Do guitars with Floyd Rose have a brighter tone than guitars with fixed bridge?

[GalacticDeath]

Do floyd rose guitars have a brighter tone and more resonance than fixed bridge guitars in general?
Main reason I ask is because I decided to play a floyd rose guitar that I haven't played in a few years. I was surprised at how much brighter and resonant it was compared to the fixed bridge guitars I've been playing recently. All my guitars are Ibanez RG's including the floyd rose guitar, same tuning as well. Only difference is that the floyd rose guitar has lighter gauge strings which I'm sure adds some brightness too, but the resonance on it is crazy.

I wonder if the nut material on the fixed bridge guitars have something to do with it. Looks like it's made of plastic which might deaden the sound a bit, while the locking nut on a floyd are made of metal.

 

[Adieu]

In a word, not really

 

[bostjan]

I'd say in practice, it's not noticeable. In theory, actually, it should be the other way around, as the yirlding support in a fully floating bridge should dampen higher frequencies disproportionately to the lower frequencies.

But also a lot of guitars equipped with floating trems are just generally designed with brighter spec's (more dense woods, brighter pickups, etc).

 

[ArtDecade]

Nothing discernible by human ears. Are you a dog or a cat?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Most of the FR-loaded guitars I've had were actually darker than the fixed bridge guitars I've had

 

[GalacticDeath]

I'd say in practice, it's not noticeable. In theory, actually, it should be the other way around, as the yirlding support in a fully floating bridge should dampen higher frequencies disproportionately to the lower frequencies.

But also a lot of guitars equipped with floating trems are just generally designed with brighter spec's (more dense woods, brighter pickups, etc).

I was mainly comparing them on a clean channel as well as unplugged. I could definitely tell a pretty big difference between the guitars I compared. Like I said, it could be the lighter gauge strings on the floyd that caused it to sound brighter, so I'm gonna try the same gauge on the fixed bridge guitar to compare.

 

[GalacticDeath]

Nothing discernible by human ears. Are you a dog or a cat?

I don't think it takes the hearing of a dog or cat to hear the difference in tone and resonance that I'm hearing.
I'm just trying to figure out why my old floyd rose guitar sounds better than my current fixed bridge guitars. Mainly because I want to improve my tone as much as possible for recording. I've found that it's always better to get things right at the source. Maybe the floyd rose is the reason, maybe not, but there's definitely a discernible difference.

 

[bostjan]

I was mainly comparing them on a clean channel as well as unplugged. I could definitely tell a pretty big difference between the guitars I compared. Like I said, it could be the lighter gauge strings on the floyd that caused it to sound brighter, so I'm gonna try the same gauge on the fixed bridge guitar to compare.

What were the two guitars?

I mean, if one was 25.5" with a floyd, maple body, ebony fretboard, dimarzio evolution pickups, and the other was a Les Paul with PAF's, that totally makes sense. If they were both the same exact guitar, just one with a floyd and the other with a fixed bridge, then that would be rather surprising to me.

 

[Viginez]

its everything, nut, strings, tension, bridge, construction. every guitar will sound different. and yes, it can be heard. some are clearly louder, even unplugged.
maybe you have the perfect balance on that guitar.

 

[GalacticDeath]

What were the two guitars?

I mean, if one was 25.5" with a floyd, maple body, ebony fretboard, dimarzio evolution pickups, and the other was a Les Paul with PAF's, that totally makes sense. If they were both the same exact guitar, just one with a floyd and the other with a fixed bridge, then that would be rather surprising to me.

They're not the same guitar, but they are both Ibanez RG's. The fixed bridge guitar is a Prestige RG652FX and the floyd rose guitar is a RGR320EX. I also compared an old fixed bridge guitar that I bought around the same time as the floyd rose guitar, and it sounded comparable to my current fixed bridge guitar.

 

[bostjan]

Probably the Tone Zone versus EMG's.

 

[GalacticDeath]

its everything, nut, strings, tension, bridge, construction. every guitar will sound different. and yes, it can be heard. some are clearly louder, even unplugged.
maybe you have the perfect balance on that guitar.

Yeah I agree that all the different components make a difference in the tone. I may have to go back to using the floyd rose guitar to record if it sounds better overall compared to my current fixed bridge guitars. I'm kinda hoping it's just the lighter gauge strings that make it sound better and brighter, because I don't like dealing with floyd rose bridges. But if that specific guitar sounds the best, then I guess that's the one I have to record with.

Probably the Tone Zone versus EMG's.

I'm sure pickups make a difference when amped, but I can hear the difference unplugged as well. The floyd rose guitar has more resonance, it sounds slightly louder as well apart from the added brightness.

 

[onefingersweep]

Not brighter but FR guitars tend to have less bass than guitars with fixed bridges.

But it all depends on the instrument. The only way you can really know how it affects the tone is to replace the fixed bridge with a FR.

 

[elkoki]

If the guitar is resonant, it's likely just the guitar and what it's made of/ construction. In my experience a Floyd Rose tends to be a tone killer, it kind of ruins the sustain especially on cheaper guitars with cheap trems made of cheap metals. Some guitars will just ring brighter though

 

[Leviathus]

 

[possumkiller]

Is it an all steel ofr? Trems also have the springs in the back that act like a little reverb tank. They also lose a lot of bass from that gigantic cavity and the bridge making contact on just the knife edges of two posts. A lot depends on the trem. If it's made of good quality tone metals it can sound good but those cheap ones made of brass and zinc will just suck out half of your tone before you know it.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Depends on lots of factors. Bridge is definitely one. Of course removing that much wood and changing nut material is going to matter. When palm muting, FR bridges have the ringing springs too. TOM gets a bit of ringing behind the bridge. Hipshot is pretty much silent.

So the bridge matters - but so do pickups, strings, woods, neck construction etc etc. So I don’t think you can make generalised statements that X type of guitar is brighter/darker/etc. It depends on the individual instrument and the combination of all factors together.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Yeah I agree that all the different components make a difference in the tone. I may have to go back to using the floyd rose guitar to record if it sounds better overall compared to my current fixed bridge guitars. I'm kinda hoping it's just the lighter gauge strings that make it sound better and brighter, because I don't like dealing with floyd rose bridges. But if that specific guitar sounds the best, then I guess that's the one I have to record with.



I'm sure pickups make a difference when amped, but I can hear the difference unplugged as well. The floyd rose guitar has more resonance, it sounds slightly louder as well apart from the added brightness.

I never noticed much carry over between unplugged tone and amplified tone.

I have an ESP Horizon which sounds pretty dead unplugged, but absolutely epic plugged in and has tons of sustain.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I find guitars with tremolos/floyds consistently have less resonance and less high end than fixed bridge guitars. Thats one of the main reasons people upgrade the blocks.

 

[USMarine75]

Too many confounds between what you’re A/B’ing.