Floating Bridges?

jefferski

jefferski

Fractal Fanatic
Anybody have much experience with them?

I'm looking at a potential new guitar w/ a floating bridge, the kind that doesn't attach to the body. I guess it won't move around when strung (even though I often rest my palm on the edge of the bridge), but I'm concerned it might slip just the slightest amount, enough to affect the intonation.

I'm also wondering how hard it is to get it back in exactly the right place after you re-string... I guess you can do one string at a time, but what about when you want to clean the neck etc? (lol, as if I do that very often ;-) And yes, I'd intonate again after changing strings, but still, if it's off by even 1/16th that's going to drastically change the whole setup.
 
Shouldn't be a problem, the tension of the strings should be large enough to keep it in place. Some guitars have marking for the bridge position, or even a little peg that keeps it in place.
 
I float the trems of my Strats and PRSi don't have any problems with restringing. I don't break strings live (knock on wood) but I would expect tuning to be off if one did break because of the change in tension on the bridge.
 
jefferski said:
I guess it won't move around when strung (even though I often rest my palm on the edge of the bridge), but I'm concerned it might slip just the slightest amount, enough to affect the intonation.
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You may need to adjust your technique a bit, depending on how heavily you rest your palm on the bridge.

I recently bought a guitar with a floating trem and it is a different beast compared to my Steinberger trem equipped guitar - which is totally impervious to palm weight/placement.

A floating trem is also much more fidgety when it comes to tuning. Once you get used to it, it’s not too bad, but the Steinberger is a much better design, IMO.
 
He means a floating bridge, not a floating trem. Floating bridges hang loose under the strings like in an archtop guitar with wooden bridgesaddles.
 
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Davy Pelckmans said:
He means a floating bridge, not a floating trem. Floating bridges hang loose under the bride like in an archtop guitar with wooden bridgesaddles.
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Yep. And yea, you have to go thru each string a couple times when tuning because changing the tension affects the other strings.

@iaresee - I was looking at Trey guitars again, and everyone seems to make them w/ floating bridges... I'd think it would stay in place when I'm playing, just wondering how to get it back to the exact spot when restringing etc.
 
Change the strings ONE at a time on floating trems, it makes it much faster to retune.

Tone is different according to if the trem is floating like a Steve Vai Jem, or if the trem is not floating such as it is setup on the Eric Clapton signature series Strats.

Unless you plan to pull the bar up like Dimebag and Vai are known for, instead of doing regular dimebombs like EVH does, there's no real sense in doing a floating trem.

If you are going to get a floating trem, you are best of just to buy a Jem because you need the Lions Claw under the bridge so you can pull the notes up a couple steps.

It also changes the tone depending on if you have 3 springs or 5 springs.

And if you are really tone obsessed, Eric Johnson belives having the rear cover removed makes the tone better.

While people like Robert Cray says only hardtails have the best tone.
 
Davy Pelckmans said:
He means a floating bridge, not a floating trem. Floating bridges hang loose under the bride like in an archtop guitar with wooden bridgesaddles.
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Ah well then...

jefferski said:
@iaresee - I was looking at Trey guitars again, and everyone seems to make them w/ floating bridges... I'd think it would stay in place when I'm playing, just wondering how to get it back to the exact spot when restringing etc.
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Artinger and Languedoc put a bit of that ultra-thin, clear, double sided tape to hold them in place. If you change strings one at a time it's generally not a problem.

What guitar are you looking at getting?
 
iaresee said:
What guitar are you looking at getting?
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Yea, I'm thinking the double sided tape will be the trick... or I just won't ever bother to clean the neck ;-)

Either an Ollandoc or a Phred, the others are more than I'm willing to spend. There's a local guy in Park City called Schnell guitars that makes some beauts as well but they're in the 4-5K range. Leaning more towards Olson... by the time I upgraded pickups, wiring and etc on a Phred I'd almost be in the price range of an Olly; of course a stock Phred may be killer too. I'm not sure if I'm even going to pull the trigger yet, or get some sort of HSS Strat type, just checking out some ideas. I really shouldn't be buying any gear right now, lol.
 
jefferski said:
Yea, I'm thinking the double sided tape will be the trick... or I just won't ever bother to clean the neck ;-)
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I have a Gretsch Country Gentleman. Double sided tape does the trick for me. It even stays in place taking all the strings off, as long as you don't bump it with a good stiff bump. It doesn't slide around on strings bends either, etc, and never caused any issues with the finish. The trick is that you have to figure out the perfect placement, but then you need to take it off again to apply the tape. I think I may have made a couple very light pencil marks so I knew where to put it once the tape was on it. The permanent solution is putting pins in, which some people do (Brian Setzer). The guitar has since been retired due to its age. I've moved on to Tele's. Quite the opposite bridge setup.
 
jefferski said:
Either an Ollandoc or a Phred, the others are more than I'm willing to spend. There's a local guy in Park City called Schnell guitars that makes some beauts as well but they're in the 4-5K range. Leaning more towards Olson... by the time I upgraded pickups, wiring and etc on a Phred I'd almost be in the price range of an Olly; of course a stock Phred may be killer too. I'm not sure if I'm even going to pull the trigger yet, or get some sort of HSS Strat type, just checking out some ideas. I really shouldn't be buying any gear right now, lol.
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You can see the double sided tape under the bridge on the picture in the lower left corner of this page: http://rmolsonguitars.com/guitar-kit/

Both of those companies mount a tune-o-matic style bridge to the standoff so you don't need to be ultra-precise with the bridge placement. Get it in the ball park and then find your seat with respect to intonation by adjusting the TOM saddles with a screw driver.
 
Greg H said:
Like this one?
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Man, you could really "dive" bomb with that one! :)

Ian, thanks. I just don't want to have to worry about it on a regular basis...

edit to add: I'm in a mtg, trying to multi-task... if I get one new from Olson I'll ask him to either tape or pin it, if I pick up a used one I'll figure something out. Don't know about Phred because his are mostly built in China. And yea, it'll definitely have a way to intonate, just don't want to have to really re-do it every string change. On most of my other guitars I can change strings w/ out need to intonate again.
 
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I just used to use a little bit of masking tape with a line on the border to indicate the position.

Just be sure to tune open, and 12th fret harmonic. It is not difficult.
 
I had a Gretsch with a floating bridge and had no issues with it moving under tension and I typically rest the heel of my hand on the bridge. If I needed to oil the fretboard I removed the inner strings, keeping both of the E strings under tension to hold the bridge in place. I also had the measurements from the pickup ring to both ends of the bridge in case it moved.

All that said, you may want to double check and see if the bridge is pinned. I believe this is the best way to ensure the bridge stability, especially if you have a tendency to be heavy handed while playing. I have noticed a lot of manufacturers have started pinning the bridge, using small needle/pin type brads that keep the bridge from slipping. If the bridge is not pinned, a good luthier should be able to do this without issue. Tape is a good option for a DIY but you do lose the direct contact of the bridge to guitar top. Some say it affects the tone and/or sustain, I never tried it so I can't comment or offer an opinion.
 
I do know that the ones I'm looking at aren't pinned, although I can ask. If not, I found a couple ways to DIY it, or probably I'd just take it to a luthier. Keeping a couple of strings on and tuned is a good suggestion.
 
Sonofiam said:
Tape is a good option for a DIY but you do lose the direct contact of the bridge to guitar top. Some say it affects the tone and/or sustain, I never tried it so I can't comment or offer an opinion.
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I used the thin clear double sided tape that looks just like regular Scotch tape, not the white thicker foamy stuff. It didn't seam to diminish tone or sustain at all, at least that I could tell. But I never did any specific comparisons.

Amazon product ASIN B00006IF63
 
take it to a tech and have them set the bridge with double sided tape. Both of my Gretsch have floating bridges and this solved all my issues.

 
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