Floyd Rose Anxiety

[Michael Mars]

Having a Floyd Rose Tremelo creates so much anxiety for me. I want the benifits but I'm scared to death to buy a guitar that has one. My freind and guitar mentor says he stays away form them because they're too much trouble. I'm just so intimidated by the whole idea of owning one. I heard it's a real pain to change strings, and even more of a pain to change tunings.

Are they as horrible as I think they are?

Are they only for professional musicians that have their own guitar techs following them around?

So many great guitarists use them

 

[HomespunEffects]

There’s nothing to fear but also little to gain. Fixed bridge is where it’s at, man.

 

[PLX]

Having a Floyd Rose Tremelo creates so much anxiety for me. I want the benifits but I'm scared to death to buy a guitar that has one. My freind and guitar mentor says he stays away form them because they're too much trouble. I'm just so intimidated by the whole idea of owning one. I heard it's a real pain to change strings, and even more of a pain to change tunings.

Are they as horrible as I think they are?

Are they only for professional musicians that have their own guitar techs following them around?

So many great guitarists use them

Just make sure to get a German-made (Schaller®) Floyd.

 

[Fishbulb]

Having a Floyd Rose Tremelo creates so much anxiety for me. I want the benifits but I'm scared to death to buy a guitar that has one. My freind and guitar mentor says he stays away form them because they're too much trouble. I'm just so intimidated by the whole idea of owning one. I heard it's a real pain to change strings, and even more of a pain to change tunings.

Are they as horrible as I think they are?

Are they only for professional musicians that have their own guitar techs following them around?

So many great guitarists use them

Buy the best quality guitar with a good Floyd you can get, learn everything about it that you can and sell it if you don't like it. It's just another tool in the box. My first and only electric for years had a really bad single-locking Floyd so I was made to learn about how to work with it. Certainly nothing to have anxiety about although I understand!

 

[JasonE]

I wouldn't be too afraid of the Floyd. If you are not good with setting them up get someone that is to do the setup on it. Once you get it setup as long as you don't change brand or gauge of strings it will be pretty close to bulletproof. That is the beauty of the Floyd. They can be a PITA to get setup correctly but once you get it here it will stay good for a very long time. You usually only have to adjust them if you change a variable like the string brand or gauge.

 

[gearJunkie]

Thread 'Dear Floyd Rose: I f**king hate you.' https://thegearforum.com/threads/dear-floyd-rose-i-f-king-hate-you.1075/

 

[DrewJD82]

There’s a learning curve for sure, but not an impossible or even a challenging one. If you can setup a Strat trem to float, you can set up a Floyd. 6 strings at tension VS 3-5 springs at tension with a bridge being the balance point, ya just work your way back and forth until you have balance.

There’s a ton of tricks to speed up the process of string changes, but that’s contingent on the person changing strings realizing the importance of that balance between the strings and springs. I never recommend Floyd for beginners but think more people would appreciate them if they spent a couple hours watching some vids and fiddling with one just to see how the springs and strings react when tweaking them.

 

[JasonE]

There’s a learning curve for sure, but not an impossible or even a challenging one. If you can setup a Strat trem to float, you can set up a Floyd. 6 strings at tension VS 3-5 springs at tension with a bridge being the balance point, ya just work your way back and forth until you have balance.

There’s a ton of tricks to speed up the process of string changes, but that’s contingent on the person changing strings realizing the importance of that balance between the strings and springs. I never recommend Floyd for beginners but think more people would appreciate them if they spent a couple hours watching some vids and fiddling with one just to see how the springs and strings react when tweaking them.

To me, this is the easiest part. The hardest part of setting up a Floyd is intonating it. I don't use any special tools to make that easier. I figured out a way to do it long before any of the fancy tools were created to make it easier. I have thought about buying some of those tools a few times but I can do it the way I have been doing it for years and not spend the money on the fancy tools. I am pretty sure I can do it faster without the tools at this point as well since I am used to doing it the way I do it.

 

[DrewJD82]

To me, this is the easiest part. The hardest part of setting up a Floyd is intonating it. I don't use any special tools to make that easier. I figured out a way to do it long before any of the fancy tools were created to make it easier. I have thought about buying some of those tools a few times but I can do it the way I have been doing it for years and not spend the money on the fancy tools. I am pretty sure I can do it faster without the tools at this point as well since I am used to doing it the way I do it.

Yeah, I have one of those Red Bishops but have forgotten to use the damn thing every time I’ve intonated a Floyd.

The most common things I see pop up on Reddit regularly, with a “Help!” request added, is people changing gauges without realizing what that’ll do and people getting stuck in the tuning game, where they keep tuning low to high and can never get the trem balanced.

 

[Eagle]

The frt1000 is ok these days. A good place to start would be a MIM Charvel . Buy second hand and you can flip it if you don’t like it. It works. It’s not difficult to live with once you get used to the basics. Set up properly and you simply won’t go out of tune and it’s easier to restring than a bigsby.

 

[norminal]

If an 11-year-old me could figure out how to set up, adjust, and maintain a Floyd Rose bridge, you should be fine.

Sure, it requires a bit more effort than a non-locking bridge, but with the wealth of tutorials, videos, and resources out there, you’ll master it in no time.

 

[Dogboy]

I’m a pretty dumb hillbilly and I was setting up 7 string Ibanez Edges back in the 90s. In other words, it ain’t that hard.

 

[joezlo]

... its something new to learn like anything else.

The musts:

Don't get a fully floating bridge - make sure you can lock it so it can't pull up (trem rests on the body, or you have a trem stop in the spring cavity)

Have a 12" ruler around to put under the bridge when you change strings so it keeps stability, if you're going to take them off all at once (I always do them 1 at a time to maintain spring tension as best as possible)

& the secret ingredient is the right strings! (I swear some work better with Floyds than others!) For me: d'Addario's for the win.

 

[Frodebro]

I bought my first Floyd equipped guitar in the late eighties, and there was no internet to turn to for guidance. As noted, the initial setup is a bit more involved than a standard trem bridge, but it’s not nuclear physics.

 

[OrganicZed]

Yes, changing tunings, intonating, or changing string gauges are all annoying, but not impossible to do on your own. Changing strings isn't a big deal so long as you either block the bridge or work one string at a time.

The advantage is that they have a range and degree of sensitivity that is not matched by single locking setups. They are also very stable once setup.

 

[la szum]

Having a Floyd Rose Tremelo creates so much anxiety for me. I want the benifits but I'm scared to death to buy a guitar that has one. My freind and guitar mentor says he stays away form them because they're too much trouble. I'm just so intimidated by the whole idea of owning one. I heard it's a real pain to change strings, and even more of a pain to change tunings.

Are they as horrible as I think they are?

Are they only for professional musicians that have their own guitar techs following them around?

So many great guitarists use them

You really need to know what type of music you play, and want to learn?

It is ideal (and necessary) for some styles/artists.... and a total hangup and
obstacle for other styles/artists.

 

[Eagle]

You really need to know what type of music you play, and want to learn?

It is ideal (and necessary) for some styles/artists.... and a total hangup and
obstacle for other styles/artists.

In what way is it an obstacle or hangup?

 

[TSJMajesty]

Assuming by "Floyd", you mean 'locking tremolo', I have some experience with one on a friend's guitar, and from how much of a PITA it was for me, a total novice, to change his strings, and compared to my EBMM guitars, that all have full-floating, non-locking trems..., I can literally go nuts on the trem on any of them, and only 1 doesn't come back in tune, and that's because 1 string is hanging up somewhere. I'm sure I could get that one to retain its tuning too, but I just don't bother with it.

The Majesties and my JP all have roller saddles, and my JR Cutlass has a rounded saddle of some type, so I'd imagine that helps, along with a properly-cut nut, locking tuners, and using lube on the saddles & nut slots when I change strings.

So my stance is, unless you gig and play like EVH, I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

[Eagle]

Note the word “special “.

 

[DrewJD82]

In what way is it an obstacle or hangup?

In the same way options in a Fractal unit are an obstacle or hangup for some people. There's a learning curve one has to go through in order to use it properly and without giving them a headache. For some, the juice ain't worth the squeeze, no matter how easily you, I or anyone could set one up. It's not so much the Floyd itself, just the barrier to entry.