Are Floyd Roses Worth It?

There is a relative fear of Floyd Roses, but it is not that hard :D, and locking a tremolo isn't that hard , mine has a thing called a Tremol-no which lets me use divebombs and still locks the Tremolo, so it won't go out of tune.

But if your fear is about changing strings its just like the first time you changed your strings on any other guitar, I was nervous as hell, but I did it, its the same thing with a Floyd Rose, a whole new experience just waiting for you to try it :D

Not a pleasant one.

The short answer is, "No."

It's not a "fear." It's a big PITA. And you need a wrench to tune your guitar with that cursed locking nut.

Though I'm not a Floyd lover, I'd like to stick up for them. If you want to do the dive bombing and the like, then you will need a locking type tremolo. I have guitars with Floyds and others with fixed bridges or vintage style bridges. If the tremolo is floating, they will all act the same when breaking a string or during string changes. It is more work, yes - but if you want the dive bomb abilities, you deal with them. And, though they are more work, it's nothing you can't handle. There are many Floyd Liscenced tremolos out these days and they aren't as stable as the Original Floyd Rose. My Jackson has a Liscenced by Floyd and my B.C. Rich has an Origianl Floyd and there is a significant difference. Bottom line is, if you want to do the dive bombing and heavy tremolo use then you want the Floyd (or other locking type). If you don't do that much tremolo use then stay away from the added hassle.

If you are wanting to know how the Floyd compares to the Kahler or Steinberger trems, then that is personal preference. Many heavy tremolo players really like them new Kahlers...

I've got two with FR and one with a Bigsby. The FR is a PITA...especially my Floyd Rose name brand guitar. However, they are not difficult to deal with. Just time consuming. I don't use 'em for what they can do, so I never have any issues. Someday, perhaps.

no one going to comment on the tone?

okay then ...

if you play with lots of gain and processing, then the FR tonal experience is fine. if you want to hear a less processed native guitar timbre that has some cool and interesting character, then look elsewhere.

to be fair, divebombing + compression + high gain + various OD/distortions + often drop tunings are pretty much associated with several genres* in which the FR-equipped axe is king. so the FR is the one of the right tools for the job and probably worth the extra skill required to maintain it.

* examples: nu-/death-/plain ole- metals, satch-/vai-/alien- rock-metal fusions, neo-classical ... (yeah, satch and vai play Ibanez, not FR -- but same animal)

no one going to comment on the tone?

okay then ...

if you play with lots of gain and processing, then the FR tonal experience is fine. if you want to hear a less processed native guitar timbre that has some cool and interesting character, then look elsewhere.

+1. That's one of the biggest drawbacks with the FR for me.

to be fair, divebombing + compression + high gain + various OD/distortions + often drop tunings are pretty much associated with several genres* in which the FR-equipped axe is king. so the FR is the one of the right tools for the job and probably worth the extra skill required to maintain it.

* examples: nu-/death-/plain ole- metals, satch-/vai-/alien- rock-metal fusions, neo-classical ... (yeah, satch and vai play Ibanez, not FR -- but same animal)
What technical differences are there with the MusicMan trem bridges that make them more suitable for those aggressive genres (Dream Theater's John Petrucci, for example) without being of the locking FR/Ibanez kind?

Now im not planning on getting a guitar with a floyd rose any time soon as i am investing money on a fender jaguar. although i do have a question about floyd roses..........

Are they even worth it? I mean i like dive bombs and the such but idk, the whole setup and restringing issues with a floyd rose doesn't even seem like it's worth dealing with. I know there are some other tremelos out there(like kahler tremelos and steinberger just released a new tremelo) but i mean....idk...just wondering what everyone's opinions are on this.... :(

This is just my personal opinion, y'unnerstan' . . .

Floyd Rose was inspired by a minion of pure evil to devise that wicked contraption. It's sole purpose is to drive a guitarist insane when they change strings. Hide your eyes and run away screaming from them. Seek therapy if you're considering even a slight chance of buying a guitar equipped with one!!!!!

<DEEP, CALMING BREATH>

I don't like 'em very much . . .

no one going to comment on the tone?

okay then ...

if you play with lots of gain and processing, then the FR tonal experience is fine. if you want to hear a less processed native guitar timbre that has some cool and interesting character, then look elsewhere.

to be fair, divebombing + compression + high gain + various OD/distortions + often drop tunings are pretty much associated with several genres* in which the FR-equipped axe is king. so the FR is the one of the right tools for the job and probably worth the extra skill required to maintain it.

* examples: nu-/death-/plain ole- metals, satch-/vai-/alien- rock-metal fusions, neo-classical ... (yeah, satch and vai play Ibanez, not FR -- but same animal)

I was talking about guitars with a floyd rose bridge. not the floyd rose brand guitars. they suck. just to clean this up.

FRs are no big deal.

Changing strings is a slightly bigger PITA with my FR equipped guitar, but not really that bad.

Tone is down to individual guitars- my FR axe has a much nicer sound, even acoustically, than my stratocopy. (Which is cheaper and much lower quality wood.)Hard to generalize about one factor and tone.

But, do you wanna dive bomb? Do you wanna stretch the strings out and make it neigh like a horse as you release them?
Jump an octave?

This is what a floyd rose is for. If you don't wanna do these things, don't bother with the extra (minor, in my opinion) hassles. But, if you want to, then put an allen wrench on your key chain.

Best,
Ande

no one going to comment on the tone?

okay then ...

if you play with lots of gain and processing, then the FR tonal experience is fine. if you want to hear a less processed native guitar timbre that has some cool and interesting character, then look elsewhere.

to be fair, divebombing + compression + high gain + various OD/distortions + often drop tunings are pretty much associated with several genres* in which the FR-equipped axe is king. so the FR is the one of the right tools for the job and probably worth the extra skill required to maintain it.

* examples: nu-/death-/plain ole- metals, satch-/vai-/alien- rock-metal fusions, neo-classical ... (yeah, satch and vai play Ibanez, not FR -- but same animal)

I was talking about guitars with a floyd rose bridge. not the floyd rose brand guitars. they suck. just to clean this up.

I believe he is talking about the FR bridge (the Ibanez players mentioned (Vai and Satch) use Ibanez guitars which have their own Ibanez double locking trems). There is a tonal difference with guitars with FR and other mgf. double locking bridges. Because of the extra mass involved in these bridges, it tends to lean on ther brighter side, IMO. Many players say that double locking trems suck the tone out of guitars but I disagree. I do agree that it changes the tone, but the tone that comes from them may be just what you're looking for. If you have a dark toned guitar, the FR could add some presence to it. If you already have a poplar body, maple neck and fretboard, single coil pups - then the FR may be a tad shrill :wink: (which is why I never understood the FR on an all maple strat).

I played a FR brand guitar once and didin't find it that bad at all. I actually liked it... The speedloader is a nice idea.

I was talking about guitars with a floyd rose bridge. not the floyd rose brand guitars. they suck. just to clean this up.
I've got their cheapest model at about 1/4 of their starting price a few years back when they first came out. I don't care for the Speed Loader system all that much. Well, that might be unfair. I actually need to remove one of the pieces and somehow smooth out a spot that is catching. I can't put the saddle in the ideal spot on the A string. Dangerous times with a dremel tool coming up. :) Point is, once I fix that, it might be better.

It also came without tone knob and the pickups were far too bright for my tastes. However, the neck is straight as Jimmy Carter and really plays rather easily. I went and added a tone POT and some humbucker-sized P-90s from Guitar Fetish. In all, I've got about $170 into a really fine playing and now fine sounding instrument. Not too shabby. Not sure where you get the "they suck" portion of your statement, but I'm sure if you had the time you would have qualified what you said like everyone else has on this thread.

The one benefit that I see out of this verses a standard FR system is the bullet ends at the nut area instead of the locking types. It, in theory, means that there's one less piece that can go out of tune. In practice, I found that it did handle the dive bomb and other drastic action better than the others that I have tried.

Two other benefits on either FR system is that the bridge can be raised or lowered with considerable ease without having to retune or detune. I've got my other one (a FR equipped LTD) jacked way up and set to open G yp mess with some slide. I tuned it before I raised it just to see how much of that benefit was true. Pretty darned close, IIRC. The FR guitar was dead one when adjusting string height a couple times, which is the final benefit for me. Trying out different string heights to experiment with the action was a breeze.

I guess I have to admit that the Speed Loader thing is a good idea like bfloyd said. Time to fix mine I guess.