Floyd Rose dropping Made in Germany stamp

[scottcald]

https://www.floydrose.com/blogs/news/floyd-rose-original-plate-markings

No stamp indicating made in Germany.  What does everyone think?  Seems like maybe Schaller isn't making the original anymore?  They say it's German made, but no indication it's Schiller making them.   

[hamerhead]

Will it say 'Made in China' when they make the switch?

[diablo175]

Fuggem. If they wanna play the shell game (guess which country this unit is made in) I will NOT be purchasing any Floyd without a stamp, opting for Schaller's LockMeister instead. Luckily, I have a few spares.

[Dave Scepter]

Yeah, seems like a HUGE mistake to me~

[Cboss]

20 hours ago, diablo175 said:

Fuggem. If they wanna play the shell game (guess which country this unit is made in) I will NOT be purchasing any Floyd without a stamp, opting for Schaller's LockMeister instead. Luckily, I have a few spares.

That is a whole retirement right there! Like The 40-Year-Old virgins action figures

[diablo175]

3 hours ago, Cboss said:

That is a whole retirement right there! Like The 40-Year-Old virgins action figures

Coincidentally, my collection of Floyds gets me laid about the same amount as if they were action figures.  

In truth, that there is a hodge-podge of new and used units, several Hamer stamped that I pulled off to replace with more reliable versions, as well as a couple of the Korean versions which I pulled off. Mostly because they have no business being on any guitar used for doing some serious whammy-ing.

 

[Cboss]

I have a bunch of guitars with tremolos and I don't use them for anything, they're just a bridge to me, maybe that will change at some point, although I do appreciate how easy it is to set the action height with a Floyd

[scottcald]

Yeah, I feel like people are going to get duped online buying some cheap licensed version and will hurt the reputation. 

[RobB]

Don’t git yer balls in an uproar, people. There’s no hidden agenda, no, “shell game”, going on here. Floyd has purchased machinery, tooling and a shop and will begin making OFRs in the US sometime next year. There has been no official announcement about this new manufacturing project, keep your ears open. 

[Dave Scepter]

53 minutes ago, RobB said:

will begin making OFRs in the US sometime next year. There has been no official announcement about this new manufacturing project, keep your ears open. 

I would still prefer mine to say "Made in Germany" as I feel Germany is synonymous with good steel...

Also, go to bed! 😴

[diablo175]

2 hours ago, RobB said:

There’s no hidden agenda, no, “shell game”, going on here.

Between the chicanery routinely used by marketing and the scarcity of easily accessible info regarding which Floyd you're actually getting, "hidden agenda" might seem cynical and a tad paranoid but isn't all that far from the truth. Only in recent times have I noticed adverts starting to include the exact version of Floyd being offered on new guitars. But even then, you have to dig for it and it still pales in comparison to the more prevalent, (annoyingly) non-specific verbiage used.

2 hours ago, Dave Scepter said:

I would still prefer mine to say "Made in Germany" as I feel Germany is synonymous with good steel...

 I think manufacturing standards are also a bit higher, in addition to that of the steel quality. That said, it will be interesting to see how the move to manufacturing in the US will impact the quality (and price) of Floyds. It also prompts me to wonder if they'll also be producing the 2 other tiers of Floyds- the 1000 Series, currently made in S Korea and the Special, which is anything but...  

 

[scottcald]

11 hours ago, RobB said:

Floyd has purchased machinery, tooling and a shop and will begin making OFRs in the US sometime next year.

Where's this news from?  I haven't seen anything about it. 

[RobB]

From a very established Bay Area tech who works closely with Floyd, Metallica, Satch, Schon, etc. I expect there will be an announcement at NAMM, but I can't confirm/deny that. 

 

[scottcald]

That would be great, but I have to imagine that those would cost somewhere around $300-350 and if they aren't stamped with Made in the USA, I certainly wouldn't buy it, especially after this "it doesn't say Made in Germany, but it is.. really" business.  

[gorch]

On 12/22/2023 at 10:49 PM, Cboss said:

I have a bunch of guitars with tremolos and I don't use them for anything, they're just a bridge to me, maybe that will change at some point, although I do appreciate how easy it is to set the action height with a Floyd

Actually the opposite with me. I like to play a subtle tremolo in between.

[Cboss]

There's always the Gotoh (1996t), it's cheaper and it really works

[diablo175]

8 minutes ago, Cboss said:

There's always the Gotoh (1996t), it's cheaper and it really works

Purely subjective but I don't care for them. This comes after 38 years of playing mostly OFRs and Schaller lic'd Floyds.   The Gotoh Floyd bar is actually a little narrower in diameter and feels weird- kinda flimsy. Then 2 of the 3 versions I've had had issues with the bar staying put, even after adjusting the swing tension in the arm housing/base plate. Admittedly, this is only based on 3 occasions but none of the Gotoh's felt as solid nor were as responsive as the OFRs.

All that aside, Gotohs are exceptionally made, using quality materials. Just not my cup of tea.

[Cboss]

3 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Purely subjective but I don't care for them. This comes after 38 years of playing mostly OFRs and Schaller lic'd Floyds.   The Gotoh Floyd bar is actually a little narrower in diameter and feels weird- kinda flimsy. Then 2 of the 3 versions I've had had issues with the bar staying put, even after adjusting the swing tension in the arm housing/base plate. Admittedly, this is only based on 3 occasions but none of the Gotoh's felt as solid nor were as responsive as the OFRs.

All that aside, Gotohs are exceptionally made, using quality materials. Just not my cup of tea.

I have yet to experience an OFR, looking forward to that!

[scottcald]

3 hours ago, diablo175 said:

Purely subjective but I don't care for them. This comes after 38 years of playing mostly OFRs and Schaller lic'd Floyds.   The Gotoh Floyd bar is actually a little narrower in diameter and feels weird- kinda flimsy. Then 2 of the 3 versions I've had had issues with the bar staying put, even after adjusting the swing tension in the arm housing/base plate. Admittedly, this is only based on 3 occasions but none of the Gotoh's felt as solid nor were as responsive as the OFRs.

All that aside, Gotohs are exceptionally made, using quality materials. Just not my cup of tea.

My first Floyd style guitar was an RG550 in '87.  That thing never went out of tune, no matter what my shenanigans were.  I don't know the subtle differences between the Gotoh 1996 and the Edge, but the Edge was phenomenal. 

[diablo175]

1 hour ago, scottcald said:

My first Floyd style guitar was an RG550 in '87.  That thing never went out of tune, no matter what my shenanigans were.  I don't know the subtle differences between the Gotoh 1996 and the Edge, but the Edge was phenomenal. 

Edge is a different bird altogether. Yes, still a fulcrum, Floyd style trem (unless it's the Ibby ZERO, which is cam-based) and shares a few similarities with th Gotoh- tapered saddle blocks, angled "tail" and similar push in bar and tension controls for the adjusting bar swing.

I'm inclined to agree: the Ibby Edge trems I've had, for the most part, have been excellent. Especially the one on my '89 RG 5-something-or-other. I did some amazing shit with that in early '91.

[Jeff R]

Gotoh ghost built all the Original Edge trems on those MIJ Ibanez guitars in that era we love from the mid to late 80s into the 90s. The most notable difference between an OE and the modern 1996T is that Gotoh bettered the bar assembly. The OE's Achilles heel was that easy to break pop-in bar with nylon washer tensioners that failed to work if not replaced frequently. The current 1996T has a push in bar with a threaded hollow tip that then screws in after its pushed down completely. Combine 1996Ts push-then-screw-in bar with its nylon lined housing and the side tensioning grub screw in the bar housing (which OE didn't have)... it all makes for a simply better bar assembly. You absolutely can adjust drag resistance on a 1996T to taste using the screw in depth and the side tensioner. Having said all that, however, I prefer the modern collared bar assembly on a Floyd.

I'm a Floyd dealer and I haven't been informed about a MIA series. I already have a good idea who may be the fabricator if this is more than rumor, but I'll keep that to myself for now. Regardless of who might fabricate, the only thing that "might" improve will be delivery times from manufacturing site to distributor and then from distributor to bulk-buy OEM builders and small quantity consumers like repair/tech workshops and retailers. Why? Popular OFRs (chrome and black Originals) are constantly in back-order in recent years for all its customers. That's part of why you see so many Gotoh and Lockmeister and FU-Tone converts in recent years. What I just described may also be the catalyst for a possible USA operation ... to supplement what's been an inadequate supply of "good" bridges from Schaller Germany.

[scottcald]

I assumed Gotoh made the Edge stuff once I saw a Gotoh.  Does anyone know who makes the FU bridges?  They look like they might be from Ping as they look similar to some of the old Peavey ones that I think Ping manufactured?

I also saw Kahler is re-introducing the Spyder and Steeler this year. 

[scottcald]

Just sort of resurrecting this a bit as on a YT comment of something I watched I'd mentioned about the Made in Germany not being on Floyds anymore and someone else commented that they'd just received a Lockmeister that similarly no longer had Made in Germany stamped on the bridge itself.  Why?   I'd ask Schaller, but I've emailed them questions about half a dozen times over the years and only got an answer back once or twice. 

[diablo175]

[Dave Scepter]

27 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Yay, made in the USA 🇺🇸... Yours for only $850 🤣

But seriously, if CNC made, what does it matter where it's made?

[diablo175]

1 minute ago, Dave Scepter said:

But seriously, if CNC made, what does it matter where it's made?

Hell if I know. Honestly, other than perhaps saving a few bucks on shipping the units from Germany, not sure what advantages having them made here in 'Merica brings.