Floyd Rose SUCKS!!!

[darknailblue]

yeah i hate my floyd rose bridges. I also hate the fact that my three favorite guitar all have floyd rose bridges.... anyway on all of them it always seems like the high e string always goes out of tune.... I've tried tighten the spring on one side to try to compensate but ive had no luck.... any suggestions?

 

[mastahnke]

avoid them. There are other ways to achieve that sound, whammy pedals, wilkenson bridges, change music styles

 

[darknailblue]

im with u there... next guitar im gettting will definately NOT have a floyd rose bridge. I don't even use mine enough to justify me having them, but right now im stuck with them.... so how do i fix them?

 

[Chris Tondreau]

Depending on how far you want to be able to dive your strings, you might want to check out a Washburn 2001 bridge - AKA the Wonderbar. You won't get a LOT of dive from it, but the locking system is almost invincible. You can really crank on it, and it won't go out of tune. It also doesn't send the entire tuning of the guitar to hell in a handbasket if a string breaks, either, because the whole thing doesn't depend on a balance across the entire bridge over springs. AFAIK, one of the guys from Kiss used one on his Les Paul - part of the appeal was that it mounted flush (or mostly so) on the body of the guitar, so you don't have to route a big hole in your body.

Chris

 

[Even]

Lemme help, Floyd Rose LISCENCE suck. But not the real ones. The original real ones are made with real metal and not cheap, tinny pot metal.

 

[badassmak]

chunk o wood

yea stick a block of wood in it...solidify it...they are a major pain in the ass I have always found. A friend of mine does have one that works amazinngly well however, Im not positive, but I think it's on a Samick, all gold plated and shit. Very nice guitar. When he showed me the virtues of it not going out of tune he would literally bend the bar all the wayy forward untill it touched the body, and quite violently too...over and over again. The damn thing stays in tune. I think those are called dream guitars.

Oh, Im not sure but I am under the impression, things stay in tune better if your only bending forwards, not backwards...correct me if Im wrong anyone.

 

[King Elvis]

I had an old Kramer, which was a piece of shit to begin with. I am still pissed at Eddie VH for promoting those shit guitars...anyway, it had a Floyd on it and the damn thing NEVER stayed in tune. I was soooooooo pissed because I read so much stuff about them not going out of tune. I was tightening the nut one day after changing strings and the piece of shit nut broke. I hated that junk.

 

[64Firebird]

I bought a Kramer Barrette back in 84 or so and I've had very little trouble with the Floyd on it. And I use to to do a lot of dive bomb stuff. Of course, that was a $1000.00 guitar (same as Eddie V and George Lynch were using on tour at the time), so it had better work right. I still have it and use it once in a while.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

I had an American made Kramer from that era as well, and found it to be a very good guitar. Never had any problems with the Floyd going out of tune. My biggest gripe, and the reason I will never buy another, is that they are just a total pain to restring and maintain. (where the heck did I put that @#%$# allen wrench??!!)
As far as the Washburn Wonderbar - not for me. You think a Floyd is one ugly hunk of metal? The Wonderbar is colassal!!

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[charger]

so fun to change strings on my one ibanez/floyd guitar! the other day it took me almost 3 hours. that's the approximate amount of time it takes me to change all the strings on my 5 other guitars, and have dinner.

 

[jcmm]

I am guessing you tried all of these things already but here it goes.

Are you "prestretching" the strings before locking the nut?

Have you tried different brands of strings? I bought a couple sets of GHS Boomers and they worked for crap with the Floyd Rose. I have had good luck with D'Addarios but I am sure there are others that work well.

Is there any kind of burr or imperfection on the saddle of that E string? This can kill you without a chance.

Other than that the best whammy I ever had was the old Kahler style. Each string rode on its own cam and you could beast that thing and stay in tune. On the downside, you strung the guitar the same as no whammy (no cutting of the strings) and therefore I had to solder the ends where the knot is by the ball of the string or they would slowly unwind with abuse.

Nothing worse than useless whammys.
Good Luck my friend!

 

[dragonworks]

I have a Jackson Pro Standard with a Floyd on it and it is very reliable. I hate restringing it though and like stated above, look out when a string breaks

 

[Chris Tondreau]

As far as the Washburn Wonderbar - not for me. You think a Floyd is one ugly hunk of metal? The Wonderbar is colassal!!

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

Yeah.... I meant to mention that, actually. It IS a pretty big rockin piece of steel!! Picture this.... I have an old (1970's) El Degas from back when they made GOOD guitars. It's one solid neck-through design (24 frets, so it's long too) - made of mahogany I think. I've only ever seen one like it anywhere else. Anyway, it's one big heavy piece of lumber. To that, add a big rockin steel Wonderbar bridge.... holy crap!! I originally picked up my BC Rich as a string buster when the El Degas was down for the count, but because the Bich was so light (and also 24 frets), and the El Degas clocking in at what could sometimes feel like 200 pounds, the BC Rich became my main axe. (except for when I need the whammy bar, and some recording spots....)

Chris

 

[jake-owa]

Yeah, try quickly re-tuning to slack key on a floyd. Licensed or not they suck ass. I just traded my Ibanez RG for a drum trigger pad. I got tired of spending 3 hours re-stringiong only to have to do it again the next three days. And if you want to actually change string gauges you are sooooo screwed.

Fuck Floyd Rose right in the pee hole. I like my $150 Crate guitar better than that overcomplicated peice of crappola.

 

[64Firebird]

I don't see how it can take 3 hours to restring any guitar! I don't find the floyd any harder to work with than the Gibson tune o matic or even trying to fish strings thru a Fender trim (with the back cover still on). I never have any probs finding the allen wrench because it's right up there on the headstock in that little gizmo that that came on the guitar when I bought it. That guitar would stay in tune if it was hit by a truck. You guys stop your whining.

 

[Chris Tondreau]

I'm glad this thread came up, because I've actually been considering putting a Floyd Rose (or SOME sort of system that will let me do deep whammy bar dives AND pull up on the strings for a bit of extra zing on those harmonic squeals ...) on my BC Rich. I'm finding all of this interesting.

Chris

 

[6gun]

got 2 floyds, one on a musicman axis and an ibanez rg550. i can drop those axes from a 5 story building and (knock on wood) they will remain in tune. string change takes 20 minutes.

try a kahler flyer...you'll get to love your floyd.

 

[Even]

Yep I agree it does take a little longer to restring a floyd Rose rig. Sometimes a full 20 minutes instead of 10. Pretty simple if you have a few handy tips.....

1: stick with the same guage strings you had on, assuming you liked them at all.

2: Place a fairly sturdy plate (butter knife) under the base of the trem assembly and gently lower it to rest on the body.

If you dont let the damn assembly drop all the way down or screw with the springs, then its no matter at all to slap fresh strings on in a flash.

Tune the bugger up to a half step higher... stretch, and drop back down to EADGBE.
Reminder: always tune up into a note (flat to in tune) to maintain machine life.

 

[lesterpaul]

strats

sorta off topic but strats always have a bad rap with tremolos but i installed an LSR roller nut, man u have to work to get that thing outta tune now ...i am well pleased, if u could get something like that (its got ball bearings instead of locks)it would be worth it ....later

 

[thrashole369]

My floyds work beautifully. no tuning issues whatsoever. Mine are the lo-pro edge versions that came stock on my Ibanez s540's. setup and intonation steeings are a bit of a pain but when they are set they work fine.