Building a guitar with a Floyd Rose

[Jarick]

I mentioned elsewhere but my son is doing a high school woodworking project where he's building a guitar, and I could use some feedback.

Originally he was going to build a Strat, but he went rogue and made a Charvel type body routed for a recessed Floyd Rose. Not sure why...maybe he thought it looked cool? Anyways, I think he's got the body largely completed and is at the point we need to measure and order hardware.

I've never owned a Floyd Rose let alone assembled or built a guitar that has one so looking for any advice or feedback. I was thinking of hitting up some local used gear stores to see if there's any cheap guitars with Floyds that we could steal the parts and neck from. If not, would likely get something like a Floyd Rose Special bridge and an aftermarket Strat neck and skip the locking nut.

Does that seem plausible? Anything else to think about?

Hindsight and if the kid actually asked me about it ahead of time I would have strongly suggested a Strat or Tele lol.

 

[Jarick]

Piggy backing on that, I found this Jackson that we could potentially use as a donor for parts?

They're running $250 new which honestly is cheaper than the cost of ordering a Floyd Rose and neck. Plus we could use literally all the parts needed to finish the guitar, I think...

 

[DrewJD82]

That Jackson seems like a no-brainer. Not sure if a Gotoh 1996 fits the Jackson, but that’s what I’d toss on it after donating the Floyd!

 

[Chocol8]

What is cheaper and faster? The Jackson, or starting over with a hard tail Tele body? The Jackson would probably make him happier if he routed the body for a Floyd. If he wants to play it, I would not skip on the locking nut unless the Floyd is blocked and just for looks.

 

[Eagle]

Don’t use a budget Floyd, they are trouble in the long term. Often quite quickly. The metal is not up to the job. I would say don’t use a Floyd at all until you’re comfortable with setting it up and understanding the considerations that come with it.

 

[Jarick]

Well the guitar body is already cut out so we’ll see where it goes. It’s for a graded high school project that he’s about halfway done with. He doesn’t play guitar actually, not sure why he wanted to build it. He’s not a very chatty kid although he’s really excited about the build.

From what I can see the Jackson has a 24 fret neck and the body he made is for a San Dimas with a 22 fret neck, so the Jackson won’t work.

At this point leaning towards a guitar fetish order? They have a neck cut for a locking nut for like $80, licensed Floyd rose for about the same, and have all the other parts relatively cheap. Again the guitar might not be super playable but it’s more about learning for him.

 

[laxu]

I agree with @Eagle that it would be best to use an actually good Floyd Rose. If the Original Floyd Rose is too pricy, you could see if you can find e.g Gotoh or Schaller variants for less. Ibanez Edge/Lo-Pro Edge are also good choices.

If those are too much, then the Floyd Rose Special should be good enough.

The installation would be just having the right routes, then installing two posts straight into the body in the right position. You can find tutorials on this on YT.

Something to look out for is the length of the trem block so that it fits inside the guitar rather than poking out the back of the body.

 

[Eagle]

I agree with @Eagle that it would be best to use an actually good Floyd Rose. If the Original Floyd Rose is too pricy, you could see if you can find e.g Gotoh or Schaller variants for less. Ibanez Edge/Lo-Pro Edge are also good choices.

If those are too much, then the Floyd Rose Special should be good enough.

The installation would be just having the right routes, then installing two posts straight into the body in the right position. You can find tutorials on this on YT.

Something to look out for is the length of the trem block so that it fits inside the guitar rather than poking out the back of the body.

The special is a waste of money the saddles strip out very easily.
I think it’s a crazy idea to try to build a guitar with a Floyd if you don’t know the considerations.
How much wood is required to support the posts ? How much clearance does it need on the surface to work properly? What is the typical intonation point in relation to the stud position and scale length? I could go on and if you don’t have this all worked out it’s not going to work.

 

[Chocol8]

The special is a waste of money the saddles strip out very easily.
I think it’s a crazy idea to try to build a guitar with a Floyd if you don’t know the considerations.
How much wood is required to support the posts ? How much clearance does it need on the surface to work properly? What is the typical intonation point in relation to the stud position and scale length? I could go on and if you don’t have this all worked out it’s not going to work.

It's a school project for a kid who doesn't play. It doesn't need to last long, just long enough to be graded.

 

[Eagle]

It's a school project for a kid who doesn't play. It doesn't need to last long, just long enough to be graded.

Just make a fender style because if it doesn’t work down to unforeseen circumstances it won’t get a good grade. Keep it simple and do it well. I don’t know of many players even who can actually set up a Floyd never mind install one successfully. How old?

 

[Jarick]

Again it's not really intended for heavy use. If it gets to the playability level of a Squier then that's a win.

Here's what it looked like last week:

The website he grabbed the CAD files from has two guitars on it, a standard Telecaster and this oddball Charvel San Dimas. 50/50 shot and he picked the weird one. If he would have asked at any point in time before routing out the guitar I would have recommended that he just do a hardtail or even 6-screw tremolo.

Here's the CAD files he used:
https://hub.shapertools.com/creators/5de868bfb21490000fcf3489/shares/5e55713dacd89f000ff3712d

From what I can see it's basically a San Dimas with a recessed Floyd Rose, humbucker bridge, single coil neck, likely a 22 fret neck. Now that I think about it, there's going to be a pain in the ass to drill the hole from the neck pickup area to the control cavity.

He's going to bring the body home today and we'll see what it looks like. I mean, I'm half tempted to just get a used Squier and one of those $30 Amazon Floyds and just see what he can do with that.

 

[la szum]

I mentioned elsewhere but my son is doing a high school woodworking project where he's building a guitar, and I could use some feedback.

Originally he was going to build a Strat, but he went rogue and made a Charvel type body routed for a recessed Floyd Rose. Not sure why...maybe he thought it looked cool? Anyways, I think he's got the body largely completed and is at the point we need to measure and order hardware.

I've never owned a Floyd Rose let alone assembled or built a guitar that has one so looking for any advice or feedback. I was thinking of hitting up some local used gear stores to see if there's any cheap guitars with Floyds that we could steal the parts and neck from. If not, would likely get something like a Floyd Rose Special bridge and an aftermarket Strat neck and skip the locking nut.

Does that seem plausible? Anything else to think about?

Hindsight and if the kid actually asked me about it ahead of time I would have strongly suggested a Strat or Tele lol.

Awesome! I say, let him chase his own expectations and wishes.


Parental "should haves" are brutal, as most of us recall. Encourage his "I didn't do what Dad" would have suggested
pursuits. Even if it makes for more complications. :lol

Being excited and overreaching as Teens is a good thing.


Excited to see how it progresses. Leo didn't play guitar either. Just saying.

 

[Jarick]

Okay he brought the body home. So far he did a great job with it! I can't see the glue joint at all. The outside of the body is fully cut to shape and sanded. There's basically spots for the pickups and bridge routing that are done (see the above pic) but not to depth. And the control cavity and rear tremolo area aren't done.

It's heavy as hell, solid maple...probably at least 6-7 pounds? Some of that weight should come down with additional routing and sanding though. But guessing it will still be a 4-5 pound body when finished. Luckily he's a strong kid.

I found someone selling Mighty Mite necks pre-cut for locking nuts on FB Marketplace so will probably pick one up today. Then just have to figure out which Floyd Rose to order, along with some tuners, retainer bar, etc. I'm thinking about either the Floyd Rose Special, not the best but it's not a cheap piece of crap either. If the guitar turns out amazing and he wants to start playing it then it could easily be swapped out for a nicer one down the road.

Also dug through my parts bin and found a Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid, Dimarzio Injector Neck, and lots of different pots/knobs. Likely need a short 3-way toggle switch. Otherwise we'll do some measurements, put in an order, and he can keep moving with it!

 

[Eagle]

Awesome! I say, let him chase his own expectations and wishes.


Parental "should haves" are brutal, as most of us recall. Encourage his "I didn't do what Dad" would have suggested
pursuits. Even if it makes for more complications. :lol

Being excited and overreaching as Teens is a good thing.


Excited to see how it progresses. Leo didn't play guitar either. Just saying.

Leo was an engineer reinventing the wheel not just copying something.

 

[Chocol8]

Leo was an engineer reinventing the wheel not just copying something.

He was actually an accountant turned radio tech turned inventor. I don't think he ever had any engineering training.