Original Floyd Rose trems versus "Licensed By"... Comparison with Pics.

[ValveReaper]

thanks for the info baimun and pete n;)

[acravero]

Hi all,

 

How well does the old Floyd w/o fine tuners work with a good nut & locking tuners?

 

I have one lying around I might throw on one of my projects. What is the best type of locking tuner, string tree, and nut combination to give the least amount of friction? I have a Strat-style headstock (non-tilt with standard nut & 2 string trees) on the guitar I was going to put this thing on. . .

[_pete_]

 

Originally posted by acravero Hi all, How well does the old Floyd w/o fine tuners work with a good nut & locking tuners? I have one lying around I might throw on one of my projects. What is the best type of locking tuner, string tree, and nut combination to give the least amount of friction? I have a Strat-style headstock (non-tilt with standard nut & 2 string trees) on the guitar I was going to put this thing on. . .

 

 

I have one that I'm gonna put on a Dillion PRS copy. It has Planet Waves locking tuners and a graphite nut on it now. I have new studs and inserts ordered for it so I can't install until I get them. I also need to rout the recess out a bit so the Floyd will fit.

 

I'll post the results after I get it done.

[baimun]

It will work as long as the nut is properly lubed.... but not as well as one with the locking nut.

 

Many of the earlier ones put a lock nut right behind the traditional nut, and it was found that the little bit of binding or settling in the nut grooves was enough to cause some little pitch issues. Same goes for the slack that's behind the saddle on feed-through type trem bridges.

 

Keep in mind, we're talking about various degrees of tuning perfection.... from the "It goes out of tune when I look at it" to "I only need to give the bar a good tug up" to "I can throw it down a flight of steps and it'll still be in tune".

 

You can always use that bridge with the existing nut and see where that instrument falls.... either way the floyd will ride on a nice knife edge so you won't have to worry about that end of the strings.

[baimun]

Bump because of recent, relevant question....

[bluemusicman]

Hello, I own a jem 555 with a pice of {censored} lo trs II a la Floyd Rose. I wanna upgrade the trem and I don

[DnlKm]

 

Originally posted by bluemusicman Hello, I own a jem 555 with a pice of {censored} lo trs II a la Floyd Rose. I wanna upgrade the trem and I don

[batotman]

Ok so what the {censored} can I learn to play that uses a floyd? I'm clueless, never ever used a trem!

[pink freud]

well,

 

Sorrow- Pink Floyd (the beginning uses a trem)

the intro to Metropolis Pt1 - Dream Theater

The Audience is Listening- Vai

a lot of Satch songs use extreme whammy bends.

[SeraphSlaughter]

Uh, just a quick newbie question:

 

Is it worth paying about $100 to replace the licensed floyd in my jackson rx10d? i dont use the whammy much but it does tend to get a little out of tune. Thing is i see most floyds on ebay for $200...and would not like to spend in excess of $100. which models/series should I look for and is it worth it?

 

Also i wouldnt have to do any routing, right?

[air guitar]

Originally posted by TheDarxide Some of mine, particularly my BC Rich ones, need fine tuning for bloody hours.

Sometimes that's caused by worn out tremolo springs.

[bubkus_jones]

 

Originally posted by SeraphSlaughter Uh, just a quick newbie question: Is it worth paying about $100 to replace the licensed floyd in my jackson rx10d? i dont use the whammy much but it does tend to get a little out of tune. Thing is i see most floyds on ebay for $200...and would not like to spend in excess of $100. which models/series should I look for and is it worth it? Also i wouldnt have to do any routing, right?

 

 

Save up a little more money and get one of these. They're made to the same standards and specs as the OFR, except they use a brass block instead of steel. They're so close to the OFR that Floyd Rose allows them to put the Floyd Rose logo on them, which none of the other "Licenced by..." bridges are allowed to do.

 

I haven't used one myself, but I'll be getting one for my next project. I have purchased several items from that place, though, and they've always been prompt to ship and without trouble. The shipping cost is also rather low, too.

[umpteen]

Interesting, but you didnt include the BEST trem of all time that improved upon the original floyd.

 

The Ibanez Edge and lo-pro edge trems.

 

Improvements include separate knife edges and allen set screw inserts inside the posts to lock them.

 

All the whammy artists of any renown use Ibanez trems.

[air guitar]

Originally posted by baimun When the Japanese guitars started taking off, then the knock-offs started rolling in and much of the quality suffered and/or reputations were tarnished.

Yeah. And too many American guitar companies used the cheap knockoffs too.

[bubkus_jones]

 

Originally posted by umpteen Interesting, but you didnt include the BEST trem of all time that improved upon the original floyd. The Ibanez Edge and lo-pro edge trems. Improvements include separate knife edges and allen set screw inserts inside the posts to lock them. All the whammy artists of any renown use Ibanez trems.

 

 

1) The Edge and Lo-Pro Edge have been discontinued in favour of the "Edge Pro". Firs thing to go? The locking posts. And how are seperate knife edges an improvement?

 

2) No, not all whammy abusers of any renown use only Ibanez trems. I see Ibanez, Jackson, ESP, Kramer (the original Whammy abusers guitar), Fender, Peavey (Wolfgang), MusicMan (EVH/Axis and Petrucci, which doesn't have a Floyd).

[batotman]

 

Originally posted by pink freud well, Sorrow- Pink Floyd (the beginning uses a trem) the intro to Metropolis Pt1 - Dream Theater The Audience is Listening- Vai a lot of Satch songs use extreme whammy bends.

 

 

I still don't know....damn it!

[Darkstorm]

Untill I got a guitar with orig floyd I didnt understand the complaints about poor tuning stability, loss of tone and so on. Haveing had a schecter with orig floyd I now know. Untill I got a guitar with orig floyd I never had tuning stability probs, nor loss of bass content. I'd been using lic floyds as found on BC Rich & jackson. Never had tuning problems with them nd no excess treble to sound. The real floyd on the schecter I had was literally the worse trem I've ever had on a guitar. Besides poor tuning stability, it also added a lot of treble zing to the sound.If it had been on anything other then all mahogany body & neck I'd of had to get rid of the guitar for just being overly bright and shrill. I'll take the better performing better sounding lic floyds any day. Better trems.

[cloudnine]

bato,

 

Just play anything by Van Halen. Ranges from relatively tame whammy usage to out and out divebombs, screamers, and other imaginative trem uses.

[GibsonQC]

 

Originally posted by Darkstorm Untill I got a guitar with orig floyd I didnt understand the complaints about poor tuning stability, loss of tone and so on. Haveing had a schecter with orig floyd I now know. Untill I got a guitar with orig floyd I never had tuning stability probs, nor loss of bass content. I'd been using lic floyds as found on BC Rich & jackson. Never had tuning problems with them nd no excess treble to sound. The real floyd on the schecter I had was literally the worse trem I've ever had on a guitar. Besides poor tuning stability, it also added a lot of treble zing to the sound.If it had been on anything other then all mahogany body & neck I'd of had to get rid of the guitar for just being overly bright and shrill. I'll take the better performing better sounding lic floyds any day. Better trems.

 

 

It doesn't sound like it was set up properly, or your springs were just over the hill. I've used real floyds for years with no issues. No other trem comes close. EVH used a real Floyd for years, George Lynch, Reb Beach, Richie Sambora. . .

 

 

FWIW, Edge trems are great copies, but they add more treble than a genuine Floyd, IMO. Their tuning stability is top-notch, though.

 

 

The "Ping" Floyd is okay. For an extra $30-$40, you can get the real deal, and I would highly suggest it. The Ping feels like a toy compared to the solidity and smoothness of the OFR. And, to clear up another misconception mentioned above, the OFR (and most licensed versions) now comes with the stud/inserts, as opposed to the large pivot wood screws they used back in the 80's.

[peavey_impact]

Okay, this is a lil OT but I recently put an 80's Kramer Focus 6000 neck on an 80's USA BC Rich ST-III body and strung her up. The next day I take the guitar out the gig bag and the high E has slipped out from under the retainer bar and is floating in the air. Does anyone know where I can buy a slightly longer-than-normal string retainer bar? (By the way, I don't know if the retainer bar on the kramer neck was original or not)

[JT1]

Excellent post. Kudos.

[mikethedigimon]

 

Originally posted by peavey_impact Okay, this is a lil OT but I recently put an 80's Kramer Focus 6000 neck on an 80's USA BC Rich ST-III body and strung her up. The next day I take the guitar out the gig bag and the high E has slipped out from under the retainer bar and is floating in the air. Does anyone know where I can buy a slightly longer-than-normal string retainer bar? (By the way, I don't know if the retainer bar on the kramer neck was original or not)

 

 

http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/parts/parts.cfm?fuseaction=include_string_retainers

[peavey_impact]

Thanks, I emailed Warmoth asking for a length measurement.

[Darkstorm]

GibsonQc > The problem with your reply is I've been doing my own setups for 20 plus years. Never had a problem getting good qaulity floyd lic trems to have fantastic tuning stability. While the orig real floyd kept tuning fairly good after excess monekying with it it still wasnt as good as my floyd lic trems stability. I dont see any reason springs would of been over the hill as was brand new guitar. Though I did end up adding a spring that none of my other guitars got. So is perhaps possible it came with inferior springs. Part of the problem imo with the orig floyd is an overly heavy trem arm. Just moving it from forward rearward changes tuning a little.

 

 

The tone shift the orig floyd gives compared to very good qaulity floyd lic trems rather reminds me of BaddassII Bass bridges. Like those, it adds noticeable treble zing. That might be good for dark sounding guitars that are wanting more treble zing. But something I find undesireable on instruments with my preferred body woods of poplar, alder, or either mahogany or agathis wit maple top. Also likes chesswood oddly enough as it gives excellent crunch and full sound to me. When combined with maple top gives fantastic crank & grind for basses. But a zingy trem would hurt the sound and make over bright for me. My BC Rich NJ Mockingbird guitar is also chesswood with maple top and the combo is excellent for crunchy sounds I love. Luckilly it has very nice floyd lic trem instead of orig floyd, or it'd be too trebly imo. Btw replaced the stock baddassII on my american warlock bass cause of the undersireable to me extra treble zing it gave it with maple thru body neck & poplar wings.

 

 

So you may be partly right in regards the springs on the new schecter had wit real floyd. As noted above. But that still leaves the excess tuneing shift the heavy trem arm on orig floyd causes. It weighed lot more then trem arms has and has had on floyd lic trems. Tried to replace it but couldnt find suitable replacement that would fit. And undesireable tonal shift the metals used cause. Prob same metal formula as baddassII bass bridges. Cause is the same treble zing add.

 

Could the orig floyds schecters is useing be earlier version that has since been improved on?

[armandodiaz]

I know this is an old thread but I need a floyd rose for my Jackson project and I'm trying not to spend $180. Does anyone know how good the JT500 is? I've heard of Jackson have cheap floyds at one point.