zZounds' Floyd Rose Guitars Buying Guide

Specially made for those players craving the highest performance out of their instruments, Floyd Rose locking tremolo systems have been the go-to bridge for decades. Non-locking tremolo bridges have been a part of many electric guitars since the infancy of the instrument, but those older models weren't designed to handle extreme usage without going out of tune. Mr. Rose recognized this issue, eventually developing the original double-locking design as a solution. Since its invention in the late '70s, the Floyd Rose tremolo has been found on a multitude of guitars, its signature sound heard on countless albums from the '80s onward.
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What is a double-locking tremolo system and why would I want to get one?
Old-school tremolo systems have a few points of friction that can bind up, causing your guitar go out of tune. For example, when you push the tremolo down, the strings are loosened, which could then allow the ball end of the string to possibly shift around in its slot, or it could cause some slippage at the nut -- which is especially noticeable on wound strings that often get caught on the nut and don't return to their original position. These issues usually result in your guitar going out of tune, which always makes for a frustrating experience. While older-style bridges are perfectly suited for subtle vibrato movement, the aforementioned tuning issues make their use in high-performance playing (heavy whammy usage and dive bombs) a bit of a chore.

With a double-locking tremolo like a Floyd Rose, these points of friction are essentially eliminated by locking them into place. The nut on all Floyd Rose-equipped guitars feature a clamping mechanism, and the actual bridge itself locks the strings in as well. On a properly set up guitar with stretched strings, a Floyd Rose tremolo should always go back into tune, even after a full-on whammy assault. Also, since the strings are locked in place at both ends, fine tuning can be achieved via the microtuners at the bridge of the guitar.
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With so many types of Floyd Rose bridges out there these days, it is sometimes hard to know which is best for your playing. Check out zZounds' Floyd Rose Guitars Buying Guide and finally nail down your high-performance dream guitar!