Is it time you had a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo? If you’ve never owned one before, you’re perhaps missing a whole lot of fun! As you’ll no doubt know, Floyd Rose tremolos allow a unique vocabulary of expressive sounds due to the way they completely lock the strings in place at both the bridge and the nut. Any fans of acrobatic guitar playing will be instantly familiar with the screeches, dives and squalls that are achievable with a ‘Floyd’.
In terms of Floyd Rose-equipped guitars, there’s a ton of choices available today. Naturally, most of these will pay at least a bit of a nod towards the 1980s, which was the decade that the Floyd made its initial impact. I’ve looked at the brands that offer guitars fitted with Floyds and compiled this list of what I believe to be some of the best that are out there. Prices definitely vary, but the good news is that you can have some Floyd-fun at nearly all guitar price points. Also, brands may appear more than once here, because some (Jackson, for example) are heavily invested in Floyd styles and therefore have more worthy examples. There is no order of preference here, just a collection of guitars that I believe will put you on the road to whammy bar greatness.
But first: a brief word on what a Floyd Rose actually is…
Contents
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG
Charvel Pro-Mod Relic San Dimas
Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Custom Axcess
Jackson Pro Series Mark Heylum Rhoads RR24-7
What is a Floyd Rose?
What is a Floyd Rose? For a detailed answer, jump over to my ‘what is a Floyd Rose?’ blog, but briefly, a Floyd Rose tremolo is a type of bridge with a ‘whammy bar’, which uses mechanisms to hold the strings locked in place. The purpose of this is to achieve rock-solid tuning stability, and the byproduct is a range of new sounds that can be achieved thanks to the extreme pitch manipulation made possible by the locked strings.
Floyd Rose is the name of the inventor. There are lots of varieties of Floyd Rose tremolos out there, made with harder or softer metals (and correspondingly cheaper or dearer) and often stamped with other brand names. These are all still licensed from Floyd Rose to one degree or another, and they all operate in the same manner, so what works with one will work with the rest. Sometimes these tremolos are referred to as ‘double locking’ because they pinch the strings at the bridge (you use an allen key to ‘bite down’ on each string with a ‘tooth’ that's next to each saddle) and at the nut, which is not a regular nut but a metal locking nut.
So that’s what a Floyd Rose tremolo is. Now for the guitars!
EVH Wolfgang Special
I’ll start things off with a guitar from the guy who put Floyd Rose tremolos on the map: Eddie Van Halen. He was involved with the original Floyd Rose tremolos, and in fact it was his suggestion to put fine-tuners on the bridges! This wonderful EVH Wolfgang Special is the ultimate fruit of Eddie’s lifelong guitar tinkering, and is made to his specific specifications. Cheaper Wolfgang Standard models exist, as do pricier Japanese and American Wolfgang models, but I’d actually start here if I were you. This is a Mexican made guitar with a delicious carved top (I chose Purple Burst to show you today but there’s a bunch of colour options), a neck to die for and pickups that are dialled in by Eddie Van Halen’s ears.
You know what I mean!
Anyway, the devil is in the details for this hard rocker. Here are some examples:
- The pickups are directly mounted to the body for greater signal transfer.
- The maple neck is quartersawn for extra strength.
- The Volume pot has a treble bleed circuit to retain your tone’s high end as the volume knob is dialled down.
- The volume and tone knobs have different friction levels, so that the volume moves easily for swell effects, and the tone doesn’t budge as easily, to prevent accidental changes.
It’s stuff like that that shows me that EVH listened to everything Eddie wanted and put it into practice, even in these not-top-price models. Here's another thing to note about it: The whammy bar is ‘decked’, which means that it will only operate to lower the pitch: it cannot be raised. There are three good reasons for that. One: it’s what Eddie preferred; two: you can bend notes without adjacent strings wobbling out of tune (try it on a Strat and you’ll instantly hear it); and three: there is a D-Tuna device that sticks out at the back of the unit, which allows drop-D tuning even when the strings are locked. This can’t exist where up-bend is achievable on a tremolo because it would simply keep hitting off the guitar’s body!
All in all, this is an excellent rock guitar which has sprung directly from the mind of one of the greatest players of all time. What else do you need to know?
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG
Jackson are about as iconic as pointy rock axes get. Every kid who loves a mosh dreams of owning a Jackson, and that doesn’t change when they get older! Jackson have the style and the guitar hero association (this was THE brand in the 80s for everything from Def Leppard to Megadeth), but they have the building chops behind them to ensure that their guitars perform brilliantly too.
Recently, Jackson have started building in America again, and I’d call it high time too! We’ve been seeing a few models trickle through, and my pick of them so far is the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG. This is one of those occasions where all of the well-considered elements combine to make something greater than its parts.
The Soloist sits slightly apart from other Jackson superstrats like the Dinky thanks to its through-neck construction. This adds resonance and sustain,but I think the real benefit is the upper fret access: there is just no heel to get in the way! On top of that, this beauty has an ebony fingerboard, a set of classic EMG active pickups (the 81/85 pair for all of you Wylde/Hetfield fans) and a Floyd Rose 1500 series tremolo.
What does that mean? Ok, remember earlier when I said that there are many variations on the Floyd? Well, Floyd Rose themselves make many of those, and the 1500 series is a premium model that implements stainless steel parts for a much longer-wearing bridge. Top quality, in other words, which is what I feel like saying about this entire guitar. If you like to shred, and you don’t absolutely fly on this thing, then I’d be worried! It’s an immense performer from a well-loved stable.
ESP USA M-II NTB FR
ESP are a titan of a brand for hard rockers. So many of the world’s top metal players choose them, including Metallica, Rammstein, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, Slayer, Testament, Slipknot, Behemoth, Soulfly, Lamb of God and Deftones. That’s some seal of approval!
ESP and their subbrand LTD are made in a number of countries, depending on the series. Anything with ESP on the headstock is going to be excellent quality though, be that Japan or the USA. This guitar I’m showcasing here for you today is an American made ESP USA M-II and wow, this is spectacular!
ESP are ultimately a Japanese brand, though their headquarters are in the US. It's really debatable whether the top USA guitars or the top Japanese guitars are the best, since both are pretty exceptional. Take a look at this one, for example. The build quality is magnificent, and I love how bold the figured timber and colour choice is!
This is another neck-through build, and sports creme de la creme hardware including stainless steel frets (they’ll practically never wear out), Gotoh tuners, Seymour Duncan pickups and of course an ‘Original’ series Floyd Rose tremolo. This is one of the best Floyd variants available, made with steel parts and with a nickel-plated brass centre block. What that means for you is a tremolo that performs amazingly well, returns perfectly to pitch and will take years and years of serious punishment.
If you’re looking in this price range then you simply MUST experience a guitar of this calibre from ESP USA.
Charvel Pro-Mod Relic San Dimas
Charvel are the original superstrat custom shop. The OG Californian boutique builders. Without them, there would be no Sunset Strip hair metal scene, or at least not in the way that we know it! Wayne Charvel was the man that every gunslinger in Southern California visited for hot-rodded guitars, and his staff member Grover Jackson was THAT Jackson guy.
So, a lot of history here, and this Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas makes the most of that. This is like a proper 80s Superstrat that’s been played and loved, and still kicking ass today. Loads of the things that define a Superstrat are in this guitar, because it was Charvel who created the definitive examples! Stuff like this:
- Compound radius fingerboard: the fingerboard flattens out along its length from 12-16”. This makes upper register soloing easier to perform.
- Jumbo frets - less pressure required to fret a note, so more speed available!
- Slim neck profile
- Two hot humbuckers - Seymour Duncans on this one (a JB and a ‘59, a classic combo)
- Floyd Rose tremolo, of course!
- Classic Stratocaster body and headstock
Those are all pretty much prerequisites for a Superstrat! I’d also add a bold, eye-catching finish, like this gorgeous Weathered Orange, which has been aged to simulate 40 years of hard shred!
Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Custom Axcess
Not all Floyd-equipped guitars have to be Strat shaped! Here’s an awesome - and affordable - Les Paul from Epiphone and Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. It's a beaut!
Whilst it’s not unheard of for LPs to have Floyds, it’s also not very common. Prog rockers like Steve Hackett, Robert Fripp and of course Alex Lifeson here seem to prefer it to other styles, though. This gorgeous Ruby red Custom has more going for it than just stunning looks, though: in addition to the Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo, there’s also a couple of push/pull controls for coil splitting and out-of-phase tones, making this a versatile and very capable instrument indeed.
Ibanez JIVA10
Ibanez are excellent for their artist signature models, so I’m including two in this blog. First up is Nita Strauss’s Ibanez JIVA10, a sleek model based on the slender curves of the Ibanez S Series guitars. There’s tons of character here, from the ‘Beaten Path’ inlay that runs down the length of the fingerboard, to the signature DiMarzio Pandemonium pickups, which are accompanied here by a True Velvet single coil. Best of all is the beautiful Deep Space Blonde finish, over a lovely slice of quilted maple.
The bridge on this one is a good example of a Floyd Rose tremolo that isn’t a Floyd Rose tremolo. It’s called an Edge-Zero II bridge, and it features some clever innovations from Ibanez (such as using ball bearings to rock the bridge back and forth), whilst changing or eliminating any elements of design that are covered by Floyd Rose’s patents. To my knowledge, Ibanez Edge tremolos are the only Floyd-type tremolo that isn’t either a direct Floyd Rose model or a licensed one. They certainly used to be, but Ibanez have worked on being able to do their own thing outside of the Floyd Rose situation.
Jackson Pro Series Mark Heylum Rhoads RR24-7
Fancy a 7-string with a Floyd Rose? Why not fully commit and choose something with a wild body shape too? I’ve got just the thing for you: the Jackson Pro Series Mark Heylum Rhoads RR24-7. For my money, the RR shape (Randy Rhoads) is one of the coolest and most timeless ‘shape’ guitars you can get. Rhoads designed the shape and brought it to Grover Jackson to build, and it has since branched out into being one of their most popular styles.
This guitar is an ideal example of how the RR style can work for different artists. Here, it’s Mark Heylmun of Suicide Silence. His death metal-adjacent music requires earth-shattering lows, so this 7-string has an extended scale length of 26.5”. A gold 1000 series Floyd and a set of active Fishman Fluence pickups complete this sharp and deadly package.
Ibanez PIA
My other Ibanez choice today is a Steve Vai signature model. Not the iconic JEM - though I absolutely recommend going for one of those - but the newer Ibanez PIA. It’s something of a sidestep evolution here, since it’s not actually too massively different from a JEM! It does have its own vibe and identity though, and you can read all about its creation in this exclusive Steve Vai interview from back when the PIA was released.
The PIA has a ton of cool features:
- New DiMarzio UtoPIA pickups, designed specifically for the PIA
- stainless steel frets
- Ultralite tremolo arm (more rapid response, quicker return to neutral)
- Scalloped frets 20-24
- Petal grip instead of the JEM’s monkey grip
- Magnetic backplate
The PIA also has an Edge tremolo, which is a licensed Floyd Rose design. Unlike the Edge-Zero II bridge on the JIVA, this one is still a Floyd! Not only that, the Edge tremolo is built by Japanese company Gotoh, who are well known as one of the finest parts makers in the guitar industry. So, if you want something a bit more flamboyant but still with that huge level of performance ability built in, then you need to try out the Ibanez PIA as soon as you can.
Schecter Banshee Mach-6 FR-S
Schecter throws everything including the kitchen sink into this superbly specc’d guitar. The Schecter Banshee Mach-6 FR-S is packed to the brim with quality timbers, top-class hardware and features that put it in the pole position for experimental guitarists and noise maniacs alike.
The combination of Floyd Rose 1500 series tremolo and Sustainiac system allows you a quite ridiculous level of pitch manipulation, from slack strings to super-high octaves. Schecter's famously solid build quality means that you can be very confident with anything you decide to throw at this guitar musically, because it can absolutely handle it. Stainless steel frets, ebony fingerboard, compound radius…it has all of that, as well as a very cool contemporary look and an armoury of devices to enhance your sound.
A whole New Musical Language
All of today’s guitars will provide you with an excellent base to begin learning Floyd Rose techniques. They’ll take a little practice - particularly if you’ve never had much experience of using one - but the payoff is totally worth it!
To get you started, let me finish off today’s blog by handing you over to my colleague Keiran for a quick video lesson on some of the wild noises you’ll soon be able to make for yourself, once you own a guitar equipped with a Floyd Rose tremolo!
