The Ibanez Floating Tremelo bridge is a true pain.

With a non floating bridge you can tune each string independently.

However, you cannot do this with the floating tremelo.

In standard tuning, if you tune the 6th string to E then move to the A and tune it as well, by  the time you get to string 1, string 6 is now loose.

Now your first instinct is to retune the 6 string, but this whole process will repeat. Before you know it, they will never tune, or if they do, the bridge will be pull all the way up. Your action will be an inch off the pickups.

So what to do?

If you find yourself in this situation back off the strings so your bridge is level or a little lower. Try and get the tension equal on the strings.

Check your tuning with an electronic tuner. If they are remotely close to being in tune, for example the strings are all very flat of being in tune.

Now what I did is made 1/2 turns on the tunning keys across the board. 1/2 turn E, 1/2 turn A, 1/2 D, etc.

By doing this equally across the strings, seemed to work. However ever time you tune across the strings check the floating trem to ensure it’s not creeping up on you.

NEW STRINGS

New strings are the same, however on this trem you cannot feed the strings from the bottom. You need to cut the stop off of the end of the string, and feed it into the lock on the bridge.

I created a small video showing the parts. If anyone has had experience with this please comment.

Keep Rockin…

I always found myself watching artist, and saying “how do they know what notes to play?”

What I am talking about are licks. Chords always seemed easy, but wanted to jam without chords, or very little.

To do this, you need to understand the fretboard unless you are exceptional enough to learn and play by ear. However a bit much to ask a budding guitarist.

To understand the fretboard, you need to know the notes.

There are 7 notes to remember: A B C D E F G.

Of these notes 5 have sharps 2 don’t. Easier to remember which notes have no sharps than
to remember the ones that do. But remember everyone learns different.

The two notes which have no sharps are: B & E.

Now not to complicate things but sharps are also flats of the next note.
Goes something like this:
A-A#-B-C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#. Then back to A again.

Once you know this, you can find any note on the fretboard. Although not quickly at first, but none the less, you can find them.

In standard tuning, your strings are E A D G B E. From this start at string A for example: 1st fret A# 2nd B, etc..

Some other notes to give are: one finger per fret, however you will learn later when bending strings, mostly blues
you want to bend with the ring finger vs the pinky.

Now that you know where to find the notes, you can create you’re on licks.

Most licks come from some variation of the pentatonic scale, or scales in general.

Now scales are another article for themselves, but let’s say you’re working or learning
the Em ( E minor ) scale, the notes are comprised of E-G-A-B-D.

Notes are really like letters of the alphabet that we use to write letters, books and the like.
However we’ll write licks or songs.

Use the notes to create “words” or licks, then use those words or licks to create a sentence, then use the sentences to make song or tune.

Pretty exciting huh, that’s what I thought