Floyd Rose Upgrades

[Big Harry]

Hi Guys ,
Guitar as an Anderson deserves the best of the best , so I am considering to do some upgrades to floyd tremolo ,one of the most important part of the guitar which is not made or designed by Tom .
Just wondering anyone if out there tried floyd upgrades yet ? Big brass block ,stainless screws ,titanium saddles ,etc....
http://floydupgrades.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=35

Thanks,
Zoran

[markus]

While Tom doesn't design or make the Floyd Rose himself, I know that he takes every single Floyd completely apart and modifies it slightly to make sure it works perfectly on his guitars. I'd be afraid that it wouldn't work that perfectly anymore if you put some of these upgrades in, like for example the upgraded saddles...

[Big Harry]

Thanks Markus ,it is good point .
My concern is material . I've got OFR Made in Germany ,from later 80's , still works fine ,but not in the perfect conditions after plus 20 years to be installed on TAG , or not enough perfect as my Edge Lo Pro from my Ibanez 7wvh .
So , my point is more about material (alloys ) used , than about design , if you know what I mean .
And I mean that material on the new OFR doesn't improved since eighties ,even goes worse (cheaper) a little bit .
I already have problem to tight my high E string , which goes flat , the very well known problem with OFR's .
So , I thought SS and titanium parts might help ???:confused:

[tom]

materials are the same as the 80's, not any cheaper. we rebuild each one because they have always been made with saddle heights that do not equal any radius. the rebuild is just to make it work as intended but match our guitars geometry.
i don't see what a larger block made of the same material will contribute to better tone. that would just be more of a dense material to soak up string vibration. i think we can all agree that the "brass mass" idea of the late 70's and 80's was not a great idea.
as for titanium, it would certainly change things. whether it would be "better", would be up to you.

[markus]

I'd certainly recommend to stick with the Floyd as is.
I have 5 Andersons - all with Original Floyds - and I have never had any problems with them. They all work perfectly. I mean... how could it possibly be different? After all they're made in Germany!!! ;) :p

[tom]

i am constantly amazed when i see 20 year old floyds that still have perfect knife edges.

[markus]

German steel is indestructible, Tom! ;) :D

[Big Harry]

Thanks to Tom & Markus feedback I will not replace any parts of OFR on my TAG .:p
I was just under attack of TPAS (titanium parts acquisition syndrome :D ) and thinking to make it really indestructible with titanium parts , but I see I will mess with floyd geometry .
As mentioned , my old OFR from 1988 is still in use ,and it has knife edges in better condition than my Edge pro ,4 years old , where files are already used twice to make it working smooth . There is still no need to mess with it on old OFR.
What is not good with OFR is problem with high E string ,which goes flat ,both on old (I remember it very well , from the very begining ) and new OFR .
Stretching E string properly and tightening screws on the nut lock to maximum doesn't helps , but it stops somehow once intonation screw on the bridge is tighten to maximum -on both OFR's ????
I am using #9 -46 strings sets ,but problem is much less with if I use #10 gauge .
I've got a feeling with #11 E string problem will disappear ,but I can't play it . I'm using excessively pull offs and dive ins , maybe it could be a reason?


Also , small cuts (slots ,insection ) from the E string , are visible on the nut lock and on that thing (sorry I don't know the proper word at the moment) which keeping E and B string pressed and locked to the lock nut .

So , this is a full story . :)

I like Floyds , to be clear . More , one guy in the Andy McGibbons Guitar store ,who don't believe in the new OFR's (?) offered me about $ 300 (!!!) for my old OFR Made in Germany but I didn't sell it !

Cheers ,
Zoran

[malabarmusic]

FWIW, I installed a FU big brass block on my Floyd-equipped TA and I liked the change. With the additional mass, I hear a tad more bottom-end heft and perhaps a less strident top-end. I've detected no sonic drawbacks.

I didn't upgrade the saddles, but I did swap out the stock screws that lock in the strings at both the nut and bridge. They were starting to rust pretty badly, and the stainless steel ones look quite spiffy!

- DB

[tom]

just a note. stainless screws are generally not as hard as black steel cap screws, so i would watch the dog ends on the bridge clamp screws.

[markus]

And as for rust on the black steel screws, you can clean that up pretty nicely with a bit of WD40. Usually it comes right off...

[markus]

Thanks to Tom & Markus feedback I will not replace any parts of OFR on my TAG .:p
I was just under attack of TPAS (titanium parts acquisition syndrome :D ) and thinking to make it really indestructible with titanium parts , but I see I will mess with floyd geometry .
As mentioned , my old OFR from 1988 is still in use ,and it has knife edges in better condition than my Edge pro ,4 years old , where files are already used twice to make it working smooth . There is still no need to mess with it on old OFR.
What is not good with OFR is problem with high E string ,which goes flat ,both on old (I remember it very well , from the very begining ) and new OFR .
Stretching E string properly and tightening screws on the nut lock to maximum doesn't helps , but it stops somehow once intonation screw on the bridge is tighten to maximum -on both OFR's ????
I am using #9 -46 strings sets ,but problem is much less with if I use #10 gauge .
I've got a feeling with #11 E string problem will disappear ,but I can't play it . I'm using excessively pull offs and dive ins , maybe it could be a reason?


Also , small cuts (slots ,insection ) from the E string , are visible on the nut lock and on that thing (sorry I don't know the proper word at the moment) which keeping E and B string pressed and locked to the lock nut .

So , this is a full story . :)

I like Floyds , to be clear . More , one guy in the Andy McGibbons Guitar store ,who don't believe in the new OFR's (?) offered me about $ 300 (!!!) for my old OFR Made in Germany but I didn't sell it !

Cheers ,
Zoran

TPAS (titanium parts acquisition syndrome)! That's hilarious!!! :D
I never had a problem with my E going flat, but I play .010s - maybe that's why. As for the marks in the nut block for the E and B string, I do have these too, but they don't seem to have any effect on the locking nut.
Hope you can work out a solution - even without giving into TPAS! ;)

[Big Harry]

Hi Markus ,
I replaced #9 with # 10 last week , and #10 E string stayed in tune quiet well , so string gauge might be a cause...
Because I used on " soft on the bottom (EBG ) ,tight on the top (DAE) " balance in string set , I comeback to # nines again .
#10 set is too sloppy for me on DAE strings , which are the same as for #9 set .
Still looking how to solve that E string problem ,shame that TPAS can't solve it :D , they still don't make titanium lock nut .....