i used to play with a fender strat so I am used to that bridge. i just recently purchased an esp eclipse with a fixed tune o'matic bridge. My question is how do i adjust the bridge height correctly? There are screws next to the pickups and also some further back where you put the strings through. How do I know when I have each adjusted correctly?

Those pickup screws have nothing to do with the string/bridge hight. Do you have a pic of the bridge so that I may better help you? I'm not so sure you may know what a Tune-O-Matic bridge is at this point.

__________________

Or the difference between intonation and string height.

__________________

The pickup screws control the height of the pickups.....right?
I never screw around with mine.

Like, yeah.... that too. You do both at near the same place on a TOM bridge but I think you need to let us know where you intend to start turning screws.

__________________

That is true. You should try adjusting them some time. It can really make a huge difference in tone. You should have your pups as close to the strings without them ever contacting them in the most violent playing. About 1/16th to 3/32th of a inch from the strings while freting at the 12th fret for me ( I also use EMG and have a medium touch with my picking hand and have a low-midium action on my strings). With passive pups that have a high powered magnet you will need to back them back off the strings a bit to enhance sustain. The strong magnetic pull of passive high output pups can ruin tone and sustain if to close to the strings.

__________________

Bored and felt like taking a pic.

I know "A" adjusts the height of the pickups.

so what's the diff between B & C ?

Ibanez




.

B will adjust the heigth of the string, while C adjust the distance from the nut to compensate for its thickness (intonation).

On that specific bridge, bia, you should first tune your guitar to its desired tuning and then measure the distance between the botton of the string and the top of the 12th fret. A medium/low high is 3/32in to 1/16 from the thicker strings to the thinest strings for me. I have played that way for yaers, but you might find you like a higher acion or a bit lower action. If you desire to adjust the heigth of your bridge then you can adjusty both the hex screws of "B" while also having the capacity to taper the feel of the bridge to your palm. As long ass the string height is the same, it matters not haow you like to adjust "B".

C is way different. Do you have a tuner?

__________________

Yes... a Korg GA-20 digital tuner.

[EDIT]also I use superlight 9s

well its actually a gotoh tune-o-matic bridge. so there is the "actual" bridge part with the screws for intonation adjustment and then there is the tailpiece, both of which are able to be raised and lowered. I pretty much know how to adjust the intonation using the bridge "saddles" if you will, but I don't know how to correspond the raising/lowering of the bridge with the raising/lowering of the tailpiece.

Action should be adjusted first for the overall feel of the guitar. Action has little or nothing to do with intonation with the types of bridges you both have. Just make sure you have the action set to what is comfortable to you first before adjust intonation.

Now, to adjust the intonation "C" or the screws that move the bridge saddles backward and forward you only need to make sure the guitar is perfectly tuned to the pitch you will be mostly using. Now fret the 12th fret and see if it is the same note within 2 cents of the open string ( hint: turn your guitar volume knobs down half way along with the tone knobs. Allow the signal to decay a second or 2 before considering it consistent). If the 12th note is sharp then that saddle needs to be moved back, retune the guitar, and check that string intonation again. Repeat this for each string and most inportently, don't alway trust the tuner. If the notes sound and play intoned then fuck what the tuner might say. It is only a tool and you are the master.

Edit: I forgot to add that if the 12th note is flat compared to the open note of that string then you need to move the saddle forward and make the string length shorter.

Intonation is only a compensator to string diameter. That is all it is and it doeasnot become a huge issue until you want to play above the 9th fret or if you change string gauges.

Hint: losen the string before you adjust the intonation of you might damage or break it.

__________________

Sorry for posting this here, but I didn't feel like searching for such a small thing. For blocking a Floyd, do you just fit something in there and tape it down....or what? And after you've blocked it, and you de-tune the guitar, do you have to fuck around with the springs or?

to block a floyd stick a 9 volt battery in the back cavity,
steve vai has done it a few times.

http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/guitar037.html

__________________

Yeah, but I'm still wonderin' if you have to dick around w/ the springs if you detune and stuff. It seems like a waste also to get a Floyd and block it.

im not sure you know,
but also i agree that it is a waste of time but also it isnt
because if you are playing a song that doesent involve any use of the
trem then stick the battery in the back and if you snap a string live
the whole thing wont go out of tune.but on the other hand
most songs i play involves trem tricks etc...

__________________