How to Change Strings with GOTOH Locking Tuners and a Floyd Rose (7 String)
We all know how to change strings for the most part. But whenever you throw in something new, like Gotoh locking tuners, it kind of throws you back.
That’s okay because you and I are going to learn how to change strings with Gotoh locking tuners. But it doesn’t stop there. We’re going to change strings on a guitar that has…
- Gotoh Locking Tuners
- Floyd Rose
- 7 strings
Oh man, I’m tired just thinking about it! Actually it’s nowhere near as bad as it sounds. And I’m going to take you step-by-step.
**This is an interactive post! I am including your suggestions, tricks, and methods in this post where noted. So this blog post will be updated on a regualr basis.
If you’d like to add to this post, just leave a comment with your suggestions on my YouTube video: Changing Strings With Gotoh and Floyd VIDEO.
Changing Strings with Gotoh and Floyd Video
3 Things You Need to Change Strings with Gotoh Locking Tuners and a Floyd Rose
First, make sure you have the proper tools to change strings. Here’s the cool thing…you really don’t need much!
- String clipper – I’m using a tool that acts as a string winder and clipper in the video; in theory, you shouldn’t need the winder end.
- Allen wrench – You’ll need this only if you have a Floyd Rose or floating tremolo.
- Strings…I know, duh!
It sounds almost too simple, right? This is due to the Gotoh locking tuners. And if you don’t have a Floyd or floating bridge, you won’t need a hex key (Allen wrench).
Now I’m going to go over each step and explain what I did to change my strings on my 7 string guitar with Gotoh locking tuners and a Floyd Rose.
**The guitar is my ESP E-II Horizon FR-7.
***If your guitar does not have a Floyd and only has locking tuners, I have a section at the bottom of this page going over the steps for guitars with just Gotoh locking tuners.
Unlocking Your Strings from the Floyd Rose Locking Nut
The first few steps are all about removing that first string from your guitar. Since my guitar has both Gotoh locking tuners and a Floyd Rose, we need to follow the usual guidelines of changing guitar strings with a Floyd.
So the very first thing you need to do is loosen the screws on your locking nut located between the neck and headstock of your guitar.
If you have experience changing strings on a guitar with a Floyd Rose, you know to only change one string at a time. If you’re like me, you’ve made the unforgiving mistake of taking all of your old strings off only to be left with to suffer in tuning and intonation hell!
If you’re new to this, make sure you change one string at a time!
However, you can loosen all of the screws from the locking nut. And if you have a 7 string guitar like me, there will be four screws to loosen.
**If you want to become more familiar with the parts and components of a Floyd Rose setup, you can read about each part on Floyd Rose website: https://floydrose.com/collections/parts
Remove the First String from the Gotoh Locking Tuner
The next step is to release the string from the Gotoh locking tuner. I was a little freaked out at first because I had never owned or played a guitar with any sort of locking tuners. So yeah, the video above is from my first time doing this.
It’s fairly simple. You just twist the locking tuner, which is on the backside of your headstock. This locking mechanism is actually what’s holding the string tightly in its place.
I typically start the process by removing the heaviest string first. In this case, it’s that 7th B string.
Once you twist the locking tuner, you’ll notice that much of the tension from that string is gone. Your string will be somewhat flabby (I made a horrible pun in the video saying the flabby string needs to go on a diet).
From here you can turn your tuning key so that your string is straight so that you can pull the string through the Floyd Rose locking nut piece.
Here are the steps:
- Start with your heaviest string
- Twist Gotoh locking tuner to release that string
- Turn your tuning key to where the string is straight lining up with the neck
- Pull the string through the tuning keyhole and the Floyd locking nut
**Making sure that you turn the tuning key to line up with the path of the neck will also help you later when you go to feed your new string through. This will save you a little time and frustration later.