TONE REPORT - Titanium Big Block

[shredmonster]

OK it took me about 1 hour maybe an hour and a half. Did not look so closely at the time.

Followed the advice for the most part on the website and ran into a few annoyances like dropping a few parts by trying to short cut.

All in all a pain in the butt but definitely doable. Had to reset the Floyd after I was done but I did not need to re-intonate which I was dreading having to do.

Approximately a 20% improvement in most areas. The first day I just played acoustically letting everything get settled for plugging in the following day.

Right off the bat the guitar was louder and the notes clearer and more crisp. Sustain improved on the lower strings between about 20 - 25% and the higher strings 15 - 20%. The block added a chime or shimmer to the high notes that were not previously there.

OK I thought. Not bad but not worth the money probably. Definitely better sound though.

The next day I plugged my distortion box - custom made one by pedaleffectsboutique - guy named Dave Wireman if I remember correctly. Very nice pedal - into my sons Crate combo 40 watt. Just used the clean and the distortion box.

Turned it on and the sound of GOD came outta that guitar. Holy Shit!

Sounded like a very articulate Les Paul. The distortion pedal has 2 sides and I cranked that thing all the way up on both sides and could still hear the string separation.

Now I had not previously plugged this particular guitar into this amp using this pedal with the regular Floyd block. But that doesn't matter because there is nothing I would now change or could think of changing where I could get better sound than what I was hearing. Just amazing.

The guitar was my Custom Rico Jekyll BTW. I am sold on these blocks.

[85 San Dimas]

Thanks for the report man, gives a lot of cred to the blocks (even though they are expensive). At least the change over wasn't as bad as you thought it might be.

[Spivonious]

Have you also tried the less expensive block upgrades? I know Henrik did the brass block upgrade and said it really helped out. Brass is a lot cheaper than titanium.

[shredmonster]

I have not tried the brass. I have read it tones down some of the highs of a guitar - some people say it makes a Floyd loaded guitar a better sounding guitar for blues.

James Tyler - the JT - says lighter metals give better sustain and resonance because the inertia of the string energy when they are vibrating have to overcome the mass of the wood and metal on the guitar to make the entire guitar vibrate as a whole.

Heavier mass means it takes more inertia for the string energy to overcome so his opinion was lighter metal parts are better for resonance or sustain. He gave the example of a certain year of Les Paul - with the really lightweight bridge and tuners. He said if you were to put on a heavy duty bridge and heavy tuners it would destroy the sustain and tone of the guitar because the strings would not be able to easily overcome the density of the heavy wood coupled with heavy metal parts. His opinion of course but he is a well respected luthier.

So that is why I went with Titanium - that and the information I read regarding Titanium at Detemple guitars.

Adam at Floydupgrades.com did say some guitars work better with brass, some with titanium.

This particular guitar is very light mahogany - lightest piece I have ever seen - special ordered by Rico Jr. And it has a very thick arched maple top along with a maple neck and ebony fingerboard. You would think it would be a bright guitar. Rico Jr told me he ordered the mahogany special to make sure I got a really sweet sounding guitar not muddy or unresponsive.

The guitar sounds very close to an Alder guitar yet different than Alder. But I know from listening to it that brass might very well have reduced the highs which I did not want on this guitar.

BTW turns out the Titanium block felt heavier than the Floyd steel block that was in there. The deal with titanium is the crystaline structure of the metal and it resulting properties as outlined on the Detemple guitar site.

[Spivonious]

Interesting. I didn't think of the different densities of metal having that large of an effect.

[jhale667]

Wanna hear the difference between ALL 3?

Relevancy BUMP! Ah, glad to see people here are trying these already...so you may like this: here's a comparison/review I did on another gear forum with basic example audio clips that Adam liked so much he re-posted it on the FloydUpgrade site itself...thought that was pretty cool!

Since over the past year and a half I've become addicted to FloydUpgrades Big-Blocks of both the Brass and Titanium variety, one of the questions I'm invariably asked is "What do they sound like? What are the differences?" Well, sometimes verbal descriptions fall short; something has to be heard to be truly appreciated, if not felt. It wasn't enough to merely tell someone how much either of them kicked ass over the standard, you really have to hear it and decide for yourself. Telling people even my DRUMMER noticed a difference was a head-turner, true - but I wanted to document it once and for all.



So I decided, since I had all three types lying around (I use the Brass and the Titanium as different flavors for different applications now, and have the originals as paperweights), I have Pro Tools and am only moderately afraid to use it I'd throw together my own sonic shoot out of sorts. I decided to use my Koa Warmoth Strat as the test-bed for the experiment, since she has the most even tone of all my Floyd-equipped guitars.

First order of business was to reinstall the original (eww) standard 37mm block for the "reference riff/MP3". After slapping back on the standard, I recorded two sample riffs, one slightly dirty and one balls out to get a feel for their individual characteristics in regards to open chords, palm muting, and overall dynamics. For this test I used PODfarm and Recabinet - a Marshall Plexi and Soldano emulation both running into the same Recabinet "Green 4x12" with a single 121 mic emulation. I'd then repeat the process with the other two block types- same emulations, same settings, same guitar - different block each time.

Here's the riff(s) with the Standard block:

SoundClick artist: Jay's Gearwhore - page with MP3 music downloads

Once that was done, I also took the opportunity to install the FloydUpgrades Brass Spring Claw and Noiseless spring set for the two "upgraded" riff examples, as I wanted to illustrate the full tone-freak Floyd Rose overhaul process.



Those were quickly swapped out, then it was on to the Brass Block. Here's how that one went:

SoundClick artist: Jay's Gearwhore - page with MP3 music downloads

You can tell in that clip the low end is now seemingly boosted, and the tone is fatter overall. Gone is the dreaded Floyd Rose "thinness" players long complained of, and note transfer seems to have improved as well. The mids seem thicker and the highs seem to have been warmed up as well, without becoming screechy. There's also a noticeable increase in sustain. Definite UPgrade.

Brass alone is impressive, (and one could certainly live with it) but - if you really want to go tonal crackhead with it, Titanium IS the push over the cliff. It is more like Brass' evil cousin. Everything Brass does, it seems to do "one louder". The sustain increase is most dramatic, making notes seem to jump off the fretboard...there's something more... aggressive about the highs too, but it's not at all harsh...check it out:

SoundClick artist: Jay's Gearwhore - page with MP3 music downloads

So now at least no one has to ask someone to tell them what the different advantages of the blocks are now...you can hear them for yourselves...

[Trussrod]

Great posts. J, I didn't get a chance to hear what single notes sound like from your examples--especially high pitched harmonics. Did the second part of each upgraded example include the brass claw?

Suggestion: Next time anyone replaces a block they can use a magic marker to mark the current location of their saddles on the base plate before pulling them. After re-installing the saddles wipe off the ink with a q-tip. Saves you the trouble of re-setting the intonation.

[jhale667]

Thanks, and excellent suggestion, Trussrod, while not perfect it definitely puts you well back into the ballpark.

Yes, both the Brass and Ti examples use the Brass Claw. I haven't done lead-specific example clips per se, but here's a joke solo-wank I did with my old Ash-bodied Charvel parts mutt that has the Brass installed...

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8348585

[Axewielder]

Hmm the brass block clip sounds the best to my ears.

[jhale667]

Hmm the brass block clip sounds the best to my ears.

Some have said that. Like they say, tone is subjective. Whatever works for you. Me, I like both!

Here's a scratch lead from one of the new tunes I'm working on that I used the Koa Warmoth with the Ti block...kind of a "placeholder" wank but at the risk of sounding like Nigel Tufnel..."Listen to the Sustain on that one!"

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8325083

[KBRR]

i also like the brass better in those clips

[Trussrod]

Definitely a bump-worthy topic. Thanks a lot J! I had no idea about the brass claw and all the clips of the various upgrades are a big help.

[jhale667]

Definitely a bump-worthy topic. Thanks a lot J! I had no idea about the brass claw and all the clips of the various upgrades are a big help.

Glad you like. Having had the brass claw and noiseless springs installed for a week now I'm totally convinced they help transfer resonance better too...the Titanium block sounds ever so slightly brighter, and while I totally dug the Koa Strat with the Brass when I originally installed it pre-Ti, I don't remember it sounding quite as good as it did while it was installed for the test (as evidenced by the example clip).

[jhale667]

Rock.

Tone BUMP

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8625059

Primary rhythm track done with the Koa Strat with the Titanium block...rough mix of the guitar tracks, but even in this, you get the idea... love how the palm mutes have that "chopping" effect...I mean, define CHUNK...

[nhspike]

Thanks for the clips Jay.
Damn... it almost sounds like you swapped magnets in the pickups.
There is a distinct difference in tone.
I can only imagine that the "feel" when you're playing must be different too.
Nice to hear it side by side.