WHO MAKES THE BEST FLOYD ROSE? 1984 FLOYD VS GOTOH GE1996T VS FLOYD ROSE 1000

This is the battle of the bridges, and only one trem can win. In this shootout I'll compare the floyd rose 1000, floyd rose 1984 limited edition, floyd rose original, and gotoh 1996t.

[RancidAmputation]

Honestly out of all the parts on a guitar floyds have always fascinated me the most. I’d absolutely watch the shit out of as many videos as possible on this topic. Keep up the good work man!

[JoeR]

I put the Gotoh on my Jem Jr. Much better than the Ibanez trem. Philadelphia Luthiers has the best price for Gotoh. I think around $105 for chrome and $127 for gold. Black is priced somewhere between those two.

[johnnypatterson]

I'm a huge fan of the Gotoh trems their amazing feelling, but I'm an even bigger fan of the Edge trems on the higher end of Ibanez guitars.

[GarryParker]

Great video. Nice to see someone geeking out on Floyds! I love the engineering that goes into them as well.
I mainly play Ibanez now, so use the original Edge with the locking posts. I also think they have the best arm design with the replaceable bushes. Pretty sure they are made by Gotoh.
That 1984 sure looks cool, though!

[craigharrison]

I have all these trems on different guitars and can confirm the Gotoh feels the best in my hands. From the height and angle of the bar to the way the trem feels with my hand resting against it while playing. The best locking trem I own though is the orignal edge on my Ibanez RG Genesis.

[JacobPetrossian]

Dude you are coolest guitar demo guy! Great vid, keep up the awesome work!

[cpt]

“Sounds like someone I know” had me dying 😂

[RedCGhost]

great video, love the explanation definitely going with the gotoh over the 1984 personally, for my play style it seems to be the obvious choice after watching this video 😊

[frankorobinson]

When you arms dont seem to be comfortable where they are the bend easily put in a vise wrapped in a rag or tape and bent to your liking. Thanks for the information I am ever learning everything floyd I love these toys.

[JawnCoffee]

Gotoh are really nice. I put one on a jackson dinky and also on a Ibanez rg.. just used the original posts on both since I didn't want to drill anything on the guitars and have never had a problem with either..

[GrandmaSiva]

I really enjoyed your video the other day. I know exactly what you're talking about, that butter. I had a Japanese RG that was amazing. I put so much into it, Fernandez sustainer, evolution bridge pick up, scalloped frets etc.. Steve Vai would've teared up for this version of his beloved FLO... I refused to play on my friends guitars with original Floyd rose tremolo's because they said it was so much better than Ibanez or Jackson. Personally I thought Ibanez was a little smoother than Jackson, personal preference maybe. But, the original floyd rose has a certain feeling which is so beautiful and smooth, exactly like you were pointing out. You're the first person who has really demonstrated the difference between the Floyd Rose versus licensed variants. I'm assuming the term "butter" was used for the feeling of the Floyd Rose in the butt rock days. A guitarist in 2015 used the same term when he was convincing me to try one for the first time. I had a license Floyd Rose in 88 and I don't know how many I've had since and here I was not even 10 years back experiencing perfection in a floating trem system for the first time... So, I went down the rabbit hole. My questions were, "Will a Floyd Rose Special do the job? Can I rebuild a junker super straight from the 80s or 90s to compare with or surpass modern day tech? What are the differences in Floyd Roses?" And the kid in me wants to put one on a headless guitar somehow without having to spend $800 on a Sophia.. OK, pulling my head out of the rabbit hole and come to a strange conclusion. The one thing truly different is the resonance block. I'm wondering if the heavier "fat brass trem block" has everything to do with that heavier balanced field versus a licensed Ibanez, Jackson etc. the "butter"

[FulcrumsEdge]

In regards to flutter and sustain on the Ge1996t: If you use the GOTOH PSP springs that came with the GOTOH trem, they are designed with the right amount of rigidity needed for that specific bridge. The FR black noiseless springs do not have enough rigidity in them (they are essentially standard FR springs with a nominal increase in rigidity thanks to the powder coating) to balance between both the mass of the bridge/string tension on one end with the hardpoints of the claw on the other, forcing to you have to end up driving the claw screws deeper into the body to balance the bridge where it needs to be. stretching springs past their optimal tension point completely saps any flutter and sustain from the entire system. I'm surprised you got that much flutter out of that bridge with those springs, lol. If you wanna maintain the FR springs setup, add a 4th spring and backing the trem claw screws off accordingly to rebalance the tremolo will help give the bridge a chance to shine. If you are worried about the GOTOH PSP springs adding harmonics, I wouldn't worry too much. The powder coating the FR noiseless springs are given chips off over time.... and way too easily I might add... especially at points of contact, rendering the powder coating nearly useless as a noise dampener. Using soft foam under the springs, or adding heat shrink tubing inside any tremolo spring (wide enough to keep contact with the inside of the springs) are easy enough and generally perform better with unwanted harmonics than a simple powder coating because they actually acoustically decouple the springs from the points of contact as opposed to just adding paint to the raw metal. the tubing is far more aesthetically pleasing than the foam but I've realized (the hard way) that no one other than guys like us gives two sticks about how aesthetically clean out trem cavities are. 🤣 Great in depth video. IMO, The GOTOH, based on build quality alone, is as good or better when comparing it with all Floyd Rose has to offer, aside from the unobtainable (unobtanium) all titanium build FR's. Add to that the retail price disparity between the two brands of trems and I'd be willing to fork a couple middle fingers to FR for having the balls to jack up the already cringe retail price points they had. Not a damn thing in the supply and demand of FR bridges has merited a 50% and higher markup in the last 2 years.... The mostly static cost of the GOTOH and the "relative" steadiness in fluctuations of most other related guitar hardware/parts is kind of damning. I love FR bridges and I love what the brand helped develop, but as a business model, similar to what a lot of major guitar brands are doing, I find it extremely off-putting, albeit a helpful means of avoiding unnecessary purchases.

[KaosII]

The Gotoh arm has internal threads ....so you can lower it about 3/8th's of an inch. At least mine does.

[bookoou]

Great video. I would also just like to add that the Ibanez Edge intonation tool will also work for the Gotoh because the fine tuners are at a 45 angle...just like the Edge. For the money, you can't beat the Gotoh.

[azcoyote]

Ordered the Gotoh GE1996T for my Wolfgang. I also have a FR 37mm brass block I think may work with it? Thanks for the info.

[serdar]

Today I've ordered a 40*50 Block Gotoh according to ''top seller'' title when I was away from my guitar. I've realized that 40 thing very late. I hope it fits to my Jackson Dynky.

[randylahey]

you growing tonewoods in that tent back there?

[blackedelweiss]

I haven't bought a FR guitar in over a decade, thanks for the vid.

[Lomni]

I wish the gotoh studs weren't so freaking big and were just a direct replacement; perhaps they're more stable and less susceptible to wood expansion/contraction? Something that plagues a lot of basswood bodies is the wood drying out a lot more over time and things getting loose.

[superularnaga]

Nice Epiphone Beast in the background. Got one in black 😊