Gotoh floyd bushing

[Cederick]

Does Warmoth drill for a Gotoh floyd bushing if I choose the "send insert" option? Or do they only do OFR and shaller?

 

[Cagey]

The Gotoh, Schaller, and OFR all use 10mm bushings, so it doesn't matter.

 

[Cederick]

Don't just assume stuff, the Gotoh bushing is 11.3mm  :doh:

 

[Cagey]

I don't assume stuff. I looked at the drawings on their site, and measured a set of Gotoh bushings I have here.

But, you're right. Your stuff is different (or mine is). Didn't we talk about this before? Maybe it was someone on another site.

Anyway, I'd call them if I were you. I'm sure they can do it because I can and I don't have nearly the shop they do, but there may be an additional charge. You'll also probably have to put a note on the order, unless you order while you're on the phone with them.

 

[Cederick]

Ok, I'll do that once I get around to do the order, when and if it's time hehe

 

[Cederick]

Apparently not  :sad: mailed, and got this back:

"Hello,

The Gotoh Floyd studs are in no way compatible with any of our Floyd routs.
Due to their size, they would make any of our mounting positions unstable."

I don't know if they misunderstood my question, it was if they could drill the sligthly larger hole, but I guess they just don't do that after reading this. CNC machines,you know.

Anyway, if I just ordered the body with OFR studs I could probably use those for the Gotoh bridge anyway.

 

[Cagey]

Anyway, if I just ordered the body with OFR studs I could probably use those for the Gotoh bridge anyway.

Not if they've drilled a 10mm hole and you have 11mm parts. You could split the body trying to force them in. Then, if OFR bushings are installed to prevent that, will the internal threads match your studs?

Here's an idea. Why not just use a supported bridge? Is there something about the Gotoh part that forces you to use that? Just about anything can be made to work if you throw enough money at it, but why fight so hard? All Floyds are a pain in the ass to install, set up and live with, so there's not a whole lot of reason to pick one over the other. Go with the flow.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I'm am a Gotoh floyd user, and I must concur with Cagey.

Nothing wrong with either unit in my opinion.  Back in '96 when my TFS6 was built, I opted for the Gotoh over the OFR simply on the principle that I didn't like the bar assembly that the OFR's went to as they were wobbly and would always loosen up after playing a few wiggles here & there.  The Gotoh had a teflon busing, and still does, that I prefered between the two options.

Nowadays, the OFR's are a viable option as they have addressed this issue and improved upon the abilitiy to retain the tension of the bar assembly.  My last OFR was my Warmoth Z that got stolen and I never had any issue with it whatsoever. 

I'l be getting OFR's in both 6 & 7 string versions for now on.  No substitutes as long as I continue to use a double locking setup.

 

[Fat Pete]

I don't think Cederick was suggesting trying to screw Gotoh studs into OFR bushings; I think he's thinking of using the OFR bushings and studs with the Gotoh bridge. If the stud spacing is close enough and the bearing part of the stud is within tolerance in terms of diameter, that sounds like a plausible idea to me.

Unfortunately I've probably spent a total of about 15 minutes playing Floyd equipped guitars and have zero experience of setting them up or installing them so plausible to me isn't saying much.

So, why wouldn't it work?

 

[Cederick]

Exactly! The Gotoh stud spacing is 74mm and the OFR is like 73.999 mm så it shouldn't make much difference.

I like the bar of the Gotoh much more, I don't wanna have the OFR bar loose because I'm afraid it will become sloppy.
But the Gotoh bar feels good when being loosely screwed on.

I like the OFR of my previous Warmoth build so I might actually just go with it.
Once my floyd was setup I haven't had much problem with it, but I first set it up during winter, so when the summer hit I had to make some adjustments to the neck and springs. It's not that much of work, and I think it's totally worth the effort! I wouldn't get a vintage tremolo anytime soon, I really don't like those. At top a Wilkinson but I haven't tried those out yet

 

[Cagey]

I don't think Cederick was suggesting trying to screw Gotoh studs into OFR bushings; I think he's thinking of using the OFR bushings and studs with the Gotoh bridge. If the stud spacing is close enough and the bearing part of the stud is within tolerance in terms of diameter, that sounds like a plausible idea to me.

So, why wouldn't it work?

Warmoth will drill for certain setups. When you start mixing parts, all bets are off. Not all studs will fit into all bushings. Not all studs are machined the same way. Bushing and stud threads can be different. Stud spacing is only one dimension you need to be concerned with. The height and pivot point may be different.

If you do enough research, you may find you can get away with certain things. But, "enough" is the operative word there. A lot of tears have been shed and a lot of bodies shifted though eBay due to poor choices on hardware selection. Best bet is to not tempt fate. Using a particular system the way the designers designed it to be used is the best chance for success.

Maybe I missed it or don't remember seeing it or have lost track, but why are we trying to force this potential mismatch? Nothing has been purchased yet, right? If not, what would be wrong with doing the job properly?

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Exactly! The Gotoh stud spacing is 74mm and the OFR is like 73.999 mm så it shouldn't make much difference.

I like the bar of the Gotoh much more, I don't wanna have the OFR bar loose because I'm afraid it will become sloppy.
But the Gotoh bar feels good when being loosely screwed on.

I like the OFR of my previous Warmoth build so I might actually just go with it.
Once my floyd was setup I haven't had much problem with it, but I first set it up during winter, so when the summer hit I had to make some adjustments to the neck and springs. It's not that much of work, and I think it's totally worth the effort! I wouldn't get a vintage tremolo anytime soon, I really don't like those. At top a Wilkinson but I haven't tried those out yet

You may consider adding a Tremol-No (www.tremolno.com).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiZnipHc1ec

You can lock it in hardtail mode when not in use, like when it's in the case.
Just doing this alone has save me the headache that you're dealing with.  Even when un-cased just sitting there in the house, I leave it locked and the climate fluctuations don't make it all wonky.

When it's unlocked in freely floating mode, you don't even know it's there, completely unnoticeable.

You can also lock it for dive-only mode, als EVH.

When in Dive Only or Hard Tail mode, you can also detune the low E fine tuner to D.  (I don't need no D-Tuna!)

Seriously, it's one of the best things to happen to a floating trem, it retrofits in a non-invasive way so if you don't like it, there's no problem going back.

 

[Cederick]

Yeah I do consider one, but I think Warmoth should supply those!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Well, considering that it's a fairly new unit on the market, under 5 years, and a very specific function, its market is rather limited, which means that demand is low, below the threshold that Warmoth would be required to bulk order.  They would have to see a perceived demand for them, and quite frankly, they're available for less through Musician's Friend ($49.99) than most of the retail brick & morter music stores are stickering them for ($75) 

Even though I'd be ecstatic if Warmoth carried them, I understand that it would take far longer than reasonable to move them. 

 

[Orpheo]

you could use OFR studs in the guitar for the gotoh floyd unit. but I'd rather ream out the stud holes and use the gotoh studs. Not really that much of a big deal.