Ok, I got about $400 saved up from my summer job last year and i really want to add another guitar to my very very very small arsenal. I have been itching to get my hands on an ibanez, havent really been to the stor to chack any out but the one thing i know is that most ibanez guitars used for heavy metal have a floyd rose system....pros and cons???
"Its not about what showing people what you can do with a peice of wood with strings on it. Its about making music."~~~John Frusciante.
Con. Harder to tune and set up.
Pro. once you have them set up, they NEVER go out of tune( at least with a locking nut).
Another possible con, I've heard that the less expensive versions fitted to cheaper guitars (i.e., sub $700) have a tendancy to wear out rather quickly on the fulcrum? This info is second hand though, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. :)
Rob
If something's not worth doing it's worth forgetting about.
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Why is it harder to set up and tune?
"Its not about what showing people what you can do with a peice of wood with strings on it. Its about making music."~~~John Frusciante.
the short answer to that question? there's a lot more to it than the simple thread-string-wind-around-peg style of stringing guitars. I'm not overly familiar with floyd rose trems, but I'm pretty sure the string is 'clamped' into place at the bridge (and also at the nut if you have a locking nut, as noted above). this means unscrewing each clamp, then screwing the clamp back down. I'm not sure how this works out in terms of tuning (do you need to clamp down, check tuning, unclamp, alter string, reclamp, check again? that seems like a helluva lot of hassle). and I believe floyd rose trems require you to cut the ball end off the strings.
you might wanna take a listen to some of Jeff Beck's recent work (youtube will have tons of stuff, e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reuK2msTzec ). He uses the whammy extensively, but its a pretty standard(ish) fender strat whammy. he does have a locking nut though, which helps. depending on where your research takes you, you might wanna consider getting a strat or something similar on the whammy front, and then adding a locking nut.
oh, and the long answer to your question? well, as I'm not a floyd rose user, I'll wait for someone else to give the long answer. :wink:
A regular Floyd Rose system isn't so bad to tune once you gret the hang of it. Takes longer, but not too bad. The one I don't like is the actual Floyd Rose guitar's system with the ez-change doohickie. Awful. Only on Floyd Rose guitars though. No need to worry about the Ibanez. :)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
I have a Jackson with a Floyd Rose and they are a pain to tune and to change strings. Personally I want to get rid of mine all it's doing is collecting dust. I wouldn't buy another one.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
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All my guitars have Floyd's on them except one Gibson I have. As others have said, they do require more attention than a simple "string-thru" design, but after a bit of experience with them, it is not a difficult task. I like them & wouldn't change. A couple of my guitars even have the "licensed" models, (cheaper Jacksons, Kramers) & I like those too, except one quirk with those is that the trem arm won't tighten properly;
In my case, it required a rubber washer "shim" to get things tight. A workaround I would rather not have to deal with, but they still play well. They do stay in perfect tune, even after massive dive bomb sessions.
Just my .02 :)
yeah, having read katmetal's post I realised that I should have added this to my original comment:
I worked as a techie on a couple of tours, and watched the guitar tech for the bands concerned restringing a floyd rose trem-equipped guitar. I wouldn't buy one because they're a pain to string and tune (among other things, that aint my only reason, lol) and some of my mates who've had floyd rose-equipped guitars bemoan this process and take ages to retune their guitars. but the guitar tech I watched did it all pretty fast. so I guess I'm trying to say that if you've got any sort of head for techie stuff and you really want a FR trem guitar, then I reckon with time you'll learn to restring and retune fairly quickly. but I still think the strat with locking nut added idea is worth a gander if you're at all inclined.
Personally I'd stay away from any FR system. For all the pain/time/frustration involved it isn't worth it to me.
If I want a trem I'd stick with either a Strat like system or a Bigsby. However the kind of music I'm into I don't dive bomb or wobble the sound much past what I can do with my fretting hand.
My .02 cents :)
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
well ya all pretty much discouraged me from buying a FR.
Im not saying its not still in the forefront of my minf, but it is unders erious consideration....I did find this ibanez though without a locking nut or FR system, as a matter of fact it has NO tremolo system.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-RG2EX1-Electric-Guitar-103382115-i1167867.gc
The only thing i dont get about it is.....fixed bridge??
"Its not about what showing people what you can do with a peice of wood with strings on it. Its about making music."~~~John Frusciante.
The only thing i dont get about it is.....fixed bridge??
Another term for a "HARD TAIL" which I prefer. (Don't like Saggy Bottoms.....RIM SHOT...OWWW!) heheheheh
It means there's no TREM and this particular bridge design is a THROUGH BODY design, so you thread the Strings through the body. Theory is to give more sustain.
I think your wise NOT to get an FR...at least for now. Really, for all the pain and time to manage, I don't think they're worth it. As for me, I like the hard tails...less moving parts and springy things the better off I am :)
D-
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
I'm sure constantly retuning would help your ears (unless you always resort to a tuner). :D
if you're looking for something sub 700 (uk pounds or us dollars), I still reckon a strat would be a better build for something whammy-equipped. the locking nut you can add as an optional thing later. and trust me, if Jeff Beck can cope with the strat's whammy, you'd have to be playing serious shredding stuff to need anything more.
I guess I should refrase my earlier statment. Setups arn't really that hard to do once you get used to doing them. Chaging string gauge takes some time because you need to balance the spring tension of the FR. If you never change gauges like me then its simple to replace the strings. Once the guitar is tuned up you lock the strings down at the nut and tune it at the fine tuners on the FR it self.
The only thing i dont get about it is.....fixed bridge??
Another term for a "HARD TAIL" which I prefer. (Don't like Saggy Bottoms.....RIM SHOT...OWWW!) heheheheh
It means there's no TREM and this particular bridge design is a THROUGH BODY design, so you thread the Strings through the body. Theory is to give more sustain.
I think your wise NOT to get an FR...at least for now. Really, for all the pain and time to manage, I don't think they're worth it. As for me, I like the hard tails...less moving parts and springy things the better off I am :)
D-
Ya the less parts the better. FR is not an option for me...sounds way complicated, but i know its impossible...just improbable for me :D
"Its not about what showing people what you can do with a peice of wood with strings on it. Its about making music."~~~John Frusciante.
