PRS trem, Floyd Rose, Tremonti, etc.

Didn't he original bally have Duncan's in his guitar? It seems he jumped around between builders. I saw an interview where he demoed his DW and talked about his Duncans.

I am not a fan of their music, but I think he is a great player and love his tone, the band's tone.

I'm sure his tone has more to do with his fingers, amps and cabs. I know he uses Fractal.

I tried Kemper and Fractal but went back to tube heads.

I don't get too caught up in pickups like I used to. :)

I've played a lot of PRS guitars but to me the singlecuts just sound the biggest/fattest, hence why they are my favorites. :)

I'm a diehard LP/singlecut guy.
Although I love my CE22.
 
Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? "I was hoping to add a tremolo to my PRS S2 594 McCarty but was told by PRS Customer Service, "You would not be able to change the type of bridge to a tremolo due to the different neck angle needed for the style bridge." Is this really true? I mean, I can survive without a tremolo, but if I had one, I'd definitely use it. Anyone have experience adding a tremolo to a S2 594?"
 
Top-mount Bigsby with a tension bar...like B5. But I doubt I'd ever put one on a PRS that didn't come with it.

You might check into the Duesenberg Les Trem II. It would be a bit of a project, but it wouldn't involve more holes in the guitar, and should work with your neck angle. I believe it comes only in one version, which wouldn't fit the post diameter of the 594's stop tailpiece - and may not fit the spacing. But I believe a machinist could turn the holes in the ends of the bottom plate into U-shaped channels which would.

OR. Get a Gamechanger Bigsby Pedal (look it up if you're not familiar), and have a Bigsby for all your guitars which can't possibly go out of tune.
 
I rarely use the trem these days as my playing style has changed over the years. I still won’t part with my Floyd equipped ‘91 Jackson Stealth though. Supreme tuning stability.

I wouldn’t let the type of bridge a guitar has influence my buying decisions. PRS trem or Floyd, I see it the same way as the cruise control on my car; it’ll rarely get used but it’s there if I need it. That said, I’m mostly playing a tele at the moment!
 
Yes, the neck angle is different so the PRS singlecuts with trem have a different angle than the hardtail models.

I would rarely use one unless playing some VH or Lynch, so I avoid them for the most part and I have my CE22 if I ever get the itch. That said I think I prefer the tone although it can be so slight if at all.
I do enjoy the easier setups. If your trem is locked down or blocked, you don't have to worry about tuning changes like dropped tunings, etc.
 
I love the Floyd Rose on my Axis, on the Wolfgang I had, and the other guitars I had with one. You can't MAKE it go out of tune. It does require most subtle movements, compared to a PRS or Wilkinson trem. The guitar has a large of in the tone you hear on an FR guitar, so I dismiss "plinky" comments out of hand. It wasn't plinky sounding on any guitar I've had one one, but it sure as heck is the opposite of that with a decked FR, such as the Axis (and Wolfie) have. That guitar has more solid low mids and bottom than any of my PRS trem guitars do.
 
I love the Acid and Wolfgang. I had those years ago but I'm too big and hands are too big for those. I struggled.
Loved them though. One of mine was a hardtail.

What does decked mean?

I only have one trem axe, my 1994 CE22 and I think most future guitars, I'll stick to being LPs or singlecut PRS with hardtail.
 
If you decide for a FR equipped guitar, I would consider some points @alantig mentioned.
If you're keen in FR but not 24 frets, PRS is not an option.
EvH's passing away was an impact on all EvH related products, either first and second hand.
In 2012 I bought a mint Japanese Ibanez RG540CTAM (made in 1995 only) to fill the gap of a FR guitar in my stock. But the Wizard neck bothered me. I sold it in JAN 2021 and decided: No FR guitar in future.
In mid of DEC 21 I was at a regional PRS aficionado meeting. One of our friends introduced to us the Fiore (great guitar - if you don't own a 513 ) and a Peavey HP2 NOS.

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7ender scale, amazing craftmanship (Europe), 22 fret, Wide Fat-ish neck profile, fine woods. The story is, that EvH, once under Peavey guitar endorsement, selected the wood. But he left for his own company unter 7ender's roof prior production. Peavey dicontinued the Wolfgang. Peavey found years later all those wood in the storage hall. The relaunced the guitar under HP2 NOS. There will be perhaps 400 guitars made of these "old" wood.
They cost new 2,600 EUR.

p1078946-jpg.834643


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A few things differ: The routine of the toggle is ordinary (up = bass, middle bass + treble, down = treble; the Wolfgang is - as far as I concern - inverse routed), booth pickups could be coilsplitted independendly (coilsplitting wasn't at all an option with the Wolfgang). With singlecoils this guitar sounds more like a Tele than my Gristlemaster.
The story of EvH's wood selection is not connected with extra pricing, but you get a certificate with the guitar.
The FR is - thanks to EvH - for downrouting only.
 
The Tremonti does use the standard PRS trem, but much like Pennywise, they all float (unless they're decked like the Mayer). The difference between the Tremonti and other PRSi (like the DGT or CU24) is that the Tremonti is routed so you can pull up much farther than the standard setup.


“Hey Alan, you want your trem back?!”;)
 
What does decked mean?
Vibrato is not floating, but rests against the body. This means.... 1) it goes down only. 2) no flurgles ang gurgles. 3) you can used D-Tuner, or you can change on the fly just like a fixed bridge guitar, (if you leave the nut unlocked) 4) doesn't become unplayable out of tune if you break a string and 5) biggest of all, it adds a significant amount of lower mids and bottom end that is missing on floating vibrato guitars.
 
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Don't use the Trem on my Santana much so I have nothing of value to add to this conversation. Except to say that I think the Floyds are Ugly
 
Years ago, I found an SE Singlecut Trem with unbelievable intonation and vibration. I put a set of core #7’s in it with a rotary sweep pot with a center detente. Takes names and kicks derrière. I’m a huge fan of the PRS trems, and have them all set up to go up 1/2 step. If you’re changing tunings on the fly, don’t use a PRS trem.I’m love the tone and have one of each version, including the John Mann versions. No SS or fiore, I want 6 pivot screws with the 1/2 step up.
 
Vibrato is not floating, but rests against the body. This means.... 1) it goes down only. 2) no flurgles ang gurgles... and 5) biggest of all, it adds a significant amount of lower mids and bottom end that is missing on floating vibrato guitars.

#5 is so true. I'm ambivalent about #1, and while #2s are nice, I rarely use them.
I want 6 pivot screws with the 1/2 step up.

... and I do want the 6 screws. (Frank's right, Floyds are ugly. Unless they're Pink.) So DTR's #5 should be the deciding factor for me, because while I use the tremolo some of the time, I use TONE all of the time.

But I'm also fond of the geometry of the PRS tremolo when it's floating at the factory spec. And I agree with dogrocket:
If you’re changing tunings on the fly, don’t use a PRS trem.

Which I'm not. I mean, changing tunings on the fly. If I need a different tuning, I'll fly in another guitar.

Also, I like some Bigsby-esque wiggle, which sometimes wants a little up-action. And with the PRS trem at its factory floating height, I can keep the individual saddles lower than they'd have to be if I sank the bridge to the deck. Also, there's something inexplicably happy-making about string tension in perfect balance with spring tension, with the whole suspension system curled under itself, kinda pulling the whole guitar together. It's all bouncy and responsive, like a living thing. Leo got the basic scheme pretty right, and Paul's just tweaked and perfected it.

So there I am, giving up that extra low-mids and bottom for the sake of everything else.

(But I'm thinking a feller could cut a thin block of wood just the perfect thickness to wedge under the back of a floater and couple it to the top when desired. Just dip the wiggle-stick and slide the block in. You could fasten a length of string to it and tie it to the butt strap button and have a convertible! When the block isn't in use, park it in a little pocket you'd tape to the trem cover on the back of the guitar. OK, I'll try it.)
 
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(But I'm thinking a feller could cut a thin block of wood just the perfect thickness to wedge under the back of a floater and couple it to the top when desired. Just dip the wiggle-stick and slide the block in. You could fasten a length of string to it and tie it to the butt strap button and have a convertible! When the block isn't in use, park it in a little pocket you'd tape to the trem cover on the back of the guitar. OK, I'll try it.)
The better way to do it on a PRS would be that perfectly trimmed block of wood mounted in between the bridge body and the guitar body, from the back. So that when perfectly level, it rests against the wood. Goes down only, tone to die for. Drop D on the fly or sly.
 
I only got my DGT a week ago, but the trem is one of the best non-locking (at the bridge or nut) I've ever owned.

I have a strat that I put a Bladerunner bridge on, and it is as good as the DGT's. Both are MILES ahead of anything Fender has. I also have a Floyd on another guitar, but I set it up completely different, so it's apples vs oranges to me.

The Floyd is set up floating alot, with only 3 springs... it's a very light/responsive feel. It's more for 80s/Vai type playing. I can dive bomb it and stuff. It's also more difficult to tune, and forget about bending double stops. Both the DGT and my strat are floating, but not alot. And set up very stiff- IDK how many springs the DGT ships with, but my strat has 5 springs. This helps alot with tuning stability, and also with the bending double stops. It's not QUITE the feel of a hardtail, but it's kinda close. I only use it for wiggle/warble, and occasionally for a "sliding into the note" kind of effect, I don't dive bomb or aggressively use the bar on either the strat or the DGT.
 
Vibrato is not floating, but rests against the body. This means.... 1) it goes down only. 2) no flurgles ang gurgles. 3) you can used D-Tuner, or you can change on the fly just like a fixed bridge guitar, (if you leave the nut unlocked) 4) doesn't become unplayable out of tune if you break a string and 5) biggest of all, it adds a significant amount of lower mids and bottom end that is missing on floating vibrato guitars.
Oh right, thanks. I have had guitars like that and I had my tech do it wirh my CE22 and works great. Guitar sounds huge.

Side note, I used to have several Peavey Wolfgang guitars but in the end I couldn't get into the flat fretboard radius, narrow neck and small body. Overall it felt like I was playing a little kids guitar. Eddie was a small guy and his guitars fit him well. I struggled on them. I am a big guy and I always felt too crowded on the fretboard.
 
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