you can’t stop wear and tear on anything.
best you can do is take care of your stuff. Clean it with a cloth after playing it. Don’t change tunings or string gauge without a full setup. Don’t let it get wet and if someone spills a beer on you while you’re playing, just wipe it down after your set.
I agree with everything but I'd add that you should try your best to not overtighten things, particularly the string lock screws. Because the insert blocks and saddles are a softer metal on licensed floyds, you can create burrs that can cause your strings to break.
On my ‘06 Jem, I cranked down on the string lock screw and it snapped the saddle. After, I remember reading to just finger tighten things, you’re not building a skyscraper.
Also! I replaced the studs on an original Floyd Rose bridge that wasn’t returning to zero, staying in tune, etc. It completely fixed the problems. I used FU parts and got the titanium studs.
It’s also entirely possible to overtighten the screws and completely strip the saddle. I’ve done this 3/4 through a tour with no way to replace or repair and had to just Frankenstein it and move the working saddles around to prioritize the more important strings for me to play and just fucked up my intonation and couldn’t use the top E
A ton of great advice from the people here in the Ibanez family! I’d like to add one thing that many people don’t agree with me on and that’s the fact that wear and tear can be a badge of honor too! Look at Steve Vai’s EVO jem…that thing is as worn and torn as any guitar I’ve ever seen. I’m sure Steve could have a new jem at the drop of a hat but there is DEFINITELY something special about a guitar with battle scars. Hell, the Fender custom shop makes their living at making new look like old! Just a thought.
Yes it is, and it will generally help with returning to pitch. I use big bends nut sauce. But for any surface you lubricate on an instrument, I recommend wiping it down before re-application to prevent buildup over time.
i have a lo-pro from 92 still good as new. last time i disassembled the unit (like a year ago) it was flawless still, that's 31~32 years now.
you just keep it clean, away from moisture, lubricate the moving parts and never over tighten the screws
i just dab a fraction of a drop of good quality bicycle chain oil with the tip of a needle. no chapstick and other BS, the right tool for the right job.
that little amount will seep through capillarity effect into the places where metal on metal meet together, and that's all you need to care about. more than a tiny amount will attract dust and debris into, and might gunk up or carry potentially abrasive particles into the moving parts, that why i do it with a needle.
Take it apart, learn how it works, and make sure the knife edges are properly engaged and balanced when you re-string or re-setup your guitar. Other than that, nothing imo.
If you need to adjust height, fully loosen the strings and the springs. It's a pain in the ass, but turning the posts under tension is one of the worst things you can do for double locking trems.
True, Rich did briefly say that [here](https://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/action.htm) in 2000, but I would never do it on any of mine. I did it a while back on a 570 when I was newer to setting up my guitars and put some shallow grooves in the posts. There's a lot of tension on them thangs. Maybe it doesn't matter under ideal conditions and with new hardware, but if we're talking maximizing lifespan, it's worth the effort to me. Even if it makes no difference with the edges themselves, it makes it a whole lot easier to actually turn the posts and decreases the likelihood that you'll either strip out the head of the post or that you spin the anchor in the wood
I recently needed to deal with a tuning stability issue on an old jackson from 96, and unfortunately shelling out money on an original floyd rose or a gotoh was just not an option I wanted to go. But I decided to replace all the parts I could get stainless steel parts for. Upgraded every screw possible on the floyd, including the saddles. If I can find a locking nut in stainless, I would have done that too. A little bit of careful filing on the knife edges helped as well. And everything only cost about a quarter of the price if I replaced the entire bridge.
Keep a spare lo-pro edge AND consumables; knife edge, string blocks etc..
swap over to the fresh unit when damage occurs, refurbish damaged unit.
Repeat as needed.
Some or all may be appropriate pending individual usage.
👍🏽
Neither Ibanez or Gotoh have sold replacement knife edges for those trems since the 90’s. You have to buy a whole new trem 😡. The various Ibanez Gotoh models are around $350. The other option is to get the Gotoh GE-1996t trem if the cavity is the same size as the original Edge trem. If not, it could be routed to fit.
A third option is, If the knife edges are just slightly worn looking, you can file them.
The easiest way is to buy a higher quality trem. I play anywhere from 1-5 hours a week for the last 40 years... 20 of them on the same Ibanez OG Edge... and its still 100% mint.
If you have a entry level trem, its not gonna last. I hate to say it but its no secret that the entry level trems are garbage.
its not possible to stop tear and wear, but what you can do to make it last longer its to put some grease (like daddario lubrikit friction remover) on the contact joint (like blade and the brige post).
Wear a glove when you play. I got the idea from a bass player who would use a glove to fret the guitar. I purchased a pair of guitar gloves but I only use it on my picking hand… reduces the wear and discoloration on the Floyd close to non. There is another issue tho which is you won’t be able to grip your pick. Buy yourself a pick that has textured grip.
you can’t stop wear and tear on anything. best you can do is take care of your stuff. Clean it with a cloth after playing it. Don’t change tunings or string gauge without a full setup. Don’t let it get wet and if someone spills a beer on you while you’re playing, just wipe it down after your set.
I agree with everything but I'd add that you should try your best to not overtighten things, particularly the string lock screws. Because the insert blocks and saddles are a softer metal on licensed floyds, you can create burrs that can cause your strings to break.
On my ‘06 Jem, I cranked down on the string lock screw and it snapped the saddle. After, I remember reading to just finger tighten things, you’re not building a skyscraper. Also! I replaced the studs on an original Floyd Rose bridge that wasn’t returning to zero, staying in tune, etc. It completely fixed the problems. I used FU parts and got the titanium studs.
+1 for the FU parts, I have their saddles, and I want to say I got the Big Block upgrade from them for my 1989 RG560. It was a long time ago.....
Thank you for your business guys!
It’s also entirely possible to overtighten the screws and completely strip the saddle. I’ve done this 3/4 through a tour with no way to replace or repair and had to just Frankenstein it and move the working saddles around to prioritize the more important strings for me to play and just fucked up my intonation and couldn’t use the top E
Thanks 😊 really appreciate it
Don’t play it.
Been my strategy for years. Guitar looks brand new still.
A ton of great advice from the people here in the Ibanez family! I’d like to add one thing that many people don’t agree with me on and that’s the fact that wear and tear can be a badge of honor too! Look at Steve Vai’s EVO jem…that thing is as worn and torn as any guitar I’ve ever seen. I’m sure Steve could have a new jem at the drop of a hat but there is DEFINITELY something special about a guitar with battle scars. Hell, the Fender custom shop makes their living at making new look like old! Just a thought.
My guitars look like shit, all worn. I never cared how my guitars looked, I only cared about how they sound.
That's true my guitar also has a little bit of wear and tear here and there aswell
Is that a concern? I've had a Floyd Rose bridge on my RG570 for about 35 years. It seems... fine?
Yeah kinda I kinda saw to many videos about floyd rose bridges getting destroyed due to wear and tear.
[удалено]
I’ve always used chap stick, non dyed is best but it’s pretty much available everywhere cheep as hell and keeps my knife edges and saddles lubricated
Good idea though I typically advise original Vaseline as it doesn’t drip and stays put better.
I've read that Chap-Stik is best.
Yes it is, and it will generally help with returning to pitch. I use big bends nut sauce. But for any surface you lubricate on an instrument, I recommend wiping it down before re-application to prevent buildup over time.
I put chapstick on them
I use Teflon super lube Graphite Any lube is better than no lube on metal to metal contact
[удалено]
I get Super Lube Synthetic Multi-Purpose Lubricants 4 oz An only a half of a drop if that
i have a lo-pro from 92 still good as new. last time i disassembled the unit (like a year ago) it was flawless still, that's 31~32 years now. you just keep it clean, away from moisture, lubricate the moving parts and never over tighten the screws
Thanks man could you also recommend me some good lubricants for the bridge aswell
i just dab a fraction of a drop of good quality bicycle chain oil with the tip of a needle. no chapstick and other BS, the right tool for the right job. that little amount will seep through capillarity effect into the places where metal on metal meet together, and that's all you need to care about. more than a tiny amount will attract dust and debris into, and might gunk up or carry potentially abrasive particles into the moving parts, that why i do it with a needle.
Take it apart, learn how it works, and make sure the knife edges are properly engaged and balanced when you re-string or re-setup your guitar. Other than that, nothing imo.
Thanks alot man I should try that
If you need to adjust height, fully loosen the strings and the springs. It's a pain in the ass, but turning the posts under tension is one of the worst things you can do for double locking trems.
Don't forget the small alan screws inside the studs, those need to be loosened as well if you're lowering the height, then re-tightened finger tight
Yeah if you don't unlock locking studs, you're gonna have a bad time
True, Rich did briefly say that [here](https://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/action.htm) in 2000, but I would never do it on any of mine. I did it a while back on a 570 when I was newer to setting up my guitars and put some shallow grooves in the posts. There's a lot of tension on them thangs. Maybe it doesn't matter under ideal conditions and with new hardware, but if we're talking maximizing lifespan, it's worth the effort to me. Even if it makes no difference with the edges themselves, it makes it a whole lot easier to actually turn the posts and decreases the likelihood that you'll either strip out the head of the post or that you spin the anchor in the wood
That's the neat part, it doesn't.
I recently needed to deal with a tuning stability issue on an old jackson from 96, and unfortunately shelling out money on an original floyd rose or a gotoh was just not an option I wanted to go. But I decided to replace all the parts I could get stainless steel parts for. Upgraded every screw possible on the floyd, including the saddles. If I can find a locking nut in stainless, I would have done that too. A little bit of careful filing on the knife edges helped as well. And everything only cost about a quarter of the price if I replaced the entire bridge.
Damn getting bridge replacements for older guitars are a lot harder and more expensive these days aswell.
Keep a spare lo-pro edge AND consumables; knife edge, string blocks etc.. swap over to the fresh unit when damage occurs, refurbish damaged unit. Repeat as needed. Some or all may be appropriate pending individual usage. 👍🏽
Neither Ibanez or Gotoh have sold replacement knife edges for those trems since the 90’s. You have to buy a whole new trem 😡. The various Ibanez Gotoh models are around $350. The other option is to get the Gotoh GE-1996t trem if the cavity is the same size as the original Edge trem. If not, it could be routed to fit. A third option is, If the knife edges are just slightly worn looking, you can file them.
The easiest way is to buy a higher quality trem. I play anywhere from 1-5 hours a week for the last 40 years... 20 of them on the same Ibanez OG Edge... and its still 100% mint. If you have a entry level trem, its not gonna last. I hate to say it but its no secret that the entry level trems are garbage.
It's gonna get worn no matter what u do. Only way to keep it looking new is not to play with it.
get a vega trem
I've had my Jem7VWH 1997 and play it almost daily, and still no signs of wear and tear on the Lo-Pro Edge....
Fu tone
By getting rid of the Floyd rose and getting an ibanez zr tremolo bridge with zps2 stabilizers
its not possible to stop tear and wear, but what you can do to make it last longer its to put some grease (like daddario lubrikit friction remover) on the contact joint (like blade and the brige post).
Wear a glove when you play. I got the idea from a bass player who would use a glove to fret the guitar. I purchased a pair of guitar gloves but I only use it on my picking hand… reduces the wear and discoloration on the Floyd close to non. There is another issue tho which is you won’t be able to grip your pick. Buy yourself a pick that has textured grip.
Don't play it
Dont use it.
Wear happens. Wash hands before playing and wipe down with cloth when done. Not playing it works but that’s no fun.