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View Full Version : Drop tuning with a tremolo bar



djxsplo
September 12th, 2010, 12:48 PM
Im thinking about getting a scheter damien elite 6 fr which has a tremolo bar and I currently drop tune alot like drop C, D tuning and Drop D tuning. Since this guitar has a tremolo bar would drop tuning work with this? Other guitars with tremolo bars dont stay in drop tunings very well but it depends on the kind of bar. So would this guitar be good for drop tuning?

Zip
September 12th, 2010, 02:17 PM
That has an OFR, so you should be good to go. Very stable.

marnold
September 12th, 2010, 02:35 PM
That can't be an OFR--not on a $550 guitar. Nevertheless, you can do drop tuning fine. If you intend on jumping between tunings, especially over the course of one set, it's going to be a major pain and the trem will have to be blocked. You can go from standard to drop D and back with something like an EVH D-Tuna, assuming that this licensed Floyd is made just like an OFR.

Otherwise, you'd have to loosen the locking nut, retune, and then tighten the nut back down--not a quick process. If you are frequently jumping between tunings you'd be better off with a hard tail . . . or go the Spudman route and have eleventy billion guitars.

Looks like a sweet axe, though.

Zip
September 12th, 2010, 02:51 PM
That can't be an OFR

According to the Mad Ape ( http://www.themadape.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DAMIEN-ELITE-FR&click=1540 ) it is. I thought it was an LFR, too.

marnold
September 13th, 2010, 08:35 AM
According to the Mad Ape ( http://www.themadape.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DAMIEN-ELITE-FR&click=1540 ) it is. I thought it was an LFR, too.
Yeah, but under "features" it calls it a Floyd Rose Special. It's made in Korea by Ping. I've heard very positive things about it. Should be a very good trem even if it isn't an OFR--and cheaper to boot. On top of that I've read some complaints about the way OFRs are being produced these days.

markb
September 13th, 2010, 04:27 PM
A tremolo is a balancing act. As long as you adjust the tremolo springs correctly to counter the string tension, tuning should be irrelevant.

If you change tunings by large steps all the time you will have problems due to the system becoming unbalanced. Even dropping the low E to D will send the other strings slightly sharp.