What is wrong w/ FRS

Updated
What is wrong w/ FRS
What in the hell is wrong with Floyd Rose Specials? When I was shopping for an M-body, neck thru, floating bridge, H H p/u config, & price range around $500 guitar I was a little worried about the m300-fm because it didn't have at least a 1000series Floyd on it. I ultimately figured how bad could it be and went ahead and got the guitar. What a mistake, I already had to replace the locking nut bolts because they stripped out in like 3 uses. While I was at it I ordered a new OF nut and all new hardware (string clamp bolts, locking string blocks, etc.) So in other words I've replace everything to OF except the bridge itself, the saddles and the mount posts. I have a big issue with the 2nd string always going flat over and over. Is there anything I can do as far as upgrades go to fix this? Does anyone else have this problem? Does the amount of springs in the back have anything to do w/ tuning stability?(maybe install a tremsetter) I'm tuned to E standard and have 10's on w/ 4 springs in the back to have the bridge level w/ the body. Thanks in advance for any help!
Tfr123

Nah. I've only had one problem with mine. About 6 months after I got the guitar, the third string sattle was completely stripped out, so I had to get one OFR saddle. The worst part about it was that the new saddle is chrome rather than black nickel. Other than that, mine works like a charm.

ozzuk1

You may have just been unlucky getting weaker than standard metal, however it wont be as good as an original german made unit, you also have to be carefull to not strip out the nut, perhaps you were overtightening them and the weaker metal couldnt handle it...

If one string is going out, you have a real OFR nut, so its not on that end, maybe the saddle isnt fully clamped down, I had that issue on a Maverick F1 with a Lo Trs style bridge...

It's still a big improvement over many cheap bridges, I would reccomend getting some decent springs, as the stock ones may not be strong enough the original german ones are really stiff and have lots of resistance, however they will loose thier tension after a few years of use...

I just bought generic heavy duty springs form an ebay store after my two schaller FR's springs had worn out...

You can also cut the spring shorter to give you extra tension, cut one or two of the rings off then loop one back down to attach to the bridge claw...

Use some chapstick on the posts to help with stabillity too I cant garauntee the bridge will last that long under heavy use...

The Knife edges may need some minor filing.

But my suspision if one strings going flat is the saddle itself or it isnt quite locked down tight enough meaning it moves when the string is having less/more tension with dives and pullup's...

If you do discover the issue please post your results so other FR special users can troubleshoot...

Long term you would be better off getting an original or gotoh unit rather than replacing parts untill the only thing thats original is the baseplate and studs...

1point8t

Weird. I've had ZERO problems on any Floyd Special that I've owned. I use them on all my project guitars and they've been great. Maybe yours came from a bunk run, who knows.

shathe

i have one too and it has been really good actually.
this may sound a little weird but do are stretch your strings after you put them on?
what kind of strings are you using?

the next time you do a restring, take a close look at your fine tuning screws and make sure that they all move smoothly over their full range of motion. if you get one that binds up at some point this could be causing your type of problem. use a little vaseline to lubricate them, but don't go over board. you can also lubricate where the tip of the fine tuners come into contact with the string lock screw (the one's that hold the saddles).

when you string up, make sure your fine tuning screws are in maybe a turn past center (giving you more space to tune lower). after you tune up and stretch your strings, play it a bit and make sure everything is relatively stable before you lock down the nut. now when you lock down your nut the tuning will go higher, so back off your fine tuners until you're in tune. the idea is to have the fine tuners as close to center position as you can get them. i've found that on any locking trem, tuning stability tends to drop off as you approach either end of the range of the fine tuners.

forgive me if you know all this. i'm not trying to be an ass or anything, i just don't know your experience level.

Murdoc

Okay, I tightened the saddle bolts (I got a 1/8-1/4) turn out of each one. It seems to stay in tune better now. Is it normal to have the saddle bolts not completely tight or did I fuck up by tightening them? I didn't get out the torque wrench or anything just a little crank past tight.

1point8t

I tighten them down quite a bit, not enough to strip them but certainly more than what I would consider snug...

Murdoc

I tighten them down quite a bit, not enough to strip them but certainly more than what I would consider snug...
Good, that's what I did. No tighter than when my locking nut stripped, maybe the saddle bolts are a harder metal. Do you think I'd benefit from installing a tremsetter?

Post to Thread