Floating trem vs decked pros and cons

[Voodoo Chile]

Do you guys know of any pros and cons of floating and decked trems?
I mean in your experience have you noticed any improvements wih a decked bridge like increased sustain or that it stays in tune more? Right now I have it floating at about 1/8 with 5 springs and 11 guage strings but I want to mess around.

 

[sam_in_cali]

floating pros:
1. functionality; able to make note pitch go sharp (higher); this is helpful to bring strings back into tune if they fail to do so on their own after releasing the trem bar
2. feel; more give to the strings when bending
3. sound; tone will slightly change (for better or worse is purely subjective)


floating cons:
1. changing tunings (and overall general maintenance such as string changes) can be a pain
2. double-stop bends will be a little "off"
3. break a string mid-song and you're screwed

decked pros:
1. can tune down (or go to drop d) without affecting rest of the strings/set-up
2. strings may not always come back into tune (licensed FR trems are notorious for this) since you can't bring strings slightly sharp anymore
3. easier to maintain, change strings, etc

decked cons:
1) its dive only- you're only getting half the functionality of your trem system
2) sound may change a little (again...subjective here..)


FWIW: I've tried both ways many times and keep going back to floating. I like the slinkiness of the strings and it seems to sustain more that way. I know other will swear otherwise but there is no wrong way to set it up...go with what works for you

 

[mojosman]

This is one of those questions that most every Strat player here will have tackled, and worked out at some point. For me, I'm O.K. with a hardtail so decked is fine, and I'm not a Van Halen dive bomber type. I've had Strats with floating trems, and had tuning issues. I rarely use the trem, so just having the ability to have it go flat only, and no ability to make the tone sharp is a non-issue. That's my take.

To answer the question floating bridge advantage: sharp and flat trem affects, con: possible tuning problems after trem use. Decked: Advantage more stability, less playing out of tune after trem use. Disadvantage: no sharp tone from the trem.

 

[RPKennedy]

I came across this YouTube video and thought it very valuable. I will be utilizing these tips from now on, though it doesn't answer you question directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-F7iSIopA

 

[mw13068]

In my experience, a floating vintage style six-point tremolo bridge is nothing but a tuning nightmare, no matter how carefully I set it up based on directions from anyone from Verheyen, to Frudua, to the Lord on high.

Two-point tremolos (found on American Standard strats) are much better.

Super-vee Bladerunner tremolos are the best there is, because there is no friction at the pivot point, and the bridge is very firmly connected to the body -- and advantage over the two-point system.

Any Strat I have that needs a functioning tremolo gets a Bladerunner.

 

[BarryR]

I came across this YouTube video and thought it very valuable. I will be utilizing these tips from now on, though it doesn't answer you question directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-F7iSIopA

He does not address the string trees and nut at all. I have found that they have a significant influence on the issues encountered with the Fender tremolo system.

 

[Voodoo Chile]

Does the bridge setting having any affect on the action? Like will decking allow me to have a higher action?

 

[mw13068]

Does the bridge setting having any affect on the action? Like will decking allow me to have a higher action?

Whether decked or floating, you can adjust your saddles to any height you like.

 

[Craig Howard]

When I first got into Strats I did not want what I thought would be "the hassle" of a floating bridge and so I cranked it down.

Since I now have two and a lot more strat time under my fingers...I have both strats floating with no issues and the tuning stability is awesome.

No issues at all with string changes and as a bonus...I think my guitars sound better.

 

[moosie]

I like my trem decked, firmly enough that I can do double stop bends and remain in tune.

 

[Fuzzbox]

floating cons:
1. changing tunings (and overall general maintenance such as string changes) can be a pain

I agree. This is my main concern. That moment when someone says "let's play a Stones tune" and you take 5 minutes to switch to open G.

 

[Mandrax]

I agree. This is my main concern. That moment when someone says "let's play a Stones tune" and you take 5 minutes to switch to open G.

Buy a Tele and leave in open G. Job done

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I had my main Strat decked for years. It's only relatively recently that I've been on a bit of a quest to get the "perfect" floating trem.

I don't really like the two point trem for what is really quite a silly reason - aesthetics. I just think six screws, six saddles, six strings etc looks better. I've had two guitars with the two point trem and it didn't feel right to me either. Hard to define, but I felt like I couldn't get the resistance right for me.

I tried a Callaham trem and got that floating using Carl Verheyen's method. That was pretty good but not perfect. It still has the best trem arm design I've used. But then I tried the Wudtone Trem, and it is pretty much perfect. I've tested it under quite heavy use, and then checked it with a tuner and it's been 100% in tune. Of course it probably helps that the nut etc on that guitar is also perfect, and I've lubricated every single part with vaseline too, but it's the best trem design I've used so far. I may well try a Bladerunner too at some point.

Now that I have one guitar with a really good floating trem I'm tempted to do it to all of them, but some of my guitars have such a nice setup with their decked trems that I'm wary of undoing that too much.

 

[Misfit]

floating pros:
1. functionality; able to make note pitch go sharp (higher); this is helpful to bring strings back into tune if they fail to do so on their own after releasing the trem bar
2. feel; more give to the strings when bending
3. sound; tone will slightly change (for better or worse is purely subjective)


floating cons:
1. changing tunings (and overall general maintenance such as string changes) can be a pain
2. double-stop bends will be a little "off"
3. break a string mid-song and you're screwed

decked pros:
1. can tune down (or go to drop d) without affecting rest of the strings/set-up
2. strings may not always come back into tune (licensed FR trems are notorious for this) since you can't bring strings slightly sharp anymore
3. easier to maintain, change strings, etc

decked cons:
1) its dive only- you're only getting half the functionality of your trem system
2) sound may change a little (again...subjective here..)


FWIW: I've tried both ways many times and keep going back to floating. I like the slinkiness of the strings and it seems to sustain more that way. I know other will swear otherwise but there is no wrong way to set it up...go with what works for you

Great breakdown. With a floating trem, the only hassle I have with string changes is when changing to a different gauge. As long as I stick to the same type strings, no problem at all.

 

[David Garner]

When I first got into Strats I did not want what I thought would be "the hassle" of a floating bridge and so I cranked it down.

Since I now have two and a lot more strat time under my fingers...I have both strats floating with no issues and the tuning stability is awesome.

No issues at all with string changes and as a bonus...I think my guitars sound better.

This is exactly my experience. At first, I preferred it decked. The tone was "better" for what I was doing at the time (meaning, it worked better for harder songs and sounded more like my Tele or PRS), and I thought the tuning stability would be better. Went back and forth for a while, and now I have it floating and set up properly, and it stays in tune 100% and the tone now sounds like that Strat you hear in your head. I much prefer it now.

No Frudau bent ball ends or Verheyen angled claws needed, either. But mine had a fantastically cut bone nut from the factory, so I didn't need to try to "fix" tuning stability issues. It sounds like a good Strat is supposed to sound now. I couldn't be happier.

 

[Ramblin'man]

A well setup Strat with a floating Trem just plain works well, wether 6 screw or 2 point.

 

[RPKennedy]

The Wudtone bridge / tremolo does look like a well-engineered piece. I am intent on trying that at some point in the future.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

It's really nice. I was going to get the vintage style bridge, but there would have been a wait so I went for the standard Holy Grail. I'm glad I did. The bar at the rear is much thicker, but it's actually a lot more comfortable. I went back to a normal vintage one the other day and felt the difference.



I got Callaham saddles with it as well.

 

[moosie]

The Wudtone does look nice. I might try floating one more time. I'd go with their vintage model to keep overall guitar weight down.

Earlier I mentioned double stops. That's part of it. The other is simply tuning. Yes, I've lubed, and generally done everything right (with a vintage 6 screw bridge). Meh.

I got Callaham saddles with it as well.

Not to hijack, but I found C's saddles to sound 'sterile'. It was probably actually the height adjustment screws. I think they're harder than vintage, or something.

 

[Voodoo Chile]

I've been messing around with decking my bridge and right away I noticed a tone difference that I didn't think id hear. It's sharper and with more attack (SRVish). I also noticed that the string tension increased a ton so I guess it's a bit of good and a bit of bad. Does anyone know any ways to decrease the string tension and make them more slinky (besides changing string guage or anything like that)?