Editing Floyd Rose (section)

==Advantages and disadvantages==

The main advantage of the Floyd Rose vibrato system is its double-locking design. This makes the guitar stay in tune through large pitch changes, e.g., forcing the vibrato bar all the way down to the guitar body, or pulling up on the bar to raise the tone by as much as a fifth or a seventh.<ref name="premierguitar_whammyrace">{{Cite journal
|title=Trem Wars: The Whammy Arms Race
|first=Gerry
|last=Ganaden
|date=April 2009
|journal=Premier Guitar
|url=http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Apr/Trem_Wars_The_Whammy_Arms_Race.aspx
|access-date=2010-10-07
|pages=4
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326130014/http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Apr/Trem_Wars_The_Whammy_Arms_Race.aspx
|archive-date=2012-03-26
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

A typical bridge set-up has it "float"—so the player can both raise and lower the pitch with the vibrato bar. However, if a string breaks, the balance of tensions on the bridge is disrupted, leaving the bridge out of position and therefore the guitar out of tune.<ref name="premierguitar_whammyrace"/> Moreover, since the tension of one string affects the tension of all the others, it can take several iterations through the tuning process before the instrument is tuned.

Some players, including Eddie Van Halen,<ref name="guitarist_evh_review">{{Cite journal
|title=EVH Wolfgang
|first=Simon
|last=Bradley
|date=2009-09-04
|journal=[[Guitarist (magazine)|Guitarist]]
|url=http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/6-string-solid-body/wolfgang-218864/review
|access-date=2010-10-07
|pages=3
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325122714/http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/6-string-solid-body/wolfgang-218864/review
|archive-date=2012-03-25
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> prefer to instead have a "half-floating", or, "flush-mounted", bridge, which allows only downwards motion. This means the cavity of the tremolo pocket is not fully milled away underneath—and if the tension of the rear springs is slightly stronger than the tension of the strings, the tremolo always rests flush with the body. In this set-up, a broken string has no effect on the pitch of the other strings, as the reduced overall string tension from the broken string doesn't make the bridge move, since it already presses against the body of the guitar. This also allows fitting a device to the bridge that can drop the low E-string down to D to extend the tonal variety of the guitar, even during live performance.<ref name="guitarworld_evh_interview">{{Cite journal
 |title       = Eddie Van Halen: Of Wolf and Man
 |first       = Chris
 |last        = Gill
 |date        = 2009-06-30
 |journal     = [[Guitar World]]
 |url         = http://www.guitarworld.com/article/eddie_van_halen_of_wolf_and_man
 |access-date  = 2010-10-07
 |pages       = 6
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101023032029/http://www.guitarworld.com/article/eddie_van_halen_of_wolf_and_man
 |archive-date = 2010-10-23
}}</ref>
Bending, however, still affects the rest of the strings, which makes some double-stop ('diad'), techniques more difficult to achieve.

The bridge's effect on the tone of the guitar is a topic of much disagreement. Some players find that the Floyd Rose bridge has a "thin" tone,<ref name="premierguitar_bigblock">{{Cite journal
|title=Big Block Floyd Rose Tremolo Review
|first=Gerry
|last=Ganaden
|date=February 2009
|journal=Premier Guitar
|url=http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Feb/Big_Block_Floyd_Rose_Tremolo_Review.aspx
|access-date=2010-10-07
|archive-date=2012-10-13
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013234434/http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Feb/Big_Block_Floyd_Rose_Tremolo_Review.aspx
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> which has led to the development of replacement sustain blocks. These blocks are generally larger in size than the standard block<ref name="premierguitar_bigblock"/> and may be constructed from a similar brass alloy or an alternative like titanium or copper.<ref name="guitarworld_floydupgrade">{{Cite journal
 |title       = FloydUpgrades.com Brass "Big Block" and Titanium Sustain Blocks
 |first       = Eric
 |last        = Kirkland
 |date        = May 2010
 |journal     = [[Guitar World]]
 |url         = http://www.guitarworld.com/floydupgradescom-brass-big-block-and-titanium-sustain-blocks
 |access-date  = 2012-04-04
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120107033028/http://www.guitarworld.com/floydupgradescom-brass-big-block-and-titanium-sustain-blocks
 |archive-date = 2012-01-07
}}</ref> According to reviews this modification might lead to a preferable change in the tonal quality of the guitar.<ref name="premierguitar_bigblock"/><ref name="guitarworld_floydupgrade"/>