Tuning a brand new JTV-89F

[Newbie1770]

I just bought a JTV-89F and she is beautiful but she sounds like death - completely out of tune.  I did not know about the locking nuts and tried to tune the strings manually by turning the tuning knobs, which caused no change.  Now, I have researched and found that those nuts are for auto-tuning.  I'm certain that all of my adjusting has made matters worse.  Can I loosen the nuts and tune it manually to get it back on track or did I break this thing?  Thank you in advance.

 

 

[saks]

your fine.

I loosen the locking nuts, tune it, lock them back down then use the bridge tuners to fine tune it and when tuning before playing.

I find I only need to loosen the locking nuts when changing strings or on the rare occasion that the bridge tuners

won't bring it in tune.

Edited March 28, 2021 by saks
added 'lock them back down'

[cruisinon2]

22 hours ago, Newbie1770 said:

Now, I have researched and found that those nuts are for auto-tuning. 

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "auto-tuning", but physically the 89 is no different than any other guitar with a Floyd Rose bridge, and none of them tune themselves. Loosen the locking nut and tune up as you would anything else. Then tighten the nut and from that point any fine tuning adjustments you need to make are done at the bridge.

[Newbie1770]

So when you say fine tuning is done at the bridge - is that done with the round things at the end of the strings on the body?  Sorry - a very new newbie here.

[silverhead]

I think by ‘fine tuning’ he means intonation. That is done by moving the saddles (where the strings sit on the bridge) back and forth slightly to fine tune the octaves. Lightly touch each string at the 12th fret, one at a time, to produce a harmonic. With a tuner, move the saddle for each string forward or backward until the harmonic tone is exactly in tune (an octave higher) with the open note.

[psarkissian]

There's also those violin like tuners on an 89F, they can confuse someone if they are not used to the fine bridge tuning on a violin.

That and intonation (like silverhead suggested) should be spot on tuned and intonated.

 

[fairleas]

Hi Newbie, check this video out. Floyd Roses can be a bit teicy to get you head around at first.

 

 

[cruisinon2]

19 hours ago, silverhead said:

I think by ‘fine tuning’ he means intonation.

 

No, that's not what I meant...even if you are perfectly in tune before clamping down the lock nut, after you do so, one or more strings is bound to be off just a little. Hence the need for the tuners at the bridge...but compared to the tuning pegs at the headstock, the ones at the bridge have a very limited range in either direction. It's been a long time since I've owned anything with a Floyd because they're a friggin' nightmare... but once the nut is locked, I don't think you can even go a full half-step with the bridge tuners, so in that sense they really are for "fine tuning", as they can only go so far.

 

But no matter what name we give them, I was not talking about intonation at all. That's a whole other issue, and a completely different adjustment.

 

[silverhead]

Sorry I misinterpreted, and thanks for clarifying. 

[psarkissian]

The finer tuners and the piezo position adjust screws are made use of during intonation, 

so I guess you can say you both have a point.   :)

[rockmancentral]

I hate to say it, but if the op is that unfamiliar with the guitar that he doesn't know how to work with the locking nut, tuners and fine tuners of a Floyd Rose system (much less trying to introduce the concept of intonation and adjusting saddles), my advice is to take it to a guitar tech and have him set it up properly for the $50 to $100 it'll cost to get it done right.  That should give him many months to enjoy the guitar and research how to tune it properly going forward.