JT6 to Original Floyd Rose conversion

[ALZ]

congrats , man i love it when things work out , my ole 1987 blood strat graphic w/vampire skull , needs a lil help , but next month before we go on the monsters of rock cruise { yea i am going } , my bro will be here to adjust my guitar , had a jt6 ? or whatever ? , now sports a gold shaller floyd , needs a adjust , but plays great , see ya , alz / 2015 \m/

[robxorr]

Old post bump, but thought I would follow up. Black original floyd rose went on with a 42mm brass block no issues. Thank you everyone for your help!

[pianoguyy]

Old post bump, but thought I would follow up.

I find this kind of necro posting acceptable.
it was your post to begin with. and you were updating the situation.
**plus, it is a relevant repair issue.

but it's totally different if, let's say I came and posted - "hey, how did it work out" four years after the last post. or if I said "will this work with a schaller"

thanks for the update

[veeshawn]

I'm planning to replace my Model 4's JT6 with an OFR (Limited 1984 version), very soon. Good thing I found this thread first, since I didn't know anything about the necessary 42mm block mod. Saved me much frustration, so thanks guys!

BTW - Too bad those conversion studs mentioned here are no longer available. Any other source out there that I haven't stumbled upon yet?

edit - Moments ago, I ordered the Floyd '84 from MF, the 42mm block from Floyd Rose on Amazon, and strings and picks from GC. What could possibly go wrong?

[robxorr]

Cool! I wanted to just assure people it did work. I do a lot of old forum digging for vintage amps / guitars and hate it when it trails off.

The brass block was only put on because of the height difference between the newer more recessed guitars not for tone purposes.

I used the original jackson bridge posts. This was not an issue in range of pulling up or down. I have been known to pick the guitar up by the bar and shake it.

I also used the original style Kahler locking nut, but replaced it as it was shot. Most people hate this style of locking nut but I prefer the normal nut and lock to a floyd style.

It is very important though to check and see if it's actually locking however. After locking it i strum each string individually and push on that string in between the lock and tuner at the headstock. If the string warbles the lock gotta go. Your tuniing stability is totally out the window with a shot nut up top.

My buddy has the guitar now and uses it in his band. You can see it in this video, he's swinging it around his head like leatherface

[veeshawn]

First off, let me say this - I love the JT-6. I appreciate it's overall design above the OFR, and had absolute zero intentions of replacing it, when I purchased my '87 Model 4 (avatar) a few months ago. And, I will also go on record here saying this - I likely replaced the JT-6 due to no fault of it's own, but rather due to setup issues that only I can be responsible for. Lesson learned.

Ok, all that being said, here the two tremolos are, side by side -



Perhaps it's worth mentioning that I went with the 1984 Limited Edition, as I stated above. Also, I bought the necessary Floyd Rose 42mm Fat Brass block, to compensate for the total depth required for the springs-to-claw, since this is a non-recessed tremolo.

After installing that massive hunk of brass, the rest of the transplant went flawlessly. The Charvel's tremolo posts aligned perfectly with the Floyd Original's knife edges, and the entire guitar immediately felt better, even while just tuning it back up.

This picture (below) was taken before the final steps, including intonation, and a little trem cavity work -





In order to get the new Floyd to be a full floating system, or even for it to be able to sit level with the body, I had to Dremel a lip of wood from the trem cavity around the arm, and all across the cavity's pickup side. If you have a standard OFR block, and the standard, modern tremolo collar, this step probably wouldn't be necessary.

The end result? Absolute zero regrets. This Model 4 is now twice the guitar it was, before. Every aspect of what a bridge/tremolo can be to a guitar has been improved - feel, tuning stability, and dare I say it.. tone.

Like I said above, I love the JT-6. It's design was amazing, and IMO perhaps even way ahead of the OFR, just underwhelmingly executed in it's production. But, the German Floyd simply feels like a better made tremolo. Even slightly better than the Asian, so-called "Original Floyd", on my Jackson SL2Q Pro, but that's another discussion.


So to summarize, if you have a Model Series, and want to replace the JT-6 -

1) Yes, buy the Floyd

2) Definitely buy the 42mm block

3) Avoid the "Fat" blocks, unless you want to remove some wood

4) Install, intonate, and enjoy!!

[EntrailsOfU]

It's too bad you went through all that trouble and extra cost/routing for the bigger block. You can specify that you want the regular 42mm block with that trem (I have two, ordered both this way no extra cost) and you will still get brass. Just like you specify which nut size when you order, the sustain block is specified as well. A more knowledgeable dealer should know before ordering.

I am surprised you haven't had any radius issues? The Floyd is set up for 12" radius and your guitar needs a much more flat radius. I had to shim both of mine to get the strings to sit even close to normal. Step 4 should definitely have radius adjustment in it.

[veeshawn]

Sorry, should've mentioned that I removed the factory shim during the block swap. Many lessons learned here along the way, and still many left to go. Thanks!

[EntrailsOfU]

Sorry, should've mentioned that I removed the factory shim during the block swap. Many lessons learned here along the way, and still many left to go. Thanks!

The factory shim under the block? What I meant was actually shimming each saddle underneath to make the strings sit more flat (to match the fret board radius). The under the block shim won't have any effect on that. Your strings have to feel way high in the middle compared to either E string?

[veeshawn]

The factory shim under the block? What I meant was actually shimming each saddle underneath to make the strings sit more flat (to match the fret board radius). The under the block shim won't have any effect on that. Your strings have to feel way high in the middle compared to either E string?

"The under the block shim"? Is that even a thing?

No, the factory shim under the saddles...

In order to perform the 100% desired block swap (that btw, wasn't any more trouble, nor cost than I was happily prepared to handle), I obviously had to remove the four middle saddles, in which this shim was present. You did know about the one that makes the bridge a 10" radius, vs. a 12" radius without it?

Regardless, a dozen shims arrived in the mail today, so I can (hopefully) achieve the proper 16" radius for this guitar. Looking forward to sharing the results, soon.

Might even tackle that sloppy Asian Floyd on my Jackson later, if all goes well.

[Number Of The Priest]

You might want to read this (https://www.jcfonline.com/forum/equi...-saddle-radius) regarding achieving the proper bridge radius for your guitar. Hint: It should be even flatter than 16"... more like 20".

[veeshawn]

Thank you for the link! I had already stumbled across your thread recently, and just now gave it another read. Good stuff!

Shims are installed, and here's the method I used, with Allparts shim set part # BP-2214-001 -

Two shims each beneath saddles 1 and 6, and one shim each beneath saddles 2 and 5. Saddles 3 and 4 are unshimmed. Seemed to be the consensus around the web.

Then, I lowered the bridge posts by 1/4 turn each.

I don't have any radius gauges atm, but I can certainly tell an improvement in feel further up the neck. Much flatter, faster, and easier to play.

Thank you, entrailsofu and number of the priest, for your guidance. I'm not done yet, but the progress has certainly been positive, so far.