Floyd rose tremolo troubles

[dawsonsean1]

So i bought myself a sweet machined tremolo block only to find out that the 1/8 in screws are too big for the pre-drilled holes on the bridge (as well as the spring plate and that other piece of metal that comes together between the block and the bridge.) Now I'm no machinist by any means, but i do have alittle knowledge on the subject, and would definately like to try somthing as opposed to just wasting 40 bucks on a block i cant use. Any suggestions? Also ive found that the holes would need to be drilled out with a 3/16 drill bit.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

So i bought myself a sweet machined tremolo block only to find out that the 1/8 in screws are too big for the pre-drilled holes on the bridge (as well as the spring plate and that other piece of metal that comes together between the block and the bridge.) Now I'm no machinist by any means, but i do have alittle knowledge on the subject, and would definately like to try somthing as opposed to just wasting 40 bucks on a block i cant use. Any suggestions? Also ive found that the holes would need to be drilled out with a 3/16 drill bit.

What's wrong with your old block? Putting that on seems to me to be the easiest fix...

 

[slowmotion]

Wait, 1/8inch screws are too big?! Are you fitting it to a proper floyd rose original or something else? Are you sure the screw/holes are the problem? Or is it more that they are not spaced the same?

I'll assume you have checked all this so really my only advice would be to hand ream the holes (on the plates, not the block haha) rather than drilling them, unless you have a nice metalworking setup.

 

[Zaphod B]

Nothin' like a billet trem block to get the best sound!

 

[slowmotion]

Nothin' like a billet trem block to get the best sound!

I'll put my chips down as saying they do improve things, at least for the bulk of licensed floyds which come with zinc/pot metal blocks as stock. There's a noticeable improvement in response when you upgrade them to actual metal. That said, with OFRs, replacing the stock steel with brass or titanium is purely a matter of taste, because the stock block is quite good as is. The OFR as a system is pretty close to being perfect IMO, it's just a great design.

If anything the whole exercise is worth it just to ensure everything on the trem is nice and tight. I've found a lot of the inexpensive floyd type trems have really loose block screws for some reason, and that's definitely no good.

Your results may vary.

 

[Zaphod B]

I'll put my chips down as saying they do improve things, at least for the bulk of licensed floyds which come with zinc/pot metal blocks as stock. There's a noticeable improvement in response when you upgrade them to actual metal.

Well, I'll be damned.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I'll put my chips down as saying they do improve things, at least for the bulk of licensed floyds which come with zinc/pot metal blocks as stock. There's a noticeable improvement in response when you upgrade them to actual metal. That said, with OFRs, replacing the stock steel with brass or titanium is purely a matter of taste, because the stock block is quite good as is. The OFR as a system is pretty close to being perfect IMO, it's just a great design.

If anything the whole exercise is worth it just to ensure everything on the trem is nice and tight. I've found a lot of the inexpensive floyd type trems have really loose block screws for some reason, and that's definitely no good.

Your results may vary.

Even then, at $40 for a new block or $170 for a whole new chrome OFR, I'd say your best bet is just to hold out a bit and replace the thing altogether.

 

[slowmotion]

Even then, at $40 for a new block or $170 for a whole new chrome OFR, I'd say your best bet is just to hold out a bit and replace the thing altogether.

Pretty much.

While I'm all for swapping blocks and feel good feng shui upgrades, it is polishing a turd compared to a proper floyd rose. While the block is a big part of it, there's other things to consider and there's a reason why everyone copies the original. I've got a bunch of guitars with licensed trems and they just can't compare to the OFR ones. Believe me, I want them to, but they don't.

Gotoh floyds are quite good too for the record, if they fit.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Gotoh floyds are quite good too for the record, if they fit.

Definitely. Of the licensed Floyds I've played, the Ibanez Edge and LoPro Edge are easily the best, and they're made for Ibanez by Gotoh. Gotoh's liscensed Wilkinson is also excellent. I've never played the non-Ibanez Gotoh Floyd, but I hear it's just as good. Also, Schaller is supposed to make another top-quality licensed Floyd. Pretty much everything else isn't worth bothering with.