Switching from Vintage 6 Hole to Floyd

[EddieDavis]

What are your thoughts on converting a vintage 6 hole tremolo strat with a TUSQ nut - to a floyd with locking nut? 

Is it such a Major surgery that I would be better off getting a different body from Warmoth?  Or is it not such a big deal? 

My first Warmoth build turned out great, however since getting this new guitar I've discovered that I have a strong preference for Eb standard tuning, and it just doesn't work well using Tremolo in that tuning on a vintage bridge.  In Eb, my guitar goes out of tune as soon as I touch the tremolo. 

I totally should have got a Floyd in the beginning but I was going for a 'retro-fitted' classic look.  Silly me!

 

[AirCap]

Floyds are not the answer just because they are Floyds. They go out of tune, too - for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you should have your Eb guitar setup properly by a competent luthier.

 

[Cagey]

I sympathize with the 6 hole vibrato issue. Those things aren't really as much fun as one might imagine. If you spend the time/money to get one set up perfectly, then you can use it a little bit here and there for a while, but they're problem children. I've seen two Strats smashed over that bridge, the guitars got to be so frustrating for their owners.

Installing a Floyd in place of one of those bridges is doable. You need to be handy with a router and a drill press and have the appropriate templates, and maybe consider skipping the locking nut in favor of locking tuners or you'll have to find a way to mill a new shelf for the nut. If you do all that, you can have an expensive bridge that makes changing strings question your judgement, assuming you can find the tools you need.

If it was me, I'd be buying another body unless I was really low on things to keep me otherwise occupied. Bathroom would have to be clean, sock drawer organized, grass cut/trimmed, tax receipts organized, no rooms need painting or carpets shampoo'd, no spiders or cobs or any of their webs anywhere in the garage/attic/basement, finger and toenails clipped, on and on. And that's with me having the tools and experience to do it. It's not a trivial task, is what I'm saying.

Chances are, you opt for the new body. When you do, also opt for any of the two-point knife-edge fulcrum designs except the Floyd. Fender, Schaller, Gotoh, Wilkinson and others make them. Paired with locking tuners and a well-cut nut, they all work as well as a Floyd for about 1/2 to 1/3 the price, and they're all easier to setup and live with. Plus, all the tools you need to change strings are located at the ends of your arms.

 

[Kostas]

Your guitar has no preference in any tuning. What you need is a proper setup and a properly cut nut.

A tech will fill the existing holes and he will do whatever routing is required for a FL. Ask how much it will cost that. You can buy a new body with free FL routing from Warmoth, sell the existing one with the tremolo and don't pay a tech. FL is a more complicated device and it will definitely need a proper setup.

...I totally should have got a Floyd in the beginning but I was going for a 'retro-fitted' classic look....

I get the aesthetic part but some of the two hole tremolos look almost the same with the old ones but they are more stable. My favorites are the Gotoh 510 and the Mann Made. The bigger advantage is they don't have the hassle the FL has but some people have lived all their lives with a FL and it's second nature for them.

 

[Hendrix]

I love  Gotoh 510 too , use nearly on all my build guitar .

change to locking turner and Gotoh Wilkinson Tremolo should be much easy than mod to Floyd , probability solve most of your problem .

 

[Archie Macfarlane]

The main thing you need to do is get spring tension to equal string tension, if it works in e it can work in eb.
That said other units are better and good nuts play a role

 

[BroccoliRob]

Floyds are not the answer just because they are Floyds. They go out of tune, too - for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you should have your Eb guitar setup properly by a competent luthier.

Pff. Maybe a poorly set up Floyd goes out of tune as much as other bridges. A Floyd with a top-notch setup stays in tune even when youre bending it like Beckham. I put away one of my Floyd guitars in a case in my closet and came back to it four months later, after a chang of seasons, humidity flux, adn tempuraure change. It was maybe 4 cents flat across the board, but it was still perfectly in tune with itself somehow.

 

[EddieDavis]

I love  Gotoh 510 too , use nearly on all my build guitar .

change to locking turner and Gotoh Wilkinson Tremolo should be much easy than mod to Floyd , probability solve most of your problem .

I've got locking tuners on there.  Would a Wilkinson require any rerouting, or can I just pop it in?

Also, any experience with Blade Runner tremolos?

 

[Hendrix]

I've got locking tuners on there.  Would a Wilkinson require any rerouting, or can I just pop it in?

Also, any experience with Blade Runner tremolos?

I never have try Blade Runner .

I happen to be have both Wilkinson and  Vintage 6 Hole body in hand , you can see  Wilkinson rout is bigger , but that because it can pull and push much more than Vintage one ,  it can pop  into  6 Hole routing , but just being able to only push down not pull up like  Vintage 6 Hole .
only need to drill those 2 hole for the stud install .

 

[stratamania]

I have a Bladerunner on an MIM Fender, it is a good tremolo. It may feel a little stiffer than a 6 hole vintage, but that is just a feel thing.

There is also a Floyd Rose that will retrofit a 6 hole. It is only able to go down in pitch though.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJS7gBsQhHg[/youtube]

Any tremolo can be made to stay in tune, but it is a combination of all elements being set up and with certain trems the player knowing how to push or pull the strings back into tune quickly after use.

I have used all sorts of trems and the most stable when properly set up are double locking systems. But none double locking systems can work well, it depends on what sort of use you want to put the things to.

 

[timezon3]

There is a guitar fetish part that is kinda like a Wilkinson trem, and is intended for you to drill out the two outside holes of a 6-hole mount, stick the studs there and drop the trem in, with no other routing or woodwork.  I'd look into that option first.  Of course, you wouldn't be able to do big pulls without doing routing, but that may be good enough for you.  (A Wilkinson may work the same way, I'm not entirely sure.)

Count me in the group of hating 6-hole trems...  I do have a floyd-equipped Ibanez, and I think it looks cool, and I don't think it's that big of a pain, but I also don't think it's much better than a properly set up 2-point trem.

TZ

 

[EddieDavis]

Thanks for all the responses guys!  I'll start with a professional check up on my setup and go from there. 

Would rather not drop any more money at this time... Gotta keep my G.A.S. at a manageable level.

As for the Floyd Rose - people either swear by it or they can't stand it.  I absolutely love 'em.  My Ibanez RG has Floyd with a locking nut and it will always be my #1