Action; Too High Or Medium High? Options

[Todd Simpson]

Quite a bit of truth to this Being a "Floyd Guy" I can tell you that hard tails are just easier to live with IMHO. Fewer issues, fewer adjustments, quicker to restring, etc.

I've learned to live with the issues that arise from being a fan of the floating trem. Then again, I"m a fan of software plugins with endless options (guitar rig/overloud) as well. At some point, you do have to stop tweaking and start playing I enjoy the tweaking but it can eat up lots of your time forcing you to push other things/people out of your life if your not careful. I"ve been guilty of that and still struggle with it to be honest. I tend to get very overly focused on something and ignore everything else which is not a very balanced way to live ones life. It can yield good results in terms of learning but it can get in the way of just living. So try to keep balance E.G. Buy at least one HARD TAIL!!! That you can just string/tune/bam/play!!! My FRETLIGHT hard tail is my least time consuming guitar which is part of why I love it


Todd

To make things easier - I gave up the Floyd Life is beautiful without it But joking aside, you have to be prepared to face more problems than you would with a fixed bridge and still, driving 7 miles could prove worthwhile

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[Cosmin Lupu]

As I am involved in a lot of activities, musical and non-musical, making things work faster and more efficient is what I strive for, so the more 'plug'nplaynsoundawesome' things work for me, the better they are So, yes, Todd is right - find a life balancing setup

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[sammetal92]

Okay. So I've been thinking, I should make my trem dive only. I called up the luthier, he said he'll give me a free setup and training, which would normally cost me a total of $40, but he understands me getting worried about the trem So a first free setup and I can watch and learn. He said he'll do everything in front of me and will tell me everything so I can setup my own guitars.

I asked him if I should make the trem dive only. He said he's a guitar instructor too (he plays shred guitar), and said that even though he doesn't like floating tremolos, at some point, he has to tell his shred students to get a whammy. But he said that if I do get the trem to be dive only, it's a pretty easy mod, and I can get it to float or dive-only any time I want. It'll also increase the sustain.

So, I'm thinking I should probably make it dive-only, since I don't really pull up anyway, and I love playing in Drop C. What do you think, Cosmin and Todd?

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Okay. So I've been thinking, I should make my trem dive only. I called up the luthier, he said he'll give me a free setup and training, which would normally cost me a total of $40, but he understands me getting worried about the trem So a first free setup and I can watch and learn. He said he'll do everything in front of me and will tell me everything so I can setup my own guitars.

I asked him if I should make the trem dive only. He said he's a guitar instructor too (he plays shred guitar), and said that even though he doesn't like floating tremolos, at some point, he has to tell his shred students to get a whammy. But he said that if I do get the trem to be dive only, it's a pretty easy mod, and I can get it to float or dive-only any time I want. It'll also increase the sustain.

So, I'm thinking I should probably make it dive-only, since I don't really pull up anyway, and I love playing in Drop C. What do you think, Cosmin and Todd?

I say, try it in drop C if this is what you wish for You can adjust it later on, but it would be great if you had a standard tuned guitar as well

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[sammetal92]

I have two guitars, one is the M-II of course, the other is the strat shaped handmade guitar, it has a strat tremolo which I never use, so I can keep one of my guitars in drop C and one in standard

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[Mertay]

http://www.lonephantom.com/2012/02/the-4-tremolo-stopper/

Didn't try this yet why not ask the luthiers opinion if it might cause any problem in the future?

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[sammetal92]

http://www.lonephantom.com/2012/02/the-4-tremolo-stopper/

Didn't try this yet why not ask the luthiers opinion if it might cause any problem in the future?

Yeah I saw that its a pretty nifty trick but he said if we just stick a wooden block in there in a way that it doesn't fall out when I dive, it'll be fine, and it'll increase the sustain. I don't know about this if it increases the sustain, since FR guitars usually have less sustain than usual.

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[Mertay]

Yeah I saw that its a pretty nifty trick but he said if we just stick a wooden block in there in a way that it doesn't fall out when I dive, it'll be fine, and it'll increase the sustain. I don't know about this if it increases the sustain, since FR guitars usually have less sustain than usual.

Its less because the floyd vibrates as you hit the strings. But when dive-only this vibration reduces a lot which helps sustain and also adds a little more to the highest frequencys. The strings get a tiny bit stiffer which makes picking easyer.

Ofcourse tuning gets much easyer too. I think in the early days, floyd guitar bodys weren't routed to pull back, but since the strings were locked it was great comfort for musicians as they needed much less tuning on stage.

Personally, I find dive-only floyds to have good advantages compared to the vintage (Fender) type tremolo's.

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[sammetal92]

Its less because the floyd vibrates as you hit the strings. But when dive-only this vibration reduces a lot which helps sustain and also adds a little more to the highest frequencys. The strings get a tiny bit stiffer which makes picking easyer.

Ofcourse tuning gets much easyer too. I think in the early days, floyd guitar bodys weren't routed to pull back, but since the strings were locked it was great comfort for musicians as they needed much less tuning on stage.

Personally, I find dive-only floyds to have good advantages compared to the vintage (Fender) type tremolo's.

I think the man Floyd Rose wanted to build a tremolo system that doesn't go out of tune on whammy use, since most strat type tremolos go out of tune. So the pull up thing came later I think

Now I definitely have to try out the blocked floyd

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[Todd Simpson]

Pretty much That's the entire point of a floyd. Not everyone likes them to "float" so they just block them which works fine too Try it both ways and see what you think. Getting used to a floyd is a noble endeavor IMHO and a skill that is worth having in ones bag of tricks.

Todd

I think the man Floyd Rose wanted to build a tremolo system that doesn't go out of tune on whammy use, since most strat type tremolos go out of tune. So the pull up thing came later I think

Now I definitely have to try out the blocked floyd

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[Musicman65]

A Floyd can be setup to float or dive with or without a FR recesded route on the top of the guitar. The neck may have to be shimmed to get the trem high enough to pull back. A block may be needed provide a resting point if the guitar has the recessed routing. I've used Floyd's for 25 years with no more problems than a stock Strat trem once I figured it out.

I use the Super-Vee Locking Trem nowadays. It is a double locker and has traditional adjustable saddle height and intonation and no wearable knife edge or post. It is a drop in replacement for a stock trem too. No drilling just a screwdriver.

bd

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[sammetal92]

Pretty much That's the entire point of a floyd. Not everyone likes them to "float" so they just block them which works fine too Try it both ways and see what you think. Getting used to a floyd is a noble endeavor IMHO and a skill that is worth having in ones bag of tricks.

Todd

Yeah I'm trying to get used to it, but since I don't need to pull up, I think I'll give dive only a go if its not comfy for me, I can go back to floating anytime I want

A Floyd can be setup to float or dive with or without a FR recesded route on the top of the guitar. The neck may have to be shimmed to get the trem high enough to pull back. A block may be needed provide a resting point if the guitar has the recessed routing. I've used Floyd's for 25 years with no more problems than a stock Strat trem once I figured it out.

I use the Super-Vee Locking Trem nowadays. It is a double locker and has traditional adjustable saddle height and intonation and no wearable knife edge or post. It is a drop in replacement for a stock trem too. No drilling just a screwdriver.

bd

Man, those super vee tremolos are expensive $200 :/ Then again, getting a replacement FR would cost around the same, if my FR does get damaged, unless I'm getting a cheap licensed one. Would it be a worthwhile investment? Does it go out of tune and do I have to worry about anything wearing out on me at all?

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This post has been edited by sammetal92: Jun 29 2013, 07:45 AM

[Musicman65]

Yeah I'm trying to get used to it, but since I don't need to pull up, I think I'll give dive only a go if its not comfy for me, I can go back to floating anytime I want

Man, those super vee tremolos are expensive $200 :/ Then again, getting a replacement FR would cost around the same, if my FR does get damaged, unless I'm getting a cheap licensed one. Would it be a worthwhile investment? Does it go out of tune and do I have to worry about anything wearing out on me at all?

I've had the first Super-Vee on my #1 Strat for 4 years with 120+ gigs a year. My sweat corrodes bridges worse than most other guys. I guess I'm more acidic. My FR's lost their finish on the saddles and so has the Super-Vee. I've had no breakage or issues so far.

As far as replacing a FR goes, the Super-Vee uses the existing 6 holes from a stock trem or 2 holes from a stock American Fender 2 point trem. I think FR's have a wider spacing.

The Super-Vee really shines as a drop-in upgrade on a stock Strat since no changes are necessary. As far as holding tune, it's double locking system eliminates all the variables just like an FR but provides traditional adjustments making it more suitable for 9.5 and smaller radius necks.

bd

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This post has been edited by Musicman65: Jun 29 2013, 09:55 PM

[sammetal92]

I'll see if I can get my hands on a guitar with a super vee to try it out

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