I recently purchased my first Floyd Rose style guitar and at first I was a bit lost as to how to tune it. I actually got a bit frustrated and regretted my purchase of it at first. But after some research and some trial & error I figured it out and I'm now very pleased with the guitar (it's a Jackson.)
It seems like a good idea to share what I've learned about how to tune a Floyd Rose guitar what follows are some step by step directions on tuning such a guitar as the steps are a bit different than with a "normal" guitar.
1. Make sure all of the fine tuning screws are about half way up (so that you can adjust either way if you need to.)
2. Loosen (unlock) the nut.
3. Use the tuning keys to tune the strings (I recommend tuning them slightly sharp as they tend to go a bit flat at first.) There's a specific way you should tune the strings. Start with the low (bass) E then go to the high (treble) E then go to the B then the A then the G and then finally the D. Then you start again at the low E and continue this process until it's staying in tune.
This will take awhile at first and you need to have some patience. But it's worth it in the long run so stick with it.
4. Once you've got it staying pretty well in tune you should tighten the nut (lock it.) Don't screw it closed too tight.
5. Fine tune with the fine tune screws. This is how you'll be tuning the guitar from now on unless it goes very far out of tune or you have to restring (in which case you'll have to start this process over again.) The big positive is that Floyd Rose guitars tend to stay in tune more so than others do once you get them set. That's what I've been experiencing with mine.
Changing The Strings
Speaking of changing the strings. You should change them one at a time. Because of the way you string a Floyd Rose guitar, that's easier to do with other guitars. If you try to change them all at once you could run into some irritating problems with the bridge.
