Which bridge??

[line6man]

I've decided to try my hand at building a body. I'm having a guy on TalkBass source the woods and prepare the blank for me, then I'll be building my dream Strat from it.

I am currently undecided on a bridge.
I want a recessed, fully floating trem, so I'm considering a Floyd Rose.
What is the difference between the Original and Schaller licensed trems? It appears that the Schaller has shorter lock screws, a thicker base, and woodscrew style studs, but what does this mean in terms of performance?

What other options do I have? Marko recommended the Wilkinson trem. Has anyone recessed theirs? Who even sells a routing template?

 

[animal control]

What other options do I have? Marko recommended the Wilkinson trem. Has anyone recessed theirs? Who even sells a routing template?

I just finished a recessed Wilkinson build. What I was looking for was fully floating with some room to pull up. My trem use is pretty subtle but I sometimes use it to bend notes that are already bent. I don't dive. For my use it is perfect.

Stewmac has the drawings, don't know about templates.

 

[ORCRiST]

I've decided to try my hand at building a body. I'm having a guy on TalkBass source the woods and prepare the blank for me, then I'll be building my dream Strat from it.

I am currently undecided on a bridge.
I want a recessed, fully floating trem, so I'm considering a Floyd Rose.
What is the difference between the Original and Schaller licensed trems? It appears that the Schaller has shorter lock screws, a thicker base, and woodscrew style studs, but what does this mean in terms of performance?

What other options do I have? Marko recommended the Wilkinson trem. Has anyone recessed theirs? Who even sells a routing template?

First off, be aware that Schaller actually manufactures the OFR bridges for Floyd Rose.

IMO (and I own/use both OFR and a Schaller FR trems) that the Schaller design is superior because of the features you mentioned,
notably, the shorter string lock screws - the studs are exactly the same (at least they are on my Schaller FR). Performace-wise they
are identical. I believe that Stew Mac sells routing templates for the FR.

HTH,

ORCRiST

 

[pabloman]

Also the Schaller is cast while the OFR is solid steel. The Schaller supposedly sounds warmer because of this. I have no personal experience with this to say for sure. Just because the same company makes them does not mean they are equal or even in the same ball park. Hell the same company made the Chevette that made the Corvette. So don't let the origin cloud your judgement. John Suhr prefers the tone of the Gotoh Floyd. I had one and it was great. I didn't compare it to the others though. Also keep in mind the lock screw length when routing a recess. The long pocket looks dorky with short screws.

 

[line6man]

I believe that Stew Mac sells routing templates for the FR.

StewMac sells a template that works for either bridge, and a dual template for the recess.

 

[line6man]

Ok, I ordered my routing templates from StewMac, so I've ruled out the Wilkinson bridge. My options are the Original Floyd or the Schaller, because those are the templates I'll have.

So far it looks like the Schaller is the better bridge?

 

[t.coyle]

If you prefer the way the demensions of the Schaller Floyd Rose but you like solid steel construction of the OFR there is also the Schaller Lockmeister Floyd Rose. I do not think it is available in America yet but if you had a friend over seas they might be able to buy one and send it to you but that could get expensive.

http://guitar-tremolo.com/hp316928/Artikel-Liste.htm

Then there is a new Tremolo from Ola Strandberg Guitarworks called the EGS Pro Tremolo

It is kind of like a Floyd Rose-Ibanez ZR Tremolo but it uses pin bearings instead of ball bearings which are sapposed to be near impossible to wear out. I think the construction is aluminum and it can also be used in two different positions, one position makes work more like a Bigsby and the other position is like a Floyd Rose-Ibanez ZR. It can be used in a headless guitar or a regular neck, its also very light so it would reduce the weight of your instrument if that is a concern. On the negative side it would probably be more expensive than a OFR or a Schaller Floyd Rose and I think you have to modify a floyd rose route a little bit to make it work.

Here is a demo of the prototype:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHblk76fiI8[/youtube]  

And here is a link to the Ola Strandberg Guitarworks site:
[youtube=425,350]http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/[/youtube]

If money wasnt an issue I would go with the EGS Pro Tremolo personally, though the sustain block looks kind of whimpy and you might not like the tone that the all aluminum construction with the normal sized sustain block. You could get a custom replacement brass sustain block from http://www.killerguitarcomponents.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=68 to help with the sustain and sound(If that is your preffered block type) though that would go against the selling point of it being lightweight(It would still be lighter than an OFR or Schaller with a brass sustain block though).

He is also working on a very simple screw mechanism that can lock the trem to act like a hardtail, to float, or dive only. If you want that kind of flexibility.

 

[line6man]

Does anyone have a black Schaller Floyd for sale, by any chance?

 

[kboman]

Cool, I was wondering the other week how the EGS was getting on. Good to see it in actions!

 

[ORCRiST]

Does anyone have a black Schaller Floyd for sale, by any chance?

No, but the last time I checked - Warmoth had the cheapest prices on the 'net for Floyds...

ORC