Original Floyd Rose or Schaller?

[ginsambo]

Have the oppotunity to get a Schaller Floyd Rose, one of the modern generation hardened blade ones apparently, used but low hours, at half of the price of an OFR.

Tempted to get it, I kind of like the stunted look of the Schaller, but I've hard people say its not a touch on an original Floyd and I can get one of them for $170. But I've also seen some new Schallers listed at the same price as the OFR from the same vendors, so I'm confused about quality issues now. My thinking is that they are different spec and the OFR is a better grade of hardened steel, but machined in the same factory. Is there a lot in it?

Its for a new guitar body. Would I regret not dishing the extra cash for the Floyd?
Also I'm right in thinking Floyd and Schaller posts are identical right?

[wilkinsi]

Which guitar are you using? What scale is it?

I wanted to put OFR's on my 90's Warriors, but was told it wouldn't intonate. These guitars are 24.75" scale as opposed to 25.5" on a WR1. I'm sure someone will chime in to remind me as to why they won't intonate. IIRC, it has something to do with the saddles' range. Personally, I find the OFR's on my WR1's are able to take far more divebomb/pull-up abuse than the JT-590's on my 90's Warriors. Then again, all I do is change strings (adjust the spring screws if changing guage), tune, and play. I don't do trussrod adjustments.

[ginsambo]

25.5" scale kramer pacer/baretta type of guitar.

That's strange you say that about the OFR's, as I always thought because they often need an extra rout, due to their extra width, that they would intonate with more range than a Jt-590, not less.

I've got a black JT-580, I know these have two or three staged, bolt down, pre fine tuning, saddle settings for intonation, guesss the 590's are similar. Do the OFR's not have these basic bolted down staged settings? All I want is something chrome and reliable in the long run.

I know some choose the Schaller as the OFR won't fit without the extra rout, but this one is gonna be surface mounted, so it really doesn't matter either way.

[dg]

If I could get a like-new Schaller for 1/2 the price of a new OFR, I'd jump on it. The intonation issue that W. refers to is a rare thing that has happened to a few people over the years. IIRC, it happens most often on lower tunings. There is a slight difference in the distance between the knife-edges and the saddles on the two trems, and in certain situations where you need to be at the outermost part of the intonation range, there can be a problem if you switch one for the other. 99% or more of the time, there's nothing to worry about for most people.

[wilkinsi]

Thanks for clearing that one up DG.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

The Floyd posts on all 3 of my Soloists are too far toward the neck by about 1/16" - 1/8" for ideal intonation range... That would cause an issue on lower tunings, which, if there is a slight difference in the OFR and Schaller units, might be made worse.

In other words even if you set the guitar up for E with .008's there would still be room to move the saddles forward, which you'd never need to do. With 9's there's almost 1/8" of room to go forward. Of course tuning to C with elevator cables, you might want that 1/8" on the back end.

[ginsambo]

Thanks everybody for the info. The body is a K&E Body so I guess they use a template for OFR or Schaller Floyd 2, like Warmoth do.

I did some extra research and some say........yeah here we go...some say that Schaller are crap, but it turns out that some of the schallers are made in Korea or the far east, kind of like licensed OFR's or Special FR's and these, apparently, are the schallers that are rubbish, and the Made in germany ones are the good ones.

Confirmed with seller that this particular Schaller is a Made in Germany job and bought it. £60 all in, but I'II probably have to buy new bushings (£10) and a 43mm nut (£10) as its an R2. So that's £80 all in for a $180 Unit.

Still better than a Warmoth $170 OFR or new Schaller imported with 20% UK Value added tax and shipping which works out at around £153 ($250) or a model bought here...for £190 ($310) with dealers markup and added sellers 20% Vat, on top of the import duty 20% Vat.

Sorry to swipe it with a BuyitNow from the bidders if your on here...

Thanks Again. I don't know if provencial stuff on the Schaller is as significant as licensed Floyds compared to OFR's but apparently steel and cast quality varies...?

[wilkinsi]

Ah, I just remembered the other problem - the OFR poles are longer than the Schallers, and the trem routes on my 90's Warriors aren't long enough, nor are the OFR and schaller poles interchangeable.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, if it's recessed you probably don't want to try to swap the brands. The extra space looks funky with the Schaller in an OFR route, and the crushed wood/chipped paint looks funky with the OFR in the Schaller route.

[Kisonen]

Schaller Lockmeister. Worth checking out.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/schaller_original_tremolo_lockmeister_b.htm

[ginsambo]

Well, got it. Arrived yesterday. No post bushes, but the post threads are very similar to Jackson JT-580 ones, not fine like OFR threads, so gave then a try and they are the same thread. So think I'II tap the Jackson Post bushes into the body, unless there is a reason not to? Made in Germany Schaller Floyd Rose II. Well happy with it.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I don't know if they're the same size as Floyd posts, could be a little bigger and crack the body, could be a little smaller and work loose, at best you don't know what the post/bushings really are from if you need a new one.

If it were me, I'd buy just a set of posts new and use those, that way if in the future you need a new one, it's the old standard Floyd post.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

I prefer the tone of the Schaller over the OFR. But the playability and build quality of the newer Gotoh's trump all.