ESP Guitars: Adjusting Intonation on a Floyd Rose-Equipped Guitar 

This has been the best video about Floyd Rose ever.

I know this video was published 6 years ago now... But thank you so much for your kindness and teaching future generations how to do this. This is very much welcomed by all of us.

5:02 no fear

ive been intonating my own guitars for a looooooooong time and I still found this valuable to watch. never done learning stuff. thanks for your time sir.

Very helpful video, thanks. Just to share my experience just now after i try this.1. The other strings will always go slightly out of tune after the adjustments. 2.don’t stroke the strings super hard especially the low E strings when tuning. 3.Get the most accurate digital tuner possible out of your ability, cause the gear really do matter in this case.4.Sometimes if the fret is buzzing, you might need to check the height adjustment video first. Hopefully this help you guys to get the same fantastic results as I did. Sorry for bad bad english.

I've never intonated a guitar. Not once. Until just now on my FR equipped PRS. And I nailed it! Double stops and chords on the 1st 3 strings don't sound completely jacked anymore. Everything sound better. Thank you so much for this video!

It took me 2 hours and somehow my high e string broke while tuning down so I had to get a new one before I could finish. I'm proud though cause it seemed like a pretty daunting task that I'd rather pay a guitar tech to do, but the other comments motivated me to try it myself and it worked out so I'm happy. Thanks for the helpful video.

The most straightforward informative, tutorial on how to intonate your axe I've seen to date, great job!

THANK YOU!!! I bought my first Floyd Rose equipped guitar 2 months ago. I could never get the intonation set correctly. I've watched more videos than you can shake a stick at, but to no avail. Until I watched your series on the subject. Granted it took me 3 hours, but I followed your steps and I got it! New strings (11's), set the neck, action, tuning and intonation. I locked it down and wow! This is awesome. Keep those videos coming and thanks a million!

Thanks ESP for publishing this. I have a super old KH2 that I've had since 1997. I've never once intonated it because I don't know how. This video was very helpful. thanks for putting it out.

This is by far the best demonstration and explanation of how to set Floyd intonation. Thank you.

flat forward …..sharp back ……hope that helps ….

Absolutely the best video tutorial how to adjust the intonation on a Floyd Rose!

It's a good instructional video. It follows the standard of instructional media I learned in school. You tell them what they are going to learn, you show them how to do it, and you reiterate what we just learned. Also, something I have been looking for for a long time has been presented. That is the order in which you adjust the items to do a setup. It's easy to do things out of order and do a less than proper job.

You made that seem a lot easier than it is. I'm having a hell of a time with it.

Excellent video! No list of fancy tools, no need for a specific 'intonation tool'... exactly what I needed while I'm quarantining for a week, my guitars (and my ears) thank you.

Wow, thanks for this video!! I just set up and intonated one of my guitars for the first time (Jackson Kelly professional) after 30+ years of playing. What a great feeling of accomplishment. Thank you.

Very instructional video. The close ups are an added plus. Thank you for the upload.

I had stopped playing for many years and ended up forgetting about intonation lol. Now that I've started to play again i remember how much a pain in the ass a floyd rose bridge can be.

Great video. I've got an awesome Jackson King V with a Floyd Rose that desperately needs to be intonated. Before this video I was a little hesitant to do it, but now I see it's pretty straightforward. Thanks for the clear explanation!

after owning an ibanez with a floyd rose for more than a year now and having on-and-off battles with it for accurate intonation, I searched "everything to know about intonating a floyd rose bridge" and youtube actually didn't let me down this time!

Best floyd rose intonation video I have seen yet. Very nice.!

Excellent video series you present with the Floyd Rose tremolo adjustments. Thank you so much for doing this!

Guy knows what he's doing. I am ready to tackle this intonation job now!

Love it, no bs right to the points, this is why l been playing esp products for years , great company

The best explanation so far that I've heard. Thank you.

These Floyd Rose videos saved my life 🤘🏼

Two things, for continuity's sake you loosen the locking nut before tuning to pitch to start with. 2nd, don't you have to block the floyd before you tune anything? Great video, well spoken and explained.

My LTD M-1000 came perfectly intonated except the A string which is a bit Sharp, now thanks to this video I feel confident to fix it myself.

This is the best video on How To Intonate A Floyd Rose Tremolo. Thank You!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This literally just helped me intonate my whole neck. THANK YOU

One of my favorite intonation vids ,thanks brother

Thank you for these videos! I recently had to re set up my floyd bridge after a tech did a a crap job. Your videos helped me level out my bridge (tech had set it sitting up and towards the pick up so I could do acrobatics---he assumed a whole helluva lot), adjust the string height and intonation. It was the first time I had ever tried to do it myself and your vids helped immensely! Now my Floyd is set correctly (or the way I like it) and it stays in tune much better than after a tech got a hold of it. Thank you esp!

best vídeo about tunning a guitar with Floyd Rose

I adjusted the bridge height on my Charvel ( lower action) intonation is a bit out i wasn't sure how to set it on a floyd rose, now i know! great video.

that little tool "intonation key" or something from allparts works quite well. just makes sure it's attached properly, It locks in place and holds the saddle it is attached to in place. Loosen the intonation screw and turn the knurled knob at the end of the tool to adjust the position of the saddle for intonation. Works well once you figure out how to attach it.

The video is very helpful and informative. Intonating a Floyd Rose bridge is such a pain in the ass, it turns out.

Excellent video. I've been doing my own guitar tech work for years and this was super helpful.

Incredibly helpful video. I'm more convinced than ever that I will never ever buy another guitar with a Floyd on it.

Preferred this method then the intonation key tool. Thanks ESP!

for those about to rock, Patience is the word. Persistence is a must. Once you achieve this, you will be proud. The first time is a royal pain in the ass, but if you dont learn yourself the guitar tech will take your cash

Should I block the tremolo before doing this? I'm new to floyds, and I don't wanna make more work for myself.

perfect video on how to set intonation.

love these tech videos, keep'em comin'!

A way I just came up with to remember which way to move the saddles is, flat forward and sharp ass (toward the back). Sounds dumb but works for me. :P

This told me everything I needed to know and nothing that I didn't. Excellent video! Thank you!

Might try this on one of my guitars tonight. Thanks!

Excellent video.....this one is the best and it clear up my concept and all fears about intonnation ...thankz ESP

Extremely helpful and clear video. Thank you so very much!

NOT ADDRESSED IN THIS VIDEO (which is ok), If you run out of room to move the saddle forward or backward, check to see if you may have extra holes so you can move the saddle position backwards or forwards more than you think (my floyds all have 3 nut holes per string to move to). I had this problem and if you look where the bolts go you may see that they are not all lined up. So, take a look and see if you have the extra holes and them move the saddle and bolt to that next position. This worked for me, I hope it works for you. Good luck!

I just have to say, that's a gorgeous guitar! ❤️

these videos are great, thank you for making them!

I've got an ESP MH-301 absolutely wonderful machine, wish I didn't have a floating trem tho, was great in my youth making crazy noises but now I use it so rarely I've only just noticed I've lost the trem arm! Still the day I decide to restring the beast I will definitely give it a good going over and I can now take on intonation so thanks very much for the vid

Great video. No messing.

When I looked at it I thought you did it this way. I was right thanks for the video.

Really appreciate the video, but floating trems are an absolute ballache.

so i accidently removed my floyd rose saddles...im worrying about the order...do i setup my floyd rose first with string stretching flat to the board etc. and the last step is intonation or wich order is correct?

Wonderful video, thanks guys!!!

Is the bridge still floating during this process? or do you have something blocking the trem block from moving?

Nicely done guys!

I dig the old school milwaukee screwdriver. Those things were bulletproof.

thanks, dude! Really helpful when I was trying to figure out why this Jackson I have sounds like crap! Adjusted intonation and now she sounds great! What strings would you all recommend for more of a metal sound? Thanks!

You should make sure your bridge plate is level with your guitar before and after intonation. It shouldn’t be out of whack, but if it is slightly canted one direction or the other, you’ll need to adjust your claw springs on the back. But most of the time this won’t be necessary unless changing tunings completely or string gauge. Yeah, Floyd’s can be a pain if you’re not familiar with them. But the tuning stability is second to none. My first guitar was a Floyd guitar. So it was learn or sell it. Most people sell. I’m glad I didn’t. 🤘🏻

Great help! Made it easy! My 12th frets were all sharp! Thoughts?

My esp feels slightly out of tune when I get up past the 15th sort of region. I’ve never adjusted the saddles on it. This is going to be a big improvement as it was driving me nuts

Great tutorial. You helped me a lot. Thank you sir 👏

Thank you , clear and informative!

Brand new EVH Wolfgang. E, B, and G strings are sharp so I move them forward as far as the saddle goes and the fretted note is still sharp? What to do?

Very good explanation, but that is half of the procedure, if the nut is too high it can cause intonation problems too, but mainly on first frets.

love that new shiny orig Floyd bridge..

I have an ltd400. The intonation is flat. For two of the strings after loosening the saddle I have found that there is no adjustment left. The saddles do not move any closer toward the neck. What can I do?

Wow, very cool. Thanks!

Just got a brand new floyd rose guitar... the high E string saddle is all the way forward... to the point where if I dive down enough, the saddle will actually contact the body of the guitar... does this mean I have an issue with the neck? or is this somewhat common?

My low E string is sharp, but the saddle is pushed all the way up against the back of the bridge, and can't go any further. What do I do now?

When you loosen one string all the other strings will go out of way due to the Floyd rose though so do you tune all of them up perfect again before checking intonation on a single string?

I've moved it full to the back and it's still sharp at 12 fret. Any suggestions?

When loosen string you work on the bridge isn't on level anymore. I assume you should be on level when adjust intonation, right? So how you keep bridge on level when loosen string?

Im eyeing this cus im contemplating getting my forst floyd rose guitar

Do you have to tune all the strings perfectly every time when you are checking string per string?

n00b question coming up, play nice (I just bought my very first FR equipped guitar so I'm watching every YT video I can on the subject to educate myself). It seems a bit cumbersome having to push the saddle back and forth manually to set the intonation. Why doesn't the FR system have an adjustment screw under tension for this purpose like most(?) other guitars? It seems like it would be simple enough to incorporate.

this video. is perfect. and calming. i can die now

And this is why I just bought a fixed bridge to add to my arsenal 🙃

Thanks so much for this!! I have a question -Do I loosen the neck bolts before I adjust the saddles ?? Would that make a difference? That’s two questions sorry. 😊

Very good video!

Wait, after getting it in tune, do you lock down the locking tuners on the net and then move on ? Also before moving on, do you fine tune first using fine tuners before intonation adjustment ? or does it matter. Beginner here.

Hi guys, thanks a lot for the video lesson!

Does the intonation screw always land in one of the three threads on the baseplate to tighten down or is it in between these positions aswell possible?

get "THE KEY" intoantion tool , makes this much much easier

what about the 24th fret? you guys ignore that?

U can tell how experienced this guy is

Thanks a lot mate!

The way I see it when adjusting for intonation is this. Most tuners are flat on the left side of the digital display and sharp on the right. Flat left, adjust Saddle left. Note sharp? Adjust Saddle right. This is only if the guitar is facing left though so left hand guys can't use this method.

Is that bridge blocked? How do you intonate a Floyd that is floating... as soon as you loosen the string(s) the bridge will tilt back from tension release. I'm guessing this Floyd is blocked, as you did nothing to keep it level when you loosened the string.

Remember kids, always make these adjustments in playing position... never lying on the bench 🎸

Excellent tutorial. What does it mean if the open note doesn't match it's respective 12th note harmonic? They obviously all matched in the video, so, curious what the fix is if they were not to match? Thanks.

Now a regular how to intonation video!

This just saved my session :D

Ok, so what if I move the saddle forward to its maximum position and the fretted note is still flat - what am I supposed to do?

"This is why I'm a bass player" - said every guitarist who switched to bass

He keeps saying he’s going a millimeter forward or back but he doesn’t seem to mention if he’s going back in those holes that the Floyd rose have for the screw to keep the saddle in place. Any ideas?