Adding a Floyd Rose...? (Charvel Content)

[SFW]

I have an early 2000s Charvel Journeyman. I love this guitar. It plays great, and sounds killer. Over the years, I have done some work to the guitar to attempt to use the trem and have it stay in tune. I have added Gotoh locking tuners, a new graphite nut and a Gotoh V100N trem. Despite all of this, the guitar will not hold tuning if I touch the bar. At the moment, I have screwed a wood block into the trem cavity, basically making the guitar a fixed bridge. I would really like to be able to use a wiggle stick on this guitar. I am contemplating having the trem studs filled and having it routed for an OFR. I would have to do a recessed FR routing to get the proper angle across the neck. While the guitar currently has a trem unit, I guess I'm a bit afraid that this will change the tone of the guitar. Has anyone had this done to a guitar? Did it severely thin out the tone? And lastly, if anyone in Houston or Austin could recommend a good tech to do the work, that would be super cool. I have a shop that does a lot of my work, but I don't quite trust them with this particular surgery...lol. Thanks for the input!

 

[Dave L]

That guitar should hold tuning pretty darn nicely with all that new quality hardware on there. Are you very sensitive to tuning or very heavy with the bar? If not, something could very well be wrong with the installation or set-up. What are you experiencing, more specifically? Do all the strings go out of tune, do they go sharp or flat or both...?

It will not sound the same, but since you already have a floating two-post trem I guess the difference could be smaller than going from a six-screw or fixed bridge.

 

[sytharnia1560]

I've converted at least 3 Vtrems to floyds over the years and with each one of them it sounded better. I think it has to do with more steel mass and probably better steel as well

 

[Dave L]

Yeah, it might sound better and it might sound worse. No telling beforehand other than that it will sound different.

 

[SFW]

That guitar should hold tuning pretty darn nicely with all that new quality hardware on there. Are you very sensitive to tuning or very heavy with the bar? If not, something could very well be wrong with the installation or set-up. What are you experiencing, more specifically? Do all the strings go out of tune, do they go sharp or flat or both...?

It will not sound the same, but since you already have a floating two-post trem I guess the difference could be smaller than going from a six-screw or fixed bridge.

It very well could be the setup. The nut is probably binding a bit. Anything past a very slight vibrato leaves the D, G & B strings all out of wack. And over the years, my ears have gotten more sensitive to tuning issues. I guess I've gotten better at hearing when something isn't right. Makes for a mess in a two guitar band. Lol.

 

[Dave L]

That doesn´t sound right. I´d check the nut for binding, the knife edges for wear (something as innocent as changing the height of the baseplate while under string pressure can mess them up) and the pivot posts for wobble first.

 

[tacoma]

I've had a journeyman before, wished I would have kept it. Mine wouldn't stay in tune either using the trem until I put a set of planet waves locking tuners on. No problems after that. My guess is the problem is at the nut. I don't think the upgrade to a Floyd is worth it unless you just really love the guitar. Plenty of used Charvels out there with a floyd for cheap.

 

[snowdog]

The nut is probably binding a bit

This will cause all kinds of tuning problems. Fix this first.

 

[paulyc]

Is the block removeable from the trem base plate ? If it is get a tap and some long allen head screws, thread the block, screw in your allen head screws and you basically have a locking bridge (at the bridge end at least). You already have locking tuners, so I'd say check the nut too...