Charvel/Floyd Rose: OFR vs. Schaller vs. Gotoh

[Rampage]

I am thinking about chroming up my Charvel San Dimas (I'm loving this thing Curt!) to get more of that vintage Charvel vibe and in doing that I'll need to replace the Floyd. I've always heard great things about the Schaller, but the OFRs don't seem far off and the Gotohs are good enough for Suhr so I'd consider them as well. I'm kind of leaning toward the Schaller; however, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say about how they stack up against one another. Also, is it true that the Schaller has more pull up range than the others? If so, that would add value for me due to the fact that the Charvel isn't recessed. Finally, where do you guys go for your tremolos? I'm looking at Warmoth as they seem to have pretty good prices on the complete Schaller kits.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

OFR is a little brighter compared to the Schaller. Don't know about the Gotoh.

 

[Badronald]

Is it one of the new ones?

My favorite thing about the new Charvels is the black hardware. Looks amazing.

 

[squealie]

A lot of people get along great with the Schaller. Personally, I've eaten through 3 or 4 of them when I had it in my Diablo, ATT my main gigging guitar. The screw holes give out and strip, it gets pitted very quickly etc... Im one of those guys with Alien corrosive sweat tho. YMMV.

As far as staying in tune, it's perfect.

The Korean ones in the Charvels don't turn me on. They return to pitch and all that...but I've already replaced several parts, and don't have long term faith in the thing. I'll play it till it pukes, then put a real bridge in.

OFRs for me.

 

[XSSIVE]

i have german made OFRs on all my charvels (custom shop, mutt and pro-mod) and have no issues with them. something just feels wrong about putting any other trem on a charvel, don't know why. i had an axis with the gotoh and it's a great trem but i guess i'm just stubborn and like the good old OFR better. anyway, if you go with the OFR remember to take out the long saddle shim that's under the A,D,G,B string saddles. that factory shim is what makes it a 10" radius, take it out and it flattens the radius making it work with Charvels 10-16" radius.

i use http://gpdusa.com/ or http://www.prorockgear.com/ for floyds most times.

-Mike

 

[Chubtone]

Glad you like it Rampage!

i have german made OFRs on all my charvels (custom shop, mutt and pro-mod) and have no issues with them. something just feels wrong about putting any other trem on a charvel, don't know why. i had an axis with the gotoh and it's a great trem but i guess i'm just stubborn and like the good old OFR better. anyway, if you go with the OFR remember to take out the long saddle shim that's under the A,D,G,B string saddles. that factory shim is what makes it a 10" radius, take it out and it flattens the radius making it work with Charvels 10-16" radius.

i use http://gpdusa.com/ or http://www.prorockgear.com/ for floyds most times.

-Mike

Factory shim on the Floyd Roses under the saddles? Don't most of the OFR's have staggered height saddles? The E's are the same, the A and B are the same and the D and G are the same height?

 

[Dave L]

If you buy a new Schaller today, the main issue with them has been adressed; they now have hardened inserts for the intonation screws. At least the replacement baseplates I bought have. They do seem to be a bit less indestructible than the OFR´s, though... the saddles can chip, leaving irritating burrs in the metal, and they seem to corrode easier.

As far as performance goes, the Schaller and the OFR are both perfect and have about the same response and feel. Don´t know about the tone, since I´ve never had both on the same guitar.

I´ve spent too little time with the Gotohs to give them a fair shake, but in my book nothing beats the real-deal OFR.

 

[XSSIVE]

chubtone...yeah the saddles are staggered E,e (low) A,B (medium) D,G (tall) but to increase the curve of the radius further to 10" and make it capable of also being flatter for compound radius guitars like charvels and jacksons there is a long silver shim that lays under the A,D,G,B strings. pop that out and your radius is then flattened since the Es stay in the same spot but the staggered middle saddles move down thus flattening the radius.


not sure if you sells floyds at you shop but if you have a new one look between the saddles, you'll see a little silver shim under there...very easy to spot on black floyds. yet that shim does not go out under the E string saddles. .

-Mike

 

[squealie]

Factory shim on the Floyd Roses under the saddles? Don't most of the OFR's have staggered height saddles? The E's are the same, the A and B are the same and the D and G are the same height?

The last OFR MIG I bought (in retail box, not in a guitar) had that shim. They still have the staggered saddles.

 

[XSSIVE]

The last OFR MIG I bought (in retail box, not in a guitar) had that shim. They still have the staggered saddles.

all new ones have it out of the box if you buy a floyd by itself new. factory custom shop guitars (charvels jacksons etc) that use german made floyds have it removed already. the saddles are still staggered this shim just increases the radius to 10" and allows it to flatten by removing it.

-Mike

 

[squealie]

all new ones have it out of the box if you buy a floyd by itself new. factory custom shop guitars (charvels jacksons etc) that use german made floyds have it removed already. the saddles are still staggered this shim just increases the radius to 10" and allows it to flatten by removing it.

-Mike

Yep, for some reason, they think we're dropping these in Fenders.

 

[Rampage]

Death by Uberschall: I was wondering about that. I saw that the OFR is solid steel so I figured it would be brighter. I like a bright tone so that could be a good thing.

Badronald: Yep, a Seasick SD. I don't mind the black, but all of my guitars have had black so I'm looking for a bit of a change. I think chrome/creme would look really nice on this guitar.

squealie: That concerns me with the Schaller as I have oily skin which seems to take its toll on some hardware. Thanks for the input.

XSSIVE: I'm starting to lean toward the OFR and thank you for reminding me of prorockgear.com. I bought from them in the past and they totally slipped my mind. Thanks for bringing up the shim as well. I can just see it now. I'd get a Floyd and spend a week trying to get the action right only to find out I left that shim in there and the radius would be off no matter what.

Chubtone: The guitar is great. The neck is feeling better every time I play it. I still haven't steel wool'd it, but I plan on doing so pretty soon (my strings are gross).

Dave L: Thanks for the feedback. I'm really starting to go toward the OFRs. It sounds like they have better durability which is always something I look for. Plus they are cheaper, so it's a win win situation.

 

[Mailman1971]

I like the Schallers myself. The only time I used Gotoh was when I owned 3 of the Ernie Ball EVH models. That was the bridge that was on them. Sounded and played good.
I have an OFR on my Jackson now. Damn bar keeps wanting to fall off....
other than that it plays and sounds fine. But its a "Made in Germany" one.
Cant speak for the "new" floyd rose releases. Never had one.

 

[squealie]

squealie: That concerns me with the Schaller as I have oily skin which seems to take its toll on some hardware. Thanks for the input.

Well, it was usually the intonation screws that hosed for me...and one of the posts above mention steel inserts in those now. Still, OFRs belong in Charvels. Good luck.

 

[Mustaine-who?]

I have a Schaller on my Caparison...and am having a Gotoh (my 2nd) installed on my Jackson. I prefer the Gotoh. Smoother action, and "feels" more like an Ibanez Edge. I mean, there's a reason Suhr uses them. Plus for $129 for the chrome model...how can you go wrong?

 

[Krallum]

Schaller FRT-II

end of story

 

[RJF]

Wait, I thought Schaller is building the current "OFR" right now? Is the OFR you guys are referring to the real one that is stamped "original floyd rose?" If so those are super hard to find used in good shape anymore.

 

[glpg80]

I like the Schallers myself. The only time I used Gotoh was when I owned 3 of the Ernie Ball EVH models. That was the bridge that was on them. Sounded and played good.
I have an OFR on my Jackson now. Damn bar keeps wanting to fall off....
other than that it plays and sounds fine. But its a "Made in Germany" one.
Cant speak for the "new" floyd rose releases. Never had one.

i agree the bar coming unscrewed is annoying. i tried that trick you mentioned in ann landers though and it works like a charm

the gotoh bar is fully adjustable for heighth, but i like the OFR screw on design. when i reach for a bar, its natural instinct now is to want to unscrew it - plus the bars are universal for all of my trems which is convienient.

i like the tone and feel of gotoh's though. the one on my wolfgang sounded nothing like any other trem i have used, i liked the deep aww type of tone it had when dropping it down - something floyd rose or schallars cant give. they seem to give a smoothe transition in tone thats linear with the motion.

 

[Toshiro]

Gotoh. It's all hardened steel now that Floyd's patent is up. The new bar is threaded and has the tension collar like the old one, brass block, and the bridge is 16" radius stock.

Dropped one on my ProMod and could not be happier.

Here it is:

(Yes, that's a black D-Tuna).

 

[Rampage]

Mailman1971: I hate that too about how the OFR bars always seem to want to come off. That's something I can deal with though. How well are your Schallers holding up against wear and tear?

Mustaine-who?: This is what I keep hearing about the Gotoh. The smooth movement really has my interest piqued as I grew up on a Kahler and an original Edge. I can't stop flip flopping! Also, where do you go for the Gotohs? Most of the places I've seen that carry them are out of stock (GPDUSA for instance).

Krallum: Is that the one they use on Caparisons? I'm having difficulty looking them up as it seems all the info is in Japanese or German. They also look like they are out of my price range ($320?).

RJF: I'm a bit confused on this one as well. I thought that the OFR was built in Germany by Schaller for Floyd Rose. Schaller also has the licensed version that is slightly different which is referred to as the Schaller Floyd. This is what I am going off of.

glpg80: I really like what I am hearing about the tone and smooth motion of the Gotohs. Sounds like it could really add a unique color to my playing (which definitely needs it).

Toshiro: Wow! That SoCal looks great! I really like the purple/black color scheme. Hardened steel sounds great for durability and I like that old style bar. I like the brass block, too. The 16" radius sounds like it would be perfection for the Promods as well. Where did you get yours if you don't mind me asking? It seems like they are sold out everywhere.