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prs trem or floyd rose

8932 Views 81 Replies 21 Participants Last post by  Jeff Flowerday
What are the differences and which one is better overall?
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a floyd rose is better.
Xanadu said:
a floyd rose is better.
For what tiype of playing? For example, I can't imagine a Floyd being better than a Fender for surf. But I can see the Floyd definitely winning over PRS or Fender in a dive bombing contest.
In general the Floyd Rose and derivitive systems are the best designs for tuning stability, regardless of style of play.


Tonally I think a skilled player can get pretty much anything he or she wants out of a FR.


I personally think the FR is one of the most significant developments in the evolution of the electric guitar.


It's a better mousetrap, plain and simple.

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FLOYD ROSE. WHAT ABOUT SUSTAIN????
floyds are cool for metal and have a dive a couple octaves lower than the rest, but I dont like all that locking stuff and holes in the neck...I will also put my fender tromolo to the pepsi challenge against a floyd, if anyone cares..took alot of tweeking tho :DevilGuitar:
SCREEM said:
floyds are cool for metal and have a dive a couple octaves lower than the rest, but I dont like all that locking stuff and holes in the neck...I will also put my fender tromolo to the pepsi challenge against a floyd, if anyone cares..took alot of tweeking tho :DevilGuitar:
pepsi challenge?
I'm just saying the trem on my strat stays in tune perfectly....I can dive the trem to where the srings flop around, release the arm and it's in perfect tune like a floyd. No need for all the locking stuff, honestly. The trem on my Deluxe strat has only 2 pivot posts like a floyd and admitedly stayed in tune very well but not perfect in stock form. I spent probably 10 hours in all of adjustments and tricks to get it totaly stable. Recently I tweeked an older strat with the 6 post trem and after about 2 hours I gave up on getting it perfect, it just wont do it, the tweeks helped alot and it became usable, the owner was ecstatic. If that strat where mine I would probably have spent more time on it, I'm sure I could have goten more stability out of it.

The older 6 pivot strat trems have way more sustain than my 2 pivot deluxe, I'm not sure wich I like best....perfect pitch with less sustain or great sustain and tuning problems....ugh!
I have heard the claim about a "tweaked" Fender style trem having similar tuning stability to a Floyd Rose.


Having tried a number of these tweaked Strats, I have yet to see this claim verified. Generally with normal playing (not even USING the trem) a standard trem will be out by the end of the set. When I check my locking guitars after a set they're almost "dead nuts" in tune.

Regardless of how much tweaking, how many potions and lotions you apply to the nut and so on, I just don't buy it.


Oh and that old chestnut about Floyds being ok for metal but nothing else is just nonsense.
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I posted a link on the forum where someone gets into details on improving strat trem stability, that person also adds a link to a video that goes into further details...folowing those ideas my strat stays in tune perfectly no matter how much wanking I do. I also realize that some ppl hate strats with a passion because of the stability issue and a may as well be trying to convince them that shyte don't stink....no really, here smell it!!! :zzz:

here is what i did:

step one: adjust the spring claw tension so there is more tention on the base side, you will need to retune to pitch several times and tweek for the amount of floatyou like. This tweek is the biggest factor in improving the tuning stability and I think it should be done to all trem's even floyds. It just makes sence to have pressure evenly distributed on the pivot posts even if it's only to prevent imature wear on on the trem.



step two: use some kind of lubricant on the nut, string tree(if you have the 6 pivot trem, do not use the string tree for the wound strings) and pivots. I use phil woods waterproof bearing grease(the green stuff) its better than oil or pencil lead but it dries in a week and has to be re-applyed often.



step three: this tweek is the final step that garantees floyd like wanking. Use a G string and tie it around the saddles to clamp them together. this is a PITA the sring kept breaking on me from over tightening, eventually I got it right.

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" I also realize that some ppl hate strats with a passion because of the stability issue and a may as well be trying to convince them that shyte don't stink....no really, here smell it!!! "


Actually I love Strats. I always keep one in my active guitars.


The trems suck though. All of the tweaks you describe above are pretty much common knowledge and yes, if you do these things you will difinitely improve the stability of a standard Strat trem.

I still maintain that it will not approach the bullet proof tuning stability of a properly installed and set up FR.

Plus, people are always complaining about the "hassle" of a FR. Well, it's nowhere near the hassle of all the tricks and manipulations you go through with your strat trem.

I'll go one step further. Even a hard tail won't stay in tune like a FR will.


People seem to have a real predjudice and closed mind about FR bridges.


I rarely use mine for dive bombs. For the most part it's for vibrato on chords or harmonic intervals. Even if I don't take the bar out of the case, it stays in tune better than ANY guitar without a double locking system.
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Trem stability is based on the setup of the guitar and the trem. Alot of guys use Fender trems, and Wilkensons and totally abuse them and never have tuning problems. The Floyd and PRS trems are just a couple of the different types of trems available. They are based on the same tech really, with very little differences, and they dont differ from the Fender design much at all, when compared to much higher tech trem designs that have come out over the past 25 years. It all comes down to what you are used to. It also comes down to style too, alot of people use the trem differently than other people, and that style difference usually will contribute to which trem they prefer. To me the expert of the trem has always been Satch. When he was a hippy guitar teacher in da Bay, one of his lessons was on trem use. It went something like this; Put your hand on the bar. Turn counter clock wise. Put bar in case. Close case...........
Use what you like, not what other people tell you to like..............
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I made a vid, but the sound is not in sync for me once uploaded to youtube...oh well, please excuse the ferocious wanking :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-WaE4-4Or8
I'm not a floyd equiped guitar hater, just making a point that strat trems can have fun too :D
Milkman said:
" I also realize that some ppl hate strats with a passion because of the stability issue and a may as well be trying to convince them that shyte don't stink....no really, here smell it!!! "


Actually I love Strats. I always keep one in my active guitars.


The trems suck though. All of the tweaks you describe above are pretty much common knowledge and yes, if you do these things you will difinitely improve the stability of a standard Strat trem.

I still maintain that it will not approach the bullet proof tuning stability of a properly installed and set up FR.

Plus, people are always complaining about the "hassle" of a FR. Well, it's nowhere near the hassle of all the tricks and manipulations you go through with your strat trem.

I'll go one step further. Even a hard tail won't stay in tune like a FR will.


People seem to have a real predjudice and closed mind about FR bridges.


I rarely use mine for dive bombs. For the most part it's for vibrato on chords or harmonic intervals. Even if I don't take the bar out of the case, it stays in tune better than ANY guitar without a double locking system.
my comment on shyte don't stink was not directed to anyone here per say MilkMan just alot of ppl hate them because of the trem issue, you seem to me like a verry knoledgable guy and i wanted to show a strat trem that can match a floyd in tuning stability is all :rockon2: It's hilarious to see ppl play my strat and examine it like there is some voodoo hidden somewhere :D

Yes a floyd is the most stable trem system out there period. I will never argue that.
Here is my prs trem. I like it but if you want the metal crazy ass whammy i reccomend the floyd. The prs is comparable to the strat style trem but it has a locking mechanism so the strings stay in tune.
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Floyd Rose

The "Original' Floyds are a little brash sounding to my ears.....I have a Hamer Chaparall loaded with one and the sustain is not as good as the Schaller made for Hamer Floyds which are made of thicker steel on the baseplate. I also have a Malmsteen with a standard Fender trem and as long as I keep the nut lubed its fine (not perfect) . For absolute tuning stability you cant beat a Floyd Rose.....ugly and cumbersome as it is.

Ray
I have a washburn wonderbar on one of my flying v's and I love it. It stays in tune and works flawlessly. I also have a older Kahler Floyd style on an old BC Rich of mine that works incredibly well and stay in tune great.

My one strat has a roller nut and I've tweaked the spring setup up (6 screw trem) and it stays in tune very well. I run four springs on the trems I have that use springs and I have found that this helps as well. My second strat is pretty much stock except I use a dry graphite to lubricate the nut and it stays in tune almost as well as the rest of them.

I don't currently have a true Floyd on anything but have owned 4 guitars in the past that did have them. For me it was about a 50/50 shot. Two stayed in tune excellent and 2 would still go out of tune no matter what I seemed to do to them.

Another question is what gauge of strings are people using? From personal experience and talking to other players, lighter strings are sometimes the culprits as well as they seem to stretch more. I play pretty much 10-52 on my guitars (one strat has 11's) and they stay good. I went back to 9's to try them again and found on my strat that tuning became an issue.

From a sustain standpoint I know the general thought is the strat trem sustains better, but from my personal experience I would argue that. My BC Rich sustains till the cows come home.
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A floyd is an awesome tool, and I wouldn't but any other kind of trem on any guitar I own.
SCREEM said:
I'm just saying the trem on my strat stays in tune perfectly....I can dive the trem to where the srings flop around, release the arm and it's in perfect tune like a floyd. No need for all the locking stuff, honestly. The trem on my Deluxe strat has only 2 pivot posts like a floyd and admitedly stayed in tune very well but not perfect in stock form. I spent probably 10 hours in all of adjustments and tricks to get it totaly stable. Recently I tweeked an older strat with the 6 post trem and after about 2 hours I gave up on getting it perfect, it just wont do it, the tweeks helped alot and it became usable, the owner was ecstatic. If that strat where mine I would probably have spent more time on it, I'm sure I could have goten more stability out of it.

The older 6 pivot strat trems have way more sustain than my 2 pivot deluxe, I'm not sure wich I like best....perfect pitch with less sustain or great sustain and tuning problems....ugh!
Sorry, I don't believe you. If you have the answer for keeping a Strat trem in tune after divebombing, you would be selling that info but most likely Eddie would have figured it out first.

Floyd Rose is the bomb! :rockon2:
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