I have a guitar with a set neck and a Floyd Rose with locking nut. The first time I dive the tremolo each time I play, there is a popping noise in the head area (80% sure) like it's popping back into place. I checked every screw and they are all tight. I am new to Floyd Rose guitars because I prefer hardtails, but this guitar was too good of a buy to pass up. Is this a Floyd Rose thing or do I have other issues?

My guess is that one of the strings could be loose in the nut. It happens to me sometimes, like if my string is too loose, or not fully in the nut.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

You could be right. It is my first Floyd. I work on cars all day so I see all kinds of different metals and I know how easy it is to strip threads. That being said, I was maybe over cautious when I tightened the clamps. I will check them.

I hate to contradict Buxom, cos he's such a nice chap.

But...

With a properly tightened locking nut it's very unlikely that you're experiencing nut noise. It's far more likely a technique issue, especially with you being somewhat new to the floyd system.
It sounds to me like you could be dumping the bar right down, then simply letting go. Causing the strings to bounce off the low frets.

Maybe?


Also if you strip the screws on a locking nut, you know about it. They are an all or nothing affair. In my experience they either work or they don't.

Another thing to watch for is that the strings haven't become slack between the nut and the tuners. That will cause your guitar to go out of tune over time and create wear within the nut faster. It's worth checking theres a good bit of string tension there every couple of weeks.

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No no and no

When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was one of Bux's recordings

Dive the bar then just let it go? Seems like a HORRIBLE idea having a high tension piece slamming around on a guitar. The pop happens right at the beginning of the movement, maybe a 1/2 step dive. I literally put my ear to as many parts as I could and slowly worked the trem to track down the source of the noise. Considering guitars are built to resonate, it is hard to do (sound travels in funny ways). I might be way off with this, but... could I squirt a little WD40 in every moving part one at a time while working the trem to see when the noise stops, thus finding the source? I know it works great when trying to find a squeak on a car (but thats a car).

Nah thats the last thing you want to use on your guitar, wd40. And if the noise is happening at the lower frets of the neck, what could it possibly achieve?
Strike the strings above the nut and listen if you can hear the notes through the amplifiers speaker. Trust me, no sound on an electric guitar is going to be any louder than at it's source. Does the same popping happen if you move the tremolo without striking a note? If so then it's probably the pivotposts or knife edges. If they are that bad they'll need to be replaced.

All I can think then, if the nut is tightened down is that the neck has gone bad and is reacting to the differing tensions as you move the tremolo arm. Or the nut is loose, not screwed into the neck correctly.

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No no and no

I was talking about shooting some WD40 down the tuner shafts, each string at the nut and at the pivot point. I got the brand new guitar with my tax return this year so it only has a few months on it, and it's my 3rd guitar, and it's a Rhoads V which is terrible to play sitting down unless you put sandpaper on the bottom edge to keep it from sliding (which will look like $@!&, so I might play it once a week, wear is pretty much ruled out. I did notice that my Floyd nut has the little (like 6mm long) screws holding it to the neck, I've seen (I think) longer bolts that goes all the way through the neck and it looked a thousand times more solid than the dinky screws I have.

Those Jackson trems, unless you've bought the RR1 are pretty soft.

And no, don't put WD40 on your guitar. It's made for sparkplugs, not wood. Particularly not bits of wood glued together. Use a bit of Bore oil if you think it will do any good. Personally I'm very skeptical of that. If the guitar is pinging, then it can't be the tuners.

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No no and no

Frankly, I think your problem is with the bridge posts where they have radically different heights, one vs. the other. This causes the bridge plate to slip on one of the posts every time you begin bending down on the bar, hence the 'clunk'.

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You dig?

You might try raising each string out of the nut and take a pencil and place a bit of the lead (graphite) in the slot to lubricate the nut. Don't use the WD-40 on the nut.

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OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?

I thought he lived near my sister-in-law.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



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