, you first have to pre-tension them so that there is enough pressure to counteract the tension of the spring and bring the tremolo back to its original position. This means that tuning can be a real PITA, because the strings affect each other. Once you increase the tension of one string, the overall string tension increases and the bridge moves forward a bit. This in turn causes all the other strings to relax and the overall tuning to drop, and so on.

To avoid this Sisyphean task, many professionals like to use a little trick, which I’m going to show you in a series of pictures.

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How to restring a Floyd Rose: Preparations

Unscrew the backplate … · Source: Bonedo

… wrap it in a soft cloth to protect the body … · Source: Bonedo

… push the tremolo system forward … · Source: Bonedo

… and lodge the backplate underneath it. · Source: Bonedo

Fixed in place like this, you can now loosen the strings without having to deal with changes in tuning. · Source: Bonedo

Now we can begin to change the strings on our guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo.

How to change strings on a Floyd Rose: Remove the old strings

Next, loosen the saddle screws of the Floyd Rose tremolo and remove the strings. · Source: Bonedo

How to change strings on a Floyd Rose: Put on the new strings

Before we can put on the new strings, we need to trim off the ball ends. · Source: Bonedo

Insert the strings into the saddles … · Source: Bonedo

… and tighten the Allen screws. · Source: Bonedo

Attention: Before threading the strings into the machine heads, you should move the fine tuners on the tremolo system to their center positions. This ensures that you have sufficient adjustment travel in both directions after locking the nut. · Source: Bonedo

Because it’s so important, let me stress this again. Once the nut is locked, the machine heads no longer have any function. Any necessary retuning of the strings must now be achieved with the fine tuners on the bridge. By moving the fine tuners to their center positions before tuning the strings and locking the nut, you can ensure that you have sufficient travel available for fine-tuning in both directions.

Now it’s time to insert the strings into the machine heads. · Source: Bonedo

In order to limit the number of windings, trim the string ends to a length that corresponds to three machine heads (e.g., cut the end of the E string at the G tuning post and so on). · Source: Bonedo

For higher strings (G, B and E), simply add the appropriate length in your mind. · Source: Bonedo

A perfectly wound (and tuned) string should have three parallel windings around the tuning post. · Source: Bonedo

Now we can tune the strings, attach the clamps and lock them using the Allen key. Do not use excessive force! Since this process can slightly detune the strings again, you should now check the tuning again and, if necessary, adjust it using the fine tuners on the bridge.

That’s it. If you know how to do it, changing the strings on a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo system isn’t that hard, after all!

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Note: This article was originally published in German on bonedo.de.

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