Yet Another Floyd Rose Question

[JaySwear]

Graphtech is having a sale on most (maybe all?) their products now. i was looking at the floyd with string saver saddles (LOVE the string savers on my other 2 guitars now) but it was a good $40 more than your classic floyd. now it's down to $4 more than warmoth's floyd. definitely in my price range for project 3 (this holiday season's project).

ramble ramble. my question. it has a string spacing of 54 mm. warmoth's has a string spacing of 54 mm. i realize how small that is, but a floyd that doesn't fit properly has the ability to be nothing but problems. would i have trouble with this? or would i be just fine? it looks like i'll have enough play room, but if there's one thing i know nothing about it's floyds (know how to string them and push the bar down to make funny noises, nothing more). thanks for any help!!! i want to make sure i'd be alright before buying this since i'd be buying it WAY before the project was really getting started

EDIT: the links

graphtech

http://www.graphtech.com/fckeditor/userfiles/File/LB63specs.pdf

warmoth

http://www.warmoth.com:80/Original-Floyd-Rosereg-Tremolo-Chrome-P117C693.aspx

 

[JaySwear]

i hate to do this but

BUMP

looking for that person who's got the know-how with floyds

 

[ORCRiST]

Well I can't speak to the string spacing issue... and I don't know what 'string saver' saddles are. But if it was me, I'd stick with a OFR or Schaller FR. Warmoth sells both. I've heard too many horror stories about 'Licensed' FR trems.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The Graphtech isn't an OFR.  It is a licensed drop-in retrofit replacement.  Like mentioned above, they are not to be confused with the OFR.  The biggest differences between the licensed and the Original are the quality of the metal, causing tuning stability problems due the dulling of the knife edges.

 

[The Norwegian Guy]

U could just buy the saddles, which I atend to do soon

 

[DangerousR6]

The string spacing on an OFR is 53mm, that is what Warmoth sells... :icon_thumright:

 

[JaySwear]

The string spacing on an OFR is 53mm, that is what Warmoth sells... :icon_thumright:

woops! typo in my first post. i meant warmoth's was 53mm and graphtech's was 54mm. thanks! anyway i didn't even think about graphtech's floyd rose being licensed and not original (seems like that would have been obvious... but no) so it looks like i'm back to the drawing board. i hate how expensive floyds are! it's like a whole new third of a build. with my hardtails it was always a big amount for the body ($250 to $400), big amount for the neck ($200 to $350) and big amount for the hardware and pickups ($150 to $250). and now i've got a $200 floyd to throw in there too. oh well. if it works then i'll definitely be happy with it!

thinking more and more about going with a 24.75" scale neck with a floyd. any opinions on that? the lessened string tension might be nice, but for some reason i'm thinking it wouldn't be as stable tuning. could just be something i'm making up though. can't really see why it would be less stable rationally, but that was my gut feeling when i started thinking about the idea. might make for a very comfortable neck (since i'll be going 59 roundback contour as well)

 

[DangerousR6]

The string spacing on an OFR is 53mm, that is what Warmoth sells... :icon_thumright:

woops! typo in my first post. i meant warmoth's was 53mm and graphtech's was 54mm. thanks! anyway i didn't even think about graphtech's floyd rose being licensed and not original (seems like that would have been obvious... but no) so it looks like i'm back to the drawing board. i hate how expensive floyds are! it's like a whole new third of a build. with my hardtails it was always a big amount for the body ($250 to $400), big amount for the neck ($200 to $350) and big amount for the hardware and pickups ($150 to $250). and now i've got a $200 floyd to throw in there too. oh well. if it works then i'll definitely be happy with it!

thinking more and more about going with a 24.75" scale neck with a floyd. any opinions on that? the lessened string tension might be nice, but for some reason i'm thinking it wouldn't be as stable tuning. could just be something i'm making up though. can't really see why it would be less stable rationally, but that was my gut feeling when i started thinking about the idea. might make for a very comfortable neck (since i'll be going 59 roundback contour as well)

I doubt 1mm over the length of the string spacing would hurt anything if you really wanted to use them. 1mm = .0396" divide that by 6 is only a difference of .0066" per string. I don't see that causing any issues.. 53mm is a string spacing if 2.093 or 2 3/32", 54mm is a string spacing of 2.125 or 2 1/8".

 

[ORCRiST]

I hate how expensive floyds are! it's like a whole new third of a build. with my hardtails it was always a big amount for the body ($250 to $400), big amount for the neck ($200 to $350) and big amount for the hardware and pickups ($150 to $250). and now i've got a $200 floyd to throw in there too. oh well. if it works then i'll definitely be happy with it!

thinking more and more about going with a 24.75" scale neck with a floyd. any opinions on that? the lessened string tension might be nice, but for some reason i'm thinking it wouldn't be as stable tuning. could just be something i'm making up though. can't really see why it would be less stable rationally, but that was my gut feeling when i started thinking about the idea. might make for a very comfortable neck (since i'll be going 59 roundback contour as well)

HA! For pickups and hardware, I'm in the $600+ dollar range for my build, count your lucky stars!  :icon_biggrin: As far as string tension goes, I doubt shortening the scale would be nearly as effective as the amount of tremolo springs you have connecting the trem and the bridge claw, and the position of the claw itself would.

 

[elgravos]

a bit late in the game but I would point out that I fail to see any mechanical benefit to the graphtech floyd.  If nothing else, it seems to add a stress point to the string where previously there was none.  On an OFR, the string rests flush against the saddle.  The point of stress is the actual string block - that's where the breakage happens - and it's pretty well designed to minimize this in the first place.  This graphtech version seems to add an extra "sharp ridge" (in the manner of a TOM type bridge) after the string block.  Looks to me like the string is now stressed in 2 places, even if one of them is well lubricated, and therefore twice as likely to fail.  Graphtech makes perfect sense on a regular trem or hardtail where there is a lot of friction against an angled surface at the saddle.  I use them to good effect on 2 guitars.  However, on the floyd it just seems like a gimmic.  The whole point of a double locking trem is that there is no friction at the bridge and therefore the type of string breakage that a graphtech saddle is designed to mitigate doesn't even occur in the first place.  I would save the money and buy a (better) OFR of schaller floyd.

My 2 cents.

 

[DangerousR6]

a bit late in the game but I would point out that I fail to see any mechanical benefit to the graphtech floyd.  If nothing else, it seems to add a stress point to the string where previously there was none.  On an OFR, the string rests flush against the saddle.  The point of stress is the actual string block - that's where the breakage happens - and it's pretty well designed to minimize this in the first place.  This graphtech version seems to add an extra "sharp ridge" (in the manner of a TOM type bridge) after the string block.  Looks to me like the string is now stressed in 2 places, even if one of them is well lubricated, and therefore twice as likely to fail.  Graphtech makes perfect sense on a regular trem or hardtail where there is a lot of friction against an angled surface at the saddle.  I use them to good effect on 2 guitars.  However, on the floyd it just seems like a gimmic.  The whole point of a double locking trem is that there is no friction at the bridge and therefore the type of string breakage that a graphtech saddle is designed to mitigate doesn't even occur in the first place.  I would save the money and buy a (better) OFR of schaller floyd.

My 2 cents.

I think your seeing something totally different than what he's talking about. These are the saddles from a Graphtech Floyd, they look harmless to me.... :dontknow:

 

[JaySwear]

i think i will end up going with a plain old OFR. although i really don't think the graphtech's would be sharp at all. it's almost a plastic sort of material on their string saver saddles, and it's not filed too sharply.

but i'm kind of glad this thread was revived though, i was wondering... whats the difference between an OFR and a Schaller? they look really similar. i read a ton of reviews and most reviewers said "OFR = bright, Schaller = darker"

any truth to that? any other reasons i might want one over the other?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The OFR might be brighter because it's a harder metal.  Everything I've ever read said the OFR is better for no other reason than the quality of the metal.  If the knife edge dulls, that causes resistance in returning to the "zero" position, hence the tuning issues.  The whole point of a double locking trem is that it stay in tune no matter what.

With the licensed Floyd's, you don't know what aspect of the trem is being licensed and what is the licensee's addition.

 

[Kaoskadosk]

The OFR might be brighter because it's a harder metal.  Everything I've ever read said the OFR is better for no other reason than the quality of the metal.  If the knife edge dulls, that causes resistance in returning to the "zero" position, hence the tuning issues.  The whole point of a double locking trem is that it stay in tune no matter what.

With the licensed Floyd's, you don't know what aspect of the trem is being licensed and what is the licensee's addition.

Actually Schaller is the company which produces the top-quality Floyd Roses. OFRs have been made by various companies throughout the years, but originally it was Schaller. All Schaller Floys are made in germany with top standards. So basically, Schaller Floyd = Original Floyd, the real Original.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Like Ray's, Famous Rays, Original Ray's, and Original Famous Ray's?

 

[Mor Paul]

Like Ray's, Famous Rays, Original Ray's, and Original Famous Ray's?

Well, then we changed our name to The Originals, but we found out there was another band called the Originals, so we changed it to the New Originals. They changed their name, so we could have gone back to The Originals, but we decided no.

 

[elgravos]

Fair enough, looks like they don't create an extra angle, rather it's simply putting a silicone padding where they would normally touch metal.  Still don't think they add much  to the mix though as the graphtec material contact area is not really the point of failure...

Schaller is (was?) the contract manufacturer for OFRs - OFR doesn't have a factory.  I've always used schallers so can't say if they sound different or not.  One thing is for sure, the Schaller's are very well built compared to all other licensed floyds i've seen out there.  Could well be that metarials are different hence a different sound.

 

[ORCRiST]

Schaller is (was?) the contract manufacturer for OFRs - OFR doesn't have a factory.  I've always used schallers so can't say if they sound different or not.  One thing is for sure, the Schaller's are very well built compared to all other licensed floyds i've seen out there.  Could well be that metarials are different hence a different sound.

Correct. Schaller IS the manufacturer for FR. Schaller FRs and OFRs should, for all intents and purposes, be identical as far as casting, metalurgy, quality, etc. The only difference I can tell is that Schallers are a tad more compact and refined. I really like the fact that Schaller FRs have a smaller 'footprint'. Looking at an OFR string lock screw, they're too damn long IMO and require a larger body cavity to be routed. Besides, the Schallers are slightly more expensive - so they must be better, right?  :laughing7:

BTW - Stew Mac sells just the string saver saddles for OFRs, so buy a Schaller and add the GraphTech saddles! Although, it appears the saddles are cast zinc and not steel, FYI.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Electric_guitar_saddles/String_Saver_Classics_Saddles_for_Floyd_Rose.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=254

ORC

 

[pabloman]

Actually there are several differences between the Schaller and the OFR. The Schaller is also a licensed floyd. There is a common misconception that just because a trem is licensed that is inferior. John Suhr feels that the Gotoh floyd is the best there is. I don't know of too many people that have his credentials. The main differences between a schaller and an ofr are the materials, string lock screws and the knife edges. The schaller is die cast the ofr is steel, the Schaller has shorter screws sticking out of it, and the Schaller also has hardened steel inserts at the pivot points.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Licensed can many or one aspect of an original.  If we don't know what aspect is licensed it gets tricky.  I certainly don't believe licensed equals inferior.  I'm on a Warmoth forum afterall.