Sirion
New member
So, this happened some time back:
Kramer Pacer Custom I ca. 1988-89. The pickups are a Screamin' Demon, which I don't care for and which has to go, and two Alnico II Pro. I need to get blocks and screws for the locking nut, as well as fix the intonation. But I have already played it enough to know that I am keeping this one.
The guitar was a great deal, and it didn't take me long to understand why. When I opened the case, I realized that there were no strings on, and the previous owner had slid a piece of cardboard under the Floyd to keep it from digging into the body while keeping the springs in place. When I tried to string it up, I quickly discovered the error: the insert block in the saddle for the thick E string was not moving, but instead sort of pivoting back and forth, as though it were stuck inside the saddle. Loosening more blocks, I realized that several of them would not come out.
My working theory is that the previous owner had overtightened the blocks severely, but instead of cracking they had subtly changed shape until they got stuck inside the saddles. When the thick E string could no longer be attached, s/he sold the guitar instead of trying to fix it.
This meant that I received a fair deal, but it baffles me how people get basic things about the Floyd Rose wrong. I watched an instructional video when I was seventeen, but after that I have just used them, and have never had any substantial problems. On the other hand, I own a few such old Kramers, and many of them had Floyd troubles that were obviously user error. For instance, I had to throw away an entire locking nut once because of the same error: it had been so overtightened that the blocks had changed shape and would no longer disattach smoothly.
How do people manage to get these things wrong?! I like to think that I am evidence that dealing with a Floyd Rose is not difficult to operate, but then I run across something like this.
Kramer Pacer Custom I ca. 1988-89. The pickups are a Screamin' Demon, which I don't care for and which has to go, and two Alnico II Pro. I need to get blocks and screws for the locking nut, as well as fix the intonation. But I have already played it enough to know that I am keeping this one.
The guitar was a great deal, and it didn't take me long to understand why. When I opened the case, I realized that there were no strings on, and the previous owner had slid a piece of cardboard under the Floyd to keep it from digging into the body while keeping the springs in place. When I tried to string it up, I quickly discovered the error: the insert block in the saddle for the thick E string was not moving, but instead sort of pivoting back and forth, as though it were stuck inside the saddle. Loosening more blocks, I realized that several of them would not come out.
My working theory is that the previous owner had overtightened the blocks severely, but instead of cracking they had subtly changed shape until they got stuck inside the saddles. When the thick E string could no longer be attached, s/he sold the guitar instead of trying to fix it.
This meant that I received a fair deal, but it baffles me how people get basic things about the Floyd Rose wrong. I watched an instructional video when I was seventeen, but after that I have just used them, and have never had any substantial problems. On the other hand, I own a few such old Kramers, and many of them had Floyd troubles that were obviously user error. For instance, I had to throw away an entire locking nut once because of the same error: it had been so overtightened that the blocks had changed shape and would no longer disattach smoothly.
How do people manage to get these things wrong?! I like to think that I am evidence that dealing with a Floyd Rose is not difficult to operate, but then I run across something like this.
