Floyd Rose users - just got my first Floyd, which is almost 40 years old - what wear-and-tear items should I be a-wear of?

Andy Eagle said:
The fact that it still works is good for those . I would not try to replace anything that works in it . The typical problem with TSR is broken bridge saddles and worn knife edges.
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Duly noted. Will look into a replacement that is REAL Floyd rather than licensed (found the small print when I looked at it). Thanks for the info!
 
Is it also true that the OFR are made by Schaller? That's what I have heard and read... that both OFR and Lockmeister comes from the factory but has a different stamp on the base plate? Schaller is just about half the price because it's not the original 😅
 
GuitarManiac32 said:
Is it also true that the OFR are made by Schaller? That's what I have heard and read... that both OFR and Lockmeister comes from the factory but has a different stamp on the base plate? Schaller is just about half the price because it's not the original 😅
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Yes the OFR is identical to the Lockmiester and has been made by Schaller since 1984 . There are also two Korean versions and the Ping one.
 
Andy Eagle said:
No it’s a Takeuchi.
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This one look right? It claims to be 2.91" in the ad copy, which works out to 73.914mm. 74mm is about 2.91339" rounds to 2.91, so they probably rounded the number for easier reading. It comes with the big fat inertia block that I was thinking of upgrading mine with, and the fancy, bling-y "gold" fine tuners....

Base plate's looking a lot thicker than the base plate on the one I have, which would probably make the fine tuners more stable. I bet that's also why the "Tool" that I got from StewMac to help with setting intonation doesn't stay put - the skinny base plate and the angle it bends to throw off the Tool's geometry....

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The one I have, by comparison, is apparently a thinner, stamped-steel baseplate:
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Joe Bfstplk said:
This one look right? It claims to be 2.91" in the ad copy, which works out to 73.914mm. 74mm is about 2.91339" rounds to 2.91, so they probably rounded the number for easier reading. It comes with the big fat inertia block that I was thinking of upgrading mine with, and the fancy, bling-y "gold" fine tuners....

Base plate's looking a lot thicker than the base plate on the one I have, which would probably make the fine tuners more stable. I bet that's also why the "Tool" that I got from StewMac to help with setting intonation doesn't stay put - the skinny base plate and the angle it bends to throw off the Tool's geometry....

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That is the best one Floyd sells .
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
There's another that's "Special" and around $92 on sale, but this seemed like someplace that cutting corners would be a bad idea.

Then I spotted the '84 spec, and figured that an '86-ish NJ Kramer would probably work better with something built to the original Floyd specs....

SportHiTech actually has one in stock....
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The 84 is actually quite different from one built in84 but it is very good. The”special “ however is utter garbage and would be doing well to not need parts in three months.
 
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The new Floyd came today. :)

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The kit comes with everything but the nut, since those vary per installation. New springs went in with the bridge, but the old spring claw stayed. New string retainer bar went in behind the nut, because it was shinier gloss black without almost 40 years worth of age.

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Might get the fancy "gold" bridge pivot studs to upgrade the licensed "knockoff" studs. Might also refresh the nut, just to start from fresh everything....

Definite improvement in tone overall, and somewhat fuller bottom with that big ol' "37" brass bridge block. The old one appears to be potmetal....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
@Andy Eagle - Any reason not to get a nut with the "bullet recess" if the guitar doesn't need it?

The Floyd Rose site is out of gloss black in the R2 variety, but has them in the R7 variety that is identical except for having the "bullet recess"....
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NVM. Looks like Sweetwater has the R2 in black in stock. Would to order the bridge mounting/pivot studs from them also, but they are out of stock. I guess I'll have to order those from FR themselves....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
NVM. Looks like Sweetwater has the R2 in black in stock. Would to order the bridge mounting/pivot studs from them also, but they are out of stock. I guess I'll have to order those from FR themselves....
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Check out Schaller Lockmiester nuts too for price as much as anything because they are the same ones.
 
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New Nut Day. The old one says 16" radius underneath, and Made in Germany, but was tired and the skinny E sounded a little muffled and fizzled out earlier than it should when not fretted, and sounded fine from every fret, so I guess the old nut was just worn out.

New one is a 10" radius, and seems to fit perfectly right out of the box. I guess I'll stick the shims I ordered justincase from FR in Germany in a drawer in case they are needed later.

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Height is good on all six right out of the package. Skinny E sounds great unfretted now. Gap under all but the B and skinny E is around 0.015" or so, with the other two a little lower. Feels good, plays good and fairlyin tune, so on to the next thing....

Old one looks tired:
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Andy Eagle said:
That actually looks fine. Can I see the other side?
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Skinny E was muted, almost banjo-esque when not fretted, but sounded fine when fretted. It looks like a good Made-in-Germany nut, but seems to be just worn out.

Sounds solid and sustains nicely now with this one's replacement. The plain strings also had issues with the grooves worn into the nut, and stuck when tuning unlocked, tinked, and held slack, even with the locking bits completely removed. $39.07 well spent to replace it with the new one from Sweetwater....

I have an order coming from FR in Germany for a bunch of the little hardware bits in "gold" to spice up the look, three apparently unnecessary 0.1mm nut shims, and the gold pivot studs - which I hope have the same thread/pitch as the ones in the guitar currently.

Ordered these:
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Possibly also these:

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I guess we'll see what's in the package when it arrives.... :D
 
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