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Supreeth

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Oct 11, 2004
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Like Jon said, there's no individual saddle height adjustment which is a royal pain. I bought a guitar with a licensed floyd rose last week as a project guitar, and I spent about 4 hours setting the bridge so that it was parallel to the body. Finding the right balance between the string tension and the spring tension is an absolute pain. After all that, setting the action is problematic since you have to lower or raise the bridge via the pivot studs. The final straw was when I pulled up on the trem the strings would go sharp, and when I push down, they go flat. I think it's because of a crappy licensed floyd. I'm thinking of trying out a schaller floyd on it and hopefully that will work. Oh, and changing strings = an absolute PIA. Just my .02 :)
 

Supreeth

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JDouglee said:
You can get around this with shims though.

If you're talking about adding neck shims, you're going to have to live with a higher action since the nut height will increase. Removing the existing shims from underneath the locking nut is one way to lower the height of the nut and hence the action at fret 1. But then higher the action on a floyd, the more pull up one can get without the strings touching the frets (especially those super sized ones..6105 I think) :)
 

aaronb

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Feb 7, 2005
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MN
Eddie Van Halen said:
So basically

Pros
-You can do the cool tricks
-Stays in tune

Cons
-Tuning takes longer
-Bends make whole guitar go slightly out of tune


is that basically it?

I've had terribe experience with floyds staying in tune personally...so idk if that would be a floyd benifit...
 

bluebullet

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Nov 28, 2004
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if the floyd is flat against the body like it is on the axis then balancing the string tension and spring tension is not a problem and it wont go sharp when you grab the bar. if you shim the neck your action gets lower not higher. the lack of individual saddle height adjustment is a negative as you cant get the action perfectly dialed in like you can on the vintage trem models but i will say it again ebmm had my neck shimmed perfectly they know how to build a guitar. a properly set up floyd holds tune extremely well. and personally i like resting my palm on a floyd rose bridge it is what im used to so it feels right to me . it does take a little longer to change strings but its not rocket science. go to guitar center or wherever and pick up a axis with a floyd on it and try to make it go out of tune. bend the hell out of the strings dive bomb like crazy and check the tuning i bet its still in tune. i dont have anything against non locking trems i prefer them for older stuff like trower and hendrix but floyd trems work really well.
 

brentrocks

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the floyds on my EVH and my kramer are great!!!

i love floyds (non-floater)!!! floating floyds are a pain in the butt!!!! not worth the trouble!

mine stay in tune, i don't think it is that big of a pain to change the strings. it is a nice change from the LP every once in a while!
 

Eddie Van Halen

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brentrocks said:
the floyds on my EVH and my kramer are great!!!

i love floyds (non-floater)!!! floating floyds are a pain in the butt!!!! not worth the trouble!

mine stay in tune, i don't think it is that big of a pain to change the strings. it is a nice change from the LP every once in a while!

is your axis a premium top
 

ratter

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My observations comparing my EVH and my Silhouette Special (vintage-style trem)

As others have said, the floyd on the EVH/Axis can be adjusted such that unison bends won't go flat. I can bend the G strings two whole steps up and the B and E strings won't go flat, for example. That's with only 2 springs, and 9 gauge strings.

I actually greatly prefer the feel of the floyd under my right hand. Vintage-style saddles...I don't like the roughness, especially when the adjustment screws are sticking up. But this is the kinda thing that you just get used to over time, I think.

The vintage trem on the Sil......WOW. I'm very, very impressed with this thing. I lubed the nut with Nut Sauce, set it up with two springs (again, 9 gauge strings...EB's, of course) and with a step-and-a-half up-pull on the G string. I just started setting it up, so I have some tweaking to do, but the thing will NOT go out of tune, even after doing those full pull-ups and dive bombs. Even on my peterson strobe, tuning up, doing some crazy whammy work, then checking the tuning again, it's rock solid or at the most, very very slightly off (strobe very slllooowly rolling.)

So I think that, with a proper setup, you can have very positive experiences with both. If your trem isn't staying in tune properly, there are two things you have to keep in mind - NO FRICTION, and NO MOVEMENT. Those two diametrically opposed things are what make everything work. Essentially, at every point along the path of the mechanics, you want to get as close as possible to one of those two ideals of no friction or no movement.

Example: On the Floyd guitar, you want as close to no friction as possible at these points - the trem springs, the knife edges, and the place where the string passes over the saddle. Any burrs or catches at any of those spots will cause friction which can keep things from returning to tune. And you want to get as close to no movement as possible at the locking nut and the locking saddle, of course.

With the vintage trem: you want no friction at the trem springs, the knife edges/fulcrums/trem posts, the saddles, and the nut. Alternately, you want no movement at the tuning posts (here's where good tuners like the locking ones on the Sil come in handy) and at the string ball up in the trem block (make sure they're seated solid when you install the strings.)

Hope this helps - good luck in your quest!
 

brentrocks

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Eddie Van Halen said:
is your axis a premium top

it is an EVH quilt...i would say that it is a premium top (one of the nicest quilts i have ever seen on an EVH)
 
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Eddie Van Halen

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brentrocks said:
it is an EVH quilt...i would say that it is a premium top (one of the nicest quilts i have ever seen on an EVH)

But if you didnt pay the extra 420 bucks to get the premium finish then I'm not gonna bother, because that is a ****ing nice guitar

And is there any difference bettween the Ernie Ball/Music Man Licenses Floyd Rose Tremolo (on the Axis) as opposed to an Original Floyd Rose?
 

Eddie Van Halen

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ok since nobody has really answered me yet

What is the difference between a Premium Quilt and a normal quilt?

and to stay on topic :p

will the allen wrench work also for the string clamps and the arm tension? or should i just get a whole set of allen wrenches?
 

bluebullet

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Nov 28, 2004
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music man gives you all the allen wrenches as far as the premium quilt thing if you pay the extra you are guaranteed a super nice ouilt if you dont then its luck of the draw you might get a great one might get a ok one
 

brentrocks

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Eddie Van Halen said:
ok since nobody has really answered me yet

What is the difference between a Premium Quilt and a normal quilt?

and to stay on topic :p

will the allen wrench work also for the string clamps and the arm tension? or should i just get a whole set of allen wrenches?

i'm not sure about the wrenches? as far as the quilt top, it is probably luck of the irish.. :confused: your definition of a premium quilt and the dude in the plant that picks out the wood could be very different!!

i would concider this a premium quilt.

my 2 cents... :)
 
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