Collar vs. Screw-In Floyd Arms

[toejam]

Collar all the way. Always hated the screw-in arms and how they always strip or wobble and not stay in the right place.

I also like the pop-in arm on my G&L with the tension screw.

[vector]

Collar all the way. Always hated the screw-in arms and how they always strip or wobble and not stay in the right place.

I also like the pop-in arm on my G&L with the tension screw.

Ahh! A voice of reason and logic!

[toejam]

[Axewielder]

OK so I'd say 90% of the screw-in deniers don't have their trems set up properly. The screw in coupler should be adjusted using two wrenches so that the coupler rotates with a slight bit of friction relative to the baseplate. It doesn't get cranked down all the way. So you need the Floyd wrench to attach the arm, and you need the wrench to remove the arm. With this small sacrifice, the arm will be rattle free.

[vector]

OK so I'd say 90% of the screw-in deniers don't have their trems set up properly. The screw in coupler should be adjusted using two wrenches so that the coupler rotates with a slight bit of friction relative to the baseplate. It doesn't get cranked down all the way. So you need the Floyd wrench to attach the arm, and you need the wrench to remove the arm. With this small sacrifice, the arm will be rattle free.

Quite familiar with that process- did it for 13+ years. Gotta say, it was a pain in the ass because on those occasions that you had to readjust the assembly (mine kept coming loose despite following the aforementioned protocols)- it required either a pair of needle nose pliers that would fit in the cavity or you had to take the whole unit off in order to get two wrenches on it.

Enter collar screw assemblies- finger tighten and done. If it loosens, tighten again with fingers. No wrenches, no taking the unit off. So I ask again, what's the advantages of screw ins?

Collars screws FTW.

[Guitarkid8]

Collar for me, wouldn't consider anything else.

[Axewielder]

Gotta say, it was a pain in the ass because on those occasions that you had to readjust the assembly (mine kept coming loose despite following the aforementioned protocols)- it required either a pair of needle nose pliers that would fit in the cavity or you had to take the whole unit off in order to get two wrenches on it.

Yes that does suck. I have a flat wrench that can get in there without popping the damn trem off.

So I've probably owned 50 guitars with trems and they are all different. I'd say 50% of the screw-in ones will loosen on you, which is not a good success rate. So when that happens I just put a collared one on there. The difference in fluttering is often minimal at best, but there can be a difference. If I cherry-picked my top three fluttering guitars, they would all be screw-in arms. I don't really flutter all that much, but I do flutter the trem when doing setups as it is a good indicator that the trem is dialed in. But is it worth it for the difference? Probably not. The convenience factor tips the scales to the collared design.

To finally settle the fluttering issue, nominate your champion to arm wrestle mine (Brad Gillis).

[Snoogans]

My old Baretta has a Floyd with the screw-in arm. While it works fine, it does get a little tiresome that I can't change the position of the arm once I've tweaked it tight (with the two flat tin spanners that came with it). If I move the arm away from the "parked" postion, out of the way for riffing, so as I can get whammying, it unscrews itself in the thread and becomes slack and rattly. I was thinking about dropping a strong little spring into the threaded hole, like they do on Strats, but the bottom of the hole is not closed-up, so it drops straight through. I guess I could wrap the threads with PTFE tape, but that's a bodge-up job. Is there a way round this, or is there an adapter available to allow the fitting of a collar-type arm?

[metalhobo]

The collar always seemed to have to much play for me, no matter how much you tighten it. I guess your mileage may vary depending on the bridge. I've got two Floyds with the old screw-in style and I wouldn't swap them out. No play in the arm, and total control over the stiffness of the arm swing. I use the bridge much more for vibrato than for dives, so zero play is very important.

That said, the best style is the push-in like my Wilkinson has. Best of all worlds. Does something exist like this for a Floyd? A simple friction-based push-in, not a snap-in like the Edge.
edit: looks like that's what the Gotoh Floyds have. Cool. Anyone ever retrofit one onto a real Floyd?
edit2: FR actual makes one. http://www.floydrose.com/catalog/upg...h-in-style-arm When did this happen? I'm positive this didn't exist when I "upgraded" my FR-1000 to the screw-in style.

[toejam]

That said, the best style is the push-in like my Wilkinson has. Best of all worlds. Does something exist like this for a Floyd? A simple friction-based push-in, not a snap-in like the Edge.
edit: looks like that's what the Gotoh Floyds have. Cool. Anyone ever retrofit one onto a real Floyd?

G&L also uses the same kind of push in bar. Floyd Rose also sells one. http://www.floydrose.com/catalog/upg...h-in-style-arm

[vector]

Just ordered an OFR push-in style arm assembly. Gonna install it on the OFR on my CS Charvel Star and give it a thorough A/B-ing against my collar screw Floyds. If it doesn't measure up, look for it in the classifieds!

[toejam]

I look forward to your review.

[Number Of The Priest]

I look forward to your classifieds post.

[metalhobo]

Dibs

[XSvmbraDensX]

I've done my fair share of using the collared arms until I got sick of them loosening all the time and that "play" that develops and stops your warbles from being smooth. Eventually changed them out to the screw in arms and liked the sturdiness of those, but hated having to use those wrenches every time I wanted to remove or insert the arm, especially during the hectic times of trying to fling your guitar into its case right after a set. Just switched over to the Gotoh style push in arms with the set screws and so far have no complaints as they seem to work well, stay firm, and have no play.