Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

[tone?]

Ok i dont want to be a smart-ass here but i would like to point out a something that i think is overlooked in terms of getting better tone from your guitar.

Many people have stated this before but recently i was testing it out on my guitar.
If you have a Floyd-type trem DONT FLOAT IT!

this is the most tone-robbing thing you can do to your guitar as i have seen.

a long time ago while i was messing with my Ibanez Roadstar II and the other day i took a crack at it again. ( cause of all the Van Halen influence) , i was experementing with resting the Ibanez edge on the guitar instead of floating it ( cause of all the Van Halen influence) .
It still didnt sound as good, yes it definately gained more attack but sounded harsh and lost bass response. for some reason the trem probably doesnt come into good contact with the body.
So what i found out was that putting a small piece of wood on both sides of the trem ( behind the pivot points) made a HUGE difference. I MEAN HUGE!!

THE GUITAR HAD A COMPLETLY BETTER SOUND!
just to make sure i took them off again a floated the body and it got some of the bass back but was mushy.
so in a nutshell this is what i found:


Floating Bridge: ok bass but loose , Very little pick attack and sustain

Bridge rested on body: Better attack and sustain but harsh sounding.

Bridge rested on two pieces of wood behind pivots: tight attack, warmer sounding and great sustain. the notes sounded more round without losing dynamics and harmonics( not dampened) .

THE DIFFERENCE IS NIGHT AND DAY!!

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

thats funny i thought this would intrest more people

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Well, if you don't need a floyd, why buy a guitar with one?

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

well if you already have one with a Floyd are you gonna throw the guitar away if you can make it sound a WHOLE lote better??

And if you like floyds and have guitars with them on, dont you want them to sound better??

 

[Biu]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Interesting. Did you completely setup the Floyd everytime you made an adjustment? Are you using the trem at all, or just blocking the Floyd?

 

[rocksoldier]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Nothing strange with a non floating floyd, evh has never used a floating floyd as far as i know...

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

well i really never changed the height of the action of the guitar but , yes you would have to change the whole setup everytime you wanted to make a change in something.
it doesnt take too long however.
The thing is that with this setup the sound is sooooo much better. i couldnt believe it!
I dont know how it would work with a Floyd cause i dont know how those rest if you put them flush on the guitar.
But with the Ibanez Edge it sounds better if it rests on the peices of wood. a whole lot better!
you put the pieces of wood under the trem where the pivot poles are.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Hmmmm ... blocking the Floyd, to me, is like using a Porsche to drive down to the corner store: a pointless waste.

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

NO TwilightOdyssy , it keeps the Floyd working it just puts it down on the guitar. it only doenst let you go up on the bar.
but it gives you back great tone!
get it?

 

[FretFire]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

The only thing you lose with a *properly* blocked Floyd is the ability to raise pitch.

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

thank you FretFire!

i just think that people really dont realize how much this improves on your tone.

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

The thing that makes me wonder is that how come the Ibanez doesnt sound as good flush down as it does 'sitting' on the small peices of wood.
could you explain that??

 

[FretFire]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Because it's a subjective thing. Most people that buy an Ibanez with a floating trem want the tuning stability and the access to all the bar tricks. Any loss of sustain or tone can be made up for with VOLUME :laugh2: :laugh2:

 

[rinse_master]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Hmmmm ... blocking the Floyd, to me, is like using a Porsche to drive down to the corner store: a pointless waste.

Not if you wanna get there fast!!!

But in all seriousness (sp?), I blocked the trem on my 7 string Ibanez because I like to mess with tunings and string gauges, and I rarely use the Floyd.

BTW: It's not like i had a choice of floyd or no floyd, and it's not like it can't be undone.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

That's exactly why this is so subjective, there are people who don't mind losing the ability to raise pitch and there are some who wouldn't give it up for anything. I personally love the way the Floyd is set up on my Wolfgang as I never pull up on the bar, and I don't have to worry about the rest of the strings going out of tune should one break. I'll agree it probably is a negligible change in tone though.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

I agree with TwilightOdyssey. If I have guitars with floyds, I want to use them for their full capacity. I think it's a good idea to have floyd and t-o-m guitars separately. If you can't afford two, a non-recessed OFR is a good choice.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

I agree with TwilightOdyssey. If I have guitars with floyds, I want to use them for their full capacity. I think it's a good idea to have floyd and t-o-m guitars separately. If you can't afford two, a non-recessed OFR is a good choice.

+1

Although, two of my guitars are string through and the other is a non-recessed Floyd. Suits my needs perfectly .

 

[DirrtyCraig]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

I totally agree. I've never floated my trems on my PRS or Floyd-euipped guitars. The noticable difference is in the sustain. I play live weekly and when holding a note out for feedback or whatever, the difference is audible especially at high volume levels.

Your right, EVH NEVER floated a trem, EVER. I mean how often do you really need to pull up on the bar?

 

[FretFire]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

Your right, EVH NEVER floated a trem, EVER. I mean how often do you really need to pull up on the bar?

Depends on your style, look at Vai and Satriani. They flip the bar around backwards and tap on it to get that flutter effect, and Vai in particular is friggin' hard on his bar in that position. He even had his JEMs made with a deeper recess so he could raise it more...

 

[tone?]

Re: Overlooked tip for tone on foating Tems!!!

it was just my opinion that the guitar sounds better that way .
i mean Eddie continues to use Floyds but he has them down flush on the guitar.

of course if you want to pull up on the bar then this is not applicable. So this is not something you would want to do.
on the other hand if you just use the bar in a downward motion then it is my opinion that the improvment is night and day.