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Just aquired a brand new black 2005 Charvel San Dimas Star with an Original Floyd Rose. But here's the problem: I like to pull my whammy bar up to make the notes go sharp and snap the arm to make the trem "trill" or warble and this trem is set up flush to the body, thus eliminating the possibility of either of those two techniques. I consulted a luthier about the issue who promptly told me I have the wrong trem system on there to start with (BULLSH*T!) He also stated that in order to set that baby up for a floating trem, I would have to rout out not only behind the trem but go into the sustain block in the body cavity and rout that out for the spring block to have clearance. Sweet Jesus! Has anyone else ran into this issue? Am I f---ed or can this beauty be saved yet? Help!
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So you have a non recessed trem I take it? You can't do pullups with those, despite the fact they can be setup to be full floating, most just block 'em off as it's not worth the hassle if you can't pull up. -
You can do pull-ups with them, just not that far back. If raising the bridge doesn't work for you, then you'll have to shim the neck to tilt back more, then you'll be able to raise the bridge more. Put some business card or guitar picks or a thin strip of wood or something in the pocket to help tilt it back.
Mine came floating about a quarter-inch or so above the body. I actually prefer it flush-mounted for dive only, so I dropped the trem to the body and shimmed the saddles up so the strings would not fret out, so it's perfect for me now. Make sure there's possibly no shims under your saddles.I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.Comment
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You should be able to do the pull-ups and downs with non-recessed floyds aswell. You can get more pull-up range by setting the action higher.
One more thing....it's a bolt-on guitar, right? What you could do is try and put more angle to the neck...that way you will have to set the floyd a bit higher to keep the same action as it is now, but you will have the floyd higher off the body and you'll be able to pull up/down without a problem
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Also, I always set up my non-recessed floyds with a slight forward pull.
EDIT: Fuggums, ToeJam beat me
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Hehe
I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.Comment
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I assume the guitar is a bolt on. If it is then Toejam is correct. Remove the neck and put a thin shim in the neck pocket. The shim should only be about .020-.030" thick. You can probably cut up a card from your weekly poker deck. The shim should only be placed by the back two holes. This will angle the neck. It may take a couple of different thicknesses before you get it to the height and angle you like. Also, I would not consult that "luthier" for anymore information.Comment
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I've noticed that not all luthiers know all the ins and outs of a Floyd Rose, even if they are highly skilled in other areas. I think there is some snobbery regarding bridges, and some of them look down on it for whatever reason. A good Floyd guy can be hard to find._________________________________________________
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I bet the trem has a 37mm block. I'd check, because you may need to get a 42mm block once you get the trem raised to a decent floating level to avoid having springs pop out when you use the bar.
Also, for anybody who doesn't think you can pull up with non-recessed trem, two words: Brad Gillis. Watch some vids. He's one of the top whammy abusers out there and still doesn't use a recessed trem or pullup rout behind the trem to this day. One of his tricks is to set the guitar up with the trem tilting forward a bit to get a little exra pullup range, but you don't have to do that. I set mine up so my trem is parallel to the fretboard rather than the guitar's body, so there is a slight forward tilt. There are no intonation issues if you start at that point before you intonate, btw.Comment
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37mm is what the Floyd block is on my Charvel Star. I was actually surprised it wasn't 42.Originally posted by dg View PostI feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.Comment
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Wow! Step 1 is to not to go to that guy ever again! Did he know it's a bolt-on?Originally posted by vector View Post
Step 2 is to shim as described to the desired height."Your work is ingenius…it’s quality work….and there are simply too many notes…that’s all, just cut a few, and it’ll be perfect."Comment
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Joe, I just checked the blocks on mine. The pointy's is 42mm and the strathead's is 37mm. Definitely more neck-tilt on the pointy, trem is set higher and I can pull up 2 steps, compared to just under 1 1/2 steps on the strathead. I may try shimming it & see if the springs hang in there. I doubt they will if I get the neck-tilt the same as the pointy.Originally posted by toejam View PostComment
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From my limited experience with floating trems and OFR's specifically, I know if you tilt the trem slightly forward, you run the risk of losing that all-important state of equilibrium- or perfect balance where the trem will warble and trill when snapped up or down-ala Nuno Bettencourt, Satch or Vai. I have a USA custom shop Star with the trem non-recessed and it is set high enough that I can pull that thing up 1 and half steps.
I guess I need to do the same here. And yeah, that's the last f---ing time I go to that "luthier" for advice! Whatta putz!Comment
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A luthier is someone who builds guitars, not some Guitar Center shmuck who does fretjobs and pickup swaps.
Sounds like you took it to a "tech".
Shimming the neck will work, as was stated, but the problem you run into then is that it fits in the case a bit too tightly, and you risk snapping the head if it's shimmed too much.
You can have it routed under the rear of the trem, but take it to someone who knows what they're doing.I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood
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Yeah, I guess it's fair to call that guy a "tech" Thanks for the info. Not sure whether I'll shim or rout. The shim seems to be the less troublesome approach but even if I shim the neck and it fits in the case, I still have an issue with having to take some wood off of the sustain block in the cavity to make room for the spring anchor block under the baseplate. If I'm going to that trouble, I may as well rout out behind the trem.
Originally posted by Newc View PostComment
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