Ratou
Active member
Looking for the later version with the Floyd Rose style string locking system. Also interested in buying the bridge posts if anyone has some. Thanks!
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Ratou
Active member
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OUTLAW1969
Well-known member
I have gone down that rabbit hole a few times over the years, and finally just removed the Sinclair tremolos entirely. I replaced them with ORIGINAL Floyds, and have never had any issues with the bridge posts lining up (top or recessed). The have always been a direct fit for me, but YMMV.
The recessed versions can be a little trickier, because you have to disassemble the brand new Floyd, and cut the base plate to match the Sinclair's plate shape (so it fits into the guitar's recess cleanly). But honestly, if you can trace a shape, with the Sinclair plate laying on top of the Floyd plate, it should not be an issue. The slower the better, when re-shaping the Floyd plate to match the traced Sinclair plate's shape. And you will find it easier to touch up the freshly exposed, ground down metal edges, with a matching rust preventative paint, before re-assembling the tremolo.
As for the bridge posts, I think the bushings are either bigger, or threaded differently internally, when comparing the Sinclair to the Floyd. So, if your existing Sinclair bridge posts are not re-usable, I have heard that there is a readily available replacement made for Jackson guitars, but I have not tried them yet. Not sure if the bushings are a direct replacement (diameter), but I have read that the bridge posts are the same size and are supposedly threaded the same, as the Sinclair posts. Usually the Sinclair bushings are still in good shape, so I would think just replacing the posts would help, and then screwing them into the existing Sinclair bushings.
Jackson part # JT585
When I WAS able to find used Sinclair's for sale, they often appeared to be in horrible shape, and the seller's wanted way too much money for them. I also had some luck searching for some of the weird alternate spellings that different people from ESP used over the years, Synclair/Synclear. Odd, but I actually found some spelled that way, after seeing them referred to in that way, by ESP employees. I don't know if those were "official" spellings that changed over the years, but it increases your potential search results.
Good Luck !
The recessed versions can be a little trickier, because you have to disassemble the brand new Floyd, and cut the base plate to match the Sinclair's plate shape (so it fits into the guitar's recess cleanly). But honestly, if you can trace a shape, with the Sinclair plate laying on top of the Floyd plate, it should not be an issue. The slower the better, when re-shaping the Floyd plate to match the traced Sinclair plate's shape. And you will find it easier to touch up the freshly exposed, ground down metal edges, with a matching rust preventative paint, before re-assembling the tremolo.
As for the bridge posts, I think the bushings are either bigger, or threaded differently internally, when comparing the Sinclair to the Floyd. So, if your existing Sinclair bridge posts are not re-usable, I have heard that there is a readily available replacement made for Jackson guitars, but I have not tried them yet. Not sure if the bushings are a direct replacement (diameter), but I have read that the bridge posts are the same size and are supposedly threaded the same, as the Sinclair posts. Usually the Sinclair bushings are still in good shape, so I would think just replacing the posts would help, and then screwing them into the existing Sinclair bushings.
Jackson part # JT585
When I WAS able to find used Sinclair's for sale, they often appeared to be in horrible shape, and the seller's wanted way too much money for them. I also had some luck searching for some of the weird alternate spellings that different people from ESP used over the years, Synclair/Synclear. Odd, but I actually found some spelled that way, after seeing them referred to in that way, by ESP employees. I don't know if those were "official" spellings that changed over the years, but it increases your potential search results.
Good Luck !
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Ratou
Active member
Thanks for the info man! I've actually just bought some of these Jackson posts to try out (we might have seen the same forum post recommending them). Agreed on the Sinclairs, they're a bit of a hassle.... I have a mix of ESP with original Sinclairs and some converted to Floyds (rerouted). The issue I have for this guitar (for which I want to replace the bridge) is that the bridge is particularly beat up and I really don't like the string locking system (set screws holding the strings). I keep having strings break at the bridge even though I've replaced the crews by brand new ones, i think it's just a bad design. I've had better luck with second version of Sinlairs with Floyd Rose style locking system. Good idea on modifying a Floyd though! Never thought about it, always assumed rerouting was the only options for recessed versions. I'll have a think, might be doing that since it would be stupid to reroute some more collectors / vintage ESPs. This particular one is a reverse lawsuit headstock 1$ bill Mirage Deluxe - awesome axe but the bridge is just not doing it, won't hold tuning very well. The posts are definitely fucked up so hopefully new ones will fix most of the issue, otherwise I'll drop in a modified Floyd as you suggested. Cheers!
Ratou
Active member
And have you fitted OFRs to non-recessed ESPs? If yes, how is the fit? I would think the bridge will be a lot closer to the body but not sure how much clearance is left?
OUTLAW1969
Well-known member
Yes, it funny that you should ask that, because I just did it to another one of my older ESP's, last week 
.
And the only small problem that I have ever had was, ironically, on that particular guitar. And even that was a quick 10-minute fix.
The smaller route on the guitar, underneath where the bar attaches to the Floyd, was a little bit of a tight fit. But only because the Sinclair bar mounted directly to the "L" shaped sustain block, instead of just mounting to the plate, like the Original Floyd.
So definitely "test fit" one of the Floyds that you already have, by just setting it down into the Sinclair route (on your particular guitar) to see if you will have the range of motion that you want, before buying a new Floyd. Just see if you have the necessary clearance, by holding it in the position, that it would normally be mounted. I don't want to tell you that it will DEFINITELY work with every Sinclair route that ESP ever did, but I have done it to quite a few of my older ESP's that had Sinclair trems, and have always been able to make it work with just a little bit of common sense.
I will attach a picture of the "barrel connector" on the Floyd, that gave me a little bit of a clearance issue. The "barrel connector" just screws onto the bottom of the insert, that the bar attaches to, and I think it is meant to be a counter weight. The insert that the barrel screws on to, was press fitted into the Floyd plate. I removed it, and took the picture, when I was considering grinding off some of the outer barrel (the barrel has very thick walls), but I ended up not having to do that. If you encounter the same issue with a similar shaped route, you will see that a very small amount of careful sanding inside of the unpainted route, works just fine. The sandpaper never touched ANY of the painted surfaces of the guitar, and I just used sandpaper wrapped around a wooden dowel.
Including the unexpected problem with that piece, it only took about 10-15 minutes longer than a normal string change.
But as a precaution, TEST FIT one of the Original Floyds that you already have, into the Sinclair route, to make sure that YOUR PARTICULAR GUITAR does not have a similar issue.
.And the only small problem that I have ever had was, ironically, on that particular guitar. And even that was a quick 10-minute fix.
The smaller route on the guitar, underneath where the bar attaches to the Floyd, was a little bit of a tight fit. But only because the Sinclair bar mounted directly to the "L" shaped sustain block, instead of just mounting to the plate, like the Original Floyd.
So definitely "test fit" one of the Floyds that you already have, by just setting it down into the Sinclair route (on your particular guitar) to see if you will have the range of motion that you want, before buying a new Floyd. Just see if you have the necessary clearance, by holding it in the position, that it would normally be mounted. I don't want to tell you that it will DEFINITELY work with every Sinclair route that ESP ever did, but I have done it to quite a few of my older ESP's that had Sinclair trems, and have always been able to make it work with just a little bit of common sense.
I will attach a picture of the "barrel connector" on the Floyd, that gave me a little bit of a clearance issue. The "barrel connector" just screws onto the bottom of the insert, that the bar attaches to, and I think it is meant to be a counter weight. The insert that the barrel screws on to, was press fitted into the Floyd plate. I removed it, and took the picture, when I was considering grinding off some of the outer barrel (the barrel has very thick walls), but I ended up not having to do that. If you encounter the same issue with a similar shaped route, you will see that a very small amount of careful sanding inside of the unpainted route, works just fine. The sandpaper never touched ANY of the painted surfaces of the guitar, and I just used sandpaper wrapped around a wooden dowel.
Including the unexpected problem with that piece, it only took about 10-15 minutes longer than a normal string change.
But as a precaution, TEST FIT one of the Original Floyds that you already have, into the Sinclair route, to make sure that YOUR PARTICULAR GUITAR does not have a similar issue.
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Ratou
Active member
Ok - thanks a lot for the details man. I'll fit a Floyd from another guitar and see what kind of adjustments need to be made. Seems like the routes on these can vary quite a bit depending production year, model etc. so good on trying out beforehand. I guess the block size will also be important given that Sinclair blocks are usually on the smaller side. I'll let you know how it goes!
R
Randy R
Well-known member
I think I still have one, I will check after work today