Should I replace a 1000 series Floyd with an Original?

[SausageofPower]

The 1000 works well for me, despite some reports people have given (I think those are mostly based on the tremolo arm itself, which people complain about in general with Floyds and is easy enough to replace). I replace the blocks on all my Floyded guitars anyway, but once that's done it does a great job. Hell, if the 1000 was available aftermarket I'd gladly snag them instead of German made for guitars I'm overhauling (yes, you can get them on EvilBay, but people overcharge for the most part).

[vector]

Wish I could say I shared everyone's good luck with the FRT1000. Had two of them and both sucked ass.

Exhibit A- the chrome 1000 on my SG Diablo had major stability issues, I'd dump the bar and the strings would be outta tune. Everytime. Pull it sharp? Same. The trem would not flutter for shit. Then the A string microtuner wouldn't screw down all the way, nor back out. FAIL. Took it to a trusted tech and he could not solve the issues other than to suggest new saddles and a new locking nut.
I put on a black OFR w/ a big brass block- using the same bushing inserts but new posts, nut, etc. Instant, significant improvement. Flutters beautifully, dumps and pulls sharp with no problems, all tuners work fine.

Exhibit B- another chrome 1000, this time on a custom shop LP Axcess. I won't even go into the bs move of putting a 1000 on a high end CS LP but this trem also suffered grievously from manufacturing and/or materials related issues. The arm would not slide in and out of the housing easily, the collar would not screw down correctly- had to use a pair of slip joint pliers to loosen and/or tighten it. The tuning was fubar but not as bad as the one on the SG. Again, the unit would not flutter as well as the OFR counterparts on my other axes. Once again, replaced it with a MIG black OFR and Presto! Instant marked improvement in all facets of performance. Flutters for days and can handle the most vigorous of use: full-on slack-string dumps and soaring pull ups. Tuning stability is spot on.

I understand that my experiences are anecdotal and certainly limited in scope. But 0-for-2 is not a real strong record either and I'm happy to drop the extra $ for the OFR and Schaller Lic'd versions. I've YET to have a crap OFR or Schaller in over 40- some guitars in the last 30 years. YMMV.

[Rich#6]

I've never had a problem with the mik oems on any charvel or Jackson.

[groverj3]

The 1000 stays in tune fine for me. The bar doesn't fit well though. I tried replacing the socket for the arm with one from an OFR and it wouldn't fit in the hole in the baseplate. Unlike the specials and many licensed bridges I wasn't able to get it to pull through the hole by tightening the screw, it stripped before I could get the wider ridges through the hole (the baseplate must be made of good metal).

Maybe, just buy a new baseplate from an OFR along with the arm assembly and cannibalize the rest of the parts.

[ZL1hawk]

I like these 1000's, they much better than that licensed crap we all dealt with in the 80's and 90's when we first started out and bought guitars on the cheap. I may have to perform surgery though. It ain't right leaving OFR's sitting around doing nothing with the 1000's getting all the action.

Doctor Racer please come to surgery STAT!

[ralph]

If you have problems, change it, (as Vector did, or if it wears out)

If not (and you are happy with it) leave it alone

[contilon]

The fine tuners are not as smooth on my 1000 compared to the German Originals. Limited travel on a couple of them.

[toejam]

Pretty sure that's the FR Special, Toe. Not the 1000 series.

Ah, my bad.

[ZL1hawk]

Guys I put that 1000 on my Stealth to the test. Every shameless wank lick in the book was tried and I think I even invented a new low in attention whore Guitar Center wankery, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel fellas with tasteless fretboard mischief and that 1000 was a trooper. You have to beat on it like King Kong to make it come out of tune but if you play normal the 1000 will serve you well.

We'll see how it handles the daily grind since I play almost daily but for now I'm rather pleased.


Anybody try out that expensive titanium Floyd yet?

[ps43203]

Question is do you make money playing guitar? The titanium one is over bloated marketing stars get em for free crap. An original OFR is the way to go. I replaced the 1000 on my Charvel Pro-mod with an old one I had from 1985 and couldn't be happier. The 1000 wasn't bad it was clunky in camparison and the fine tuners had hardly any range and tough to turn, hence the replacement. Maybe it was the chrome.