FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

[kickinsomeaxe]

I was told that when the floyd is set to float, you lose sustain and low end?
so since i have heard that I set mine to dive only( the trem black is resting against a piece of rock maple in the cavity when not in use)
IF there is NO difference in sustain and tone i would like to have it set to float for raising the pitch as well as the wide vibrato stuff [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

Try removing the block and make your own UNBIASED judgement! Honestly. Tone is subjective and you may or may not notice a difference. Try it. It cannot be that hard to remove and install again. I used to experiment on my own guitars with/without trem blocks.

[j2379]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

lose sustain thats silly, if anything u lose sustain when blocked since there is more of a contact point more area to transfer energy. as for tone there is a very little difference from what i can tell.

[Chuckracer]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

[ QUOTE ]
lose sustain thats silly, if anything u lose sustain when blocked since there is more of a contact point more area to transfer energy.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[sithgt6]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

[img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

I concur -- more mass = more sustain

I think you'd notice the difference more with fixed bridge vs. OFR rather than OFR vs. blocked OFR.

D>

[GodOfRhythm]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

Yeah. You're not going to have a major difference in tone between a floating or a routed-in OFR.

[Grandturk]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

[ QUOTE ]
I concur -- more mass = more sustain


[/ QUOTE ]

Thus the popularity of maple bodies, brass "sustain" blocks and a host of other things that made guitars heavier in the 70's. The fact of the matter is mass does not equal sustain. Resonance is responsible for sustain, not mass.

I'm not saying maple and brass are bad, but heavy for the sake of heavy is just heavy. A heavy bodied guitar should have light hardware to increase the amount of vibration that is passed to the body, thereby allowing the guitar and the strings to continue to vibrate. Similarly, light bodied guitars might benefit from heavier hardware. All of this translates to resonance - the more resonance a guitar has, the more it will sustain.

[Chuckracer]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

I agree with that. However, if you have a string attached to a bridge that's floating, it will have less natural sustain than a bridge that's not dissipating the natural string vibrations with sympathetic vibrations of its own. I think, anyway.

In the real world it won't make one iota of difference.

[kickinsomeaxe]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

thanks for the info guys! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[PowerTube]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

I blocked my JT580 recently (to dive only). The difference in sustain was negligible in my case, BUT..... the difference in tuning stability is phenominal.

[Big D]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

I've tried many guitars with Floyds both ways and could never tell a difference. I think the only benefit of blocking is for live situations where a string breaking won't cause everything to go out of tune. It is also nice for learning songs where you quickly need to change tuning up or down 1/2 step.

[jazzman]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

You could try a new block. There's one called "Big Block" for a replacement. It's made of bell material and it's bigger. I've never tried it, only heard of it. I heard it works well.

http://www002.upp.so-net.ne.jp/lieju...nce-e.html#4.4

I'm not sure where to get it. I've been trying for a while to try it.

[Madness]

Re: FLOYD ROSE question? to float or not?

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah. You're not going to have a major difference in tone between a floating or a routed-in OFR.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, what he said.