Custom HotRod Strat Build.

[DrNomis_44]

Thought I would start doing the Floyd Rose Trem setup tutorial in this thread.


I've read lots of posts on the internet where people were saying that the Floyd Rose Trem system is a hard one to set up, but the thing is, when you know how to, it can actually be no more difficult than it is to set up a traditional Strat-Style Trem system, here's how, using the Trem system installed on my HotRod Strat as an example.


1, The first thing I do is an initial set up of the two bridge pivot-posts, this involves placing the bridge in the bridge route on the body of the guitar, without the three springs, or the strings installed, on the low E-String side of the bridge, I set the bridge pivot-post height so that the edge is about flush with the body if the guitar has no scratchplate, if it has a scratchplate like a Strat, I set the pivot-post height so that the edge of the bridge is about flush with the surface of the scratchplate, I do the same for the high E-String side of the bridge except that I adjust the pivot-post height so that the edge of the bridge is roughly 1mm higher than the surface of the body, or scratchplate, doing this gets the action at the 17th fret in the ballpark so that you only need to worry about intonating each string.

2, Next, I install the Trem springs, and then I put a small piece of wood in front of the sustain-block so that it prevents the spring-tension from pulling the bridge into the body bridge-routing, the piece of wood is cut to a thickness that gets the bridge sitting parallel with the body, it is essential that the bridge is sitting parallel to the body rather than at an angle, this ensures that the bridge will come back to it's neutral position easily.

3, After I've set the bridge so that it is sitting parallel to the body, I tighten the tension on the springs by tightening the two spring-claw screws so that the spring tension holds the bridge in place.

4, Next, I install all the strings on the guitar and tune them up to pitch, the tension on the Trem springs should be enough so that the bridge doesn't lean forward towards the neck under string tension.

5, Doing all that first takes two adjustments out of the equation so that the only adjustment you have left to do is the individual string intonation, there's a special little tool called The Key, which you can order online from Stewmac.com, it makes setting the intonation on a Floyd Trem much easier, and more accurate, and I strongly recommend buying one, I ordered one online from Stewmac.com, and this is what it looks like:




http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools...s/The_Key.html


6, Finally, once I'm happy that I have the intonation for each string set correctly, I will loosen-off the spring-tension so that the piece of wood used to get the bridge sitting parallel to the body, just falls out from where it is placed, this will indicate that the spring-tension equals the string-tension, and the bridge should now be floating parallel to the body, which is what we want.


To illustrate my method for setting up a Floyd Rose Trem, I will be posting some pics of each step in the process, later on.

So stay tuned.