Big Brass v. Steel Floyd Sustain Blocks

  • Thread starter Thread starter Junk Yard Dog
  • Start date Start date
thegame said:
Has anyone replaced their stock brass block with a different material of the same size? Eg. 37 mm brass for 37 mm Tungsten? There’s many materials to choose from; Tungsten, Stone, Copper, Titanium, and (I’m assuming) Stainless Steel. I did get Brass saddle inserts from FU tone, and exactly as demonstrated in their A/B/C video comparing Brass, Titanium and steel, the Brass delivers the most mids and increased dynamics. I was a bit shocked at the difference, considering I replaced the saddle insert only, and not the actual saddle the string is tensioned on. Technically the insert is touching the string to secure it in place so I’d assume a saddle replacement with a different material would make an even bigger difference.
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Just checked Titanium Floyd prices, yikes.
 
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Samhain said:
Have you tried the Titanium Floyd saddles ?
If so what you think ?
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No and I don’t think I will. Besides the stock steel, Titanium is the only other material upgrade I’ve seen for Floyd saddles. I’ve tried Titanium saddles on tune o matic bridges which made a definite difference but not necessarily for the better. As much as it improved definition, it lost warmth and creaminess. I may try Titanium saddle inserts on another guitar for which I want a bit more string zing.
 
thegame said:
No and I don’t think I will. Besides the stock steel, Titanium is the only other material upgrade I’ve seen for Floyd saddles. I’ve tried Titanium saddles on tune o matic bridges which made a definite difference but not necessarily for the better. As much as it improved definition, it lost warmth and creaminess. I may try Titanium saddle inserts on another guitar for which I want a bit more string zing.
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To be honest my guitars can't possibly sound any better with different screws or whatnot.
The bigger blocks were a huge improvement.
 
thegame said:
No and I don’t think I will. Besides the stock steel, Titanium is the only other material upgrade I’ve seen for Floyd saddles. I’ve tried Titanium saddles on tune o matic bridges which made a definite difference but not necessarily for the better. As much as it improved definition, it lost warmth and creaminess. I may try Titanium saddle inserts on another guitar for which I want a bit more string zing.
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This is what I did on my SoCal…added just a touch more brightness/clarity. Plus the Ti will last far longer than the stock inserts that can crack over time.
 
Samhain said:
Just checked Titanium Floyd prices, yikes.
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You can get them from 65 on eBay. They come from Taiwan but they do the intended job; better clarity and slightly brighter, more sustain
 
It's the same for me, I've added a brass block in my charvel san dimas for the first impact the guitar has improved the punch and bass zone; the guitar mount the super distortion and it is already a beefy pickup so now it seems to lack treble
 
Interesting to see some experiences with Titanium blocks and saddles. There are some titanium blocks floating online from other companies. I'm interested in exploring the T inserts and blocks. Would love to hear others' experiences with either in Titanium.
 
Junk Yard Dog said:
Yeah, I wanna avoid that. I’m gonna rip out the Duncan Distortion and replace it with the Custom in the bridge.
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I'm not sure if you're better off in terms of less mush then. To my knowlegde (and the SD tone chart), the Custom has more low-end than the Distortion (BMT 7/6/9 vs 5/8/9).
The Custom Custom would be leaner, but I found that thing too mellow, borderline anemic.
The DiMarzio Super Distortion would have more low-end than both FWIW.
 
Junk Yard Dog said:
Interesting to see some experiences with Titanium blocks and saddles. There are some titanium blocks floating online from other companies. I'm interested in exploring the T inserts and blocks. Would love to hear others' experiences with either in Titanium.
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So my 09 SoCal has a Brass block; fatter with more clarity but darkened it a bit. I bought a set of Titanium insert blocks(string locks) and it added the right amount of bright back in. Plus they last forever…I’ve had some stock crack on me in the past.
 
Racerxrated said:
Yeah that’s an epic thread….pretty hilarious actually. But, I do remember Steve H trying one and it did work pretty well. More resonance, sustain…but is it worth the 80 bucks?
This subject is all about experimenting folks…gotta try the blocks for yourself and decide. My recommendation is to start low and go from there….try the Brass as it is cheaper than the others. If that doesn’t work then you can step up to Titanium or even the stone (both are 80) and from there you can get into the Tungsten for 1-200.
I’ve only tried Brass and Titanium(eBay seller for 80) and they did improve my 08/09 Charvels tone a bit.
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I left because I had alot of work at hand and that thread was becoming a joke as Tom stated which was why he bought one and since then got to meet him @ Namm 2018. Now it's been 8.5 years with Floyd and Jeff loomis Signature block is about to drop. back 2013 I was excited to get the word out that's all, nothing more lol. Good to be back. Things are much different these days.
 
Stone Tone Products said:
I left because I had alot of work at hand and that thread was becoming a joke as Tom stated which was why he bought one and since then got to meet him @ Namm 2018. Now it's been 8.5 years with Floyd and Jeff loomis Signature block is about to drop. back 2013 I was excited to get the word out that's all, nothing more lol. Good to be back. Things are much different these days.
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still pricey? went down any? jc...
 
I recently put a 34mm high thick brass big block in my Kramer SM-1; a mahogany neck-thru, 24 frets.
The original Floyd block was brass as well, but thinner obviously and 30 or 32mm high.
There's a JB in the bridge and 2 Cool Rails in middle and neck; with the new block I actually had to dial back the bass on my amp a tad. It became quite thick sounding and even seemed to impart some chewiness to the tone. But, with a slight loss of high-end sparkle.
Nevertheless, for such a shreddy guitar as it is, I do welcome the thickness and sustain to the tone. And it's not like the JB had a shortage of high-end. ;-)
 
Speeddemon said:
I recently put a 34mm high thick brass big block in my Kramer SM-1; a mahogany neck-thru, 24 frets.
The original Floyd block was brass as well, but thinner obviously and 30 or 32mm high.
There's a JB in the bridge and 2 Cool Rails in middle and neck; with the new block I actually had to dial back the bass on my amp a tad. It became quite thick sounding and even seemed to impart some chewiness to the tone. But, with a slight loss of high-end sparkle.
Nevertheless, for such a shreddy guitar as it is, I do welcome the thickness and sustain to the tone. And it's not like the JB had a shortage of high-end. ;-)
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I have an 84 Charvel that I added a Brass block to but ended up pulling it; it added too much to the whole freq spectrum. It’s an ofr from 1986. Stock block sounded best.
 
Racerxrated said:
I have an 84 Charvel that I added a Brass block to but ended up pulling it; it added too much to the whole freq spectrum. It’s an ofr from 1986. Stock block sounded best.
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This is reassuring since I decided I'm going back to the stock block in my '87 Kramer. Same thing...too much of everything it seems. Which sounds weird but I don't know how else to describe it. I'm waiting on a Pariah White and will do it all at once.
 
SpiderWars said:
This is reassuring since I decided I'm going back to the stock block in my '87 Kramer. Same thing...too much of everything it seems. Which sounds weird but I don't know how else to describe it. I'm waiting on a Pariah White and will do it all at once.
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Those original 80s guitars really have good solid tone; only 1 Jackson from 88 needed a little help with extras to sound proper. Out of 8 total Charvel/Jackson’s from that era
 
JackBootedThug said:
still pricey? went down any? jc...
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FR has the regular blocks @ 78.50 and the new Loomis blocks are 97.50. These blocks are intricate to fabricate besides a 33 step process to produce handmade in the USA??. I moved from Naples to Melbourne FL "space coast area" and now have a factory where I make string thru blocks and many others like FR. If everyone wanted a block I'd never be able to handle the workload due to the skill it takes to make and limited qualified help. Since 2013 we've sold thousands and i'm still having difficulties keeping up yet that's the challenge that's fun. No more outsourcing the waterjetting or laser work I have everything I need all in house where others can't control my schedule, it's been great actually.
 
glpg80 said:
There was a time when a dude came on the forum selling snake oil granite blocks. He absolutely made every post about his granite blocks for months and disappeared as fast as he showed up. I mention it because reading this thread title made me laugh - the topics that came from that dude were funny.

OP you want brass.
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You should have taken Tom Hennings advice after he told everyone in that thread he was going to test it out. I left before the results came in yet Tom reached out to tell me what happened then stopped by my booth @ 2018 winter Namm. Great guy.
 
Stone Tone Products said:
FR has the regular blocks @ 78.50 and the new Loomis blocks are 97.50. These blocks are intricate to fabricate besides a 33 step process to produce handmade in the USA??. I moved from Naples to Melbourne FL "space coast area" and now have a factory where I make string thru blocks and many others like FR. If everyone wanted a block I'd never be able to handle the workload due to the skill it takes to make and limited qualified help. Since 2013 we've sold thousands and i'm still having difficulties keeping up yet that's the challenge that's fun. No more outsourcing the waterjetting or laser work I have everything I need all in house where others can't control my schedule, it's been great actually.
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gotcha...hope you didn't think I was being ...snarky.....for some reason I remembered thinking that they were super expensive. I'm considering one for my Kramer 84 actually....
 
JackBootedThug said:
gotcha...hope you didn't think I was being ...snarky.....for some reason I remembered thinking that they were super expensive. I'm considering one for my Kramer 84 actually....
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No not at all man, years ago I was shocked how folks were not just having an opinion but getting personal.. So I dipped out said screw all that crap, was in there excited to divulge what I could to answer any questions which was the complete opposite. Since then I've aquired all the machines everything to be in full time factory mode. Also FR has moved thier headquarters to Ft. Myers, couldn't be better to have them on my back door. Anything you need if I can help let me know.?
 
Stone Tone Products said:
You should have taken Tom Hennings advice after he told everyone in that thread he was going to test it out. I left before the results came in yet Tom reached out to tell me what happened then stopped by my booth @ 2018 winter Namm. Great guy.
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I’m not arguing, they do work. But your stone ones specifically seem straight snake oil. You’ve yet to post your own factual sound recording data and instead rely on 1980s style advertising dropping word about it everywhere it doesn’t need to be. I give you credit, at least you’re consistent.

No hate here. Just back up your product and let the people decide instead of forcing it down throats please?
 
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