Battle of the Floyds: Gotoh vs. Schaller

[xenophobe]

I have a full set of Gotoh in Cosmo Black to change over my MIJ Fender. That'll leave me with a full set of chrome for something else. I just put a black Gotoh on my strathead... but that's in pieces again because one of the trem posts has compressed the wood and has moved forward... that needs to be corrected. I also need to cut down another one of my Schaller posts because it seems that the Gotoh does sit a little bit lower in comparison to my Schaller. Oh, I have a fourth Gotoh coming on that Brad Gillis strat.

Best Floyd ever... I will never use an OFR or Schaller again unless I have no choice.

[dvscool]

I have a full set of Gotoh in Cosmo Black to change over my MIJ Fender. That'll leave me with a full set of chrome for something else. I just put a black Gotoh on my strathead... but that's in pieces again because one of the trem posts has compressed the wood and has moved forward... that needs to be corrected. I also need to cut down another one of my Schaller posts because it seems that the Gotoh does sit a little bit lower in comparison to my Schaller. Oh, I have a fourth Gotoh coming on that Brad Gillis strat.

Best Floyd ever... I will never use an OFR or Schaller again unless I have no choice.

I think I'm going to replace the Edge III on another Ibanez I own as well.....cosmic black...sick as HELL

[xenophobe]

I think I'm going to replace the Edge III on another Ibanez I own as well.....cosmic black...sick as HELL

I'm just amazed at how much nicer my strathead is after changing out the Schaller stuff... It feels better, it sounds better and it plays better. I can't discount that there might be some placebo psychological factor involved, but it's as much of a difference to me as it would be replacing EMG-HZ with the real thing.

[Newc]

Ahh, I see now. The other pic looked like the set screw was in the base of the insert, going into the side.

I'm also noticing the Schaller insert outer ridges are spiraled slightly. Never noticed that before. Might help with backing out, might not. Definitely would make replacing them a bit difficult as a straight ridge like the Gotoh would not follow the spiraling groove left by the Schaller.

And yeah The Key (Floyd tool) is nice to have, though they're holding steady at $25 each, and almost never come up on the used market.
I have one and use it whenever I need, but generally I only use it that one time and put it away

[xenophobe]

The Shaller bushing does have a slight spiral. They pull out like any other insert. The Gotoh insert is much bigger, you'd need to re-drill the holes the correct size. The Schaller bushing isn't really deep and the hole drilled for them is much deeper. I haven't had any issue with them moving except when the posts bottom out and actually push the bushings out. I've had to cut both of my Schaller posts to prevent this from happening.

Yeah, I tried searching for a better price... I ended up buying a used one off Amazon for $19.95 shipped. And yes, it's a tool I'll use maybe once or twice a year and put away.

[Newc]

Meant to add that the one thing I really hate about the Schaller/JT590-style is The Key won't work with them. I'm sure there are suitable Floyd-style replacement screws, short enough to fit a Schaller recess, but I haven't put much effort into finding them. If someone were to package 6 of them as replacements with the Key for about $30, they'd probably have a winner.

[xenophobe]

Meant to add that the one thing I really hate about the Schaller/JT590-style is The Key won't work with them. I'm sure there are suitable Floyd-style replacement screws, short enough to fit a Schaller recess, but I haven't put much effort into finding them. If someone were to package 6 of them as replacements with the Key for about $30, they'd probably have a winner.

That's a pretty good idea actually.

And... buy a Gotoh from one of the places that will accept no-question returns. If you haven't tried one, I think you're missing out. You may not like it... some people like OFR's and Schallers because they feel like that old pair of worn-in shoes that are comfy, but it seems most people who have tried the Gotoh end up loving it. I already own four units.

[SausageofPower]

Do the sustain block screws match an OFR? I'd try one, but only if my existing sustain blocks could bolt up. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until I got a new guitar that I wanted to swap the hardware on.

[dvscool]

That's a pretty good idea actually.

And... buy a Gotoh from one of the places that will accept no-question returns. If you haven't tried one, I think you're missing out. You may not like it... some people like OFR's and Schallers because they feel like that old pair of worn-in shoes that are comfy, but it seems most people who have tried the Gotoh end up loving it. I already own four units.

Its true/possible some dudes may not like the Gotoh but really, it’s hard to see why they wouldn't other than the “old shoes” reference. They look better, feel better, and sound better. I mean, if someone DOESN’T like them I would LOVE to hear their reasoning as to what they didn't like....like I get "to each his own"....but seriously.....its just night and day...

[xenophobe]

Do the sustain block screws match an OFR? I'd try one, but only if my existing sustain blocks could bolt up. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until I got a new guitar that I wanted to swap the hardware on.

You don't need a sustain block with the Gotoh. It already has a milled brass block. The Gotoh has almost as much sustain/resonance in a normal setup as my Schaller did with a trem stabilizer.

This is one of the weak links of the Original Floyd Rose design, pretty much unchanged since the v-trem... this firmly attaches the springs to the trem block. The reason why many people upgrade to a Big Block is because the OFR block sucks. This block doesn't suck. This has to be a big improvement in resonance transference.

One of the major reasons to upgrade:



Seriously, is ^^this^^ not a thing of beauty and function?

[Anders]

Xeno!

I'm holding the Gotoh trem in my hand now, and I'm loving the weight, overall feel, and attention to detail!

However, the sustain block is too long (I knew this would be an issue before I bought it), and I wonder if the mounting holes in the block line up with OFR blocks? Do you know if they're interchangeable?

This morning I noticed that apparently Gotoh comes with the choice of three block heights: 33, 36 and 41 mm. The supplier in Sweden only offered the 41 mm block height, and it doesn't seem like Gotoh offers the blocks separately?

Since the block seems awesome, I'd really like to find a shorter original Gotoh block... but if that's not possible, I'd settle for a milled OFR brass block as well. Does anyone know where to get a Gotoh block?!

[xenophobe]

You could call a machine shop to cut the length and if necessary, re-tap the thread holes... The threads may go far enough into the block that all you might need to do is cut a few mm off.

I've had enough people ask, so I'll go ahead and see if the blocks are swappable. They might not be though.

But I've seen this auction, for the price it's hard to beat (you might need someone else to buy and ship it for you:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gotoh-Floyd-Rose-big-brass-block-Magnum-upgrade-block-also-EBMM-guitar-/290772316516?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43b3617164

[Anders]

Yeah I thought about that as well, and maybe I'll end up doing that.

It's just that it would feel good to keep the original block if I ever decide to use the trem in another guitar. But I guess I could always just buy a new Gotoh unit if I need to.

Thanks for the link!

[xenophobe]

The Gotoh block has a smaller diameter screw with smaller head, but it will fit the Schaller... looking at the angles of the screw heads and how they are offset just enough so that two screws will secure the block to a Schaller. The Schaller block screws will not pass through the Gotoh baseplate.

The good news is there is plenty of thread inside the Gotoh block, so if you need to cut it down, you'll be fine.

[Anders]

Thanks a lot for that! Sounds like the best option is to cut the Gotoh block then...

Too bad they don't use the same screws as Floyd Rose... that would probably be the only complaint I have with the Gotoh.

Nothing wrong with making it more universal!