[BlueRocker]

The ad said it was modified - either kill switches or space invaders

 

[MarkM]

I have a 89 maple neck through Carvin with a turned up headstock , Oh La La!

Ebony fret board, HSH splittable humbuckers that stays in tune really well.

Schaller licenced FR, made in Germany.

 

[Roryfan]

I had an EVH Striped Series with a licensed Floyd earlier this year & it was quite finicky.

I recently acquired a late 80s Kramer F-1000 from a friend for ~1/2 the price of the EVH and it’s a better all around guitar.

It’s essentially a MIJ Baretta with a JB (the EVH pickup was a little harsh) and Original Floyd Rose (made in Germany). I also prefer a traditional Strat headstock but the tone & playability of this guitar has made me look past the hockey stick.

P.S. The JB was an aftermarket upgrade.

 

[Milkman]

Like other common products, there are good Floyds and not so good Floyds.

The differences in quality result in varying levels of tuning stability. I recommend buying a good one or don't bother.

Hardness of the knife edges is a common failing in the cheesy ones.

I like the Gotoh models. They made some functional improvements that are effective IMO.

 

[Rollin Hand]

I had an EVH Striped Series with a licensed Floyd earlier this year & it was quite finicky.

I recently acquired a late 80s Kramer F-1000 from a friend for ~1/2 the price of the EVH and it’s a better all around guitar.

It’s essentially a MIJ Baretta with a JB (the EVH pickup was a little harsh) and Original Floyd Rose (made in Germany). I also prefer a traditional Strat headstock but the tone & playability of this guitar has made me look past the hockey stick.

P.S. The JB was an aftermarket upgrade.

View attachment 345067

I am confused by your statement: The Striped Series huitars come stock with an EVH branded OFR, made in Korea.

 

[Roryfan]

I am confused by your statement: The Striped Series huitars come stock with an EVH branded OFR, made in Korea.

By “licensed Floyd” I meant one not made in Germany.

 

[Rollin Hand]

And yet the EVH guys claim the Korean ones are better than the current German ones.

I will bet that the newer ones regardless of ace of manufacture, are not as good as the older German models, however.

 

[Milkman]

This is the Gotoh I use. It has a nice nylon bushing with a set screw tightener. You can completely eliminate all bar "clunk" without burring up the threads or applying teflon tape.
You can have it loose but not clunky so it falls down when you let go, or so that it will stay exactly where you leave it.

Either way, no clunking.

 

[PBGas]

I found the FR 1000 trems are ok at best. They seem to work well if you leave them alone or do not change much on them. Don't get me wrong they are fine for what they are. I noticed a couple of things compared to the OFR setup. The arm holders are lousy. The one thing about the FR 1000 bridges is that the saddles are just slightly narrower fitting so the string spacing may be very slightly different. I recently got a Charvel Danhage and because I use the Graphtec locking saddles on all of my floyds, they did not fit the 1000 series correctly due to the slightly narrower spacing on the baseplate. I ended up ordering a new OFR baseplate from Floyd Rose direct and all was perfect.

The absolute best arm setup you can use is the Red Bishop Magik-Arm setup that is sold from Japan RED BISHOP High quality original guitar and bass parts. It is legit and amazing! I've had them on all of mine for the last year and they work beautifully. The collar bushing type is fine for a while but the set screw does loosen up and needs to be re-set fairly frequently.

 

[Roryfan]

And yet the EVH guys claim the Korean ones are better than the current German ones.

I will bet that the newer ones regardless of ace of manufacture, are not as good as the older German models, however.

The EVH I had would not stay in tune, whereas the late 80s Kramer in my previous post is rock solid. A couple of mid-2000s MusicYo Kramers “built” by Gibson (likely parts made at the Korean Epiphone factory & assembled in the USA) have darkened my door this year. They also have German Floyds & the tuning stability on both guitars was markedly better than the EVH, you could actually use the D-Tuna without throwing everything off.

Here’s a pic of the MusicYo guitars, I still have the bullseye/maple to go along with the white/RW F-1000.

P.S. Any idea when the quality of the German Floyds started to drop off? The Music Yo 1984 RIs I own(ed) were made in ‘05 & ‘06.

 

[Milkman]

The collar bushing type is fine for a while but the set screw does loosen up and needs to be re-set fairly frequently.

Not so with the Gotoh I have settled on.

I gigged with that guitar for several years and never once had to touch that set screw.

As I have said, Floyd Rose type bridges are not all created equal.

 

[Rollin Hand]

The EVH I had would not stay in tune, whereas the late 80s Kramer in my previous post is rock solid. A couple of mid-2000s MusicYo Kramers “built” by Gibson (likely parts made at the Korean Epiphone factory & assembled in the USA) have darkened my door this year. They also have German Floyds & the tuning stability on both guitars was markedly better than the EVH, you could actually use the D-Tuna without throwing everything off.

Here’s a pic of the MusicYo guitars, I still have the bullseye/maple to go along with the white/RW F-1000.

P.S. Any idea when the quality of the German Floyds started to drop off? The Music Yo 1984 RIs I own(ed) were made in ‘05 & ‘06.

View attachment 345380

What I have read (take with a grain of salt) is that when Mr. Schaller passes and his sons took over, there was a drop off. I can't speak to that. My only German bridges are of unknown age.

John Suhr, at one point, also went into chapter and verse as to why he switched to the Gotoh bridges, and it wasa quality conern.

To be clear, I am not saying that German bridges are bad, just that they may not what they once were, and some think the Korean ones are as good, if not better.

Quite frankly, most of my experience has been with the Ibanez Edge, and that bridge is incredible.

And my 5150 project has a Gotoh.

 

[Roryfan]

This is a pretty interesting comparison. The other shredder I briefly owned earlier this year was an Ibanez AZ series with Gotoh 510 bridge & locking tuners. That guitar had zero tuning issues.

After being forced to sell off several guitars to pay “bonus income tax” my plan was to do a build that combined what I thought were the best attributes of the EVH & Ibanez: chunky 22 fret neck on a traditional Strat body, direct-mount bridge HB with Vol. & Tone controls, Gotoh 510 bridge & locking tuners.

I’d accumulated most of the parts and then the Kramers fell into my lap when a friend decided to thin his herd of shredders. Jon Moore installed a push/pull pot that works as a Tone/Volume control and all of the boxes have been ticked for me.

 

[Roryfan]

@Rollin Hand the EVH Striped Series I bought at the end of March was my first shredder in 30+ years of playing, so I don’t have the “tribal knowledge” of players that have been into this type of guitar since the 80s, simply sharing my experience with my recent experimentations.

The tuning issues I experienced with the EVH may have been set up related, however the guitar was in EXC & set up by L&M, so I assumed it was a bridge quality issue on what was essentially a MIM Fender built to a moderate price point. It went to a friend who is a novice player & lifelong VH fanatic who was thrilled to get it.

 

[TDeneka]

schecter gets my vote.

 

[Rollin Hand]

@Rollin Hand the EVH Striped Series I bought at the end of March was my first shredder in 30+ years of playing, so I don’t have the “tribal knowledge” of players that have been into this type of guitar since the 80s, simply sharing my experience with my recent experimentations.

The tuning issues I experienced with the EVH may have been set up related, however the guitar was in EXC & set up by L&M, so I assumed it was a bridge quality issue on what was essentially a MIM Fender built to a moderate price point. It went to a friend who is a novice player & lifelong VH fanatic who was thrilled to get it.

Well, I got L&M to set mine up...and they set the bridge to float - was yours floating? I contacted EVH Gear, and got the "desired" setup specs, which mine now has: bridge decked. The D-Tuna will not work otherwise.

And I have yet to have a D-Tuna work perfectly. I need to properly study the setup.

 

[Roryfan]

Well, I got L&M to set mine up...and they set the bridge to float - was yours floating? I contacted EVH Gear, and got the "desired" setup specs, which mine now has: bridge decked. The D-Tuna will not work otherwise.

And I have yet to have a D-Tuna work perfectly. I need to properly study the setup.

My EVH was decked, but the entire guitar would go way out of tune when the D-Tuna was engaged, whereas both of the Kramer MusicYos have had the D-Tuna with no issues.

 

[PBGas]

Not so with the Gotoh I have settled on.

I gigged with that guitar for several years and never once had to touch that set screw.

As I have said, Floyd Rose type bridges are not all created equal.

Agreed on the Gotoh units. Those are a much better arm holder then the Floyd bushing unit. I should have been more clear that I was referring to the units you can get from FR.

 

[Rollin Hand]

Agreed on the Gotoh units. Those are a much better arm holder then the Floyd bushing unit. I should have been more clear that I was referring to the units you can get from FR.

My only issue with the Gotoh is the arm sits lower to the body than my Floyds/Edges. Works perfectly otherwise though.