CU 24 SE Floyds - hold their tuning?

C

cmedcoff

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Morning All,

Last weekend I got a sweet deal on a used CU 24 SE Floyd. It's a charcoal/black 2015 anniversary edition. I already own a Torero that I purchased a few years back for its Floyd. While the Torero is great guitar, to me it just doesn't quite have the chunky tone of my American CU 24 so I've been keeping my eye out for an alternative, so after trying this SE at the store I thought I had my solution.

I took it to practice and while not quite the tone of my American CU 24, it had that midrange, woody, chunkiness that I was looking for. The action seemed just a bit high so I decided to change the strings and drop the bridge just a bit. After doing so, I noticed the guitar no longer seems to hold its tuning. Works fine after dive bombs, but any pulling up on the Floyd causes tuning problems. Now I've had the Floyd on and off my Torero many times for this type of an adjustment and it is %100 rock solid on staying in tune so I'm a bit disappointed.

At this pointed I'm pretty sure that I'm taking this SE back to store. My questions is this: anyone else have a CU 24 SE Floyd and can tell me about its ability to stay in tune regardless of any Floyd bombs, pull ups, etc.. I'm not Eddie, and I don't go crazy with it but my expectation is the same kind of performance as my Torero with regards to staying in tune.

If I can be assured they are good, I'll shop for another CU 24 SE Floyd, but this one right now seems to have problems.

Happy Saturday, -3 here in Metro Detroit.
 
I don't have experience with Floyds, but I think tuning stability problems are more likely to be from the nut than the trem. Try to see if it's getting stuck there before returning it. A new nut is a pretty cheap fix.
 
Did you up the string gauges? This sounds like a classic case of either nut binding or improper tremolo setup. I got an SE Singlecut really cheaply because the owner said it wouldn`t stay in tune. All I had to do was tighten the tuning pegs (the hex nuts were loose), drop the string gauge back to 9`s, and rebalance the springs in the trem. Remember, this was set up for 9`s at the factory. I always replace the nuts on my SE`s.
 
No, string gauge is the same, 9's. If they weren't the same, then the screws/angle of the Floyd would have to be adjusted because of the change in string tension but that's not the case here. I've learned all of this from having the Torero for a few years. I've not replaced the nut on my Torero and it works/holds it's tuning 100% perfect. I just expect the same of the SE.
 
WEDGE said:
So It worked fine, then you messed with the setup, now it does not work fine, and you blame the guitar?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Changing strings and making bridge adjustment is all within normal usage. As I said in my original post I've done this with my Torero and never had a problem.

Do you own either? Have hands on experience with it so that your comments holds weight?
 
cmedcoff said:
Morning All,

Last weekend I got a sweet deal on a used CU 24 SE Floyd. It's a charcoal/black 2015 anniversary edition. I already own a Torero that I purchased a few years back for its Floyd. While the Torero is great guitar, to me it just doesn't quite have the chunky tone of my American CU 24 so I've been keeping my eye out for an alternative, so after trying this SE at the store I thought I had my solution.

I took it to practice and while not quite the tone of my American CU 24, it had that midrange, woody, chunkiness that I was looking for. The action seemed just a bit high so I decided to change the strings and drop the bridge just a bit. After doing so, I noticed the guitar no longer seems to hold its tuning. Works fine after dive bombs, but any pulling up on the Floyd causes tuning problems. Now I've had the Floyd on and off my Torero many times for this type of an adjustment and it is %100 rock solid on staying in tune so I'm a bit disappointed.

At this pointed I'm pretty sure that I'm taking this SE back to store. My questions is this: anyone else have a CU 24 SE Floyd and can tell me about its ability to stay in tune regardless of any Floyd bombs, pull ups, etc.. I'm not Eddie, and I don't go crazy with it but my expectation is the same kind of performance as my Torero with regards to staying in tune.

If I can be assured they are good, I'll shop for another CU 24 SE Floyd, but this one right now seems to have problems.

Happy Saturday, -3 here in Metro Detroit.
Click to expand...
Did you stretch out the strings? Did you tune it up right? The reason I kind of hate Floyds is because they're such a pain to tune. And restring. Especially together.
 
cmedcoff said:
Come on guys, I'm a huge PRS fan (I own 4) and I posted here to get help from same product owners with first hand product knowledge otherwise opinions carry a bit less weight. Why so harsh?
Click to expand...

I'm just giggling 'cause WEDGE has owned more guitars than some Guitar Centers.

He does pose a valid question though... Did it work fine? If it did, then maybe something is just "off" in the setup you did and you need to go back over what you changed.

Are the bridge posts level? Did you damage the knife edges by adjusting the trem under string tension? Are all the locking parts tightened properly? Did you stretch the strings like Dusty asked?

I mean, if you totally know what you're doing with Floyd's, and you've ruled out all of the suggestions the other posters added... Maybe it should go back to the store.
 
Dusty Chalk said:
Did you stretch out the strings? Did you tune it up right? The reason I kind of hate Floyds is because they're such a pain to tune. And restring. Especially together.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Floyds are a pain to restring, but I've owned my Torero for ... 3 or 4 years now, and they are great to have for the tunes that require them. I've played electric guitars for 35 years and have owned several guitars with Floyds so they aren't new to me. I've done my own basic setup, re-string, bridge height, intonation for a long time. It's really not that hard if you've got the right tools, knowledge and go slow to do it right. I'm an electrical engineer and certified electronics tech and I'll do simple electronic repairs as well. If it comes to neck or nut adjustments - aka anything wood, I stay away from that and take it to a pro.

You've made some good points. Yes I've got several hours on the new strings. Perhaps I'm in a rush on the return and I'm rethinking it, or at least delaying it. I'll give the guitar some time to "settle down" and do a few more side by side comparison's with the Torero. The store's return policy is liberal so there's no rush.

As an aside, when I did the restring I did completely remove the Floyd bridge and inspected to ensure it still has a knife point edge. This is critical in a Floyd maintaining its tuning, and inspection with a magnifying glass revealed little to no wear so I know that some hasn't adjusted the bridge without removing tension first, a common mistake among novice Floyd owners.

Appreciate the suggestions.
 
I find the Korean springs to not be as good at returning to tune as the real Floyd Rose springs. My Torero would do what your SE Floyd is doing. I swapped the springs for new springs from a German Floyd Rose and that fixed the issue.
 
I really hated to do it but I ended up returning the guitar. The more I played it the more I noticed intonation problems not even having to do with the Floyd. The kind that even adjusting the intonation at the bridge wasn't going to fix. I guess this is why the guitar was so in expensive. I should have known from that alone.

I'm on the hunt for another, but I don't think I'd want to order one online and risk problems, more returns.

Bottom line is that I found the SE 24 Floyd to be a good guitar, great tone, I just think this one in particular had issues, one's I've never seen on my other PRS's, even other SE's such as the Torero or my old PRS EG2.
 
I agree with the spring comment. I `ve gone to 4 springs on all 3 of the Floyds I`ve owned, and changed one set out. if the previous owner rode his whammy, the springs can give you problems. I`m a huge fan of the PRS trem, it stays in tune beautifully with a replacement nut.
 
There's always another test, hardtail the Floyd temporarily and see if the guitar stays in tune.

That should nail where the problems lies.
 
No issues with mine. I get down right rude with mine.

I will say mine easy warbles if I palm mute too hard and I'm considering a 4th spring on my next string change. Although it makes me work on my technique which is always a good thing.
 
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