Battle of the Floyds: Gotoh vs. Schaller

[moku]

can't believe i missed this. great review, thank! it's what i needed to know, except what kind of metal gotoh uses for the baseplate? hardened edge, i know, but what kind of metal, and how thick is it? btw, the ofr is not sheet metal base plate, which is weaker. it has solid steal fulcrum points.

[dvscool]

can't belief i missed this. great review. it's what i needed to know.

dude....Just buy one They really are THAT good.

[levantin]

Balls indeed! Nice review, very informative.

[xenophobe]

btw, the ofr is not sheet metal base plate, which is weaker. it has solid steal fulcrum points.

The OFR and Gotoh are both hardened sheet steel baseplates that are die-stamped. I'll give you measurements in a couple of days. I actually have a machinist's rule coming in the mail soon.

And, there's nothing wrong with hardened sheet metal. Many Sig Sauer firearms have slides made of hardened sheet steel.

[JACKSONFREAK]

How ever not discounting all the facts about the Gotoh. The Gotoh will not accommodate a D-tuna. The same "comfort bevel" of the fine tuner assembly will not allow a tuna to pull out completely to drop the full step.
Gil

[xenophobe]

How ever not discounting all the facts about the Gotoh. The Gotoh will not accommodate a D-tuna. The same "comfort bevel" of the fine tuner assembly will not allow a tuna to pull out completely to drop the full step.
Gil

Thanks for the info, I'll update the compatibility section...

[vector]

Maybe it's just me but I find no significant advantage the Gotoh offers that makes it superior to the OFR's and Schaller Lic. Floyds I've played. I've owned a couple of axes with Gotohs and didn't find them to be all that. I might very well be one of those guys that has the old sneaker syndrome but based on my comparisons, I found the Gotoh to feel less solid (it was set up perfectly) and the arm tension was not nearly as easy to adjust as the Floyd's screw down collar. In a gig situation, I found the Gotoh arm would start to swing freely despite adjusting the tension to my liking before hand. Couldn't stop playing to grab the tool to tighten down the tension on the arm where as with a Floyd or Schaller, I can use my hand to tighten it down in a fraction of the time.
The other issue is the screws to lock the springs into the block- I've never had an issue with springs popping out of the block on any of my trems. Granted, there is no harm in being there but it's not an advantage so far as my needs are concerned. With a JEM and Vandy w/ a Kahler I had, the bar they screwed down to secure the springs was more a pain than help. If you change your springs every so often (yeah, I'm a tad picky about my Floyd performance characteristics) or change tunings, string gauges, etc. then this becomes a drag.
Lastly, the brass milled block is nice but I prefer the heavier big brass anyway so it's a non issue. For the record, the OFR and Schaller have brass blocks that are then plated with another metal (nickle?). Still brass, just different surface appearance.

[dvscool]

Maybe it's just me but I find no significant advantage the Gotoh offers that makes it superior to the OFR's and Schaller Lic. Floyds I've played. I've owned a couple of axes with Gotohs and didn't find them to be all that. I might very well be one of those guys that has the old sneaker syndrome but based on my comparisons, I found the Gotoh to feel less solid (it was set up perfectly) and the arm tension was not nearly as easy to adjust as the Floyd's screw down collar. In a gig situation, I found the Gotoh arm would start to swing freely despite adjusting the tension to my liking before hand. Couldn't stop playing to grab the tool to tighten down the tension on the arm where as with a Floyd or Schaller, I can use my hand to tighten it down in a fraction of the time.
The other issue is the screws to lock the springs into the block- I've never had an issue with springs popping out of the block on any of my trems. Granted, there is no harm in being there but it's not an advantage so far as my needs are concerned. With a JEM and Vandy w/ a Kahler I had, the bar they screwed down to secure the springs was more a pain than help. If you change your springs every so often (yeah, I'm a tad picky about my Floyd performance characteristics) or change tunings, string gauges, etc. then this becomes a drag.
Lastly, the brass milled block is nice but I prefer the heavier big brass anyway so it's a non issue. For the record, the OFR and Schaller have brass blocks that are then plated with another metal (nickle?). Still brass, just different surface appearance.

[vector]

I know. Sacrilege. But what can I say? I like what works best for me. YMMV.

[xenophobe]

I have 5 Gotoh equipped Floyds. I have no issues with the trem arm. You screw them down all the way and the farthest they go down is the spot you'd normally want it to rest at. There is also no centering dead spot like the OFR has, so the bar is much more sensitive than the OFR. Many OFR tension collars like to undo themselves... swivel it a few times and it needs to be re-tensioned. The Gotoh springs are also much stiffer. They return to zero way better than standard OFR springs which are a bit anemic.

When I retrofit my Jackson strat, I get a much more balanced tone now. It's not just wishful thinking either. Before, with a JT590, it had a few areas that were more resonant than others... strangely the Gotoh balanced out the natural tone of the guitar. In my ESP Strat, replacing the OFR with the Gotoh, it has a slightly richer and deeper tone.

The Gotoh trem arm alone is worth the upgrade. The saddles are buttery smooth and yeah, they feel weird when you're used to playing an OFR. I got over that really quick. It feels much more solid.

I have 5 guitars with Gotohs. I love them so much I have 2 spare Gotohs in my tool box. I consider the OFRs scrapworthy. lol

[Devotee]

xeno, i mentioned this in another thread but have you checked out the Ibanez Edge Zero trem? It's an incredibly well-designed piece of kit and they're also manufactured by Gotoh. The Ibanez EZ has features that overcome a lot off the hassles that are inherent to setting up a Floyd; for example they have offset saddle screws instead of ones located directly under the strings and they also came up with a solution that lets you adjust intonation while still at full tension.

[booger007]

How ever not discounting all the facts about the Gotoh. The Gotoh will not accommodate a D-tuna. The same "comfort bevel" of the fine tuner assembly will not allow a tuna to pull out completely to drop the full step.
Gil

Really? I have a Gotoh on my model 4 with a Dtuna installed works great. I think I used the long screw but it is totally stable tuning wise

[dvscool]

[xenophobe]

No, I haven't checked it out up close. I'll have to check it out.

[dvscool]

I have found the Gotoh’s to be superior to OFR’s and Schaller’s in every way. Build quality, overall appearance, tone, stability and playability. To me it’s just a better product. Period. Having said that, I just replaced the bridge on my Jackson Fusion with an original Schaller. Which is not cheap if you have noticed. Why? It was just a better fit. It just made more sense on that particular guitar. And I love it, its made my Jackson feel brand new! So it’s not that I now have some deep seeded hatred or anything for OFR’s and Schaller’s. I think they are great products and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again. But if I had my choice, it would be Gotoh hands down everytime, but I don't think they are always an option for every guitar out there....

I have played the Ibanez Edge Zero trem. It felt very odd to me. Very stiff and had "ZERO" feel ( bad pun) I didn’t get a chance to set it up to my liking so I can’t say anything horrible about it. What I can say is that I much prefer the original Ibanez Edge out of the box. They are fantastic trems in my opinion and I think they are also made by GOTOH but I’m not positive on that. I’m not sure why Ibanez has been trying to steer away from the original Edges over the years. I think it’s a mistake.

The bottom line is, if you haven't tried a Gotoh. You really should at least try one.