Re: Neck thru and Floyd Rose--cross purposes?
Tone is mostly in the pickups and wood material, not the construction. Neck thru is probably more expensive cause it is harder to manufacture so guitar makers make it up by duping us claiming that the sound is superior to bolt-ons and setnecks. If that was the case, then all signature lines would be neckthru, the logic goes.
ESP Kirk Hammett model is an example of a neck-thru with Floyd. Why don't you check out the tone of it.
In my experience, bolt-ons and neck-throughs often have a different feel and character, apart from the obvious difference in the neck joint. I often prefer a neck-through because of those differences. On the other hand, a really good bolt-on is a fantastic guitar in its own right and doesn't give up anything in quality to a comparable neck-through. If I were buying a Les Paul, Strat, or Telecaster type of guitar, there's no way I'd want neck-through.
I think the perception that bolt-ons are lower in quality is probably fueled by a couple of things:
1.) The cheapest electric guitars available are usually bolt-ons. Neck-throughs tend to start out a solid step or two higher, so they are done at a little higher level than those entry-tier bolt-ons. You can still find neck-throughs that are dogs; I have one that I beat on and use as a science experiment.
2.) Companies (Jackson being a key example) often offer lower-priced and/or import versions of their neck-through models, in a bolt-on configuration. I think it's fair to think of a bolt-on neck as a compromise in the specific case of a guitar that's meant to be a more affordable version of a neck-through. That doesn't mean that it's not a good, worthwhile guitar -- just that it's notably different from the "original", the design that inspired it. (Example: I've played some import RR3's with bolt-on necks that I just loved. They didn't feel or sound quite like the step-up neck-through models, but they were quite good.)
Another interesting thing about Jackson and their neck-joint practices: The Dinky model is always a bolt-on. Doesn't matter if it's the least expensive Dinky they make, or a $2k+ USA Select. I think it's an acknowledgement that the preference is ultimately subjective, and when you design a guitar with bolt-on construction, it's not an inherent compromise. It's how well you do it that counts, when quality is the point of discussion.
Oh, and EMGs: I've swapped 81's and 85's and 89R's between neck and bridge positions and between two different guitars, and I don't feel that the guitar drops out of the equation, tonally. Guitars in question: Ibanez RG270DX w/ OFR (and a glued-in neck), and a Music-Yo! Kramer Baretta. The differences between the guitars might not be as pronounced as they would be (?) with more conventional pickups, but they were still there -- enough that I had a totally different opinion of the 85 as a neck pickup between the two guitars.
