Floyd

[vchizzle]

So I reluctantly agreed to do a set up on a Floyd Rose equipped guitar for a friend. I hate Floyd’s. After finally getting it done. I’m playing the guitar thru my Archon and having a lot of fun. I’m playing all these 80’s tunes and licks that I somehow mostly remember.
So despite despising the Floyd, I had fun playing the guitar and yanking the sh!t outta Floyd. So of course now I feel like I need one. I’ll say, it’ll probably be forever before I buy one, if ever. At any rate, let’s talk PRS Floyd guitars. SE to CE to core to PS. Also wouldn’t mind discussion on differences of quality or how well they operate and sound for whatever different Floyd models might exist on PRS guitars. I’m a straight rookie on different Floyd’s.

 

[WEDGE]

There was a day many years ago I wouldn’t consider a guitar without a Floyd. The og Floyd on my Kramer wouldn’t go out of tune if you paid it to.

Somewhere along the way I got away from it, likely due to less time to deal with it as the restringing and tweaking does take a little time.

I grabbed a hot rod tele with an original Floyd recently to play around with one again but haven’t decided yet if the scales are tipped in favor of the fun factor versus the maintenance factor.

Having said that I would love to play a CU24 Floyd

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Depending on price range: SE Torero, SE Custom 24 Floyd, CE Dustie Waring, CU24 Floyd, and PSwhateveryourdreamis

I have a Torero and it is strung in full D so the extra scale length is nice for keeping the strings from being to slinky.

 

[vchizzle]

I played a Torero forever ago and remember thinking the fretboard radius was too flat for me. I also felt a little uncomfortable playing this friend’s guitar in that respect. Do all PRS Floyd guitars have the same radius?

 

[vchizzle]

I used a YouTube video by this guy to assist my setup that helped quite a bit. He’s got a store with a couple Floyd tools that seem useful. Can’t vouch for how they work but look designed and built well.
https://skyscraperguitars.com/store/

 

[alantig]

So I reluctantly agreed to do a set up on a Floyd Rose equipped guitar for a friend. I hate Floyd’s. After finally getting it done. I’m playing the guitar thru my Archon and having a lot of fun. I’m playing all these 80’s tunes and licks that I somehow mostly remember.

Isn't it great when that stuff comes (shut up, Alnus!) to you? Or comes back to you? I love when that happens. And when you start playing something and realize you don't know what it is but it sounds familiar and then it clicks and you realize not only were you not trying to play that song, you never really played it before.

I used a YouTube video by this guy to assist my setup that helped quite a bit. He’s got a store with a couple Floyd tools that seem useful. Can’t vouch for how they work but look designed and built well.
https://skyscraperguitars.com/store/

Have to check that out. I have two Floyd guitars - a Jackson Rhoads and an EVH with the cheapo Floyd that's decked and has a D-Tuna.

 

[veinbuster]

The thing that annoyed me about Floyd’s was unlocking to retune. Maybe I was locking too hard, but I’d get a little notch in the string. That notch wasn’t always in the place where the lock would go - close but not quite, so I was often slightly out of tune on some string. If I hadn’t been too cheap to change my strings more often, or keep the temperature the same in the house all the time, it probably wouldn’t have mattered.

That said, once the guitar was ready to go, tune was stable while I played. I thought it was pretty smart to make the bending portion of the string the same length for all of them.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Isn't it great when that stuff comes (shut up, Alnus!) to you? Or comes back to you?......

And my puss was shut!

 

[Mozzi]

I am missing a 'Floyd' in my collection and wouldn't mind adding a Fire Red Burst Custom 24 to my collection. Seems that the 'Floyd' is rare - especially in the UK. I saw the perfect one (for me) in the US but they don't seem to be readily available in the UK.

I will just have to be patient...

I don't know much about Floyds myself

 

[BrianC]

I just bought a Torero last week! It was like brand new. Took a while to set up correctly but it plays and sounds great.

I will probably only keep it a short time and have a little fun with it. Let me know if interested.

 

[jxe]

I don't know much about Floyds myself

developed in the 1930s by bluesman clarence ‘pink’ floyd (named the band after him), the ‘rose’ was a vast improvement on his first vibrato (‘the carnation’) in that it was stamped tin rather than whittled bakelite and could be used on a full-sized parlor guitar.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

That said, once the guitar was ready to go, tune was stable while I played. I thought it was pretty smart to make the bending portion of the string the same length for all of them.

That is a key for me, and one that I've never seen mentioned before. I've often stated my dislike of the tension/feel of strats because of the 6 on one side tuners making very long string lengths on the higher strings. A Floyd fixes that. A decked Floyd specifically (like both of my VH style guitars have) is a great setup, giving the tone of a fixed bridge guitar, the fun of a trem guitar, and better bending than both!

 

[alantig]

That is a key for me, and one that I've never seen mentioned before. I've often stated my dislike of the tension/feel of strats because of the 6 on one side tuners making very long string lengths on the higher strings. A Floyd fixes that. A decked Floyd specifically (like both of my VH style guitars have) is a great setup, giving the tone of a fixed bridge guitar, the fun of a trem guitar, and better bending than both!

But none of the fun of the Brad Gillis gurgles! Oh how I hurt my hip trying to do that with a guitar that didn’t float well when I was younger. And thinner.

 

[Plugske]

(named the band after him),

Are you talking about "Pink Floyd"? As far as I know the band was named after two blues artists from Barrett's collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

 

[Mozzi]

I meant I don't know much about the Floyds that PRS uses and whether or not its actually worth worrying about. I know the SE uses the Korean made Floyd 1000 but whether or not its worth considering the Core version or replacing the 1000 just because its not the German made Floyd, I don't know. I don't know if they differ in anyway - inc materials used either.

I know the differences in the guitars - the SE vs Dusty Waring vs Core Custom 24 but I am sure the OP knows that too and asked in particular about the different Floyds that PRS use. My comment about not knowing much about Floyds myself was a response to that question posed and therefore couldn't go into detail about those differences (if any). I too am interested to know if there are any differences as I too am seriously considering adding a 'Floyd' guitar to my meagre collection in the near future...

I also thought Pink Floyd was so named after two blues artists - at least that's the official story because their original name 'Tea Set' was taken and were also set to play at the same gig.

 

[WA Paul]

My only Floyd experience was on a Alex Lifeson (really Neil Schon) LP Axcess. Was stable, but HATED dealing with it when it came time to do more than micro tune it. I don’t do crazy stuff with a trem so I replaced it with this:

 

[vchizzle]

As far as I see, all PRS use the Floyd 1000 except the custom 24. No idea if that matters. Curious on fretboard radius though. Most don’t list it on PRS spec page.

 

[Rich5150]

I love my OG Waring's never had an issue setting them up either. the key is to block it so it doesn't move then it takes no time at all.

As far as I see, all PRS use the Floyd 1000 except the custom 24. No idea if that matters. Curious on fretboard radius though. Most don’t list it on PRS spec page.

The Core Floyds are 10" radius, the normal Floyd nut is a 10" radius as well.

 

[dmatthews]

I spent a couple of years gigging a FR equipped Yamaha. Liked the fine tuning on the bridge, hated the rest of it.
Never again for me.
It was an inexpensive guitar, and that may have tainted my opinion.

 

[László]

I had one Floyd-equipped guitar, a Jackson, in the late 80s.

I wasn’t happy with it. But I gave it a shot for over a year. It was metallic hot pink, such an 80s thing.