Battle of the Floyds: Gotoh vs. Schaller

[Adagelie]

Yesterday I replaced a JT-580 with a Gotoh. The guitar (Kelly XL 94) is in drop-C with all 5 springs used, always had great tone and sustain, but the bridge was crap.. though it did it's job by keeping the tune and floating. Now with the Gotoh it was instant heaven. Three springs were enough and that drop-C with 10-46 strings doesn't feel sloppy at all, the sparks I feel in my fingertips just got more stronger and the bridge really responds to what I throw at it. JT-580 just seems to crumble away from the beating. I wonder how I kept it there for so long, 18 years...

One problem emerged: the first time I bent the bar up, two of three springs slipped away from the claw. They are so rigid that there's almost no preload at all, so when whamming up the springs just began pushing towards the end of the cavity. Tried with one less to get more preload but it felt too sloppy. Going to sort that out somehow..

Anyway I like this new cosmo bridge so much, that next in line is a 1987 Soloist with an OFR to be replaced.

Thank you Xenophobe for this thread! A Schaller would have cost me $150 more without that sweetest brass block. So happy now!!!

[Chiefgroover]

Will this fit where my charvel JT6 was ? Thnaks for a great thread BTW

[xenophobe]

From what I've noticed, is that the brass block is slightly forward compared to the OFR so the installed Gotoh may not have as much pullup room compared to an OFR or JT-6, but it should fit just fine. I really don't mind as I rarely do more than a half-step pullup.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Really? I have a Gotoh on my model 4 with a Dtuna installed works great. I think I used the long screw but it is totally stable tuning wise

Its been my experience. But maybe they changed the fine tuner ledge angle over the years but ines I have tried havnt worked. Unless im confusing it with a takeuchi trem.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Try the 3 springs in the \|/ formation. This will keep the outer two constantly stretched out a little bit more at the rest position.

[xenophobe]

If your springs are popping off the claw, it's likely that your block height is too high. The 42 is only useable on a non-recessed installation. On a recessed Jackson or Charvel, you should be using a 32, but a 37 will work in most instances.

Luckily I have a friend who is a machinist, so I had two of my 42mm blocks cut down to 37...

[groverj3]

I've never tried one of these, but I would be interested in it if I need to get a floyd.

Some hate it, but with a well fitting (that part is key) arm the schaller/OFR arm is my favorite over all other varieties I've tried. I would be interested in whether you could put it on the gotoh. I managed to put a schaller arm on a wilkinson once for a parts-o-caster I built, but that was pretty easy.

[Nev]

I've got a USA RR-1 that still has the original Schaller Floyd Rose on it. The Trem Base Plate is stripped from a saddle screw on the B string. I think it time to replace it. I would consider any upgrades to the system. My concern is the cavity that is available for the rear screws may not fit the Gotoh. Has anyone out there used a Gotoh trem on a USA RR-1 or King V? What are your thoughts about it?

[dvscool]

I'm pretty sure it would take some significant routing to put a Gotoh in. Even an OFR will barely fit. I just replace a Schaller Floyd with a brand new Schaller Floyd on a Jackson fusion, and I couldn't be happier with it. Not cheap though. See what others say.

[xenophobe]

If an OFR won't fit, the Gotoh won't either. The Gotoh is a drop in replacement for a Floyd Rose route.

Some hate it, but with a well fitting (that part is key) arm the schaller/OFR arm is my favorite over all other varieties I've tried. I would be interested in whether you could put it on the gotoh.

The screw in arm of the Gotoh is much better than the OFR/Schaller collar. It stays put better, there is no dead spot, the arm angle is much easier to grab and you can adjust the tension of the plastic collar with a set screw.

[shramiac]

Only drama I could see with the Gotoh is that it might corrode as quickly as an Ibi Edge does? Maybe.........

When I got my first Jem back in 1990, the Cosmo Black Edge started to bubble within 5 weeks!

And it was getting a good clean every night too!!!

[xenophobe]

I have two Cosmo trems. Admittedly I haven't played them much. I have 4 guitars with the standard Black and the finish is comparable to a black OFR. On the three guitars I play the most, there is no appreciable wear on any of the Gotohs.

I don't think there's any noticeable difference in tuning stability or durability. The most important differences are that the trem arm is tighter, has a better grasping angle and doesn't have that dead spot common with most OFR trem collars. I love the fact that the string saddles have all the sharp edges rounded off. I used to have a callus at the edge of my hand where it rubbed against the OFR saddles from palm muting. That callus is gone now.

[leftykingv2]

This was an awesome post. Very informative, Great work!

[xenophobe]

Thanks!

[leftykingv2]

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?

The Ibanez Edge pro has this too except it's a steel bar that goes all the way across the block and holds the springs in place with two screws at the middle of the block. https://www.google.com/search?q=edge...66%3B512%3B384