Floyd Rose

Floyd Rose Tremolo

Floyd Rose is the organization that licenses, distributes and manufactures the Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo invented by Floyd D. Rose. It also manufactures guitars using the system. Floyd Rose owns the patents on the design, and licenses these patents to several original equipment manufacturers.

The Floyd Rose system consists of:

• A lock at the nut of the guitar, which prevents the tuning heads from being used and holds the strings taut
• A "floating bridge", where the other ends of the strings are also vise-locked, hence, "double-locking")

The locking system helps to keep the strings in tune while the strings are slackened to a degree which was not achieved with older tremolo systems, such as those found on Fender Stratocaster, allowing dive bombs, a rapid lowering of the pitch of a note. Since the tuning heads are ineffectual with the lock in place, the Floyd Rose bridge has heads for fine tuning; the guitar is tuned before the lock is put on, then fine tuned afterwards.

Principles

The basic principles of the action of a double-locking floating bridge are shown in this simple illustration. Its proportions are exaggerated to demonstrate the effect.

Position I illustrates the normal position of an ideally tuned Floyd Rose bridge. The bridge (green) balances on a pivot point, being pulled counter-clockwise by the strings' (red) tension and clockwise by one or several (usually up to five) springs (light blue). Controlled by special tuning screws (sky blue), these two forces are balanced such that the bridge's surface is parallel to the guitar body (olive). The strings are locked tightly with a special mechanism at the nut (also green, as it is a part of the Floyd Rose bridge) as well as at the bridge, hence "double-locking".

Position II illustrates the position of the bridge when the tremolo arm is pushed down towards the guitar body. The bridge rotates around a pivot point counter-clockwise and the tension in each string decreases, lowering the pitch of each string. The sound of any notes being played becomes flat.

Position III illustrates the position of the bridge when the tremolo arm is pulled up away from the guitar body. The bridge rotates clockwise, tension in the strings increases, the pitch of the sound increases and so notes sound sharper than normal.

Note that:

• All strings are affected simultaneously, as contrasted with the B-Bender, where only one string is affected. Due to the different tensions of each string, the degree of pitch shift will vary from string to string, so the tremolo arm is commonly used on single strings or 2-3 adjacent strings.
• If the tremolo arm is pushed down, action increases and usually become less comfortable to play due to the lowered tension.
• If the tremolo arm is pulled up, action decreases and strings may hit the frets on the fretboard, making unwanted sounds. Also, excess tension applied to strings makes them more fragile and increases the chance of string breakage.

Model & Varieties

• Floyd Rose Original is the oldest model still in production. Since 1977, production models bearing this name are mostly the same as the first model, with only minor changes. Note that the name "Floyd Rose Original" is used to differentiate this system from "Floyd Rose Licensed". The first Original Floyds were double locking but did not have fine tuners, requiring the nut to be opened any time minute string intonation changes needed to be made.

• Floyd Rose II is a lower end version of the Original Floyd used mostly on import and mid-range instruments. Originally, Floyd IIs were single locking, locking only at the nut. Later versions were made double locking, but used weaker materials than the Original Floyd Rose, making them less dependable.

• Floyd Rose Licensed are made by other manufacturers that have purchased a license from Floyd Rose. These model generally follow the designs of the Floyd Rose Original, but tend to deviate slightly from the original for the manufacturing process to be more cost-efficient. Most licensed companies use the same design that makes their parts inter-changeable between any two licensed tremolos, but not the Floyd Rose Original. The bridges of such systems are clearly engraved "Licensed under Floyd Rose Patents" and Floyd Rose does not offer any customer support for them. Construction quality of Floyd Rose Licensed tremolos may be compromised due to the cost-efficient techniques, but the reliability of licensed models that match the price of originals are usually high, whereas cheaper variations are often of lower quality as they would have used cheaper manufacturing processes. Two well-known manufacturers of Floyd Rose Licensed tremolos are Schaller and Gotoh.
  • Yamaha Finger Clamp is a variety of Floyd Rose that have build in levers, and thus when tuning, no allen keys are needed.

• Floyd Rose Derived In order to reduce licensing cost from Floyd Rose, some manufacturer further improve their double locking tremolo that, despite beind double locking, are no longer considered a licensed product, but are distinct relative derived from it.
  • Ibanez Edge is Ibanez's Floyd Rose variant. There are 4 versions including a pro version. These are considered to be the best licensed version and many consider it equal or even better than the Original Floyd Rose. Starting with Edge III and Edge Pro, these are considered as mere derivative, and are not licensed from Floyd Rose.
  • Ibanez Zero Resistance is another of Ibanez's Floyd Rose variant. It uses a ball-bearing mechanic which gives the tremolo more consistency after use, and a stop-bar to help the guitar stay in tune, even with heavy abuse of the tremolo or string break.
  • Ibanez Fixed Edge. While it still uses the locking nut and locking bridge, it was mounted on top of the body, and was used not as a tremolo system, but to provide even more tuning stability on a hardtailed guitar (they can go out of tune during bending, with fingers)

• Fender Deluxe Locking Tremolo. A specially designed system that was made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in conjunction with Floyd Rose himself, utilizing locking tuners, a normal Fender 2-point synchronized tremolo with locking bridge saddles and a special low-friction LSR Roller Nut which allows strings to slide during tremolo use. This is a double locking system, except the other locking point is at the tuner instead of nut.

• Floyd Rose 7-String is a redesign of Floyd Rose Original for 7-string guitars. The design and working principles are otherwise the same.

• Floyd Rose Pro is a low-profile version of Floyd Rose Original. The bridge and arm design is changed in such a way that the guitarist's hand will be generally closer to the strings while holding the tremolo arm. The bridge has a narrower string spacing (0.400 inches or 10.16 mm in this design versus 0.420 inches or 10.66 mm of the Floyd Rose Original). Fine tuners are slightly angled for more comfortable play.

• Floyd Rose SpeedLoader Tremolo is a redesign introduced around 2003 that combines Floyd Rose Original with the SpeedLoader system to produce a new design that overcame many disadvantages of the original Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo design, but required special strings.

Setting up

To remove a string, one must first unlock it at the nut with an allen wrench, loosen the string, unlock it at the bridge with an allen wrench, and then remove the string. To install a new string, you must either cut the ball end off or run the string backwards down the guitar, leaving the ball end at the tuning gear, then reverse the process of removing a string.

Some models, such as Yamaha's Floyd Rose license, include build-in cranks that operate the clamps, and thus need less allen keys, while others, such as Fender's Deluxe Locking Tremolo, is basically "normal" floating tremolo and tuners, but each with locking mechanism, and incorporate friction free (roller base) nuts.

With the newer Edge Pros on certain Ibanez guitars, such as the JEM and JS and RG series, it is not necessary to cut the ball ends. They are equipped with a top sliding string block that you loosen with an allen key to allow insertion of the string from the top. This improves string life and tuning and speed of string change.

info : wikipedia