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To Floyd, or Not To Floyd?


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Ok guys ... I've been pondering this for the past few days .. and I need a little outside advise. For some strange twist of fate .. I got my hands on a Jackson PS2 Performer S/S/H. Now I know that it's not a Custom Shop ax... nor will it ever be. But since I'm the type that hardly parts w/ any guitar .... I thought I might throw some $$ at it and see if it can be a well playing ax. Here's my dilemma:

1. It does have a Jackson Floyd copy on it as we speak. After looking close at the bridge, I found that the square blocks in the saddles were gone. Basically, someone installed the ball end of the strings in the saddle and locked it in with the tip of the bolt. I'm sure this was not Floyd /Jackson's intention. Does anyone think this caused damage to the saddles or bolt? With a saddle removed, I threaded the bolt into the back end of the saddle. There was a lot of play and movement of the bolt. It didn't feel tight at all.

2. Should I scrap the Jackson unit and start over w/ a Licensed Floyd? Dimensionally it should fit without too much trouble.

3. What are the tell-tale signs that a Floyd is worn out or the saddles need to be replaced ? And what would be the best bang for the $$$ be.

4. Also... the guy who had it before me must have been a dive bomber with the bar. There was 5 springs mounted to the 'block". Is it me ..or does 5 springs seem a little stiff?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

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How old is the axe?

If it's rather new, the trem could still be in good shape, but the older it is, the more of a chance that it's past it's prime.

Also to consider is this...How much would you spend on parts, just to find out if it's any good?

The guy may have been a trem "abuser" (like you said), so that's another thing to take into consideration.

The 5 springs don't necessarily mean anything.

They could just be worn out, so he added more to maintain the same tension as when it was new...

You should be able to get a replacement for under $200...

Party on, Garth!

:D

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

I say ixnay the licensed floyd. On OFR or even floyd pro would be under $170. Should even be spaced the same.

The Jacksons have a shaller knockoff. I have one of those trems. Havent installed it yet tho.

Derek, a member here, has the best floyd prices anywhere.

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the 2 things you wana watch out for are dull knife edges, and stripped screws (either the ones bolting the string in, or holding the saddle down)

you can buy an extra set of used string retainer blocks (the little black cubes) from various places on the web, there's no garantee they'll fit though, i think guitarpartsdepot.com has them for the lowest price, but look around...

there is the possibility the springs are over the road like Rai6 said, or that the guy used heavy guage strings, or he liked using 5 springs cause he thought it was cool lol

i'd try and get it working just cause i'm stubborn like that... and for the experience of working and seting up a floyd a couple times, course i tried that with my strat......... that i later replaced the bridge on anyways lol...

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I've heard some people use 5 springs for the reverb'ish sound it sometimes gives (without diving). I think it's actually harder to dive bomb with more springs.

Derek seems to have access to all things Floyd - I highly recommend him if you need anything.

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