You will need to go back and forth re-tuning the guitar and either letting out the spring claw or tightening it until the bridge base plate is floating correctly. Tune the guitar as you would normally, you do not need to do any special tuning like you would normally have to with a floating bridge! Either tighten or release the spring claw until the entire base plate is floating off of the body parallel to the top. If properly intonated, the fretted and harmonic 12-fret pitches of both E strings will agree, with none of them being sharp or flat. Keep the saddle screws hunkered down tight. This is so the trem doesn’t move when going through the steps of tuning and adjusting saddles. I would recommend either adding a removable wedge-shaped block behind the trem block or tightening the spring claw behind the guitar. Gretsch® guitars use a variety of “floating” bridges, coupled with fixed or vibrato tailpieces. Your magnetic field “floats” above the pickup, and if your strings are out of the field, you won’t get a rich, full tone. To adjust string spacing, loosen the string slightly and lift it gently just in front of the bridge, then move the string wheel by turning it in the desired direction. It all sounds easy enough. In this case, I leveled all the frets, setup, and intonated this Epiphone Joe Pass hollowbody before I started securing the floating bridge. Fig. Technically, the floating bridge is a type of fixed bridge. 3: Adjusting the trem claw to bring the bridge base level with the guitar body. If your guitar has a blade-style bridge base plate that only has two outer screws below the E strings, you will raise these up so the entire base plate will lift off of the body when the block is removed. Place a capo on the first fret. These bridges are most often found on hollow or semihollow electric guitars, where drilling into […] If you are adjusting a Fender Strat-style guitar with a floating bridge, this is the point at which you will balance the trem so that the strings will pull the bridge base off of the body. If your guitar has a six-screw design, you should tighten the two screws that attach the bridge base to the body so they make equal contact on the bridge base plate, then lift the four in the center so they are lifted up off of the base equally. He then shows setting the intonation on both a wooden and Tune-o-Matic bridge. Most Gibson electric guitars (and many others) use adjustable Tune-o-matic bridges with stud-mounted "stop" tailpieces. 4.0 out of 5 stars 2. “To adjust the pickups, you hold both E strings down at the highest fret. Plus, the ability to pull back on the arm is a beautiful thing when doing light vibrato. A guitar’s action can also be adjust at the bridge. 10. There are two styles of floating Strat bridges: six-screw or blade-style. I have found that it is best to intonate the high and low E strings and then let the rest go as they are. The outer thumb wheels beneath the bridge control it's overall height. It’s important to note that if your guitar isn’t properly set up, trying to set the intonation is pointless. The distance between the guitar nut and bridge is the scale length. On vintage wrap-tail bridges, you will also have limitations in the design. Floating bridges were first introduced on archtop guitars way back in the 1920s. This allows the strings to pull the block forward and float. Using a 6\" (150 mm) ruler, measure the distance between bottom of strings and top of the 17th fret. Correct bridge placement determines a guitar's intonation when playing fretted notes. Accurately… 4: On a correctly adjusted Floyd Rose-style trem, the bridge base is level with the body. Newsletter. On an electric guitar, this … Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved.Note: For locking tremolo systems, the individual string height is preset. Adjust bridge saddles to the height according to the chart, then re-tune. After the bridge is floating properly, you will probably notice that the string action has raised slightly. Then tune again. Once the block is removed, go to the back of the guitar in even increments on each side, loosen the claw screws until the bridge is leveled with the body. A set of springs housed in a routed cavity at the back of the guitar body balances out the tension of the strings. DO NOT adjust the overall string height at the posts, since the bridge works best when set at its lowest point that will still allow it to float. As you do this, you should start to see the bridge level out, and your strings flatten back to pitch. To adjust floating bridge intonation on a guitar, first check the 12th-fret harmonic and the fretted 12th-fret tuning of both E strings (high and low). A floating bridge has an arched wooden or metal base held in position on the instrument top only by the downward pressure of the strings. To adjust a floating trem, you will essentially copy the steps of the hardtail bridge up until the last step. FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. If the fretted note is flat, make the string shorter by adjusting the bridge saddle towards the neck. Flat Mount; Stud Mount Height adjustment is made by adjusting the 2mm allen screws on either side of the bridge. Rosewood Guitar Bridge with Saddle Nut Adjustable Shaft Repair Kit for 6 String Folk Acoustic Guitar. To adjust the action, you need to raise or lower a part of the bridge known as the saddles (the parts just in front of the bridge where the strings sit). It provides players with a way of achieving vibrato (minor pitch waves) without bending the strings through your fingers. Generally speaking the neck pickup will be in a similar position to your bridge, but adjusted just slightly lower to get more of a rhythm tone. To change the strings angle adjust the two 2mm (6) screws on the highside of the bridge, chanding the pivot angle. This is so the trem doesn’t move when going through the steps of tuning and adjusting saddles. On a blade-style bridge base plate, you will go through the process of re-tuning. The back edge of the bridge comes up, and the strings pull the bridge off of the body. Setting the pickup height too high can cause interference with your guitar strings 2.) ABR or Nashville? You raise or lower the saddle by turning the hex screws with a tine hex wrench. Then, check the tuning of each string at the 12th fret. Strings must be re-tuned after these adjustments. Each time you change strings, the tension in the strings may change or you may inadvertently move the bridge … Limitations of wrap-tail bridges. When you float the bridge, you are essentially putting the trem springs in the mix. Overdo it, and obviously the strings will hit the pickup covers or pole pieces while vibrating. Turning them left (counter-clockwise) raises the bridge, turning right (clockwise) lowers it. If properly intonated, the fretted and harmonic 12-fret pitches of both E strings will agree, with none of them being sharp or flat.