Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

[Filipe Marquez]

Hey guys, i have two questions:

Is the gotoh floyd rose a perfect retrofit for a LO-TRS II in a JEM 555?

And could explain me why a bridge "worns out after time"? I heard it has something to do with the knife edges, but i don't know exactly how to identify what is wrong with them.

Thanks!

[jmh151]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

A gotoh floyd has the same specs as an Original Floyd Rose- an Original Floyd Rose fits it directly.

The reason cheap bridges wear out is they are made of cheaper, less durable metal. The knife edges wear out. The base plate and knife edges of Original Floyds and Gotohs are made of hardened steel and rest on brass pivot posts, so it's rare that the knife edges wear out. In a cheap trem like a Lo-TRS II, the entire brodge, particularly the knife edges,are made of cheaper, less durable metal and wear out quicker.

The brass posts could also be worn down- in that case you could replace the posts

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

Thanks man! And do you know if while i don't buy the gotoh, is there something i can do to improve te knife edge of my LO-TRS? I heard you had to shim the knife edge, but i really don't know what that means...

[WhoFan]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

in the Guitar Player Repair book it lists the mounting specs for 4-5 different Floyd style trems... Gotoh is the same distance from the nut to the center of the post as a FRO, 25 inches even...... the Edge is said to be 25 1/16... but since Ibanez has used so many EDGES and changed designs a lot who knows which one that measurement is for...

then the other issue is the Edge's trem posts spaced the same distance apart as a Gotoh/FRO....

Edges are in general really large bridges as well... a Gotoh will look small in the Ibanez's recessed route if you decide to try and fit one in....

in anycase if you decide to mod the guitar it can be done even if you have to plug the old holes and redrill new ones in the right place for teh bridge you want... i've installed Schaller style trems in 2 of my imported Jacksons... i tried a FRO first and it didn't intonate on the Low E saddle... so i bought Schallers and it worked fine... i changed the bridge posts too but kept them in the stock postion incase i wanted to install the old bridges for resale...

that also reminds me to ask... are you experiencing tuning issues with your Edge? on one of my Jacksons i had some posts that rocked in the breeze... seemed the insert in teh body was made of super soft metal... i changed those posts to hardened Floyd posts from Stew Mac and it stays in tune fine now... didn't have to change the bridge after all

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

Hm, that's a good point you made. My posts are custom made ones, which i believe aren't good. I never thought of that.

But anyways, my bridge is the LO-TRS II, not the edge. I heard the edge is indeed larger, but the LO has the same space as an OFR, and as JMH said also the same as Gotoh.

[jmh151]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

Years ago I used to look at the board postings on www.jemsite.com, and they all said you could easily replace a TRS with an OFR or Gotoh with no problem. Indicentally. Gotoh makes the Edge tremolo for Ibanez.

There's also no way I've heard of shimming the knife edges, or what it would accomplish

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

But you can replace them then, perfectly?

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

I see. And i just found out when replacing the strings and taking off the bridge, that the wood is a bit broken near the low E post.

Do you think this can be fixed?

I just checked with an allen wrench and if i force it a bit, the post moves slightly back and forth, so that has to have something to do with tuning.

Now i'm thinking if it's still worth buying a bridge to this crap.

(PS: I posted a picture so you can tell me if you think is fixeable.)

(PPS: By the way, when i pull the trem to raise the notes i can hear the bass'wood' crackin' a bit.)

[astrozombie]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

I see. And i just found out when replacing the strings and taking off the bridge, that the wood is a bit broken near the low E post.

Do you think this can be fixed?

I just checked with an allen wrench and if i force it a bit, the post moves slightly back and forth, so that has to have something to do with tuning.

Now i'm thinking if it's still worth buying a bridge to this crap.

(PS: I posted a picture so you can tell me if you think is fixeable.)

(PPS: By the way, when i pull the trem to raise the notes i can hear the bass'wood' crackin' a bit.)

This happened to an LTD I used to have, i ended up blocking the trem.

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

This happened to an LTD I used to have, i ended up blocking the trem.

I thought that this may be the only solution.

I also thought about asking a luthier to cut off the whole part of the screw, and then glueing a piece of mahogany maybe. But i don't know if it would stay fix without breaking again, when using the trem.

[jmh151]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

I had mid 90's Ibanez RG 570 where the wood around the post was so soft (basswood) that the post came out of the body. I took the post out, filled the hole with Elmers wood glue, re-inserted the post, wipe the excess glue away and let it dry for a week. Never had a problem after that.

In your case you may have to use very thin super glue (which you could get from Stewart Macdonald), and just fill the crack with glue and let it cure

[Filipe Marquez]

Re: Gotoh Floyd Rose in a JEM

That's great news! You recommend the Elmers too?