I finally got my Fender FR HSS in the mail today and it's a pretty lil' thing for a used guitar. I take her out the box and play around with it when I notice the high E and B string are out of tune. I mess with the fine tuners and they are at their limit so I decide to take off the locking nut. To my horror I cannot find the allen wrench that goes with it and tear the box open to shreds and e-mail the son of gun that sold it to me and he says that it didn't come with one when he bought it. HAH! So I borrow my uncle's car and head out to my local kragen. I get to the store and buy an allen wrench key. (The fat pocket knife looking thing with allen wrenches of all different sizes.) I finally get home an hour later and try to unscrew the locking bridge and what do think happens? THE FREAKIN' NUTS ARE STRIPPED! So now I can't even take the darn thing off! I tried using pliers but it won't come off......help!

Buy a complete new nut. Its likely that the nuts are stripped on both components.

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No no and no

+1

This is only one of the reasons that I never bonded with the Floyds!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Hi geminikilla: this may be wide of the mark, within which case ignore it.

But we had a gentleman here the other day who couldn't get the allen key to work with his trussrod. Turned out he was using metric keys while the trussrod required an imperial one.

You'd think that there must be very little difference between metric and imperial for a given sized allen key - and yet the tiny disparity is just enough to prevent them from being exchangeable.

So just check you have the right system allen keys. I'm afraid with guitar parts there is no way to be certain whether it will be metric or imperial: I found that aftermarket Gotoh Tele bridge saddles had metric height screws, for example.

On the other hand, if I'm misinterpreting your post, then I suspect what Nikininja said (above) will turn out to be your fix...

Cheers - C

Ceri if he tried hard with the wrong set, Niki will be right anyway. I have found most of the Floyds I have seen with this issue, its because people used the wrong scale keys.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Very likely.

But from the post I just wasn't quite sure if the allen key was failing to grip in the bolt and he might assume the inside is stripped when perhaps it isn't.

I expect it's probably perfectly obvious to the eye - but I just thought I'd bring the possibility to geminikilla's attention, if only because I recently myself re-discovered the tiny but vital difference between metric and imperial allen keys. There really seems no margin for bodging it with the wrong system.

But I agree, a new nut seems a strong probability...

Cheers - C

germin,did you buy this guitar on ebay?What I am going to say pertains only if you bought it on ebay.I have bought 8 guitars on ebay but you have to be careful and ask a lot of questions before you buy .Number one I would never buy a guitar I have never played in a store or anywhere else for that matter so I know exactly what to expect.I go over with the seller (are there any dents or dings)and is the guitar all original or has there been mods.The first thing when you recieve it is to go over it with a fine comb and make sure everything is as described.Now if the guy told you it did not come with an allen wrench but listed it as a great player he had for a long time ask him how then did he change the strings with no wrench.Even though thats no big matter the fact that the slots are stripped and you need a new nut is .I would address this to him and ask him to cover the cost to replace the nut,if he does not agree you can put in a dispute with paypal(you have 45 days after purchase)that item did not come as described and could ask for a total refund which is protected by paypal.I just got burnt for the first time in 6 years.I bought a black wolfgang that you really couldnt see well in the pics .I asked the guy 2 times in seperate emails if there were any dents or dings he said no GUITAR IS BEAUTIFUL/10 BEING YOU JUST WALKED OUT THE STORE WITH IT THIS IS A 9.Well when I recieved it it looked as if he took a hammer to it there were 7 dings wit 2 big ones on the face of the guitar .Had to go through all the channels but I got my refundand that was the only time I have ever dealt with an idiot like that.most people are straight up but you have to ask the questions you want to know .Hope it works out.

Floyd Lock nut bolts and the intonation lock screws are 3mm. You can get a new nut and all kinds of extra Floyd parts from Stew Mac.

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You're right about a few things but I've only bought two guitars from eBay. One was my lovely Am Standard which arrived in excellent condition. The other one arrived just as the seller described minus the fact he forgot the stripped nuts (or chose not to remember) I'm taking my guitar to home depot today and finding some tools I can use to remove the bolts from the neck.

If you're going to get a whole new set of allen bolts like Nick recommended, then make sure that you get the correct wrench (1st) and buy a pair of vise-grip pliers. They'll definetly get the bolts out for you. I never understood why people tighten those bolts so tight as they don't need to be. Another thing that I always do with my floyd equipped axes is to put a little light oil (like gun oil) on the threads before putting them in. This just helps prevent any kind of corrosion that may "lock-up" the bolts and prevent them from coming loose easily. Hope this helps, man.

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KEEP IT REAL...KEEP IT HONEST...KEEP IT METAL...but most importantly...KEEP SHREDDIN'!!!!!!!!!

if they are striped, craftsman makes a drill bit that takes out stripped screws. that may be an option for you. good luck.

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HRR 50's Floyd Rose (2Tone Sunburst)
HRR 50's Floyd Rose (Crimson Fotoflame)
HRR 60's Floyd Rose (Custom Brown Fotoflame)
HRR 50's Floyd Rose (Daphne Blue)

I had a Kramer that had a Floyd on it. Same thing happened to me with the nut screws. Mine were stripped but not enough that I couldn't get them loose. You might be able to grip them with a small vise grip and get them out. On mine, I replaced the screws and not the whole nut. I got the replacement screws at guitarnucleus.com. Worked like a charm. And, yes they are metric. 3mm allen wrench.

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Vox AC30 Amplug

And this is why you do not crank down the screws on the Floyd's nut.

Seriously, use a pair of vise-grips and unscrew them. Replace the screws. You can go to just about any guitar shop or use an on-line store that sells Floy Rose stuff. Most seasoned Floyd users know not to do that. Be careful, if the idiot over cranked them to strip the inside of the hex, then they might have done some damage to the screw threads. You may be looking at replacing the nut as someone else already stated. Sorry you had a problem.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
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