What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

[youngthrasher9]

I have a Washburn HM that has been sitting in my closet for almost a year, and there are 3 reasons why its there. 1. I didn't like the pickups, 2. it felt like the bridge wasn't resonating as well as it should, 3. it needs fretwork.

I figure I can do a fret polish myself, and if I get enough work, I'll have enough cash for some pickups.

I don't want to shell out $170 for a Schaller floyd when I'm just gonna block it off. What would be the most effective part to upgrade? The saddles? The block? Someone please chime in.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributed to poor tone is what the title was supposed to say.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The micro tuners.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

Buy a 'Floyd Rose Special' (Korean made FR) ...they're pretty solid. I just won one off ebay shipped from Hong Kong for $50. They're not up to OFR standards but they're a lot better than most budget stock-fitted trems. Keep in tune perfectly & are pretty well made/tough.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The weak link in the cheap Floyds is the saddles. By no means do I suggest that you can simply replace crap saddles alone and get "real Floyd tone", but the places where the strings contact directly contribute the most to tonal quality (or lack thereof).
That being the case, it's the saddles.

After that, it's the quality of contact between the knife edges and the posts, as well as post material. In the case of the baseplate and knife edges being the same piece (as with everything but a Schaller licensed Floyd), then the baseplate itself is also a factor.

Sharing the #2 spot is the nut, but it's rather diffcult to find an import nut that can take German locks. I've found the German locks to be a bit larger than the import locks, thus they don't always fit the slots.

The block has little to do with it in this case.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

Buy a 'Floyd Rose Special' (Korean made FR) ...they're pretty solid. I just won one off ebay shipped from Hong Kong for $50. They're not up to OFR standards but they're a lot better than most budget stock-fitted trems. Keep in tune perfectly & are pretty well made/tough.

That's what I was thinking of doing, thanks.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The weak link in the cheap Floyds is the saddles. By no means do I suggest that you can simply replace crap saddles alone and get "real Floyd tone", but the places where the strings contact directly contribute the most to tonal quality (or lack thereof).
That being the case, it's the saddles.

After that, it's the quality of contact between the knife edges and the posts, as well as post material. In the case of the baseplate and knife edges being the same piece (as with everything but a Schaller licensed Floyd), then the baseplate itself is also a factor.

Sharing the #2 spot is the nut, but it's rather diffcult to find an import nut that can take German locks. I've found the German locks to be a bit larger than the import locks, thus they don't always fit the slots.

The block has little to do with it in this case.

I figured it might be the saddles.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

How do you know the tremolo is the one ruining the sound?

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

How do you know the tremolo is the one ruining the sound?

The wood seems to have plenty of resonance, it responds to a knock well. That aside, this trem is in the top 3 worst floyd copies I've ever used. It doesn't feel very stable.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The wood seems to have plenty of resonance, it responds to a knock well. That aside, this trem is in the top 3 worst floyd copies I've ever used. It doesn't feel very stable.

I'm not convinced I gotta say. I don't think those knock tests are too useful.

If it's really too floppy you could block it with a piece of wood and lots of springs to see whether that changes anything other than the obvious bit more bass.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

He can block it all he wants, and it won't change the saddles or the finetuners.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

He can block it all he wants, and it won't change the saddles or the finetuners.

I was merely addressing the "unstable" part.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

Why do you have to ruin everything good in my life?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The brutally frank answer to the OP question is "all of it".

As has already been pointed out, even with improved saddles, the knife edges and pivot posts would still be substandard. If you expect the performance capabilities of the real thing, the only answer is to "pay up and try to look big."

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

The brutally frank answer to the OP question is "all of it".

As has already been pointed out, even with improved saddles, the knife edges and pivot posts would still be substandard. If you expect the performance capabilities of the real thing, the only answer is to "pay up and try to look big."

You basically gave me the answer I was expecting. The obvious thing to do would be to replace the whole thing it I was just checking to make there was no cheaper remedy.

Looks like it's gonna stay in the closet for a while.

 

[Axl H]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

See if you can find an old Jackson JT590 trem. They used to be on the Charvel Model series. I had one on my 375DLX and it is a very good trem, can be had quite cheap. Vasshu gave it thumbs up, and that is good enough for me. Quality is good

Check to see if the studs need to be plugged and drilled - that can really ruin the tone if they are messed up.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: What piece of a cheap Floyd rose is the biggest contributer poor tone?

^^ The JT-590 is nothing more (or less) than run of the mill Schaller Floyd with "Jackson" stamped on (or rather cast into, to be exact) the bass wing instead of "Schaller". As such simply recommending to drop it in to what is presumably a standard geometry Floyd rout is not necessarily a good Idea. Different baseplate geometry = different mounting distance from the nut, 1/16" closer to be exact