questions about the Jackson JT580LP Bridge

[slashrox]

Hi all,

I'm looking at getting a new guitar with a floyd bridge on it (although I'm still trying to decide if i should get a valveking first or the guitar )

I was looking at trying out some of the mid-range Ibanez guitars (RG320, 350DX etc), I asked Jemsite if the Edge III's were more reliable than the lo-trs II that I had on my Ibanez last year. Apparently the bridges have to be set up on an angle etc... (I'm not that good with setting up guitars) When I had my Ibanez, I had alot of trouble with the Lo-Trs trem, After I got it setup by my local store, a few strings went out of tune from using the bar..

I'm also looking at trying some Jackson Dinky's & Kelly's. Are the JT580LP trems reliable? do they stay in tune?

[kelly user]

yes, and no. reliable, only for a certain amount of time, as for tuning if it is set-up right, there should be no problem. i would really suggest getting a book about guitars to help you learn about your instrument. you would save a lot of money, from not wasting it on crap set-ups by local shops.

and if you are buying the valveking 212, don't, i bought one and returned it the next day, they sound good, but are built like crap.

[NextInLine]

I've had guitars with the Edge Pro III and Lo-Trs trems also lots of Jacksons with the jt-580lp. Comparing both I can say I nearly had zero problems with the jt-580lp Much more better in the tuning stability dep. and also much more better built. The newer version (2006 and newer ones) should be even better..

I'd say go for it.

There are two problems that you will most likely experience with the jt-580

1-)The fine tuner screws usually don't turn as smooth as the ones on ofr/schaller/lo-pro edge trems. They can get worse after years also but you can take care of that.

2-)The knife edges on the jt-580 can wear down faster than those other high quality trems. But I'm not talking about 2-3 years

And lastly people say that changing a jt-580 to an OFR generally improves the tone. If you grab a Jackson with the jt-580 maybe later you can drop an ofr there

[Allu]

Buy Jackson DKMGT and you will be happy for rest of your life.
All that cheap "floyds" are peace of shit.

[toejam]

Never had a problem with a JT-580LP. I thought the Ibanez Lo-TRS was pretty much the same thing.

[kelly user]

Buy Jackson DKMGT and you will be happy for rest of your life.
All that cheap "floyds" are peace of shit.

piece

[rjohnstone]

^^^ What he said, and no, they are not all pieces of shit.
The JT-590 is a great trem.
The original Ibanez Edge trem is an excellent trem.
My Edge trem is 20 years old and still as solid as any OFR I have.

[Inazone]

I have had NO problems with any of the three JT580LPs that I own. Among the same number of Schaller trems (Schaller still builds OFRs last I checked), I have had to replace numerous saddles, have one "frozen" fine tuner, and had to replace one baseplate due to stripped intonation screw holes. The Schallers and OFRs do have a more solid feel, but if you aren't beating on your trem, even the cheaper licensed versions should last for years.

I will say that I have tried a couple of guitars with licensed trems that felt like plastic or ceramic rather than metal, Washburns I think.

[jackson1]

Inazone, what happened to the Schaller saddles? Did they crack or strip? I don't recall ever having problems with that.

[JACKSONWOLF]

At least with the JT590/Schaller Floyd II, new parts are easy to get hold of. For instance, a new Baseplate in the UK is only £20.00. I can't get hold of JT580/equivalent parts which generally means that a whole new bridge is needed when the soft metal (in comparison to the Scallers hardened steel) knife edges wear down. Also, modern day Schaller baseplates have hardened steel saddle bolt holes to elimintate stripped threads which was a common problem in the late 80's/early 90's due to shorter saddle bolts.

Steve

[jackson1]

Steve, thanks again for helping me out a while ago with one of these new baseplates

[Inazone]

Inazone, what happened to the Schaller saddles? Did they crack or strip? I don't recall ever having problems with that.

The issue isn't actually with the saddles, but with the blocks (string retaining blocks?) inside that actually "lock" the strings inside the saddle. I've had several of the blocks crack or in some other way become lodged inside the saddle. I don't tighten them down with such force that they should crack, but it has happened to probably 7-8 of them. I've tried removing them by soaking the saddles in WD-40 and trying to get them out with needlenose pliers, but most of them remain stuck. I ended up just replacing the saddles.

Never any problem with the JT580LP saddles. Weird.

[demeyes]

I've had no real problems with tuning on my 580 and I tend to be fairly rough with it. The fine tuners are not as smooth as an OFR but all the parts are moving well on it and its been on it for years.

[Allu]

piece

Yeah, my bad.

[mhalsey]

Two words: great trem. And, as ku stated, definitely learn to do your own setups. It's very satisfying to know you can do it yourself plus there's no questioning that it'll be set up exactly how you like it. I wonder how many players give their guitar a lil' tweak once getting it home after having a pro setup done?