Farewell to Fender's 6-screw Trem! - Floyd Rose Install!

Time for an upgrade! This week I ditch Fender's Mexican 6-screw trem for something much better from Floyd Rose!
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[jvanb]

I just came here for the TREM-endous pun in the thumbnail

[jjdillon]

Being an American Standard owner, I was glad to see that they include a template for 2 post trems, to be able to locate and drill the four holes needed, to mount the rail.

[r.llynch]

UPDATE: I finally got around to purchasing one of these from Floyd for my strat and I have to tell you it is frickin awesome. I can dive all the way down over and over without tuning issues and my intonation is dead on. Great job from Floyd Rose.

[allancrow]

Just an aside for those that don't know, balancing your string gauge(string tension) and spring tension is critical for making a decked trem function. Some guys use more springs, or less springs, or different spring tension and configurations. You want your spring tension to hold your bridge decked on your hardest bends. That's the threshold you are looking for and everyone is different. Don't be afraid to find the perfect tension for you, there is a sweet spot. Generally the lighter the string gauge the less spring tension you need.

[PeterDad]

Leo Fender recommended having the 4 inner screws loose, in fact a 1/32th inch gap between the underside of the screw head and the top plate of the guitar bridge/tremolo system. Only the two outer screws were to have the screw heads in contact with the metal plate securing the bridge/tremolo system to the top of the guitar. Leo also recommended a 1/8" gap between the back of the tremolo/bridge assembly and the top plate of the guitar. In this manner the tremolo can work up and down to raise and lower the pitch.
Very few people know how Leo Fender wanted us to set the tremolo on his guitars, very few. Hence, well you can figure that part out....they don't work very well for those people!


I found this information from a video image of a few pages out of a guitar set up manual written by Leo fender. I know, right, what a strange way to find that data. It was from one of "Dave's World of Fun Stuff" videos where he panned his video camera across the open pages of his manual. I froze the frame's and wrote it all down! It made a world of difference in the usability of my Stratocaster Tremolo. Much, much better.
Most people just tighten the tremolo springs until it's like a hardtail. You can bend down but not up. That's the way I had it for a decade and more. I was wrong and I am sure so are 99% of the people who own a Stratocaster are.

[Edric]

The parts that you removed from the strat can be used to upgrade squier strats

[chris_]

Adding locking tuners, graphtek nut and string tree and ensuring a straight string pull will greatly improve tuning stability with a regular trem. FR even recommends doing this for the rail tail.

[BaconatorJames]

A little update - I've had this exact trem on my American Performer Strat for almost a year now & have no complaints. I'm using all 5 springs, so I can change from 9-42 to 9.5-44 to 10-46 without making any adjustments.
As for tune stability, I have to admit upgrading to a Graphtech nut is what did me the most favors, but that, combined with the FR Rail-Tail & locking Fender tuners, I cannot force this guitar out of tune. I don't notice any change regarding sustain or tone - but there could be, I'm not a musician & only been playing since late 2017.
This system was expensive. I'm happy with it though & it's nice to have a trem arm that I don't have to unscrew to put it back in the case (loose enough to pull out, tight enough to stay in while playing). Trem springs belong in my vacuum now, not my Strat.
This was a great recommendation, Darrell.

[marka]

That trem looks incredibly high quality and a lovely upgrade to the guitar. But of it is not floating to keep the trem in tune and locked against the guitar body. You could just tighten the springs on a vintage trem and lock the trem against the body. Doing this give excellent tuning stability and stops double stops going out of tune in exactly the same way as the Floyd rose and its totally free unless you need to add a couple more springs to get the right tension.

[fastfretfreddy]

Thank you Darrell! Great demo. I couldn't be happier with this bridge! I truly feel it's the perfect balance between a hardtail and a tremolo that most players are looking for. Yes, it is a bit pricey but so are beautifully crafted high-quality watches. If your looking for high-quality components, something aesthetically stunning, and an upgrade in performance like instant sustain and tuning stability, then look no further. The Rail Tail is the Rolex of guitar bridges. ⌚

[fernandovlogs]

Last time I was this early, MTV was focused on music and not crappy reality TV shows.

[MrStephenlederle]

I want this! Then got sticker shock! My heart is still in my throat. $250.00

[alwaysrockn]

Great video. I've always been annoyed with Fender and Squire for continuing to make a sub-par trem system knowing that it's garbage and people don't like it. Nice to see a great alternative to that issue. Now if only Fender would catch on.

[tonidupont-mora]

I swear! Your smile brightens the day! Then I begin listening to your words. I am learning so much from you. Keep smiling.
Wow! What an amazing sound!

[uspsdaveable]

Looks great and seems like an easy install, would of liked to see how you set up the saddle height and intonation, for a novice upgrader

[JP]

Dude, you're a great guitar player and teacher. It's easy to see you're a really good person. 👌👍

[bigfootingermany]

Hey Darrell, thanks to this video, I reached out to Floyd Rose and it looks like I am going to have the Rail Tail as an option on at least 2 of my models. Thanks for video. I'm really not a big fan of Floyd's, so I don't even keep up with their latest. If someone wants a Floyd type bridge on their build, I usually go with Schaller. For me, it's a local company, unlike FR. While I know the orig design is an awesome piece of hardware for the shredders, most of my customers are just blues and rock players. We're mostly old. lol. The only thing I dislike worse than a FR is the old school 6 screw trem. Without some specific modifications to the screws themselves, it's simply an outdated design. The newer 2 point is better, but even it has it's limits, as you point out. I know that by saying bad things about FR, I'm going to get flamed in the comments, but these are people that either don't have one, or rarely ever have to work on them. They were a pain in the a$$ in the 80's and still are. But as a retrofit for the old 6 screw, that Rail Tail is one sexy piece of modern looking hardware!!! Are you still loving it, or have you found something you would prefer was tweaked?

If you still have some guitars laying around with the old 6 screw trem, the modification is rather simple, but requires some work. If you dont have a lathe, you can pull one screw and mod it at a time. Put it in a drill, and whatever the thickness of your baseplate is (Fender and Squier have used different thicknesses over the years) measure down that distance from the under side of the screw head. Use a triangle file, thinner the teeth the better, and turn on the drill. Use the V and cut into the shaft of the screw and hog out about 0.6-0.8mm of material from the shaft. Polish it with some extra fine sandpaper, and then green scotchbrite or 0000 steel wool to really get it smooth. Reinstall the screw and move to the next. When you use the tremolo arm, the base plate will drop into that groove smoothly, and return back to pitch, smoothly. You'll love the way it feels, but honestly, it's still only a bandaid for an old tired design. But again, thanks for the video and enlightening me to this awesome product FR has now. Take it easy, and waiting for the next video. Bob in Germany Piedmont Custom Guitar Co.

[kennhern]

That tune up on the high e string was nerve-wracking. Don't scare me like that, it brings back war flashbacks :( (kidding haha)

[sirjames]

I really like Darrell Braun. He is one of those typical super nice, super polite Canadian guys. Great show, and great information.
I am American and We say harsh things like "fender Tremolos SUCK!"

[bcltdinc.]

Great video as always Darrell ..
I 'd personally go with the surface mount floyd rose with fine tuners if i was to spend this much on the mod and go double locking for unltimate tuning stability

Also, in my humble opinion, I do believe the bridge should not completely sit on the body .. it should be flush with the body, but the rear of the bridge needs be pulled up by as much as 1 mm so that the actual floating is possible and again tuning stability will improve