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question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

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  • question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

    exactly what applies to the whole F spacing/TREM bucker thing? Floyd rose tremelos i assume, but do all tremelos apply? like vintage style and fender style trems? what doesnt apply? string thru and fixed bridges and things like that?

  • #2
    Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

    Not all trems.The JT-6 is standard spacing.
    Really? well screw Mark Twain.

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    • #3
      Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

      gahhh. so its more complicated than i thought.

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      • #4
        Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

        F-spacing refers to Fender or Floyd spacing, since they're the same.
        I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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        • #5
          Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

          so if i wanted to replace the licensed jackson floyd in my kelly with a REAL floyd, it wouldnt fit?

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          • #6
            Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

            Yes, a real Floyd should fit.

            And you don't necessarily have a JT-6 trem on your guitar. The JT-6 was Jackson's first attempt at a licensed Floyd and was only used in 1987-88. I think they used regular string spacing on the JT-6 because Jackson's pickups were all regular-spaced up to that point, since the guitars mostly had Kahler trems.

            After the JT-6, the "Jackson"-logoed trems were made by other companies, such as Schaller, and use the same string spacing as the real Floyd. The easiest way to tell if you have a JT-6 trem is the fine tuners--unlike all the other Floyd-types, the JT-6 had them on the bottom of the trem, surrounding the clamping screws that insert into the saddles, which you loosen to remove the strings. All other Floyd-types have the fine tuners on top of the bridge, where they push the clamping screws down, thus raising the pitch.

            Even if it is a JT-6, a regular Floyd will still fit because it uses the same spacing between the pivot screws as does the JT-6. These are the two pivot screws that go into the guitar body, and on which the front end of the trem rests. That spacing is different than the spacing between the strings, and the JT-6 fortunately uses the standard Floyd pivot screw spacing, which not all trems do. You've really got a problem if the pivot screws aren't standard Floyd-spaced (such as on the '80s Washburn Floyd copies) because you actually have to fill the holes and redrill them to the correct width to accommodate a real Floyd.

            The only difference if you put a real Floyd on, versus a JT-6, is that the strings would then be spaced slightly further apart from each other. But that's not a problem, since the neck is more than wide enough to accomodate Floyd-spacing.

            As far as F-spaced pickups go, it seems to be mostly a matter of looks, as I've never heard a difference between regular- and F-spaced pickups on a Floyd-equipped guitar, even if the strings don't exactly match up to the pole pieces. The pickup's magnetic field is large enough that it really doesn't matter.

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            • #7
              Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

              The trem on your guitar is called a JT-580. I've not used that one, but it seems like the majority around here don't like them. It's definitely a cheaper unit that doesn't seem as rugged.

              A real Floyd would definitely fit in there, but you might have a problem because the trem block (the bottom part of the bridge to which the springs are attached) is longer on an Original Floyd, since that trem was not designed to be flush-mounted to the guitar, the way your JT-580 is. Since your guitar is designed to have the trem sit lower in the body, the longer block on a real Floyd would extend past the back edge of the body and wouldn't work properly. You can change blocks merely by unscrewing them, however, and possibly use the block from your JT-580.

              But you might want to consider just getting a Schaller licensed-Floyd, rather than an original Floyd. The Schaller is a very high-quality bridge that is designed to be flush-mounted like yours. Jackson used the Schaller trem in all of its USA guitars from 1989-95--and in the Japanese guitars until about 1993. It's a slightly different design than the original Floyd, but the quality is the same, since Schaller actually makes the original Floyd, as well. And tuning stability, well--my '93 Soloist has a Schaller and I can literally yank on the strings as hard as possible and it still won't go out of tune.

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              • #8
                Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                cool. would ebay be my best bet for getting one?

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                • #9
                  Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                  You know thats funny I put an OFR in my fusion H-H which had a JT-580 LP I did not have to replace or switch trem blocks.Fit perfectly. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
                  BTW I like the 580 just fine.I've had several DR-5s JS-30s as well as fusion models with the 580 and all performed flawlessly,Its not an OFR I'll grant you but not a bad trem at all.I wouldn't replace it until necessary.JMO

                  [ April 13, 2004, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: Richard ]
                  Really? well screw Mark Twain.

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                  • #10
                    Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                    Originally posted by Richard:
                    You know thats funny I put an OFR in my fusion H-H which had a JT-580 LP I did not have to replace or switch trem blocks.Fit perfectly. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
                    <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's because MOST Floyds nowadays have a short block on them. There's three different size blocks... 42mm for the non-recessed, 32mm for the recessed, and I think there's a 37mm for the semi-recessed cavity on certain models.
                    I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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                    • #11
                      Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                      Double post...silly me! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

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                      • #12
                        Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                        cool man! very informative!

                        the kelly i have is a 2000 or 99 KE3, with a satin chrome licensed floyd

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                        • #13
                          Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                          I did look and it is 37mm.
                          Really? well screw Mark Twain.

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                          • #14
                            Re: question about trem spacing/F spacing pickups

                            I just swapped the JT-580 in my 2003 DK-2 for a Schaller and it was no problem. Feels much better than the stock trem and is definitely better made.

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