Rig-Talk

I am guessing anything licensed isn't as good as an OFR. How does the Schaller stack up to the OFR?

The Schaller has been my favorite since day one of there availability

Schaller is the real deal, go with it whenever possible.

Every bit as good as an OFR IMO.

Good trem, but it doesn't flutter quite as much as an OFR. Flutters better than the Edge Pro, though.

They're great bridges, but they sound 'softer' than OFR's to me. Like darker or something. I prefer OFR's because of that. But they're good quality Floyds. Every bit as good I'd say.

After owning the ofr for a while now I can say with all honesty that

I still hate it!

I removed the locks on the nut and would love to just replace the horrid nut with those wicked metal grooves that sit on the end of the fretboard like a barbwire fence..
It's like hiking with a rock in your shoe.

And the fine tuners.... Wheeee!
About as fun as a charley horse.

Boggles me how this thing ever got so popular in this form

I love the Schaller.
I got used to it when I had my Caparison, then I put one on my Musikraft builds. Great trem, imo.

I think it got popular because it stayed in tune.

Regarding the fine tuners, I have a Brad Gillis sig strat that I put an OLD floyd on - one of the non fine tuning bridges. Once you get used to setting up one of those, you almost never use the fine tuners on the sissy floyds.

Oh, and for guys who like to do trem warbles - the non fine tuner floyds are insane. I can bang my fist on the face of the gillis strat and it sounds like a cat being strangled.

Pete

gotoh

If you're looking to get it to flutter, you can go with a shorter trem block. The Schaller is my favorite that is currently available. The current "OFR" is NOT the same as they were. The quality has gone down quite a bit imho.

My OFR (the older, better one) has a 42mm block, and it flutters better than my Schaller with a 37mm block. Are you saying that if I get a 32mm block on the Schaller, it'll flutter better? If so, I might try that.

Thanks to everyone for the input.

From what I can find on line, Schaller makes the OFR for Floyd Rose these days. So how different can the Schaller licensed ones be to the "OFR"?

Anyway, I ordered the Schaller from StewMac, overlooking that it was licensed... I figure StewMac isn't going to stock junk.

So, the real question is... Send it back and find one that says "Floyd Rose" on it, or roll with the Schaller? Somehow, I think I will "feel" the upgrade from the Jackson licensed one that I am replacing either way.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Personally, my favorite is the older style OFRs WITH the fine tuners. However, the Schaller, Edge, LoPro, EdgePro (and potentially Gotoh, according to Suhr) are all good trems that I have no qualms with.

The Schaller recessed Floyd Rose is the best bridge ever imho: No fine tuner in my way, stays in tune like nothing (guitar wasn`t moved for one and a half years, still perfectly in tune) and has no limitations like other non-floating bridges. Big fan here...

The Schaller with the shorter block should flutter better, but their may be a difference in the spring strength. If you go to a 32mm block it will flutter better, but you may have trouble with the springs clearing the edge of the route closest to the block. Some wood may have to be removed to let the springs to move freely. I had to do this with a parts strat that had an OFR. I wore out the knife edge, and put in a Schaller with a shorter block.

don't think that just because its licensed means it isn't as good as the OFR. many people think the following are just as good or better:

Edge/Lo-Pro Edge
Schaller
Gotoh
Kahler Steeler (toughest to find out of these - you can get em NOS from Robin guitars for like 300 dollars)

if I was gonna put together a project superstrat, I'd avoid the schaller simply because its more expensive and overall the reviews i've seen aren't quite as positive as the reviews for the Gotoh or the older OFRs. from what I've read, although the schaller licensed floyd is made in the same factory as the OFR, there are differences. I've heard that the schaller wears faster. and also, supposedly not all OFRs are made in germany these days. then again, as has already been said, I've heard that the schaller is just as good.

I think overall though, the consensus seems to be that if you go with any of the above bridges, you should be good

Are there different tension springs available?

What other suggestions do y'all have for creating the balance for flutter..? "softer" springs? less springs?

As much as I wanted a "OFR" that says "Foyd Rose" on it... I suspect the Schaller is just fine considering Schaller makes the OFR for Floyd Rose. And.... Stew Mac has all the Schaller replacement parts as direct replacements for OFR.