Calling All Floyd Rose Specialists....

Some suggestions:

- Have you tried to invert just the 2 Tremolo block ? On your picture, they seem not made in the same material and these block is for sustain.
- And what about the springs, are they the same?
 
Swapping tremolos will effect tone, the degree to which it changes is a hotly debated topic (huge industry based on this idea). When swapping trems (or reinstalling them), I always check for clearance from the body, the knife edges and the string spacing and height...different trems will vary these specs.
Other than that, I'd say go with what performs and sounds best to you.
Good luck!
 
I think Schaller's own licensed version ('Lockmeister' is it called now?) is probably better than the OFR. The OFR is a 10 inch radius at the saddles (so if used with a R2 nut that would be 10'' radius the whole way down) - the Schaller one is 12'' radius at the saddles which would be a closer match to the EVH neck radius I think? I know I tried putting a OFR on a Charvel (10 -16 compound radius) many years ago which had a Schaller made licensed copy on and the OFR was not nice - action was altered, there was a load more metal sticking up at the back and yes that thinness to the sound seemed apparent.

That doesn't help with this discussion or problem really does it?

But maybe the EVH FR is Schaller made too? Though usually Schaller get to say that on a stamp somewhere - so maybe the EVH one is made elsewhere.
 
I bought two of the first mass produced Floyds back in the early 80's or late 70's (?). The knife edge and post spacing was a bit different than other licensed trems that came out later. Check those two areas. If the bridge isn't seating properly on the posts I would think that could cause some tonal differences.

I haven't seen this mentioned and thought I 'd throw it out there.

(Edit: warlockII hit on it as I was typing!)
 
Just a thought. I had a horrible time with an Ibanez Jem a few years back that had to do with the trem post hole in the body ovaling over time (ibanez stopped putting set screws in their trem posts at that time..)
Wondering if after your post adjustment there is a possibility that the trem post is 'leaning' a touch and making some contact with the body that may be affecting your tone. It may be a long shot but it happened to me
 
maxdown said:
I think Schaller's own licensed version ('Lockmeister' is it called now?) is probably better than the OFR. The OFR is a 10 inch radius at the saddles (so if used with a R2 nut that would be 10'' radius the whole way down) - the Schaller one is 12'' radius at the saddles which would be a closer match to the EVH neck radius I think? I know I tried putting a OFR on a Charvel (10 -16 compound radius) many years ago which had a Schaller made licensed copy on and the OFR was not nice - action was altered, there was a load more metal sticking up at the back and yes that thinness to the sound seemed apparent.

That doesn't help with this discussion or problem really does it?

But maybe the EVH FR is Schaller made too? Though usually Schaller get to say that on a stamp somewhere - so maybe the EVH one is made elsewhere.
Click to expand...

the EVH FLOYD is actually the one in the pictures that say Floyd Rose on the block
 
4789.jpeg
warlockII said:
Swapping tremolos will effect tone, the degree to which it changes is a hotly debated topic (huge industry based on this idea). When swapping trems (or reinstalling them), I always check for clearance from the body, the knife edges and the string spacing and height...different trems will vary these specs.
Other than that, I'd say go with what performs and sounds best to you.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying , with it being a hotly debated topic. I have to be honest , i never really bought in to it much. Although , i would think beyond a doubt , that a German Floyd would sound best. That's why I posted this. I brought a digital scale home with me tonight to weigh and compare the two , and post the results. Unfortunately the scale only goes up to 300 grams. :(

The EVH floyd has got to sound better because of the thicker base plate. Thats the only real difference I see. The body on these guitars is Alder , (I think). I've heard it's a neutral sounding wood , that will allow tone altering changes to be heard more easily. ( no idea )
Boy , I'm a wealth of information.

One thing I know is , the change in the sound from swapping these floyds was so dramatic , even my wife could hear it !
..... need I say more ?
 
Sometimes the combination of otherwise good quality parts dosen't always produce the best result. If a bit of tinkering doesn't get you anywhere then just revert to the old setup. Your Schaller Floyd will probably sound good on some other guitar.
 
Here's a pic of the twins.
Sustainerplayer said:
Sometimes the combination of otherwise good quality parts dosen't always produce the best result. If a bit of tinkering doesn't get you anywhere then just revert to the old setup. Your Schaller Floyd will probably sound good on some other guitar.
Click to expand...

I did put an EVH FLOYD back on , and it sounds amazing again. The TONE came back. Blows my mind , but it sounds awesome again. Must be Edward knew what he was doing after all. I figured the whole EVH branded floyd was just a marketing money maker. I mean , of course it is , but it must be a tone factor as well. Can't be a coincidence.
I hate to go off on these guitars , but in over 30 years of playing , this is currently my favorite. I've been into Gibsons heavy for the past 10 years. Settled on reissues being the king of the crop. Pickups measuring around 7.5 to 8 delivering life's sweetest tones thru tube amps.
This girl has a pickup that measures 13.8 K , Alnico 5 , with a 500k pot. Dirt on top of guitar volume , and sparkling cleans near the bottom of guitar volume - while still being loud enough to hear !
I loved it so much , I had to have 2 , so I could design my live rig sound around them. 5039.jpeg
 
Maybe you've already ruled it out, but are some of the saddles possibly buzzing? I've seen saddle parts that slightly buzz against each other, and it's often made worse if the spring plate that pushes the lock bolts against the fine tuners isn't strong. You might want to try disassembling the original Floyd and bending the spring tines to make them clamp tighter. Before reassembling, also make sure the screws that attach the block to the base plate are nice and snug. I've seen these steps make a noticeable difference in some cases, as loose, buzzy trem parts can be a real tone killer.

Nice looking axes, btw.
 
interesting... especially since the EVH and Original (made in Germany) should be identical apart from the EVH being made in Korea. dimensions should be exactly the same. can you measure the EVH's baseplate ? should be 2.5mm, same as the Original. I doubt though that a mm of thickness could have such a drastic impact as you describe...
 
Last edited:
mitch said:
Maybe you've already ruled it out, but are some of the saddles possibly buzzing? I've seen saddle parts that slightly buzz against each other, and it's often made worse if the spring plate that pushes the lock bolts against the fine tuners isn't strong. You might want to try disassembling the original Floyd and bending the spring tines to make them clamp tighter. Before reassembling, also make sure the screws that attach the block to the base plate are nice and snug. I've seen these steps make a noticeable difference in some cases, as loose, buzzy trem parts can be a real tone killer.

Nice looking axes, btw.
Click to expand...

Thanks. No , I think everything is very solid. The EVH F was distressed , but new. The German F is relatively new also....
 
VegaBaby said:
interesting... especially since the EVH and Original (made in Germany) should be identical apart from the EVH being made in Korea. dimensions should be exactly the same. can you measure the EVH's baseplate ? should be 2.5mm, same as the Original. I doubt though that a mm of thickness could have such a drastic impact as you describe...
Click to expand...

They're definitely not identical. The saddles are made different , and the baseplate is also thicker on the EVH. I tried to show the likeness and differences of the two with the pictures I posted earlier. I can measure them with a caliper.
 
1poorplayer said:
They're definitely not identical. The saddles are made different , and the baseplate is also thicker on the EVH. I tried to show the likeness and differences of the two with the pictures I posted earlier. I can measure them with a caliper.
Click to expand...

Blocks are almost identical.
The baseplates and bend with fine tuners measured :
.13 05 inches thick GERMAN
.14 30 inches thick EVH
- sorry , my caliper was stuck on inches.
 
I have had several guitars with locking trems over the last 15 years - floyd rose licensed guitars. All of them were simply a bitch to stay in tune. So much so, I sold every one of them 4-6 guitars. Finally in the past year I thought I would try a Tom Anderson with a real Floyd and I bought 2 TA Drop Tops with genuine german floyd rose's. They play perfect and actually stay in tune and are effortless to tune up. From what I have read on the anderson forum, Tom Anderson buys the genuine article direct from germany and then takes every piece a part and reassembles them to give a near perfect performance of daily use.

Now finally after many attempts to have a Floyd Rose work on other manufacturers instruments, I think Tom Anderson has figured this out. If you love the guitar and are flexible I would recommend a different Luthier and see if this approach can help you. One of Tom's former techs has his own business and occasionally does work when Tom and his shop are too busy. Try Benny Rodriguez - give him a call and see if he can help. I have had him work on 2 Anderson's, installing stainless frets, pickups and set up work and the guy is a master. I have never met him but would ship him another guitar in a heartbeat as his skills and results are top notch. I hope this helps.

Cheers

Benny Rodriguez
bennyrodriguez@bjrguitars.com
http://www.bjrguitars.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom