I need some tremolo advice for my ESP guitar.

[EVHFan2010]

Hey there; this is my first post on this site, I'm afraid it’s kind of an essay. So bare with me please.

First of all; I'd like to state, this is targeted at those have a lot of experience with tremolo fitted guitars.

Anyway; 2 years ago I brought myself a ESP LTD KH-203, I had spent just over a year saving up for it and its probably my favourite guitar in my whole collection. It makes a great sound and has really helped me improve my technique; however, there is one major flaw, which has been present since day 1…the tremolo.

Of course; this being my first tremolo equipped guitar, I didn’t know much about them and how they worked. But after 2 years of having it; I’ve gotten to grips with how it works, however…the tuning stability on it is shameful and it’s a lot more stiff compared to the other tremolos I’ve tried out plus it doesn’t flutter at all. It’s a licensed Floyd Rose and after doing a huge amount of research; I discovered its probably best to replace it. So I took it into my local guitar shop in an attempt to get it replaced or at least sort the trem faults; the staff member there claimed that I had put the strings on very slightly wrong, which to be fair…I had in ignorance. He then showed me how to do it correctly; but I went on to point out that the tremolo did not flutter and was incredibly stiff, he responded to this saying “That’s probably because of tension; I’ll take out one of the springs to give it the same feel as other trems.” However; when I got it home, I felt very little change in the tension despite the missing spring…I didn’t have to put as much force on it as I used to but it still felt rather stiff and it still didn’t flutter. Plus the tuning stability was still quite shabby.

Its been suggested to me many times that I should get it replaced with an Original Floyd Rose; however, after looking it up…I’m not quite sure whether it would fit my KH-203. Plus when I mentioned it to the staff member at my local music shop; he was reluctant to do it due to the cost and said I might as well just buy a new guitar altogether. I appreciate that its expensive and I’m glad they were trying to save me money; but like I previously mentioned, overall it’s a brilliant guitar and its defiantly my favourite…it just has one flaw which happens to be quite an issue for me. So I’d rather just sort out that flaw; regardless of the cost. I’m just not sure if an OFR would fit it.
So what would you people advise? Is there another tremolo out there, which will fix the flaw and fit my guitar? To help here is the qualities I want to see in a tremolo:

*Brilliant tuning stability, which can withstand all kinds of techniques. (The reason why I’m so picky about this is because I do a lot of home studio recording digitally; so the tuning needs to be almost perfect.)

*Easy to move without a lot of force.

*Has the capability of fluttering.

Thanks,
Stephen.

P.S. Sorry again for such a long post; but I thought it was best you knew all the facts before answering.

[The Grapist]

I'd like to call bullshit on your guitar dealer guy.

Replacing a trem is an easy procedure. Undo the springs in the back cavity (After taking strings off the front, of course), lift out old tremolo, replace the studs, replace the trem, replace the springs, string it back up, and you're good to go.

As far as an OFR fitting the guitar, that depends on how it was routed. You can measure your guitar and compare online with the measurements for an OFR. You can probably order one online for relatively cheap.

Is it worth it for your guitar? Thats really up to you. Do you LOVE that guitar, and plan on keeping it for a long time? If so, why not invest money into it? You put a better bridge in it, and maybe down the line, find some pickups that are really your voice, and it'll be a guitar worth hanging on to. If you're gonna sell it or for some other reason have a falling out with it, just sell it on ebay or something.

[The Grapist]

I just googled the KH203, those have a takeuchi-type TRS bridge, don't they? aren't those direct-fit for OFR's?

[EVHFan2010]

I'm not quite sure; I'm afraid my tremolo knowledge kinda stops when it comes to measurements. But I'll defiantly look into it.

And yes; I do love this guitar and cost is not much of an issue for me as long as it improves this one fault.

Also thank you for your advice; its actually made me a lot happier, this tremolo issue was actually becoming a bit of a headache for me.

[James]

What Ken said pretty much. I believe an OFR will driectly drop into a TRS route, you'll just have more "space" around the trem as the TRS is a sligtly different shape. The other thing to remember is that you can keep your TRS and swap it back into your guitar if you ever decide to sell it, and keep the OFR for your next guitar.

Oh, and an OFR is around £200 in the UK.

[Drew]

Yeah, an OFR isn't THAT expensive, and the Gotoh liscensed copy also excellent, and a little less expensive. The Schaller liscensed versions are supposed to be phenominal, too, but they cost a bit more, at least here in the states.

A Floyd is PROBABLY a direct retrofit for your licensed trem, and most likely would help tuning stability. Do you know how to pop out the trem without removing the strings? If not, read this:

IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup

Do that, then wiggle the trem studs with your fingers. I'd imagine, if they're not locking studs, they probably have a tiny amount of play, but it shouldn't be anything crazy. That's the first thing I'd check - if you have one stud that's seriously loose, that could be a tuning issue, too.

That said... for trem stiffness, what kind of strings are you using? You should have no problem getting smooth float and flutter with 9s, and I run 10-68's on my Universe and while the flutter isn't wild (not a biggie for me, I don't care for the sound) it's still there, but if you're going much heavier, lighter strings would both make the trem response "softer" and easier, and give you more flutter. Myself, I like that my trem's a little on the stiffer side, so I don't change the pitch as I reach for the bar - I only want the trem to move when I move it.

[EVHFan2010]

I've seen quite a few on the net for just under £200; but does anyone know how much they would cost in the UK from a retailer? Or if theres anywhere in the UK that even sells them? (I've never seen any OFRs on display at any of my local retailers.)

Plus could you perhaps give me anymore info on the Gotoh copy? If it has the same quality as the OFR when it comes to the tuning stability; I might consider purchasing it.

And thanks for the link; that defiantly comes in handy.

And the strings I usually use are Hybrid Slinky custom gauge nickel wound strings and their currently what I have on the guitar now.

[Stitch]

Originally Posted by EVHFan2010

I've seen quite a few on the net for just under £200; but does anyone know how much they would cost in the UK from a retailer? Or if theres anywhere in the UK that even sells them? (I've never seen any OFRs on display at any of my local retailers.)

And thanks for the link; that defiantly comes in handy.

And the strings I usually use are Hybrid Slinky custom gauge nickel wound strings and their currently what I have on the guitar now.

Excellent.

First of all, most of the Hammett LTD's came with super stiff springs akin tot he Gotoh supers; you could try replacing the two remaining springs with three standard springs and it should loosen up the feel.

Almost any shop can order an OFR in. I've yet to hear of a shop that doesn't have contracts with Allparts or WDMusic, and I'm fairly certain Fender Gmbh. picked up Floyd Rose when they started distributing their guitars. Short end, anyone should be able to get it.

However, and please don't take this the wrong way - for the amount of money you are talking about sinking into a £600 guitar, you would be better off replacing it it with something higher spec. It might be hard to imagine just now, but for the sort of combined money we're talking about here, you could have a second hand PRS, a super high end Ibanez, Godin, Yamaha...you could get some amazing stuff that not only has a real OFR but will have better tonewoods, better pickups and better construction (except the Gibsons). Just a thought. Guarantee down the line you'd regret not upgrading, because one thing to remember; upgrades rarely add value onto a guitar. More often than not they remove it. If you bang in an OFR now, it won't add £200 onto it's second hand value. You'd be lucky if it's worth £50 extra.

Finally, Sussex, ewwwww.

[EVHFan2010]

Well I'm not looking into upping the value of my guitar; I just want a good trem for it, because like I said...thats the only problem I have with it. :P

But yeah; I appreciate what your saying and I defiantly keep in mind when I might want to buy another guitar, but at the moment I can only afford purchasing a new trem.

Plus whats wrong with Sussex? lol. Its not brilliant; but its certainly not a terrible place to live in either. :P

[Stitch]

Originally Posted by EVHFan2010

Well I'm not looking into upping the value of my guitar; I just want a good trem for it, because like I said...thats the only problem I have with it. :P

But yeah; I appreciate what your saying and I defiantly keep in mind when I might want to buy another guitar, but at the moment I can only afford purchasing a new trem.

Plus whats wrong with Sussex? lol. Its not brilliant; but its certainly not a terrible place to live either. :P

Yeah I getcha brother, but what I'm saying is, having been where you are, you come to realise that there are better guitars out there. I used to think there was no guitar better for me than my RG7420 back in the day - I hate picking it up now. Same goes for my Stealth - couldn't imagine ever wanting anything else, then I got my RGA121 - it does happen.

Sussex = England ≠ Scotland