Floyd vs Hard tail and everything inbetween

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freeballinusa

freeballinusa

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Hi Gentlemen,

I tested my Edge against my gibson hardtails MANY years ago I got rid of any floating trem system due to the less full tone,

I have since gone to playing Jaguars/Jazzmasters/strats etc. I haven't compared this in a while ____

But Saw a Suhr with a Floyd that looks awesome __

I was wondering if anyone here would check in about how you find the difference in sound when not doing the super highest of gain sound where it matters less..

Just looking for some counter point and experience thanks! j
 
the right floyd guitar will kill many a hard tail, and can allways block the trem if you're really anal.

i prefer hard tail, but more because i like the bridge height, and less hassle restringing, tuning, etc.


one of the best guitars bar none i've ever heard/played was a Suhr with a floyd. just flat out killed.
 
Three strikes against a Floyd:

1) Stringing and tuning.
2) Changing tunings.
3) The worst - break a string during a gig and the tuning falls to pieces.

That said, I now own four Tom Anderson's with Floyds and am getting more used to them, plus I keep them at various tunings. Messing with a Charvel too but I like the TAG's better with a recessed Floyd as opposed to surface mount.

Back to the OP's question - I think it comes down to the body wood and construction. I ordered some brass blocks for mine from KTS which I have yet to change out. A couple are big blocks that rest against the cavity so you cannot pick up on the trem, but still dive. This supposedly adds some to the tonal aspects of the guitar due to vibration and contact. They sound great with the volume rolled back on a high gain amp too, especially palming the Floyd a bit.

Steve
 
freeballinusa":19m7xqqa said:
Thanks guys,

I am just worried about the tone, The rest of the operation I am fine with..

other then the sound__ The lack of normal double stops is the biggest bumma

j but look at this.. https://cgi.ebay.com/Suhr-Modern-Limited ... 19c5efedf4
Click to expand...


I didn't miss anything tone wise when moving from the hardtails to the Floyd guitars. So, I don't think there is much to speak of. Most likely, any tonal changes would be the move from traditional thicker, mahogany body guitars to thinner bassworld, alder, etc. that usually sport the Floyds.
 
The floyd that Suhr use is a particularly good sounding example. I don't think they ever sound as good - see; solid, full, toneful - as a hardtail but it's hardly a huge gap. Plus, the audience don't care about that 2% so why worry?

I will say I don't personally like floyds because of the reasons mentioned but the tone wouldn't stop me. I actually think a lot of the bad rep comes from the guitars that certain double-locking trems are installed in. Most Ibanez guitars for example are hardly the best sounding pieces out there.
 
Thanks Guys I was comparing a gem to A gretsch princess/59 gibson LPjr/and 59 LP custom so you might be right RH
 
I'm not a Floyd guy because i hate dealing with it for the reason mentioned. But tonewise, i had an Ernie Ball Morse model with a Floyd that sounded great, and most of the Ernie Ball Axis models sound great.

And for the most part i never hear anyone doing anything cool with the bar aside from Michael Lee Firkins, Beck, and some of Vai's stuff.
 
Best sounding guitar I've ever owned has a decked and blocked (dive only) Floyd. I would argue that it's easier and faster to change a broken string during a show as they most often break at the saddle, just unwind a little string from the tuning machine post and lock it back in.
 
TeleBlaster":5n5z1w5h said:
I would argue that it's easier and faster to change a broken string during a show as they most often break at the saddle, just unwind a little string from the tuning machine post and lock it back in.
Click to expand...

I'm right there with you! :thumbsup:
 
I've been through a few trem guitars, some I like, some are 'meh', some I simply can't get on with whatsoever... As for my current slinger, an ESP Horizon FR-II, I actually tried selling it because I'm finding I'm more and more of a hardtail guy. As for tone? I slapped a FU-BBB into it and the tone was bettered by a huge margin. Still, even though now it sounds terrific, minus the EMG actives (these are getting replaced next week with BKP MMs), the bit under my playing hand irks me. I also don't dig it when I do big bends, the rest of the accompanying strings drop in their collective tuning; wrecks havoc on controlled overtones.

I'll keep it, try to work with it, get to know it better, and probably will love it one of these years. But if I need confidence and comfort, I'll always opt for a hardtail nowadays.

Cheers,
V.
 
The only downside to me with the Floyd (Gotoh in Suhrs case) is the tuning issues as mentioned. You end up messing with the screws at the bridge to make any tuning changes and its limited to the adjustment screw length where when you use the tuners on a normal headstock its pretty much limitless. I do think sustain wise there is a bit of a difference...sometimes I think the addition of the springs in the trem actually add to sustain but then sometimes it doesnt seem too...could just be my ears... Now if you are wanting to do tremwork, three is NOTHING like a floyd...once your strings are all bedded in, there is NOTHING that stays in tune like a Floyd type trem...you can dive bomb the crap out of them and it has always returned to pitch just fine for me...once the strings are all stretched in and ready to go.

You picked the perfect guitar for an example...LOL....here is mine...its the prototype of what you are looking at there...mine is number 000 of 75 LOL

le09033-1.jpg


Here is a direct link to a big picture of mine...
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/ ... E09061.jpg

and even a tube clip of it...
https://youtu.be/vDkh1spw0Vc
 
I don't really use the whammy bar a lot so I use a hard tail bridge all the way!
 
Like others have mentioned, when the guitar is designed around the tonal idiosyncracies of a Floyd, they can sound awesome. Early on when players started slapping these on Strats/Charvels/etc that originally had vintage style trems they were disappointed with the thinner tone that frequently resulted. This in turn gave the Floyd its reputation as tone nuetering, which was true to an extent when done as a retrofit. Even so, the issue could frequently be resolved with a simple eq tweak or through blocking (dive only) or flat mounting the Floyd.
 
V:I also don't dig it when I do big bends, the rest of the accompanying strings drop in their collective tuning; wrecks havoc on controlled overtones.

J: Yeah This I am used to as I "came up" With am Ibanez RG760

Since I have gotten used to throwing the strings around so that does royally suck you have to play different that's all...

Thanks for the input ____ maybe I can escape my floyd-bia-- I used to love it

Glad to hear some of you are not troubled by it choking the tone..

Danyeo has a good point people do not usually employ it even if it is there..
And RR thanks for the reminder I forgot how well they stay in tune..

One more question-- Do you guys think that it has to be blocked to get comparitive tone quality? cheers j
 
freeballinusa":24f74jh6 said:
V:I also don't dig it when I do big bends, the rest of the accompanying strings drop in their collective tuning; wrecks havoc on controlled overtones.

J: Yeah This I am used to as I "came up" With am Ibanez RG760

Since I have gotten used to throwing the strings around so that does royally suck you have to play different that's all...

Thanks for the input ____ maybe I can escape my floyd-bia-- I used to love it

Glad to hear some of you are not troubled by it choking the tone..

Danyeo has a good point people do not usually employ it even if it is there..
And RR thanks for the reminder I forgot how well they stay in tune..

One more question-- Do you guys think that it has to be blocked to get comparitive tone quality? cheers j
Click to expand...
No.

V.
 
freeballinusa":1gtxe485 said:
One more question-- Do you guys think that it has to be blocked to get comparitive tone quality? cheers j
Click to expand...


Yes, or decked, or both.
 
I've never played or heard a guitar with a Floyd Rose ring in pitch after it's been used. Just my experience.
Sorry. :aww:
 
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