Re: Floyd Rose question
FWIW, John Suhr of Suhr guitars actually discontinued the use of the Schaller-made Floyd Rose because of how bad their tolerances had gotten (which resulted in them actually repairing the Floyd Rose units they put in their guitars) and replaced them with the Gotoh Floyd Rose which he found to be superior to the Schaller-made OFR in every way.
Yeah, I read about that a few years back. My own personal thoughts of John Suhr aside, it is a totally fair observation that you can measure any range of non-titanium Floyd against the published specs and find them to be off a fraction of a MM here and there. Generally speaking, some baseplates aren't as long from front to back.... and saddles and nuts can be a little shorter (often times about 0.3mm).
the titanium ones, made in the US, are FAR superior in construction and quality. they literally go off the original specs, rather than copy one of the off-the shelf units. and before anyone asks, yes, I have one of those. I've also replaced at least 5 regular FR nut and saddles with titanium ones. and all my inserts and studs are titanium.
I also have several OEM trems that are the basic Schaller design. ones branded for the respective companies, like Hamer and Jackson and ESP. they've also been rock solid.
Have you actually had any experience with Gotoh?
yes.
It is much better than the German OFR.
that could be seen as an opinion.
Just because it's a licensed doesn't mean it's crap.
I didn't say licensed versions are crap.
Also, take a look at the Ibanez Edge, also by Gotoh.
I have one of those too.
It's far superior than the German FR. Smoother and better handling cause the bar is longer and straighter than that on FR, better grip on the fine tuners (the grooves are rougher than those on OFR);
those are all preferences.
plus, the bar is push-in, as opposed to using a collar like the German FR. Tighter and more practical.
your bar must be one of the ones that works. mine is not tight and never has been, even when changing out the spacers.
On the FR you actually have to wrap a plumber's tape around the collar in order for the bar to stay still.
the teflon tape doesn't last long at all. I don't like the "new" style finger-screw collars and all mine are the "old" style arms
There is a reason Steve Vai has abuses the Edge for that last 28 years.
I've seen his broken Edge base plates via one of his techs. they are not indestructible. think about that.... a
broken base plate.
I also know an artist, that when he was with Ibanez, had to have boxes of arms sent to him on the road, as he'd have at least an Edge arm per week break on him and they wouldn't put Floyd on there. same guy has used German Floyds on every other brand and not had that hassle.
I can't recall anyone who holds his guitar up with only the bar and yet it stays intact.
Phil Collen
my Gotoh and Edge experiences are that the knife edges don't hold up as well to the usage I give them in relation to German Floyds I've had for 5-15 years longer. but... that is my experience.
I told the OP that my FR comments were something I'd choose, as in "personally", as in personal preference - which others have also expressed personal preferences in this thread. that was a small blurb, in relation to all the other content over several posts that were trying to help out. please consider a little perspective.
I went ahead and ordered the stewmac studs because they spec a 10mm hole also. I'll post pics once I have everything together in a few days
I installed a set on those on an ESP not long ago. I dig the brass inserts. please be certain to check the OD of the inserts before installation. the StewMac specs shows those at 9.96mm. if your existing hole is for a regular FR insert, they will be too small. but... I've seen some places use the smaller licensed inserts when they use the FR Special, so you may be totally good.
