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And don't listen to the bullshit about "large improvements in quality and sustain" that someone measured with their ears... Any time anyone spends $199 for something and measures it with their ears, they're going to hear an improvement.
I've spent way more than that on upgrades I tried and hated! All I can say is the guitar is better with the German Floyd. Easier to fine-tune, bar feels better, and the finish is better (more black). Worth the $150 or so I spent on the OFR.
If you are all totally happy with the stock "Floyds", don't bother buying the German Floyd and spend the money on a real case!
'09 Charvel San Dimas USA
'85 Jackson Soloist w/Floyd
'98 PRS Custom 22
'10 Les Paul Traditional
Changing the bar is a must for me. I'll wait till the other stuff falls apart (although I did swap to a German on one ProMod - my second still has MIK w/ German bar).
I've spent way more than that on upgrades I tried and hated! All I can say is the guitar is better with the German Floyd. Easier to fine-tune, bar feels better, and the finish is better (more black). Worth the $150 or so I spent on the OFR.
If you are all totally happy with the stock "Floyds", don't bother buying the German Floyd and spend the money on a real case!
Hey, no offense, and, I'm not even saying you're necessarily wrong, just that the method by which you reached your conclusion is pretty much worthless as a "test" of their impact on the tone or sustain. :dunno:
Hey, no offense, and, I'm not even saying you're necessarily wrong, just that the method by which you reached your conclusion is pretty much worthless as a "test" of their impact on the tone or sustain. :dunno:
No worries. Tone is totally subjective anyway. I'm sure there are people who would say their Korean Floyds sound better than the OFR. As long as we all get what we want out of these guitars, it's all good!
'09 Charvel San Dimas USA
'85 Jackson Soloist w/Floyd
'98 PRS Custom 22
'10 Les Paul Traditional
From the stories I have heard, it was more a supply and demand thing then anything... Schaller couldn't keep up with production. Gotoh's where available, and not a bad copy at that... I have a Gotoh. I can't say it's any better than an OFR, but it's not worse either. Can't go wrong with either one in my humble opnion
Here are some comments John made on another forum:
Question: This question is mainly for Mr Tyler and Mr Suhr but all opinions wanted ! In fitting and repairing locking tremolos since they came out, I've found the original Floyd to have deteriorated in quality to such a point that I want a better option …. And I think the Gotoh is it at the moment. The saddles and the locking nuts are a lot harder than the original Floyd’s are now, and I wondered why it is not on more guitars as OEM particularly as the price is also good.
Suhr: Gotoh is good and I will probably switch soon since the Floyds are really being made like ASS. We spend at least an extra hour on every Floyd bridge fixing things. Since both Schallers died it has been downhill from there I built some other companies guitar with the Gotoh and they seemed very consistent and well made.
Follow up Question: What are some of the issues you're seeing with the new Original Floyds ?
Suhr: You have a few days ?
• Sometimes the back of the saddle is too tall preventing the fine tuner from having a full range of motion.
• The way the string leaves the saddle it does not have a firm break off point, the string slides around in the saddle. This changes the intonation, buzzes and can just sound bad. We have to get a detail Dremel bit and re-contour the saddle with magnifiers on to see what we are doing. We have to do this on them all !
• Fine tuners pinched too course and are rough many times.
• Saddle heights can be uneven, requiring regrinding or shimming.
• Roll away at nut not correct making the string not leave the nut edge where it is supposed to leave. This also screws with intonation and the strings can buzz when played open.
• Casting bumps in the nut slots which have to be ground off, maybe one out of five.
• Saddle to rear section of the saddle is sloppy, this cause string buzz, saddle pin has to be removed and saddle pinched to tighten it up.
• Hold plates that hold the blocks up are not pushed up far enough so sometimes the screw pin doesn’t align up with the hole in the block and you wind up cracking the block.
• Sometimes the arms start to wiggle and there isn’t much you can do since the cap on top is snug.
I'm sure there are a few other things I'm leaving out ....
They are a pain, I wish Kahler would make Floyds again I have no idea what is stopping them since the patent has run out.
I think I will start with the Gotohs very soon since I do love the Floyd idea.
• Roll away at nut not correct making the string not leave the nut edge where it is supposed to leave. This also screws with intonation and the strings can buzz when played open.
• Sometimes the arms start to wiggle and there isn’t much you can do since the cap on top is snug.
I've found these two to be true on two of the latest German Floyds I've had.
If theses Korean floyds are so great then why aren't they on the custom shop guitars? Nuf said.
We have put them on Customs. Not only do we spec them out sometimes... people request them.
To your point...Yes, the custom shop guitars predominantly have the German Floyd... but...there are exceptions... keep in mind, our builders like the Korean Floyd quite a bit.
Based on the saddles, it also looks like Gibson uses them on the Les Paul Axcess and Fender uses them on the EVH (with a EVH logo) - correct me if I'm wrong anyone.
IMO - they sound fine and seem to be made well, but you do need the German bar - its heavier, longer and and stays tight as long as you don't get a wobbly one.
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