Best Floyd Rose guitar under $1200

GuyJames

GuyJames

Experienced
I’m going to be playing a hard rock cover band come the new and I’d like to start studying the Floyd Rose tricks from the legends like EVH and Satriani. This isn’t my main gig and not really my brand but I want to have fun and expand my skill set. As much as I want a nice Suhr or Music Man with a Floyd that’s just not realistic for my purposes. I’ve been searching for the best Floyd Rose guitars under 1200. My criteria is:

Must have:
  • maple fretboard
  • reliable Floyd Rose
  • two humbuckers or just one in the bridge

Nice to have:
  • 24 frets
  • sustainiac
  • nice finish color

Here’s the strongest contenders I’ve found
 

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unix-guy said:
The MIM Charvels are great.

If you're up for used try to find an MIJ Ibanez from late 80s to mid 90s.

Also, the more recent Genesis series from Ibanez is essentially the same guitars but with some modern refinements.

What kind of neck profile do you prefer?
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I don’t like the wizard style RG Ibanez thing. I’m leaning toward the charvels but that 1985 Jackson is so damn cool.
 
I’ve narrowed my search to these two models. Any feedback/experience would be greatly appreciated.
 

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GuyJames said:
I don’t like the wizard style RG Ibanez thing.
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That’s too bad, because it rules out the Ibanez 540S. It has the Lo-Pro Edge bridge, which is about as good as a Floyd Rose gets. The Lo-Pro Edge was introduced 35 years ago, and it’s still an option in their high-end custom models. And $1000 will get you a nice 540S any day of the week.
 
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Rex said:
That’s too bad, because it rules out the Ibanez 540S. Is has the Lo-Pro Edge bridge, which is about as good as a Floyd Rose gets. The Lo-Pro Edge was introduced 35 years ago, and it’s still an option in their high-end custom models. And $1000 will get you a nice 540S any day of the week.
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I don’t like the way those guitars look.
 
ocaptainjr2 said:
Profile or radius? My Charvel DK24 has a thin neck like my Ibanez guitars, but it is compound radius.
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The DK-24 necks are not as thin as the Ibanez Wizard necks...

The Wizard is 17mm at the first fret which is about .66" whereas the the Charvel Speed Neck is closer to .79".

Maybe your Ibanez don't have the Wizard neck?
 
unix-guy said:
The DK-24 necks are not as thin as the Ibanez Wizard necks...

The Wizard is 17mm at the first fret which is about .66" whereas the the Charvel Speed Neck is closer to .79".

Maybe your Ibanez don't have the Wizard neck?
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One is a wizard. The other is a wizard or viper, can't remember. Never said it was as thin or thinner, just they're both thin and not a baseball bat in case that's what OP likes.
 
GuyJames said:
Do you own any of the ones I attached here? Tell me about your experience if so please.
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I don't, actually. Not the Origins series (yet). But I have a bunch of the American series which share the same neck profile, and they're absolutely phenomenal. Super slim, super fast.
 
GuyJames said:
I don’t like the way those guitars look.
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I like the look of the S670QM pretty much. What i don't like are the ones with relatively thick flat bodies with no carve, just a slightly rounded right angle at the edge, seems cheap and crude and utilitarian to me. I could ignore that if i loved the feel and sound and price enough, but that never actually happened when i played similar guitars.
 
There's no better guitar than the one you fall in love with, whatever the price. Any other one will soon or later not do the job.
But....very few guitars I fell in love with and that supported the long run were under 1600€, guess it's quality and workmanship issues.
 
I have 2 super shredders now, i like them, no sustainiacs and i got them both barely used for under 500. Mainly for all my hot outdoor gigs. But now that I upgraded pickups, block, claw, springs. They have become some of my favs. Very lively maple neck
 
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