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12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?


Stooges_Fan

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Guys, is there a Floyd style 12" locking nut anywhere ? I need one for a 12" radi guitar i'm having floyded. Any help would more than appreciated, as I'm thinking a 10" would be too much of a mismatch, and the 14" ones stew-mac supposedly sells would as well...

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I don't believe there is one.

 

All original Floyd Rose hardware is made OEM by Schaller, the all FR bridges and nuts both are fixed to a 10" radius, as are their Schaller labelled counterparts. You can't raise the saddles like you can a traditional Strat trem. People make due with aftermarket shims on the outer saddles to force them higher, in theory that could work at the nut too. But ultimately it's a jury-rigged (yes, that's used correctly) solution.

 

That's one of the reasons Gibson used Kahler back in the '80's. Kahler had adjustable saddles that could be raised and lowered to change radius. And they used string locks behind the nut, allowing the lock to be to be used with any existing nut and/or radius. Unfortunately, this was Kahler's biggest weakness, the string lock created a horrible break angle over the nut and it was a tuning nightmare.

 

You do no the Floyd Rose Bridge itself has a fixed 10" radius.

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I don't recall exactly when or where, but it occurs to me that there were several different versions of those nuts available at one time, in chrome, gold, and black, and in a 9", 10", 12" and 15" radii. Check the stickies info in the guitar forums, Mus.Fr., and google 12" radius floyd rose nut.

It might take some heavy research, but I'll lay even odds that there is someone out there who's still got a few or perhaps even still making them...

 

 

They have made and still make four different versions of the nut, all in Chrome, Gold and Black...but all four are 10" radius, it's the nut width and/or string spacing that changes. R/L2 is 1 5/8"; R/L3 is 1 11/16" nut with the strings spaced as they would be for the narrower 1-5/8" nut; R/L4 is 1-11/16" with traditional 1-11/16" string spacing; R/L4 is a 1-3/4" nut.

 

Real Floyd Roses bridges and nuts have ALWAYS been fixed to a 10" radius. But some of the knock-offs may vary, as the OP noted, Stewmac sell a generic that is fixed at 14" radius.

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Depends on what kind of lock you need. If you want the ones that act as a nut then they may be a harder find. i suppose you could modify one to a 12" radius. If you use a normal nut and use a lock in back of the nut then theres no issue with radius because the nut does the job. I suppose you could use locking tuners as well.

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Depends on what kind of lock you need. If you want the ones that act as a nut then they may be a harder find. i suppose you could modify one to a 12" radius. If you use a normal nut and use a lock in back of the nut then theres no issue with radius because the nut does the job. I suppose you could use locking tuners as well.

 

 

Locking tuners don't do the same job.

 

And the lock that goes behind the nut really doesn't work well, that's one of the reasons Kahler went out of business originally.

 

One could probably machine some shims for a Floyd nut.

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Locking tuners don't do the same job.


And the lock that goes behind the nut really doesn't work well, that's one of the reasons Kahler went out of business originally.


One could probably machine some shims for a Floyd nut.

 

 

If you lube the nut it would work as well as any other whammy would. But i agree having the lock as a nut is better.

 

Shims dont fix radius, only cutting the grooves down in the center strings would. I'd have to look at a floys locking nut again but I dont think it would be hard if you have the proper nut files.

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If you lube the nut it would work as well as any other whammy would. But i agree having the lock as a nut is better.


Shims dont fix radius, only cutting the grooves down in the center strings would. I'd have to look at a floys locking nut again but I dont think it would be hard if you have the proper nut files.

 

 

Yeah, I see my mistake.

 

I was thinking of locking the nut between the lock and shim, but then the scale wouldn't zero at the groove.

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I heard that R3 would fit for 1 11/16 neck with binding. R4 fit for no binding.

 

 

That's what I have heard through the years. I think it depends on the guitar.

 

But, on paper, the R4 is the nut for a LP Studio.

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Guys, is there a Floyd style 12" locking nut anywhere ? I need one for a 12" radi guitar i'm having floyded. Any help would more than appreciated, as I'm thinking a 10" would be too much of a mismatch, and the 14" ones stew-mac supposedly sells would as well...

 

 

I know nothing about FR, but I know that Carvin's default neck radius is 12', and they sell locking nuts as well, so maybe this will do:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=LN6C&cid=88

 

?

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That's an R3, 10" radius.


Carvin offers 10", 12", 14", and compound fretboard radius.

 

 

Wyatt, on a 10-16 compound, what can we do about the saddles? raise them to 18-20'' ish? This is really holding me back from a warmoth.

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Anyone know ? would R3 or R4 both feel good on the paul ? I onticed on the les paul axess guitars, they use R4, and those are bound necks too(mines unbound les paul studio),,,,

 

Also, I'm looking at getting the Gotoh floyd, which I believe is 14 or 16"? radius at the bridge ? that wouldn't be hard for a tech to shim that to a 12 (I guess shim the middle saddles some) to get it perfect, would it ?

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Floyd Rose R3 is 12" , see chart here: http://wdmusic.com/media/floyd_rose_chart.html

 

This may not help much but the generic, top-mount (no bolts through the neck) lock nuts from GPDUSA I measured at a 12" radius.

 

As to 10" vs. 14" for a 12" radius board, I ran into that problem with an Allparts SMO neck I put on a guitar w/Floyd Rose and at first tried a 10" but the D/G strings fretted sharp in the lower registers so I switched to a Stew-Mac 14" radius one and it worked out. That's what I left on it and it works fine.

 

Also, Floyd Rose does make one 15" (R10) lock nut, so they all aren't 10". I'm not sure how recent a development that is, but it's on their chart. Their 7 lock nut is also 15".

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Also, I'm looking at getting the Gotoh floyd, which I believe is 14 or 16"? radius at the bridge ? that wouldn't be hard for a tech to shim that to a 12 (I guess shim the middle saddles some) to get it perfect, would it ?

If it's 14" at the bridge I wouldn't touch it. It won't be noticable and I've read some people flatten the bridge radius slightly compared to the actual fretboard radius. I've been doing it myself and it feels pretty good.

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Floyd Rose R3 is 12" , see chart here:


This may not help much but the generic, top-mount (no bolts through the neck) lock nuts from GPDUSA I measured at a 12" radius.


As to 10" vs. 14" for a 12" radius board, I ran into that problem with an Allparts SMO neck I put on a guitar w/Floyd Rose and at first tried a 10" but the D/G strings fretted sharp in the lower registers so I switched to a Stew-Mac 14" radius one and it worked out. That's what I left on it and it works fine.


Also, Floyd Rose does make one 15" (R10) lock nut, so they all aren't 10". I'm not sure how recent a development that is, but it's on their chart. Their 7 lock nut is also 15".

 

 

You can check with Floyd Rose, Schaller (who is OEM manufacturer), Warmoth and others...R3 is 10".

 

Straight from the Schaller guidelines...

 

 

You can find the relevant product numbers in the respective columns with the surface details. The tremolo radius is 12 inches and the nut 10 inches (besides R9 and R10).

 

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You can check with Floyd Rose, Schaller (who is OEM manufacturer), Warmoth and others...R3 is 10".


Straight from the Schaller guidelines...

Sorry buddy, you must have old information. I believe R3 was 10" in the past but as they added two new "R" nuts (previously they only went to R8) they switched some specs around.

 

Go to the Floyd Rose site, as I just did to double check, and in their NUT CHART - not trem chart - NUT chart, an R3 has a 12" radius.

 

I will believe Mr. Floyd Rose himself, thanks.

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