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Preventing rust on guitar. Also, Floyd Rose tremolo questions.

O

OinkBoink

Senior member
Hi,

I just wanted to know if there are certain oils that can be used on the strings and tuning pegs to prevent rusting? What kind of oils are safe to use on strings and tuning pegs? Coconut oil, machine oil etc. (?) Are there any negative effects of using them?

Also, any differences between electric vs acoustic when it comes to this?

This is of course, apart from the fact that the instrument should not be left outside when not in use.
 
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Sewing machine oil on pegs, and change your strings regularly - that's not negotiable. That said, I've never oiled my guitars.
 
ImpulsE69 said:
oddly..I've never changed my strings :hmm: probably should get around to that.
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Strings get dead after a surprisingly short while. I was a fairly aggressive player, so when I'd break a string, or wear down a winding, I'd change them all. If you're a delicate fingerstyle player, you'll never break a string, the fidelity steadily decreases, and your guitar won't sound as good as it could.
 
Sewing machine oil for pegs. Got it. They can be applied on the strings as well? Again, any differences between acoustic vs electric?

The next thing is, I have a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo, but I have absolutely no idea how you tune it. Damn thing is a real pain.

I've seen several YouTube videos regarding the tuning procedure, and in some videos what they do is, they centre the fine tuners, open the locks (towards the side of the tuning pegs), tune the guitar and then lock it up again. In other videos, they centre the fine tuners, open the locks, open the back of the guitar, tune the strings in a certain order, check the tension in the springs etc.

How do I learn how to tune a Floyd Rose Trem properly? I don't want to damage my guitar.

Also, how long does it take to tune it? What if I want to change tunings from standard E to Drop C etc. relatively frequently? I can't afford to buy another guitar, just so it's easier to tune. The first guitar itself was something I'd never buy ordinarily, but it was given to me (there's a story behind it, but never mind that) some years ago.

I want to know how a Floyd Rose trem works right from the fundamentals (I know how to use the trem, but I'm talking about the mechanical principles it's based on), and how to go about tuning it properly. Please share some proper resources because there's so much on the net. The springs, the tension, the locks etc. I'm a complete noob when it comes to all that. I want to know about all that, how you check that stuff, what it is, how it fits together etc.
 
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OinkBoink said:
Sewing machine oil for pegs. Got it. They can be applied on the strings as well? Again, any differences between acoustic vs electric?

The next thing is, I have a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo, but I have absolutely no idea how you tune it. Damn thing is a real pain.

I've seen several YouTube videos regarding the tuning procedure, and in some videos what they do is, they centre the fine tuners, open the locks (towards the side of the tuning pegs), tune the guitar and then lock it up again. In other videos, they centre the fine tuners, open the locks, open the back of the guitar, tune the strings in a certain order, check the tension in the springs etc.

How do I learn how to tune a Floyd Rose Trem properly? I don't want to damage my guitar.

Also, how long does it take to tune it? What if I want to change tunings from standard E to Drop C etc. relatively frequently? I can't afford to buy another guitar, just so it's easier to tune. The first guitar itself was something I'd never buy ordinarily, but it was given to me (there's a story behind it, but never mind that) some years ago.

I want to know how a Floyd Rose trem works right from the fundamentals (I know how to use the trem, but I'm talking about the mechanical principles it's based on), and how to go about tuning it properly. Please share some proper resources because there's so much on the net. The springs, the tension, the locks etc. I'm a complete noob when it comes to all that. I want to know about all that, how you check that stuff, what it is, how it fits together etc.
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I have one of those on my Ibanez (although it's an Edge Pro II). I hate it. Can't really use it the way I want because (let's say) for Rocksmith, you have a wide variety of tunings. It isn't something you would want for changing tunings frequently. It really is meant for quick changing strings w/o having to retune.

Once I got it tuned to what I wanted for a few things, I just leave it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it tuned myself, even with videos and instructions I had to have a buddy do it for me. It was a gift from my wife (It is one of the Giger Ibanezs) or I wouldn't keep it. It isn't a one size fits all style.

lxskllr said:
Strings get dead after a surprisingly short while. I was a fairly aggressive player, so when I'd break a string, or wear down a winding, I'd change them all. If you're a delicate fingerstyle player, you'll never break a string, the fidelity steadily decreases, and your guitar won't sound as good as it could.
Click to expand...

I'm just a fiddler, using them mostly for learning, jamming, and rough recordings of ideas to give to the real guitar players, so it's not a huge deal.
 
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ImpulsE69 said:
I have one of those on my Ibanez. I hate it. Can't really use it the way I want because (let's say) for Rockband, you have a wide variety of tunings. Once I got it tuned to what I wanted for a few things, I just leave it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it tuned, had to have a buddy do it for me. It isn't something you would want for changing tunings frequently. It was a gift from my wife (It is one of the Giger Ibanezs) or I wouldn't keep it.
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Same here. I got it from someone, and though I could choose which guitar to get, I had no idea about the complexities of the Floyd Rose trem. Anyway, it's not like I want to change the tuning every few hours or days. I just want to be able to change it. That's all.
 
Floyd Roses are a PITA. I like the traditional Fender system. I'd pull the bridge down til it rested on the body, and if a string hung up in the nut, a little tug got it back. That means you can only go down in pitch, but whatever. A floating bridge is a nuisance. Graphite the nut to make it slip nicer.
 
I usually throw a little lead from a pencil on the saddles down on the bridge and on the nut. A little lubrication goes a long ways and prevents strings from breaking.

I also use this kit(mainly the blue bottle) before and after I play my guitar for a few hours:

1249762.jpg
 
lxskllr said:
Floyd Roses are a PITA. I like the traditional Fender system. I'd pull the bridge down til it rested on the body, and if a string hung up in the nut, a little tug got it back. That means you can only go down in pitch, but whatever. A floating bridge is a nuisance. Graphite the nut to make it slip nicer.
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It is nice to have but I got out of whammy bars quite a few years ago and just go with hardtailing it. I only play fenders so it makes sense to have at least one with the option, but nope, I'm lazy.

I really want to add a bigsby to my tele but damn $300+ for something I'll barely use?
 
lxskllr said:
Strings get dead after a surprisingly short while. I was a fairly aggressive player, so when I'd break a string, or wear down a winding, I'd change them all. If you're a delicate fingerstyle player, you'll never break a string, the fidelity steadily decreases, and your guitar won't sound as good as it could.
Click to expand...

There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle, imo. New strings sound too bright to me, and I need to rub in a good amount of finger oil before they mellow out.

OP, never seen rust on strings or tuning pegs. Try playing it more often 🙂>
 
Don't bother with string conditioner. Just change them.

I would oil the fretboard when you have the strings off too. Gibson makes a good fretboard oil. I wouldn't use anything on a guitar that isn't made specifically for guitars.
 
Markbnj said:
There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle, imo. New strings sound too bright to me, and I need to rub in a good amount of finger oil before they mellow out.

OP, never seen rust on strings or tuning pegs. Try playing it more often 🙂>
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That depends on where you live. The last place I was living in had high levels of humidity owing to a sea nearby. Metallic objects rust quite quickly.
 
OinkBoink said:
And please, if possible, answer my Floyd Rose trem questions. Thanks.
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Unlock the nut, and tune it using the headstock tuning pegs. Start with bass and go to treble. Then do it again cause the fuckin' thing went out of tune. Then do it again... Pro tip... Leave the bass strings a little sharp and get more accurate as you get to treble. Tension will flatten it as you go.

Got it tuned? Great! Now lock the nut, and tune the fuckin' thing again using the bridge tuners. It should be easier this time. New strings? That's too bad. You'll experience the joy of tuning a few more times til they get broken in. Pro tip... When you first put strings on, and before tuning, give each a hard tug to stretch, and set them in. Play hard for a few minutes, do some deep bends. That'll help keep them from going out of tune so much when you get it tuned in.
 
lxskllr said:
Unlock the nut, and tune it using the headstock tuning pegs. Start with bass and go to treble. Then do it again cause the fuckin' thing went out of tune. Then do it again... Pro tip... Leave the bass strings a little sharp and get more accurate as you get to treble. Tension will flatten it as you go.

Got it tuned? Great! Now lock the nut, and tune the fuckin' thing again using the bridge tuners. It should be easier this time. New strings? That's too bad. You'll experience the joy of tuning a few more times til they get broken in. Pro tip... When you first put strings on, and before tuning, give each a hard tug to stretch, and set them in. Play hard for a few minutes, do some deep bends. That'll help keep them from going out of tune so much when you get it tuned in.
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Yes, but some people also remove the back cover and adjust the springs. If there was no removing the back cover, then it'd be okay. But the spring tensions is also something one is supposed to look out for.
 
I avoid FR bridges like the plague sorry, but if you live in a humid area you should invest in a dehumidifier... but you need to keep a good balance. Too dry is a problem too.

Look into GHS Fast Fret, it's no replacement for fresh strings, but if you use this stuff on your strings after you play each time and wipe them off, it really extends the life of them in my experience. It's also dirt cheap and lasts forever.
 
I put my FR fine tuners low of center, so that I have more room to tune upward. Strings tend to need tuning up more than down if you play a lot, but can be the opposite if your guitar just sits a lot.

I don't ever mess with anything in the back plate. I had a Fender-certified guitar tech do that once for me a long time ago but never removed the back plate since. Though I need to take it in, since the locking tremolo arm no longer locks. The detent for the locking position is worn-out, too.
 
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tcsenter said:
I put my FR fine tuners low of center, so that I have more room to tune upward. Strings tend to need tuning up more than down if you play a lot, but can be the opposite if your guitar just sits a lot.

I don't ever mess with anything in the back plate. I had a Fender-certified guitar tech do that once for me a long time ago but never removed the back plate since. Though I need to take it in, since the locking tremolo arm no longer locks. The detent for the locking position is worn-out, too.
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Do you manage to do very different tunings (like going from standard E to drop C and then back again) without messing with the springs in the back? Does that work without any problems?
 
lxskllr said:
Spring tension is to taste, but in general, heavier tension=greater stability.
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Changing the tension usually changes the action at the same time, so you may need to compensate with the bridge height screws.

I usually tune my guitar with the nut open and the fine tuners below the middle. I find just tightening the nut clamps can raise the pitch of a string a quarter tone, so I plan ahead for that.
 
OinkBoink said:
Do you manage to do very different tunings (like going from standard E to drop C and then back again) without messing with the springs in the back? Does that work without any problems?
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When you're dropping just one string, you'll find that it puts extra tension on the rest of the strings and affecting their tune. you can either re-tune them and deal with the slightly affected action difference, or loosen the spring tension to account for the reduced tension of the dropped tuning. Actually, you'll probably do a little of both.
 
lxskllr said:
Strings get dead after a surprisingly short while. I was a fairly aggressive player, so when I'd break a string, or wear down a winding, I'd change them all. If you're a delicate fingerstyle player, you'll never break a string, the fidelity steadily decreases, and your guitar won't sound as good as it could.
Click to expand...
excellent answer!!
 
OinkBoink said:
Do you manage to do very different tunings (like going from standard E to drop C and then back again) without messing with the springs in the back? Does that work without any problems?
Click to expand...
Other than tuning all strings up or down by the same step or semitone #, the only alternate tuning I've ever really used on my electric was Drop D. I experimented with others but never "used" them. So I don't have a ton of experience with alternate tunings and never messed with the springs in the back. I haven't even really played my electric frequently too much at all in the past several years, I've been using my acoustic.
 
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