Floating or non-floating Floyd

[Mitch]

I was wondering if any one here who has the new production Charvels knows if the floyds can be set up for non-floating(ala EVH). All the ones that I have seen have a little pitch to the neck in the neck pocket and was curious as to weither this was done with shims or not. I prefer to have my floyds rest on the body.

[Carbuff]

No shims on mine (mines a mutt but it should be the same) and my trem is pretty high off the body. I dont think youre gonna lower the floyd any without shimming the neck. Also, I think the trem posts might bottom out before you can get it that low. They are fairly long.

[Rich#6]

I just got mine from Ralph E and the trem is on the body. I believe he did any neck or neck pocket alterations.

[blitz]

cut the trem studs? or cut it a little and thread it more?

[Mitch]

Thanks guys. That kinda sucks that you have to alter the neck pocket. So much tone is lost(IMO) when the trem floats

[Rich#6]

I just got mine from Ralph E and the trem is on the body. I believe he did any neck or neck pocket alterations.

oops! as far as I know he did NOT do any alterations.

[rjohnstone]

Thanks guys. That kinda sucks that you have to alter the neck pocket. So much tone is lost(IMO) when the trem floats

Block it.
If trem contact with the body is your goal, blocking it gives more surface to surface contact between trem and body vs. having the trem lowered.

[AndyK]

Little device called the Tremol-No. Works like a charm to block the Floyd (dive only mode). Really makes sustain and overall tone better when blocked.

[dg]

The Tremol-No is great, but if you know you won't be switching back & forth between locked, dive-only, and full floating, you can save a lot of money by making up a block or buying a trem stop from Dave:

http://www.fretsonthenet.com/hardware.htm#Floyd_Rose_Adjustable_Tremolo_Stops

It's interesting how many people have mentioned that they think the trem should be resting on the body on these guitars. IMO, they should have made them with even more neck tilt and have the trems even higher off the body. That's how my pointy is set up, as well as most others that I have checked out. It has a 42mm block and quite a bit of pullup range. My strathead is set up more like one of the production models, with a 37mm block and very little pullup range, and that's the only thing I don't completely love about it. All a matter of preference, I guess, but I come from the old school pre-recessed days where we wanted full floating trems with as much pullup range as possible.

[toejam]

Just lower the bridge to the body, shim the saddles up and you're good to go. No need to mess with the neck pocket. That's what I did when I had my '05 Charvel Star. The Floyd was a little more than 1/4" off the body initially, but I just wanted it on the body for divebombing only, and the shims worked. You'll have to use a few with trial and error to get them the right height you desire.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Saddle-Shim-Set-for-Floyd-Rose-Locking-Tremolo_W0QQitemZ300300987461QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090317?IMSfp=TL090317208003r13273

[khabibissell]

Toejam's suggestion is probably best. There is another device that is basically an adjustable "L" bracket that you screw into the trem cavity (requires modification to the guitar). The block rests on it stopping the trem from pulling back... I can't remember the name of it, but I bought a couple of small "L" brackets at Home Depot and made my own.

As for the Tremel-No, I personally don't recommend it for a couple of reasons. First, the thumb screws stuck out of the trem cavity so much that I couldn't put the back plate back on the guitar (which is bad IMO because there is a possibility that you could bump the thumb screws and loosen them up when playing live... say goodbye to your tuning), and it has too many moving parts making it way to complicated to be practical in a live situation. If you have an issue with it, good luck fixing it quickly. I eventually took it off the guitar.

The above experiences were with it installed on an American FMT strat, so your mileage may vary (I wanted to be able to quickly go into drop D and I always set my "standard" trems to float a bit per Fender spec. Another thing is that I had a very hard time lining the device up properly... when I used the trem I could always hear a bit of noise (meaning friction) when I used the bar. The guitar didn't stay in tune when I did use the bar, and it did before I put the Tremel-No on there. I messed with it alot and couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to, so I took it off of there. There are others who have had great results apparently, so YMMV. Just wanted to add another opinion.

[Grandturk]

I used to think I liked blocked or flush mounted Floyds, then I went through grunge and only played Floyd-less guitars. Now that I've returned to my roots, I really enjoy the feel of floating Floyds.

[KLNowak]

Just lower the bridge to the body, shim the saddles up and you're good to go. No need to mess with the neck pocket. That's what I did when I had my '05 Charvel Star. The Floyd was a little more than 1/4" off the body initially, but I just wanted it on the body for divebombing only, and the shims worked. You'll have to use a few with trial and error to get them the right height you desire.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Saddle-Shim-Set-...17208003r13273

This! Shoudn't be too hard since they don't have a recessed cavity.