Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose is a vibrato system, often colloquially called a tremolo , for electric guitars . It is mainly popular in the heavy metal scene, as it supports extreme bendings and sound effects and remains particularly stable against upsets. The tuning stability and the wide range of action distinguish this vibrato system from other variants such as the Bigsby vibrato.
The Floyd Rose vibrato system is used more in more modern guitar models such as by the manufacturers Dean , Jackson, ESP guitars and above all Ibanez, which are also mainly used in typical music styles. It is used less often on more traditional models such as those from Fender or Gibson .
The Floyd Rose was invented by Floyd D. Rose in the late 1970s . Guitarists Steve Vai , Joe Satriani , Eddie van Halen and Richie Sambora , for example, make excessive use of Floyd Rose vibrato .
construction
The original Floyd Rose tremolo consists of the following parts:
- Bridge - support point of the string.
- Tailpiece - Small metal block that clamps the string in the bridge .
- Bridge screw - The bridge screw is used to set the intonation of the string. If the screw is loosened, the bar can be moved a few millimeters back and forth. An Allen key is required for adjustment .
- Fine tuner - screw to fine tune the respective string.
- Vibrato Lever - The vibrato lever is used to generate the vibrato while playing the guitar and cause the pitch fluctuations.
- Clamp saddle - The saddle is used on the head of the guitar in front of the machine heads to hold the strings in place. Depending on the model, you need an Allen key or a screwdriver to clamp the strings to the saddle.
- String Retainer - A metal rod that is installed on the headstock to guide the strings to the clamping saddle at a specific angle. However, this rod is only required for guitars in which the headstock is not sloping backwards. It should be noted that if the neck tension rod is attached incorrectly, access to the neck tension rod can be "blocked", which also makes it more difficult to attach the neck tension rod cover plate.
- Springs - The coil springs are located in the body of the guitar and provide a counter-tension to the strings. This counter-movement keeps the vibrato in the basic position. Depending on the strings used, up to five springs with different tensile forces can be used to compensate for the tension of the strings. Usually, however, only 4 springs are included in a tremolo set.
- Spring claw - the springs are suspended from the spring claw. The spring claw can be adjusted with the help of two screws so that the tremolo remains in the floating basic position when not in use.
- Allen wrench - The Floyd Rose tremolo usually requires three different Allen wrenches for string changes and adjustment.
functionality
By pressing the lever, the string tension and thus its tuning can be lowered. With so-called dive bombs, the extreme variant in which the strings largely slacken, the tuning can be lowered over several octaves . By pulling the lever, depending on the orientation, the mood can be raised by several whole tones. When you let go of the lever, steel springs bring the bar back to its starting position.
Tuning stability is achieved on the one hand by clamping the strings to the saddle, which counteracts any slippage on the tuning mechanisms . In contrast to other systems, the Floyd Rose clamping saddle combines the traditional saddle and the clamping device in one component.
Furthermore, the strings are clamped into the bridge without a ball (English ball end ). The ball is now mostly a small cylinder made of brass or a ball with a hole around which one end of the string is looped and twisted with itself. To fasten the string, most guitar bridges have this ball hung in an eyelet. When the tension on the string changes, the twist tends to slip (slippage), which results in the string being detuned. Direct pinching of the string eliminates this additional source of detuning.
Some vibrato systems have the uncomfortable property of quickly wearing out strings. Strings often tear at the intonation point, i.e. at the point where the string rests on the bridge. The distance between the fastening or clamping device and the intonation point of the saddle on the bridge is decisive for the service life of the string at the intonation point. The smaller this distance, the less the string is moved over the intonation point if the string tension and length change when using the vibrato system. This movement is associated with friction, which literally rubs the string through and eventually lets it tear. With the Floyd Rose, this distance is not even an inch.
Another advantage of jamming the strings on the bridge is the ability to continue using a broken string if there is no new string available and the remaining piece is still long enough. One way of preventing the string from breaking is to regularly shorten the sensitive h and e strings a little and re-clamp them before they chafe through.
disadvantage
Tuning the guitar is a little more difficult with this system, as tuning one string also affects the tuning of the other strings. If you tune one string higher, the tuning of the other strings is lowered. If you then tune these strings up, the tuning of the first string is lowered. You should therefore tune the string to be tuned a little too high.
This principle also means that unison bends , dynamic two- chords in which one string is pulled until it has exactly the same pitch as the second string, can no longer be performed properly, as the frequency of the actually static target tone drops when bending. Since the bending increases the tension of the strings, the vibrato bridge moves out of the body as if the lever were pressed, which causes a lowering of the string tension and thus the pitch of all strings. Theoretically, this principle also allows finger bending with a constant pitch.
The storage of the picking hand on the bridge leading to detuned and untrained players can cause problems. The sensitivity of the system also depends on whether the system is set to "floating", i.e. whether bendings are possible in both directions, and also on the string thickness and the number of tension springs used. With relatively thin strings (009 sets) and few tension springs, the system reacts very sensitively, expressively and smoothly, but also requires a sure instinct in order to avoid the strings breaking.
Furthermore, the contact between the bridge and body of the guitar is only at the knife edges, which means that sustain and tone development suffer. This is another reason why this system is mainly used in conjunction with powerful pickups and massive distortion or effects in general.
However, all of this also applies to most other vibrato systems.
Changing strings is also quite complicated compared to other vibrato systems.
various
Not least because of the difficulties in setting and tuning, the ironic term “Freud Los” has become established among German-speaking guitar technicians and some guitarists.
literature
- Tony Bacon, Dave Hunter: Totally Guitar - the Definitive Guide ,
Guitar Encyclopedia. Backbeat Books, London 2004. ISBN 1-871547-81-4 - Guitar Basics - Everything Guitarists Need to Know! (with a detailed guide to setting up Floyd Rose vibrato systems). Press Projekt Verlag, Bergkirchen 2003. ISSN 1430-9769
Web links
- Official Floyd Rose Website (accessed February 27, 2012)