Farewell to Fender's 6-screw Trem! - Floyd Rose Install! 

I just came here for the TREM-endous pun in the thumbnail

Being an American Standard owner, I was glad to see that they include a template for 2 post trems, to be able to locate and drill the four holes needed, to mount the rail.

UPDATE: I finally got around to purchasing one of these from Floyd for my strat and I have to tell you it is frickin awesome. I can dive all the way down over and over without tuning issues and my intonation is dead on. Great job from Floyd Rose.

Leo Fender recommended having the 4 inner screws loose, in fact a 1/32th inch gap between the underside of the screw head and the top plate of the guitar bridge/tremolo system. Only the two outer screws were to have the screw heads in contact with the metal plate securing the bridge/tremolo system to the top of the guitar. Leo also recommended a 1/8" gap between the back of the tremolo/bridge assembly and the top plate of the guitar. In this manner the tremolo can work up and down to raise and lower the pitch. Very few people know how Leo Fender wanted us to set the tremolo on his guitars, very few. Hence, well you can figure that part out....they don't work very well for those people! I found this information from a video image of a few pages out of a guitar set up manual written by Leo fender. I know, right, what a strange way to find that data. It was from one of "Dave's World of Fun Stuff" videos where he panned his video camera across the open pages of his manual. I froze the frame's and wrote it all down! It made a world of difference in the usability of my Stratocaster Tremolo. Much, much better. Most people just tighten the tremolo springs until it's like a hardtail. You can bend down but not up. That's the way I had it for a decade and more. I was wrong and I am sure so are 99% of the people who own a Stratocaster are.

The parts that you removed from the strat can be used to upgrade squier strats

Floyd Rose on a Mexican Strat? Heck Yes!! Long-Term Update: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BJLqf3xD1Ms.html

Just an aside for those that don't know, balancing your string gauge(string tension) and spring tension is critical for making a decked trem function. Some guys use more springs, or less springs, or different spring tension and configurations. You want your spring tension to hold your bridge decked on your hardest bends. That's the threshold you are looking for and everyone is different. Don't be afraid to find the perfect tension for you, there is a sweet spot. Generally the lighter the string gauge the less spring tension you need.

Adding locking tuners, graphtek nut and string tree and ensuring a straight string pull will greatly improve tuning stability with a regular trem. FR even recommends doing this for the rail tail.

Last time I was this early, MTV was focused on music and not crappy reality TV shows.

That tune up on the high e string was nerve-wracking. Don't scare me like that, it brings back war flashbacks :( (kidding haha)

That trem looks incredibly high quality and a lovely upgrade to the guitar. But of it is not floating to keep the trem in tune and locked against the guitar body. You could just tighten the springs on a vintage trem and lock the trem against the body. Doing this give excellent tuning stability and stops double stops going out of tune in exactly the same way as the Floyd rose and its totally free unless you need to add a couple more springs to get the right tension.

I swear! Your smile brightens the day! Then I begin listening to your words. I am learning so much from you. Keep smiling. Wow! What an amazing sound!

I want this! Then got sticker shock! My heart is still in my throat. $250.00

A little update - I've had this exact trem on my American Performer Strat for almost a year now & have no complaints. I'm using all 5 springs, so I can change from 9-42 to 9.5-44 to 10-46 without making any adjustments. As for tune stability, I have to admit upgrading to a Graphtech nut is what did me the most favors, but that, combined with the FR Rail-Tail & locking Fender tuners, I cannot force this guitar out of tune. I don't notice any change regarding sustain or tone - but there could be, I'm not a musician & only been playing since late 2017. This system was expensive. I'm happy with it though & it's nice to have a trem arm that I don't have to unscrew to put it back in the case (loose enough to pull out, tight enough to stay in while playing). Trem springs belong in my vacuum now, not my Strat. This was a great recommendation, Darrell.

Great video. I've always been annoyed with Fender and Squire for continuing to make a sub-par trem system knowing that it's garbage and people don't like it. Nice to see a great alternative to that issue. Now if only Fender would catch on.

Wow, Darrell! That is an amazing tremolo upgrade for a Fender Stratocaster! I didn't even know that Floyd Rose made one of those! You made it look like such an easy installation, as well! I will definitely be installing those on some of my Stratocasters! 😊👍👍🎸🎶

Thank you Darrell! Great demo. I couldn't be happier with this bridge! I truly feel it's the perfect balance between a hardtail and a tremolo that most players are looking for. Yes, it is a bit pricey but so are beautifully crafted high-quality watches. If your looking for high-quality components, something aesthetically stunning, and an upgrade in performance like instant sustain and tuning stability, then look no further. The Rail Tail is the Rolex of guitar bridges. ⌚

I really like Darrell Braun. He is one of those typical super nice, super polite Canadian guys. Great show, and great information. I am American and We say harsh things like "fender Tremolos SUCK!"

Looks great and seems like an easy install, would of liked to see how you set up the saddle height and intonation , for a novice upgrader

It's a dive only trem. I really like being able to pull up on my trem arm.

Wow! Love this tremolo system! I keep my MIM’s standard bridge “decked” to keep it from doing weird things and keep as much sustain as possible, but leave it to our pals at Floyd Rose to come up with something that does it all without having to do non-reversible modifications to the instrument. Well done! Thanks for sharing! Now that I’m steeped in GAS, I’ve gotta figure out how to scrape up the $250!! 🎸😳

Another big plus .... when you break a string it stays in tune

Sweet device! I hate the 6 screw trem. But I cant see myself putting a $250 trem on my $300 MIM strat.

Sold ! I hate the factory bridge on mine ! Sharp set screws sticking up right where I like my hand,, this looks very smooth and well made ! I am a happy camper right now ! TY Brother,,,, 😁✌

That's a really cool bridge! I think the best usage of those MIM bridges are to be used as a Squier upgrade - they fit without an issue some of the most popular nodding models such as the CV and SE and so will fit the Affinities and Bullets if you don't use the backplate.

Been scouring the internet for a narrow-body-to-wide-strings bridge for my project, and the Rail Tail looks perfect. Thanks heaps for the demo and the pointer!

Hey Darrell, thanks to this video, I reached out to Floyd Rose and it looks like I am going to have the Rail Tail as an option on at least 2 of my models. Thanks for video. I'm really not a big fan of Floyd's, so I don't even keep up with their latest. If someone wants a Floyd type bridge on their build, I usually go with Schaller. For me, it's a local company, unlike FR. While I know the orig design is an awesome piece of hardware for the shredders, most of my customers are just blues and rock players. We're mostly old. lol. The only thing I dislike worse than a FR is the old school 6 screw trem. Without some specific modifications to the screws themselves, it's simply an outdated design. The newer 2 point is better, but even it has it's limits, as you point out. I know that by saying bad things about FR, I'm going to get flamed in the comments, but these are people that either don't have one, or rarely ever have to work on them. They were a pain in the a$$ in the 80's and still are. But as a retrofit for the old 6 screw, that Rail Tail is one sexy piece of modern looking hardware!!! Are you still loving it, or have you found something you would prefer was tweaked? If you still have some guitars laying around with the old 6 screw trem, the modification is rather simple, but requires some work. If you dont have a lathe, you can pull one screw and mod it at a time. Put it in a drill, and whatever the thickness of your baseplate is (Fender and Squier have used different thicknesses over the years) measure down that distance from the under side of the screw head. Use a triangle file, thinner the teeth the better, and turn on the drill. Use the V and cut into the shaft of the screw and hog out about 0.6-0.8mm of material from the shaft. Polish it with some extra fine sandpaper, and then green scotchbrite or 0000 steel wool to really get it smooth. Reinstall the screw and move to the next. When you use the tremolo arm, the base plate will drop into that groove smoothly, and return back to pitch, smoothly. You'll love the way it feels, but honestly, it's still only a bandaid for an old tired design. But again, thanks for the video and enlightening me to this awesome product FR has now. Take it easy, and waiting for the next video. Bob in Germany Piedmont Custom Guitar Co.

Great video Darrell, very informative! The spacer you mention at 2:48 is also used as a conversion template for installing it on the 2 - point tremolo system as well.

Dude, you're a great guitar player and teacher. It's easy to see you're a really good person. 👌👍

That is awesome. I love this channel. Great vids that are straightforward, honest and entertaining. Awesome job!

The Rail Tail is a rare sight, I almost forgot that it existed! That's a really neat unit, very different from anything else on the market.

Nice tremelo, but very expensive.. It is nice that is is fully reversible too if you wanted to restore your guitar to the original condition. Thanks.

This video came out at a perfect time. Was looking for a professional take at a Floyd rose tremolo installment on a strat. Thanks

Great instructional video that tremolo bar that you installed looks fantastic it looks like a tank of how well-built it looks... and that Fender reminds me of my first serious Strat.. I was 14 or 15...I'm 50 now... mine was a cheapy from a flea market but it looked exactly like yours and I loved... it may have been a phantom or a Memphis or no hold on a minute it may have been an Olympic.... it had just a regular stock fender tremolo and I did every trick in the book to fix it floating, I used to put a coin in the back of the neck to fix the action all kinds of things I learned on it....graphite on the nut, strings wound perfect..but I still prefer the tuning instability of the regular Fender trem...but you know that's just like me saying I love Floyd Rose instead of Kahler cuz I made that mistake before ! I upgraded by trading my cheap Olympic strat AND an Arbor explorer for a Japanese Aria Pro II Stray Cat it was glossy pearl white...I installed a Khaler AND Bill Lawrence PU on the bridge...I was 14 and overnight I was treated like a serious freaking high school guitar hero...I got the idea from seeing George Lynch on the back of the tooth and nail album...this was about 1984-ish ? I've been lucky enough to have been around awhile and a zillion guitars laters I still love all of them no matter what. Keep playing and experimenting. Cheers guitar geeks !

It's a tradeoff between the doublestops being in tune and having the added utility of being able to pull up on the bar, which make a whammy bar much more expressive. I recently readjusted my stat trem to float, actually using one of your videos on the subject (thanks!), and I miss my double stops being in tune, but the trem bar is a lot better that way. I'm not sure which I like better.

Thanks Darrell, I loved this video for the Floyd Rail Trem upgrade on your Strat. I've been thinking of swapping trems out trems on my '86 MIJ Strat and/or my son's LTD. I hadn't seen one of these before, it looks like a relatively easy swap for the old ones.

Interesting (but not totally surprising) that another company would come out with this type of design. The Super-Vee Bladerunner has a great implementation of this design/concept (I think they were the first) where the bridge is anchored to the body through a small rail/plate that is screwed in with 4 screws (for a 6-screw bridge). The difference is instead of pivoting on the rail itself like the floyd, it connects the majority of the bridge with a flexible piece of steel that allows the bridge to pivot back and forward. That flexible piece of steel goes through the both pieces of the bridge plate. One benefit (subject to each's opinion) is that the bridge still looks like a Fender bridge, but operates much better in terms of sustain, staying in tune, and trem feel. A detriment to the design is that Super-Vee kept the screw-in design for the bar - although there is an adjustment on the underside of the bar's hole to adjust the tension. It would be great if they would have incorporated the design of a pop-in arm. Another benefit of the Super-Vee Bladerunner is that it's a bit cheaper than the Floyd - coming in around $170 US, depending on the desired finish. I run the Bladerunner on all my Fender Strats, and have had phenomenal results. I do have a custom Carvin strat that still has the 2-point modern Fender-style bridge on it, and I'm tempted to give this a shot to see how it compares to the Super-Vee Bladerunner. That might be worth a comparison/shoot-out video (wink, wink). Always enjoy and learn something from your videos, Darrel! Keep 'em coming!

I haven’t binge watched a channel in years; your channel is great . . The most honest outlook on guitar gear and upgrades . Great stuff - subbed

500,000 views! Well done Darrell 🤘

9:11 I've never seen that before but I'm glad it's finally here. I have ordered a automatic fret hand so that I don't have to work so hard with all the fretting and bending and stuff like that.

That looks awesome & I know it sounds good, I've played every kind of setup, had a 73 hard tail even & yes being decked gets that sustain at maximum. I've been looking to set on Strat up for Jeff Beck style playing, I might have to sacrifice the pull ups & wing it with this instead. This has to be the best Strat setups I've seen, no routing, looks great & built like a you-know-what. Thanks for the great video.

I have this installed on my Strat reissue. It feels like butter and sounds like gold. I have actually had it for a while now; still no issues.

Definitely putting one on my strat. I’ve been looking for a better bridge for it and I think this is the answer! Floyd Rose makes great products.

I have a squire Strat, I got a loaded pick guard from 920d that I love, I just ordered this trem. Looks and sounds amazing

I love my Super Vee Bladerunner tremolo. It bolts on for great sustain, and still gives me a floating tremolo. Because is a spring it always stays in tune perfectly.

Damn that tail piece is like a jewel on that strat. Sounds as awesome as it looks.

If you are in love with your sratocaster is the best thing to do, great demonstration thank you very much... Robert.B.Thom

Thank you! My hubby's been waiting for something (exactly) like this for years! All your vids are great, this one especially. Keep up the excellent work. Nice playing too btw!

Looks much more...user friendly! Mine is blocked solid. Took a chance on a MexiStrat due to the labeling "Improved" trem. design, on a 60th Ann. Mexi-Strat. Nope! They missed again! Junk! I like this trem you're installings design, but I'm going graphtech saddles and nut too. Fenders factory nut is junk as well on this particular guitar. Intonation and stabilty must be fixed from both ends. String tree addition, and stiction issues resolved too! But the playabilty and tone of these guitars is fantastic! Thank You for the motivation😷👍

Man that bridge looks nice. I bet it feels really smooth and comfortable on your palm

Wow, I love it! I've got a 2001 MIM Strat, I hope it fits. I'm getting one.

came for the trem installation but and now leaving to get that roto tuner device! best idea ever whoever made that!

Interesting design, but looks like it eats sustain quite a bit... Thanks for a great video!

You knocked it out of the park again man with that ans a set of locking tuners and a bone nut and some top of the line Pickups the mex kicks ass .

On my beautiful MOD Shop Daphne Blue Strat I have the Two Point Custom Classic Tremolo which I love, it stays in tune, and is easy to change strings (even for me). The also beautiful '57 Surf Green AVRI has a Vintage Trem and it is a step up from the Tremolo found in my two Classic Series 50's Strats, they stay in tune IF I leave the thing alone (no bombs...etc). The only reason I don't replace them is the Floyd Rose on my Charvel San Dimas allows me to get all the dives out of my system, even though my Luthier has to replace those strings because I am unable to (he tried to show me/I watched your vids, and I can't figure it out). Nice upgrade to your Strat and very informative video as usual!

The attention to detail on the bridge is remarkable

Now all you need is an LSR nut and a rolling string tree and you're in Jeff Beck territory

Impressive looking product and innovative but I’d really like to know how the string height isn’t a quarter of an inch off the frets with that bar in place of the six screw standard trem? Also, sure it makes sense that the string vibration transfer might be better with more direct contact but just as you have demonstrated before most of the sound is in the electronics such a when you had the guitar with most of the body cut away. I prefer a floating trem with a basic half step note lift and haven’t ever experienced significant tone or sustain drop off from a hard tail equivalent, certainly nothing that very minor eq tweaks doesn’t easily fix. What other six screw trem replacements could you demo that allow for a half step bend up? You mentioned G&L in the video. I have a bluesboy and an S500. The S500 has the best non locking trem system I’ve ever used, very, very smooth. Maybe demo one of those sometime. Thx for reading 🎸

That Mexican Strat sounds so good!! I really like the Mexican Strats a lot better than some of Fender's upper range instruments. I really appreciate your reviews and demos because they seem so genuine!! Thank you so much!!

Looks like a nice upgrade, I recently upgraded to a Super Vee blade runner on my American Special, I keep it floating and stays in perfect tune. Simple trick, crush up #2 pencil lead to lube the nut.

If you really want to improve your trem, buy a SuperVee Blade Runner. It drops in, uses the same bolt holes, but there is none of that rocking and tilting crap. It bolts solid to the body. It transfers all the string energy straight into the body. It uses spring steel to flex. Check out the specs online, but it is the best thing ever to happen to a Strat. I replaced all my Strats with them, even the two post that comes on the American Standard.

That Mex Strat sure screams! Cool loking trem, nice touch on the roller saddles.

Wow..that is gorgeous, I’m ordering one right this minute. I can’t believe how easy this is to install, I figured you would’ve had to at least do a little bit of routing

Very Cool. Just what I needed. Great Strat with a so so Tremolo. That will now change

Surly locking tuners and graph tech or roller nut would improve the tuning even more

I never thought of the foam under the springs. That's a great tip!

For the $250-300 for this upgrade, I might put the loot towards an American Standard instead?

Man what a awesome Production dude! Every thing I wanted in a guitar tutor. Well done mate Greetings from Australia .

Excellent video broski! im considering this for my mexi strat.

Great video as always Darrell .. I 'd personally go with the surface mount floyd rose with fine tuners if i was to spend this much on the mod and go double locking for unltimate tuning stability Also , in my humble opinion, I do believe the bridge should not completely sit on the body .. it should be flush with the body , but the rear of the bridge needs be pulled up by as much as 1 mm so that the actual floating is possible and again tuning stability will improve

I always panic when fitting new strings because it feels like they are going to snap and fly off risking eye damage

Although not designed to float, getting crafty with a homemade template will allow it to be set level and have area below to allow float/pull up. I think I'm going to do it and make that vid.

"The trem bar stays where you want it," Do you ever stop complaining, He, ha. Rock on!!!

Thank you for making this video. One of these may be in my future. A note about where Floyd Rose bridges are manufactured: The original Floyd Rose tremolo system is manufactured in Germany as Floyd Rose is a German company as far as I know. Also, their Floyd Rose 1000 and the Floyd Rose Special bridges are made in South Korea. I can't speak for this rail tail. Does it say made in the USA on the box?

great system for a tremolo, but does not allow bending backwards, that is a no go for me...

I have a 1992 strat that came with an original floyd rose and locking nut. And I always wondered if that was a bad purchase! I think now I think better of it! Thanks!

Just another sale for over priced Floyd Rose at $250 USD. You probably got yours at no cost !! And you have no locking tuners!! You can buy Fender brand locking tuners for about $60 USD, and it will do more to help with the stability of the strings! Change the nut , $20 USD and guy go with 4 new springs, about $10 USD, leaving the middle space empty and your great to go!! So for about $100 or less if purschase from a good company like Sweetwater, you did the best up grade to a Mexican Strat that is affordable!! Remember always to lube the bridge strings and nut if needed, usually does. You will hear, feel the difference immediately and not a large hit to your pocket book!!

That's an awesome tremolo unit. But I just looked up the price tag : €469! Holy vibro grail 😱, that's a lot!

That was fantastic content!! Thank you!

Would you recommend this as a replacement to a traditional Floyd Rose? I love mine, but string changes and alternate tunings limit my play time with it.

I'm getting this!

Working a floating trem is an art. When you double stop you just need to push down a bit on the trem w the palm of your hand.

A wilkinson bridge for 50 bucks will do just fine.

That chrome looks sick on that bright red strat! I love the outcome you had. Going to upgrade my MIM strat too!

471€?!?! Almost more than the guitar...😁

I had a lake placid blue Mexican strat that got stolen. I got a fender Japanese mustang to replace it and missed having single coils. I then traded my les Paul for a daphne blue all American parts caster tele and I love it so much.

don't see or hear much of difference fro the oem tremolo. is it just me?

Just installed mine, in black, in my black Strat. This started as a stock made in Mexico Guitar Center $400 special but now has this, a 920D loaded everything pickguard with Seymour Duncan’s and locking Fender tuning machines. Install was super easy but the only thing missing from your video was having to set intonation and action - a little nerve racking as I’d never done those before, but I quickly got the knack.. I do find the arm is very tight - where the original fender could be manipulated with just a small finger, this requires at least three and is actually better with the palm. Should that be? All in all a very easy installation, and I’m getting much better sustain and tuning stability. Thanks for the video, that’s how and why I’d did this!

Interesting vid. Thanks for sharing

When I started playing guitar I ALWAYS WANTED A TREM BAR , EVH HAD one he always made those crazy sounds . But as I learned more about trems , EHV never played floating always flat to the body . Modding my favorite Strats to REGULAR FR trem would be expensive or I could ruin the body It’s expensive but compared to butchering up my guitar I’m going to save up and buy me one of these . THANKS FOR THE REVIEW 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Ahh man you are doing the insane now!

What an awesome upgrade!!! I hate the screw in bar. I'm always sticking pieces of napkin in the bar to keep it from being so wobbly when I use it. This would be perfect. I love that you don't have to modify the screw holes to use it to!

$250 for a bridge to put on a $300 (used) Mexican strat?

Nice! I was just asking you all about this subject on another vid. Thank you for posting this!

A floyd rose that doesn't float? What i happening in this world...

Great video, very informative and the production is flawless. You're easily one of the best out there.

The day when you will upgrade to "well made" Chinese parts is coming soon.

TREMEND-ROSE!!!! Good on you Darrell...maybe on my list now...I just hatdtailed mine

Man you unscrew things really, really fast! Nice vid :)

Thanks, excellent review!. Can't go wrong with that upgrade, and one can tell by your more than usually happy face. Only thing to be aware it is a dive only, but there are so many more advantages.