I'm building a guitar and I'm trying to decide which Floyd style bridge to use. I will only use top of the line parts so it looks like my choices are a Gotoh Floyd Rose, Floyd Rose Original, or a Schaller Floyd Rose. I wanted to get some opinions on which is the best and also any good/bad qualities of each and any other experiences people have had with these bridges.

(i'm sure someone will tell me to use and ibanez-trem but seriously I want to go with one of the ones listed.)

Generally Gotohs are identical to the TRS trems.

Schaller and OFR trems are nearly identical and made in Germany. In fact, The first Floyd Roses were made in Germany by Schaller. Generally these are superior units to the Gotoh units, because they are made with thicker bases out of hardened steel.

~d~

Actually, Gotoh's Floyd copy is closer to the Edge trem..

Similar contoured saddles, pop-in arm, locking mechanism for the springs, set screws in the studs, tilted back fine tuners, etc..

Why won't you consider Kahler?

Euph

Original Floyd Rose. Floyd Rose Pro - I don't know why more people don't look into this one because it's more comfortable than the "original".

IŽd go with the OFR.

From a guy who's done set ups on all of the above, I have to ask, why wouldn't you use an edge or lo-pro?

All points of loving Ibanez aside, there is no better floating trem on the market than the edge or lo-pro edge. Once set up, they are the most accurate trem on the market. And dollar for dollar, the prices between all of them don't vary enough that I would consider one over the other except based on personal experiences.

And, in all honesty, if you are only using top of the line parts, I wouldn't even consider schaller. The Edge/Lo-Pro edge are as top of the line you will find.

Just my opinion.

the lo pro/edge design might be better but the quality of metals are far inferior than that of the OFR.

Who cares? I've had just about every floyd on the market over the years, and in no way has the Edge ever let me down.. Tuning staility is as good as an OFR.. Where it's important, the knife edges, the Edge isn't inferior in any way..

It's all about feel.

Actually, this isn't true - no matter what Ed Roman tries to tell us. The Edge/LoPro have hardened steel knife edges inset in the base of the tremolo, as opposed to the entire base of the tremolo being made of hardened steel. The softer metal in the Edge trems is one of the main reasons these trems are so highly regarded - they aren't as bright as the Original Floyd Rose.

Schaller used to make a version of the OFR that had a brass base with hardened steel knives inset in the base. Those are highly desirable trems as well, because they have awesome tone and sustain for days (a common complaint of OFR-equipped guitars).

Again, it's all ice cream. Play a few guitars with each different tremolo and decide which feels best to you.