The difference between a Floyd Rose and a (Strat?) bridge?

i'm not sure entirely of all the differences, but basically, a floyd rose bridge locks the strings at the nut and at the bridge to keep it "in tune", while a standard tremolo bridge (like on a fender) doesn't lock. i personally hate floyd rose bridges. i had an ibanez RG7620 7 string with one on it and no matter how many times i set it up or had it set up, it never stayed in tune. and you can't tune it from the headstock like a normal guitar. plus, it is really difficult to try to change strings. if you are a beginner and don't have any experience with a floyd rose system, i would say stay away from it. other people will probably tell you differently, but that is my opinion. some people love them and if you can get them set up right and don't like to tune around (drop D, down 1/2 step, down full step, whatever) then you might like it.

Why do metal guitar(s/ists) tend to use Floyd Rose bridge systems?

They must have some advantages! :o

with the floyd system, where the strings are locked ,one can use the whammy bar to the extreme. divebombs can go all the way down and back with the strings remaining in tune.
with the older tremelo bridge the strings could get stretched out of tune .

This should help-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Rose

Q: The difference between a Floyd Rose and a (Strat?) bridge?
A: A head-ache

If you're in the market for a new cheap guitar then forget about the Floyd Rose as it will only be a cheap copy. Remember that an original Floyd costs 300$ alone, and is the only one worth getting one if you really need it.

Honestly, I don't think you need a Floyd when you ask why metal guitarists need it. Listen to the guitar solo in Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne) and you will hear some tricks with the Floyd. Also the ending of Eruption (Van Halen) has a huge divebomb.

In the defense of the Floyd Rose, if it's properly set up, it will stay in tune extremly well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the Floyd was out yet for Eruption. I read in an article that EVH used to wind a couple of his strings the opposite way and 3 in 1 oil the crap out of his nut to keep in tune. Van Halen came out in 1978 and the Floyd Rose was invented in 1979. I do think he had a hand in the developement of the floyd though. I've often marveled at how Jimi Hendrix could use that standard trem so hard and still play in tune. Floyds frustrate me and all my standard trems are tightened down and not used. Les Pauls don't have floyds and they do metal fine. It's up to you, but IMHO you don't need one to play metal.

A bit of a generalisation flavoured with personal experience, but in a nutshell:

- A tremolo bridge is the only way to bend a note up or down by anything more than a few frets worth.

- A Floyd Rose type tremolo is the only reliable way to keep it in tune while when you release it.

- A fixed bridge is the only way to take less than an hour to tune up after you change your strings.

I've been using a Jackson with a Floyd Rose for around 15 years (damn I'm getting old :cry: ) and I've had great luck with it. I've never had any problems with the guitar going out of tune; and, IMO it's a lot easier to tune at the bridge with the Floyd Rose fine tuners than to reach up and tune at the headstock. So, to me, those have not been drawbacks at all. However, as many have stated, it does take quite a bit longer to restring the guitar (especially if you take all the strings off at once - to clean the fretboard or something).
One of the biggest flaws that I have found with the Floyd Rose system is that if you break a string in the middle of a song (luckily, I haven't broken a string in over 10 years), that's it! There is no recovery; there is no playing of the guitar without that string. The tuning goes completely to hell. If you don't have another guitar handy, then the audience is going to wait while you replace that string and get tuned up. Another flaw is related to that same fact that each string's tuning relies on the tuning of all other strings... that is bending. Of course you can bend; but, if for some reason you want to let one note ring while bending another, forget it. When you bend one note, then other note will go down. The reason is that as you bend a string, the floyd rose bridge will lift forward (the same way as if you do a divebomb, but less extreme, of course). So, technically, for a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremelo system, you have to bend the string further to reach the desired note. This doesn't affect playability though; actually, as the bridge pulls forward, the scale length of the guitar is slighty shorter and the strings feel even slinkier, begging to be bent even more and more and more :twisted:

Hmmm.

I may leave the Floyd Rose for a second guitar when I'm a bit older (and hopefully richer) :?

I would say stay away from one if you can for all the reasons listed. I have one on a Jackson guitar and I never use the whammy bar so it doesn't do anything for me other than be a pain when changing strings and if your stupid like me you'll forget to loosen the strings at the nut and snap them the first time you try changing strings.

I know where you are coming from because I also have a tremelo bridge, i also believe that floyd rose systems allow you to bend a note up or down, as opposed to regular tremelos that only allow you to bend down.

Guys - ever heard of bending strings? Vibrato? it's all down to technique.....some day I'll get me some technique.....

But surely it's better to learn to bend notes than to rely on a whammy bar? Surely it's better to learn the correct technique first, then experiment with tremolo....

I guess I'm sort of the musical equivalent of a Luddite, except I couldn't use an amp without gain/delayreverb and chorus....but I'd rather try and play the notes PROPERLY without a whammy bar than guess at them and use a whammy bar....

Then again it's all down to personal taste - some guitarists use 'em, some hate 'em....you have to work it out for yourself.....but there's no harm in experimenting....

:D :D :D

Vic

well Vic I'm not sure I'm totally with you on the whammy bar thing and having to play properly...it's like comparing apples to oranges..I don't think one has any bearing on the other.

using a whammy bar effectively is a skill like any other guitar related skill, some people are good, some aren't and some (like me) don't care to develop the skill, but I don't think it has to do with not being able to play a note properly