Floyd Rose "Original"?

[EADGBE]

Is the Floyd Rose original the same tremolo as the original Floyd Rose? Who makes the Floyd Rose original that's on Jackson guitars? Is it Schaller?

[froststorm]

Some companies say Floyd rose original on the adverts.. and it's usually the new frt-1000 (or something like that) series. It's made with the original floyd rose specs and it's stamped as one, but it's made in korea, rather than germany.. They're working and good floyds nevertheless. You can spot the differences here: http://forums.washburn.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16152

[rjohnstone]

^^^^
Not true.
That thread you linked to is full of mis-information.
The FRT-1000 is not a licensed trem, it's a real Floyd. Just not a German (Schaller) made Floyd.

The FRT-100/200/300 (3 digit model number) is an Original Floyd Rose or Floyd Rose Original.
The word "Original" gets flipped a lot, but it's the same trem.
At one point Floyd even stamped the word "Original" on the trem.

The FRT-1000/2000/3000 (4 digit model number) are Korean and/or Chinese built.
I believe the early ones found on the Discovery series guitars were Chinese as there are subtle base plate differences between them and the current FRT-1000 trems.

[charvel750]

Rick's right. The trems that are stamped "Floyd Rose Original" are in fact the real deal Floyd Rose. Most are simply stamped "Floyd Rose".

[Grandturk]

Rick's right. The trems that are stamped "Floyd Rose Original" are in fact the real deal Floyd Rose. Most are simply stamped "Floyd Rose".

Well, they're all "real deal" Floyd Roses. Just some are made in Germany and some are made in Korea, or other places. If it doesn't have "licensed by/under Floyd Rose Patents" then it is a Floyd Rose made for the Floyd Rose company to their specs and tolerances.

I'd rather people start using "MIG Floyd" to mean Made in Germany rather than "Floyd Rose Original" which can mean either.

Clearly, there are advantages and disadvantages to both the MIK and MIG Floyds.

[yeline23]

I have several Floyds: one OFR made in Germany, one Floyd Pro also made in Germany with which I've replaced a stock JT580 on my Dinky and FRT1000 made somewhere in Asia. All three stay in tune extremely well, Pro is the smoothest and the most comfortable and FRT1000 is the stiffest of them all probably attributed to the different gauge springs. As far as built quality the FRT1000 is right up there with the germans.

[RJF]

Rick's right. The trems that are stamped "Floyd Rose Original" are in fact the real deal Floyd Rose. Most are simply stamped "Floyd Rose".

Yep. there is a quality difference between a made in Germany original floyd that you get now on higher end guitars (the bridge that is now considered the best on the market), compared to the older Floyd that was actually stamped "Floyd Rose ORIGINAL" on the bridge. The machining seems to be of a higher standard on those older real originals than the best one you can buy today.

[Grandturk]

Everything older is better!!! Buy my old stuff!!!

[Larz]

All I know is that EVH designed it.

[rjohnstone]

All I know is that EVH designed it.

Wrong... that's what Ed wants everyone to think.
If there were any truth to it, the Floyd would be called the Ed or some stupid shit like that. Ed has good lawyers and even they won't touch that claim.

Ed said "it would be cool if the trem could do this or that.
He did not break out with a drafting board and "designed it".

Floyd Rose did the engineering and design.

[yeline23]

EVH did not designed the OFR - Floyd D. Rose did. Eddie just endorsed it and became a big believer and promoter of the Floyd Rose. The very first Floyd did not have any fine tuners though...

[rjohnstone]

The fine tuners were Ed's idea/suggestion, but he hardly designed it.

[Grandturk]

I'm sure fine tuners would have come around without Ed's involvement - he just happened to be the only source of feedback.

[rjohnstone]

I'm pretty sure Floyd would have figured that out on his own too.

[MetalMedal II]

Yep. there is a quality difference between a made in Germany original floyd that you get now on higher end guitars (the bridge that is now considered the best on the market), compared to the older Floyd that was actually stamped "Floyd Rose ORIGINAL" on the bridge. The machining seems to be of a higher standard on those older real originals than the best one you can buy today.

Anyone know what approximate years the OFRs labeled "Original" came from? I have one and am just curious.

My instinct is late 80s to mid-90s. And I think they placed "Original" on there to discern the good one from the FR II and other not so good ones that came on Kramers at the time. Either that or this is when Fender acquired the Floyd rights.