Best floyed trem?

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Power User
My guitar has an original Shaller floyed which i hate, its unbalanced gets out of tune and hard as a rock when bending.
I want to replace it, any segestions for best floyed?
Thanks.
 
Gotohs are pretty hot. Well built, comfortable and affordable. If I buy another trem I will go that route.
 
Ibanez Edge for the win!

I think they were originally made by Gotoh... Everything else seems kind of cheap by comparison.

However, the issues you listed are more likely the result of setup than hardware.

Understanding how to set a floating bridge is important to keeping it in tune and functioning.

Unless you have bad knife edges or posts, it should stay balanced and return to pitch if you have it set "level".

Other possible tuning issues are worn/old springs, posts that shift, post inserts that are loose, locking nut shifting, lock nuts installed wrong, neck bolts not stable, saddles shifting...

Is your locking nut the only nut, or mounted after another nut on the headstock?

The biggest problems I've faced are:

Bridge posts (studs) that shift, but all my current guitars have locking studs so that issue is gone.

The locking nut shifting because the bolts are a little loose. All mine bolt thru the neck... I don't trust the ones that just screw into the neck.

Lock nuts the are installed wrong can be very frustrating. Things appear to be correct, but most nuts will clamp fully in one position, but only partially in another. Check your lock nuts with no strings in the nut slots and make sure they are completely seated against the nut. If not, rotate 90° and try again.

I think most people tend to like the original German Schaller bridges...
 
Ibanez Edge or Original Floyd Rose. They are the two most stable Floyd-type trems I've used. I've had 5 guitars with double locking trems, fought with 4 of them. Swapped one with an original Floyd Rose, wish I still had that guitar, and I have an Ibanez JS2400 with the Edge. Once setup, absolutely no tuning issues.
 
Thanks guys.

I gave it some more thoughts and checked again, maybe it's not the trem fault itself …

The bridge as mentioned is an original made in Germany Schaller floyed and the problem is that it's hard a as rock when trying to bend and also gets out of tune when bending, it's not sensitive enough.



The knife edge is one option but I suspect maybe it is only a setup problem after all, the bridge in my guitar is not 100% sank inside its cavity, its above it, you can see in the pic:



I can't take it further down as the strings will hit the frets.
Anyway I will probably try to take it to my guitar tech prior of spending 250-300$ on a new bridge.

The Edge pro of Ibanez IS a very good bridge, I have an Ibanez Prestige loaded with that guy and the feel / balance is perfect.
I had here for some time a cheap Mexican Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod loaded with a floyed rose which I suspect is made in Korea but the bridge was 100% in its cavity, I can only say good things about this guitar, it's so soft / smooth, so sensitive and so fun to play, it never gets out of tune and I can do very fast vibrating (hitting the arm fast and release) and it does the job perfect

Ill update here later.
Thanks.
 
I think you need a complete new setup, just that.

Schaller bridges are topnotch, moreover they are the same guys who actually make the original Floyd rose.
 
Roadrunner said:
The bridge as mentioned is an original made in Germany Schaller floyed
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Not to be contentious but even though made in Germany by Schaller, the bridge on your guitar is a licensed Floyd Rose copy. This particular Schaller model sells for about half of what an authentic Floyd does. In my experience, the difference in quality makes a big difference in the performance of the bridge.
Roadrunner said:
it's hard a as rock when trying to bend and also gets out of tune when bending, it's not sensitive enough.
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How many springs are on it? Try removing one, even if there are 3, to give it more sensitivity.
Roadrunner said:
I can't take it further down as the strings will hit the frets.
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If it's a bolt-on neck, you'll need to shim the headstock side a bit in order to lower the bridge.
GiRa said:
Schaller bridges are topnotch, moreover they are the same guys who actually make the original Floyd rose.
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The Schaller brand no longer makes the original Floyd Rose, they make licensed versions. From Floyd Rose website:
"Many people are unaware of the difference between a licensed system and a genuine Floyd Rose tremolo. There are dozens of manufacturers that have used our patents to make their own systems, each with varying dimensions and materials.....
The licensed systems will normally bear the phrase "Licensed by Floyd Rose Patents". This means that it is not manufactured by Floyd Rose, but is licensed to an OEM to make their own."
 
Sonofiam said:
How many springs are on it? Try removing one, even if there are 3, to give it more sensitivity.
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Currently there are 3 springs (strings are 09), if I will take one out, the bridge will not be balanced as the strings tension is pulling it down towards the neck.
I think that shimming a little the neck heal to take it down into the pocket + taking the bridge down into the cavity + 3 new fresh springs will make a difference but will see next week after visiting my tech.
 
the bridge does not have to be in the body, but it does need to be level with the relation ship between the springs and the strings. Setup is way more important then type of bridge to keep a floating bridge in tune.
 
Roadrunner said:
Currently there are 3 springs (strings are 09), if I will take one out, the bridge will not be balanced as the strings tension is pulling it down towards the neck.
I think that shimming a little the neck heal to take it down into the pocket + taking the bridge down into the cavity + 3 new fresh springs will make a difference but will see next week after visiting my tech.
Click to expand...
Then you would need to tighten the screws on the spring "claw" to account for that...

The bridge does not need to be down in the cavity. That has no bearing on how sensitive it is or how it stays in tune. The main thing is is that it is level (perpendicular to the fretboard).

Try checking the knife edges and the grooves in the posts where the knife edges touch. There could be dirt or gunk in there... Some people try to lube that area, but you really shouldn't.

Normally, three springs with 9s is pretty easy to move... Maybe you have short springs?

Or possibly they are just cranked down? There is a fine balance between spring and string tension.

If you aren't familiar with this type of stuff, finding a good shop to get it adjusted is the best bet. You might be able to have them teach you how to do basic setup.
 
Remove the bridge and check the knife edges where the trem seats against the posts. They should be sharp and smooth so the bridge pivots on one fulcrum point per post. If they have flat spots or chips, the knife edges rock back and forth across the flat corners causing friction against the post. If it's really bad you can have grooves worn in the posts as well that can cause it to bind slightly. Check the bridge plate for flatness between the two knife edges as well. If the plate is warped or not cast correctly, the knife edges are not in line with each other and that can cause more friction and binding as well.

Common cause for knife edge wear or damage is adjusting the post height while the system is tuned up to pitch. There's a lot of force pushing the trem plate into to the posts, so if you turn the posts while up to pitch you can damage the knife edges and/or posts. Always loosen the strings and remove the springs before adjusting the post height. Same goes for all knife edged trem systems.
 
One more thought since I encountered this on one of my guitars last night: are your springs all "straight", or are the "outside" springs at an angle? When the springs are angled it adds tension because they need to be longer.
 
As mentioned above, having springs at an angle and hence longer can change the overall feel but it all depends on whether your springs are constant force or not. I am not sure how common they are though for trem springs.
 
+1 for the Gotoh. I replaced the original floyd on one of my guitars with the gotoh and that was a good switch. The arm stays put on the Gotoh and the tuners aren't in the way.
 
just from the pic, it looks like you need to raise the pivot posts and tighten the trem claw to level the floyd's baseplate with the top of the body.
check to see if the bottom of the baseplate is catching anything in the cavity, thus preventing it from returning to zero.
+1 on gotoh but they are not always direct drop-ins for ofrs...
 
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