Alternate tunings on floating tremolo

[gmgilbert02]

I’ve been playing for a little over three months now and would like to learn some Motley Crue songs but I realized that the floating tremolo on my PRS SE most likely will not be able to do the proper tunings. Any tips or tricks to get around this without just buying a whole new guitar?

 

[PRSWILL]

You can totally do it. If you're going Drop D it's not an issue- just take your time and retune. I start by dropping the E string then tune starting with the High e string working lower, reset the what's now Low D string and keep fiddling. If you want to try Drop C, i'd change your strings- go with 11's- great tone and will stay in tune better. you MAY need to add a spring to the trem as well.

 

[John F]

Look for a device called a Tremol-no, minor mod that lets you block and unblock your trem. Or do like I did and fabricate a wood block to keep it blocked. I can dive bomb my trem, but no pull up. Strings stay in tune while drop D etc.

Tremol-No™

 

[SinSir]

What's the issue with tuning?

 

[McMahon67]

To be clear…… if you want to go back and forth from standard tuning and then back to drop C or drop D, a floating bridge isn’t ideal. For a few songs, going to drop D shouldn’t be an issue if you just retune and all that…. But lower than that you’ll want to set it up properly and leave it there. As others have said, you’ll most likely require thicker strings for the tension required to stay in intonation, and your truss rod will most likely need to be fine tuned as well.

This can be avoided if you have a stop tail bridge type model…. But other than that, this is often the reason that “one does not simply own ONE guitar.” Loll

 

[Prs Mods too]

If you're reducing overall string tension or down tuning then a felt bass pick wedged between the rear of the bridge and the top of the body works great.

Edit: obviously you can't use the trem though, if that matters.

 

[VizslaRossi]

I copied a factory feature from my EC "Blackie" Stratocaster, and all EC Strats (yes, there's a Fender trem arm in the case) share when they leave Corona, CA: a small-ish block of alder in the bottom of the spring cavity and the tremolo block. This converts it to a 'hard tail' - totally stabilizes the bridge. I did this to my son's Navarro - so he'd learn to bend strings for his vibrato. The wooden block is tacked in (sm. finish nail) and can convert back to a normal Strat (PRS) style floating tremolo.

If one is uncomfortable in the shop, any reputable luthier can do this for a very small fee.