Troof 'Bout Floatin' Tremolos

Dear Fellow Six String Junkies,

Oh wait... I suppose some of y'all are on seven, eight, and nine stringers though. Thats OK we can still be friends, there is help. haha.

Tremolos are a love/hate relationship for most of us. They are necessary for some, pain in the ass for others. However sometimes, you can't get around them, this may help.

First off is that I am not going to be speaking of Kahlers or Bigsbys, as I have very little experience with them. I want to educate, not discombobulate peoples brains. In addition to that I will not be talking about differences on the variations. If you want to know the difference of a Licensed Floyd or a FR1000, there is Google for that. 

Here are some troofs:

You absolutely CANNOT change the tuning on a floating tremolo and maintain function without setting up the guitar. You can get by with going from E std to Drop D, but you will need to re-tune the guitar, possibly necessitating taking the clamps off with the nut and tune using the tuning keys.

Stringing them and setting them up takes longer. Period. Intonation is even more of a pain in the ass. ALSO, you need to have the string tension removed to raise or lower it without causing damage.

Trashed, Whaddaya do if you need multiple tunings with a floyd? BUY ANOTHER DAMN GUITAR. YES ANOTHER GUITAR. THAT IS A MUST.

I have five Ibanez Prestige with floating tremolos, yes, FIVE, for a damn good reason. Two in C#std, two in Estd, and the fifth is Estd also, but strung with .009"s for some five semitone bending and shredding action. (lol I hate the word 'shred' and 'shredding.' just sounds dumb).

Why get a more expensive floyd than a cheap one?

They are not created equal. On cheaper models the baseplate isn't hardened to the same degree. That is the worst offence, but everything suffers.

Whats wrong with that Trashed?

The knife edges dull and it doesn't stay in tune. YUCK! the whole point is to stay in tune and make crazy noises, right?

Also the size/material of the block on the tremolo is different, HOWEVER, THIS is an easy swap. You can find the blocks for relatively cheap and and in a variety of metals and alloys. The size is variable too. I have seen nice results from a new block.

SPRING TENSION = STRING TENSION. That is the unwritten law of a tremolos. If you change strings to a different gauge or change the tuning, OR both, you are going to need to to mess with the tension on the claw AND possibly the number of springs.

For example I use .011"s in standard on nearly EVERY guitar. I use five springs in every one of them. You can only get so tight on the claw with the three springs that typically come with. For my C# guitars i use .012"s with five springs as well, same deal.


This topic will be revisited at some point in the near future.

CHEERS! Trashed.

2016-10-03 Floyd Rose

Greetings to the Troubled Guitarists, and Helpless Gear-Heads of the World,

We are going to talk about Mr. Floyd and his Roses. 

****If you don't know what it is, go down to the bottom.****

ALSO! THIS IS BEING WRITTEN ASSUMING THEY ARE SET UP PROPERLY, THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS BLOG IS FOR!

There are a few breeds of Floyds, most of which belong to two classes: the good; and the pathetically terrible (in other words, shit). Both of which I have experienced.

The "good" ones are known by a few things...

1. OFR - Original Floyd Rose

2. Schaller made -which to a degree is a OFR

3 Gotoh made - yet again an OFR variant.

4. Ibanez EDGE - original deviation under some Floyd Rose Patents, there are several versions.

The "bad" ones are... 

1. Pretty much everything else. SERIOUSLY terrible. Let me say that again, junk.

     a. LFR (licensed floyd rose) which are found on pretty much any and every "brand: X" cheap 

        guitars.
     b. FR1000 etc. they are generally better than most LFR's

     c. Ibanez Edge II, Edge III, and another one or two.

What makes a good one good?

I thought that you would never ask!

You want the base-plate to be hardened steel. Hardened steel is necessary for keeping a good sharp knife edge. If it isn't hardened it will fatigue (rather quickly in some cases), and will be a royal pain in the ass. The knife edge is where the tremolo contacts the posts. (NOTE: the knife edges are the only point of contact on a guitar with a tremolo other than through the tremolo springs on the rear). If it has a good edge it will rest on the same spot during action, and will stay there - and yup! you guessed it, it will stay IN TUNE. If the edge becomes worn and chewed up, the tremolo will won't pivot properly, and every time you use it, it will go sharp or flat, not leveling out. The small blocks are also inferior, but they can be had easily and [relatively] cheap. Brass is a nice upgrade in most cases. HOWEVER a lot of the nicer Floyds have nicer blocks, so it may not be necessary. In addition to that, they are better machined. Period. 

Why do I need a good one?

Damn! You have been on a roll with good questions!

You want one so do you're dive-bombs and pull-ups you stay in tune. A good floyd will be able to dive to the point where the strings are so loose you are literally able to watch them flap, THEN do a pull-up three or more steps up. THEN repeat it fifty times. All of my four Ibanez Prestiges' do just this.

WOAH! these suckers are expensive!

Yeah. You get what you pay for. There are a LOT of guitars that can be swapped from LFR to OFR relatively simply. I did it to an older MIJ Jackson and it was pretty much drop in. That was probably nearly ten years ago, and the guitar is long sold, but it completely remedied the tuning instability. If you have a guitar you like and want to keep, the swap is worth it. If you aren't attached to it, I wouldn't bother.

This is just a simple and very shallow post. At some point in time I will write more of a tech write-up.

**** OK, What the hell is a Floyd Rose?****

Read here if you don't know, then go back to the top. It is a type of bridge found on a lot of guitars. It is "double locking" as the bridge locks the strings in at the bridge, and the locking nut locks the strings at the nut. Why? so you stay [more] in tune and because you eliminate play (for lack of a better term). They are responsible for the things that Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag do in solos.

Cheers Brethren,

Trashed.