Floyd Rose Original USA Saddles
The Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo system. The innovation. Not the imitation. It’s ahead of it’s time. It’s a key element of allowing some of the most renowned guitarists an ultimate tool of expressiveness. The Floyd Rose is so incredibly awesome that the competition cannot come close and has to license it!
Except for one opportunity. The saddle radius. It’s historically been 12″. Or there’s a strip of metal that comes with a new kit to shim it for 10″. To be fair, that is what people are needing at the time of the introduction to the Floyd Rose system. The 1980s march forward and shredders want options to show off their flamethrowing skills. We soon see flatter radius and even compound (or conical) radius fretboards.
For the longest time, the option was to just put shims between the saddles and the baseplate. We all do it. I have. You have, too! LOL! But if you’re like me, shims may not be your cup of tea. And that’s Kool & The Gang, daddy-o! For whatever reason, guitar players jive on OCD at all sorts of levels. Personally, I just like the idea of the saddle metal being in direct contact with the baseplate metal. No science. Just a vibe.
The future is upon us! HaHa! Yes! Floyd Rose now has USA saddle sets out-of-the-box to meet the most popular saddle radius demands. They’ve been looking at this option for a while and working hard to it just right. Guitar players can be some picky son of a guns, so Floyd Rose took the time to make it happen
What Difference Does It Make?
Great question! In all fairness, some players may not even know what radius is. Or how it works in to the mechanics of their guitar. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of awesome players out there that only know how to change strings, Check out this article on RADIUS when you have a minute. But having a hair-splitting perfect setup is a key component for many players. And that’s where these new USA Saddles come in to play.
If you’re like me, you may have a guitar (or two) with a 14″ or 16″ radius. You can dial in the action just right on the respective E strings, but the old style 12″ radius will leave things a little higher in the middle strings. That can add up to .010″ or more difference by the time you’re at your D and G string. Enough to clearly notice if it were how you riff on your low E or shred on your high E.
You’re middle strings are no longer the red-headed step-children of your setup!
Out Of The Box
When your brand-new shiny smoking-hot USA-made radius-specific saddles arrive, you’ll notice a few things! The first thing is that they come in a metal container that’s awesome of holding your picks or your allen wrenches or spare change!
After opening the lid and removing the saddles, each saddle is marked for the radius and for the position. 2 dots for the E strings. Zero dots for the middle strings. And 1 dot for the A and the B strings. Super simple, even for guitar players! LOL!
These are just the saddles. If you’re upgrading your existing Floyd Rose system, you already have your String Lock Screws. Those are the long screws that go into the back of the saddle and poke out from under the whale tail.
However, these are the new USA saddles. It’s been a while now, but Floyd Rose has been using a CNC process for some time that uses new String Lock Insert Blocks. They are just a little rounded at the corners. While these new Insert Blocks retrofit to older Floyd Rose saddles, the old Blocks are not recommended for the new saddles. This might be the opportunity to make that upgrade to the Titanium Saddle Lock Inserts that Floyd Rose offers! Maybe at some point, that might be cool to sell it all as a USA Saddle Upgrade Kit.
Swap out the old for the new, using the existing saddle positions as a starting point. Double check you intonation and setup. You may or may not need some small tweaks, depending on how dialed-in your setup is or how dead-on you want it to be.
Installation
For this evaluation, I’m putting these new USA 16″ Saddles on a Charvel Marco Sfogli Signature Pro-Mod Co-Cal. This has a 12″-16″ compound radius. Alder body, quilt maple top. Caramelized maple neck with 25-1/2″ scale 22 fret caramelized maple neck. It comes with the Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo system, which has not been upgraded prior to these new USA saddles.
Evaluation
Wow! These new USA saddles are the bee’s knees. That cat’s pajamas, dare I say.
Let me put it out there that I have more than my share of guitars. Each is it’s own animal, with different vibes to the feel of each of them. One might think going between so many would make the fingers adaptable to many different environments. Yet I have many with compound radius necks.
The difference in the feel and the playability is undeniable. The correction of the string’s proximity to the board elevates the mechanics of accessibility and engagement. It’s as if you pick out the right club, tee up the shot, and land it on a freshly-shorn green that was manicured perfectly for your incoming swing.
As much as that .010-.015″ at the nut can crush your setup and being in tune while playing, it can apply the same across the entire fretboard. Floyd Rose is taking the next step in exceeding expectations with these saddles.
Conclusion
Floyd Rose is getting it right with these USA saddles. The precision of the CNC manufacturing process is so much more beyond the prior method of casting the parts. Pairing that with the incredible element of an even action across all strings makes the saddles a must-have for serious Floyd Rose players.
For reference, this Floyd Rose Original USA Saddle set evaluation was conducted with the following: Charvel Marco Sfogli Signature Pro-Mod Co-Cal guitar, Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. ADA MP-1 Tube Pre-Amp loaded with Tube Amp Doctor ECC83 Premium Selected tubes, using the ADA MC-1 MIDI Controller. Fryette LX II Stereo Tube Power Amplifier. Physical cabs use are Marshall 1960B, Mojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.
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