Re: Personal experience on how the floyd rose...........
It depends a lot on the make of the bridge, how the body is routed (recessed vs. non-recessed,) and how you set it up. My opinion is that a non-recessed routing and a good quality Floyd set for downward use only is the best way to go. With this setup, I don't believe there is any loss of tone or sustain compared to a hardtail or vintage style tremolo. I agree with Rid, my Wolfgang sounds warm and fat when it's played unplugged. Now, if you have a floating Floyd, that's a different story. When you lose the solid coupling between the bridge and body, my feeling is that you will hear a difference in tone and sustain. Even if it's floating but blocked, I still feel like it's not as optimal as a Floyd that's set flush on a non-recessed body.
The material the bridge is made of plays a role as well. I like the Schaller Floyd best because it has a sleeker profile and a warmer tone, while still being every bit as good as the original in terms of feel and performance. The original Floyds tend to sound a bit brighter, but they are very high quality units. Most licensed copies just don't cut it, with the exception of the Peavey Wolfgang licensed Floyd and some of the high end Ibanez ones.
Ryan