Guitar recommendation

[slideboardouts]

Oct 9, 2008, 5:02pm, ibanez468 wrote:Hey True enough, the Floyd Rose Tremelo can be a pain, if you don't know how ta' conquer it. I would say I've conquered it, because it's doin' what it's suppose to. The way I conquered it was by gettin' online, and going to the original Floyd Rose Tremelo website, and getting the proper information on how to re-string your guitar. The first time I tried it, prior to getting this information, it was a nightmare. The second time I tried it, which I had to do on the newest axe, I got excellent results. What helped the most was getting in the back of the guitar and tighting the mechanism that puts tension on the springs. Once I did that, I was all good ta' go! Doing that made the floating bridge sit just right & parallel to the body of the guitar. Then you have to tune it a certain way, I think it was called "cross-tuning". Starting with low E first, tune until you get proper pitch, then go to high E and tune to pitch, then A, then B, then G then D. Trick is to keep equal tension on either side of the bridge while you're tuning. I did that with the new guitar, and of course you hafta' do some really fine-tuning after getting the pitch of the strings in the general area. After I did that and locked the nut, I was good ta' go! Then I went back and did the same procedure to my Peavey Predator, which has a Floyd Rose Tremelo system, and my old Fender Squier which has it's own patented version of a Floyd Rose Tremelo system. They don't make Squiers like this anymore, at least I haven't seen any. The procedure on each guitar was a success. But that's what it took, some searching for the proper information, and a little time & patience. Everytime I re-string another guitar, it's always easier than the last time, and it gets a little easier everytime I hafta do it, 'cause now I know what the h*ll I'm doin'.So don't let all of the negatives that seem to have become attached to the Floyd Rose Tremelo system intimidate you (no disrespect ta' Zoom). Once you understand how it works, and what you hafta' do ta' get it to work properly, then it makes it all worthwhile, and you eventually reap the benefits from the thing that you paid so much money for. HTHI-468 I really only have two issues with floyds.The first is that they just aren't made as well as they were in the 80's. Eddie Van Halen's guitar tech for their 2004 tour said it best when asked which of Ed's guitars he liked best: "The guitars were fine, the problem was Floyd Rose tremolos. They are simply too soft. I'm not speaking for Ed here, you have to ask him for his opinion. As a tech I have a right to my own opinion when I'm responsible for it. When they first arrived on the market they were machined brass and they were a serious piece of machinery, but for a long time they have been made of some sort of softer molded metal....""I was replacing so many Floyd parts you wouldn't believe it. Saddles, string blocks, you name it. Pretty much a nut every 2 or 3 shows, sometimes daily. We would crush them or strip them out. The tolerances are not tight enough either. Many of the nuts were slightly different heights. That can be a pain when forced to change them that often. The design of a Floyd is great, just wish they were a bit tougher."The other problem I have is actually a design issue. Floyd's pivot on a knife edge which dulls over time, especially with the softer materials they are made out of now. Sure you can have your tech sharpen it etc., but there are other trems out there that don't pivot on a knife edge and are machined out of brass. They'll last longer and they are much lower maintenance than the floyds.For most players I think they will do fine if you take the time to set them up properly, but if you are super aggressive on the trem (like I am ), then you might have some issues no matter how well it is set up.-SteveP.S. If anyone is interested in reading that whole interview here is the link: http://www.vhnd.com/old/articles/291104-01.shtmlIf you are a guitar tech dork and eddie fanatic like me its fairly interesting