I like using the vintage style brass big blocks for tone and sustain. The ability to fine tune quickly is what makes this system very good. Thanks TK, you brought something new to the game!
I restored my 91 ibanez, I kept the edge lo pro, it seems the new replacement parts these days have softer metal, lower quality, but I put the global tuner pro on as the block on the lo pro and it's very good, little technical to set up correctly but when it is it's awesome. I highly recommend to them perfection chasers. Mr McCabe is very helpful and honest. He sent me replacement parts for free when a lesser company would've denied a production prototype flaw. (too much thread lock on a tiny part, nbd.) This is my way of thanking him, lol
In your 2.5-minute-jam-out, you never lifted the bar. Supposed to do that then show the tuner/tuning stability. Didn't describe if it could flutter or not. Some folks need that info.
Well, I will tell you this, IF it works the way its advertised - its worth every penny. Some people below are saying its expensive....well an OFR with upgrades and a trem stop plus installation time is EASILY over $300. depending on what options you request. This trem for $325.00 is a really great deal and option if it works as advertised.
Not to mention that new OFRs are becoming increasingly harder to order online, most of the time Stewmac keep saying that they are waiting for more new OFRs to come in so they can re-stock, I had to resort to ordering parts to build a Floyd Rose Special bridge instead, but I've grown thoroughly frustrated with the poor performance of the Floyd Rose Special due to metal being used which is too soft for the job.
TTK, you are awesome Man. What a great video. I bought a Harley Benton guitar with a Floyd Rose Special. Could not keep it in tune to save my life. Wrote to Floyd Rose (AP International). Long story short, they told me to upgrade my Zinc Alloy Saddles to the real thing. I said no way. Thomman gave me credit for what I paid for the guitar and I ordered something else (w/o a Floyd Rose) So, I still have a guitar that I can't use unless I fork over another $90-$100 for the premium saddles. Plus I still will have to go through all the crap that OFR still are plagued with. Then I come across your video. Eureka!!!!! Now, how do I justify paying for this Sophia Tremolo that's twice the cost of the Harley Benton? I'll find a way. Thanks man.
I noticed that when bending a string it does not seem to effect the tremolo way better than a Floyd rose . the tone is like a hard tail one bad a ss trem made for 7 and I think 8 string also plus you can get on the e string like eddies design. where you can drop the tuning and go back to original pitch. they are worth every penny think of how many hours a day you play then per year it comes pennies a day to have the best ,[ go pro with a sophia tremolo] tdcw they make them for stratocasters and Gibson's the guitars that started it all
At 17:03, you are doing the 3rd string bend... with my S series that has the Ibanez Edge Zero Vibrato (Floyd copy), that would have made the 1st & 2nd strings go slightly flat...
@@ClaimedEagle Yup. Years ago I owned an Aria Pro 2 which had Kahler trem. I loved that thing. Didn't go out of tune, much easier and more subtle bar manipulation, didnt get in the way, & very comfortable palm rest/muting... The only issue was that since the balls were still attached to the string and used when installed, the ball needed to be soldered at the winding to keep it from letting loose over time. No prob IMO. Don't know the inside politics that caused the Floyd Rose to grab dominant market share... Maybe because EVH liked them... Did I say I loved that tremolo?
I've purchased one of these tremolos for my headless guitar and let me assure you, they are the "bees knees". If you ever dreamed that Evertune bridges had a whammy bar - This is it! The best thing to happen to guitars since the Floyd Rose. My guitar really does stay in tune ALL DAY. Even after regular trem use. I don't do 'crazy stunts' with the trem but I do use it regularily in my playing and yet it totally stays in tune. I'm really impressed. On the down side, they are quite expensive. However they are well made with high quality materials. I can tell this bridge will never wear out or break down. Easy to restring and tune, too. Also they look great. I especially like how they feel when palm-muting - totally smooth and comfortable wth nothing spiky sticking out. Postage was expensive as standard postage isn't an option unfortunately. Only FedEx, etc was available but it was mailed same day as puchase. There were a few hiccups in communication on the website - some product information is confusing and sometimes response to inquiries are within an hour, sometimes same day, and sometimes days. I thought I was being ""ghosted" and one point. But please be patient. He answered all my questions eventually. He explained that it's basically a one-man show and he's quite busy. He even once gave me his number and invited me to call, which impressed me. This guy is a genius and is constantly improving and refining his builds. He recently sold me a prototype trem (not available on the site yet) that can lock down in place even better than the default style, which was already better than Ibanez / Floyd Rose trems in the first place. At the end of the day I'm so happy with these bridges, they are worth every penny. Extremely customisable too. Took me a while to dial in how i like it but now it's set up i don't think I'll ever go back to my Ibanez ZR. Now I've just got to figure out what to do with all my other guitars LOL
@@Peterplayingguitar ahh that's a shame. I have the mindset of rather than having multiple guitars for different purposes, I want a super guitar that can do everything. Hence why if I'm getting a locking trem, I want to upgrade it to cut back on set up time without compromising on it's intended purpose. I'll also probably get the D'Addario Auto trimming locking tuners, so I don't have to cut the strings
@@jamesmoses4066 These trems are the best for headless guitars. Not many choices out there for headless guitars. If your guitar isn't headless, they are still awesome! But you have more trem options out there. Sophia Trems also have VegaTrem - style trems for strat-style guitars. The one in this video is the one that I have and is really easy to restring and can lock at the bridge for better tuning stability. Also the tuning rollers a quite good - easy and comfortable to turn. I'm sure the drop D mechanism works fine if you order it. Thanks for telling me about D'Addario Auto trimming locking tuners - they look great!
My Ibanez RG350dxz has that "counter screw"-system with the wheel on the back. It's called "Edge Zero" and has been around for years. It works very well and the whole guitar was cheaper than the Sophia Trems. Okay, you still have to clip off the ball ends, but that takes a second. I played loads of tremolo systems in 30 years and always prefered Ibanez, they are the best and most advanced vibratos out there. Even the cheapest of them used to outperform Schaller Floyds. That was until Ibanez decided to switch from their "stick-it-in"-system to the average (not working) locking screw. I see that the Sophia has that screw. So it doesn't solve ALL problems that come with a Floyd.
I bought a LP Access Alex Lifeson with a FR 1000... what a fun instrument but an absolute nightmare to restring. And I run out of fine tuning headroom all of the time... Can you comment if I can install one of these into a PRS with a stop tail?
Something I've wondered about this trem is since the strings go through the micro-tiners, when you adjust the micro-tuners, doesn't that twist the strings too? If so that can't be good.
i use a floyd on all of my guitars. i even built a guitar out of parts and put an old jackson bridge on it and locked it so it wasn't floating because i like how the bridge feels. cwhen you said infinite tuners and the back tuner i was sold
do the saddles lock down or do the locking parts actually lock the string like a floyd? because without strings being directly locked i feel like it's still succeptible to the old "bend a string, strings goes flat, dive the bar, string goes back in tune" issue that prs and fender trems have
I loved my washburn wonderbar, and the parker deluxe bridge is also superior in my opinion....sound quality and operationally speaking. The flutter wasn't as good on the wonderbar, but I made a heavier arm and then it was passable
I’ve been checking these out recently and am pretty interested in picking one up. I play a Wolfgang USA which has a dive only trem and the reason apparently being to increase the bridge contact with the body for maximum sustain. Wondering if the two stop pins are enough contact to deliver the same results if the guitar was routed for one of these?
It would be nice of possibly you would be able to do a video of a stud mounted tunomatic bridges Would love to really see one of those tremolos on a Les Paul and SG and explorer anything tunomatic stud mounted design
It's essentially a better designed Ibanez Edge Zero (2) and ZPS3 system that has the legal patent to be sold in the United States. The macro tuners and the ease of restring is pretty convenient.
I have always been anti floyd since day one. In fact I think I may have attended a protest down at the state capitol. This is the 1st thing. I have seen that has my interest. Although,,,,, I have not looked the price up yet. Good vid as usual.
Looks like they took a few design cues from Ibanez and their ZPS. I may have missed it, but having the claw screws in bell brass would alter tone as well.
It has some similarities with the old Kahler floyd style that u might find on some Peavey nitros that you can feed the strings thru the back, but of course this one has more well thought usefull features.
You're really hung up on that wheel but you can add that wheel to any Floyd for next to nothing. Can't flutter with shocks in the trem by the way. Might as well just block it off. When people say they've solved problems with the floyd rose what they mean is they've removed features.
Thoughts out to Charvel and all their employees... I hope I'm not out of bounds for stating that, seeing the guitar made me think of them and what they're going through.
Charvel is owned by fender and their factory is in Arizona. Wayne Charvel who sold it to them is the one who lost his house. He's still making guitars.
Hey Tone King, thank you for the awesome video! I was already thinking in exchanging my Mexican Fender Murray Floyd for a Sofia trem... Which model is the correct replacement for the Mexican Murray Model? All the best!!
I keep hearing this idea of "when you have temperature or weather changes, a Floyd goes out of tune". I find nothing of the sort. Of all of my guitars that are hanging on my walls, my Floyd Rose equipped guitars stay in tune no matter what the season. Because they are floating, the springs are always making up for whatever tension changes occur due to the neck warping due to humidity changes (assuming you haven't run out of fine tuner adjustment on one of the strings). If anything, my Floyd Rose guitars are rock-stable.
@@mattpeterson553 you need to learn about relief, intonation, and so on before you say that. Every guitar is affected by it. It's not a big difference, but there's still a difference. Maybe you're fine with +/- 5 cents tuning, but personally I like to have +/- 0.1 cents
I saw these in person at NAMM a few years ago. Their demo guitar didn't hold a tune or flutter for me. I understand its possibly a setup thing but the dealbreaker for me is that when I asked how consumers can service these, you're basically out of luck. I restring once a week and I'm just curious to know how to get a replacement component if something eventually wears (or god-forbid) strips out.
But in that charvel you have a stock floyd rose 1000 series ,not a original floyd rose ,so that problems that you mention don t happen in the original germany floyd rose
Wrong. The only difference between the special, 1000, and ofr is the quality of the materials. The special sucks because of the zinc components, they break really fast. But all Floyd roses have the same issues. Learn what a double stop bend is. A Floyd Rose can't do one and stay in tune
Insane! I am seriously late to this but on the pins why wouldn’t a pin system work on a FR? Or more accurately could that term block system be effectively applied to a FR? This trem seems to be the perfect trem tho. Mind blown.
Depends on how you adjust the springs and the stabilizer. Trems don't inherently affect flutter. It's the springs and stabilizers that affect flutter, and string gauge
$400 ILL ASK TONE KING FOR CHRISTMAS. 75% of us can barely spend $400 on a guitar let alone a freaking trem bridge. TONE KINGS AUDIENCE IS LIKE HOS MUSIC ROOM. RICH
Those three trem springs really need to be installed so that all three of them run parallel to each other, rather than splayed-out like that, the reason for that is because all three springs need to be contributing an equal amount of spring-tension to counter-acting the string-tension, with the three springs installed as shown in this video, only the two outer springs are contributing the most tension, the middle spring is contributing less spring-tension than the other two springs, all these Floyd-style trem systems work on the principle of balancing the tension on the strings with the tension on the springs, in order to work properly, if less tension is put on the middle spring there's an increased likelihood that it will literally fall-out of it's mounting-hole when you're pulling-up on the whammy-bar, if that happens right in the middle of a song performance all the strings will go flat, so each spring really needs to be installed parallel to each other to prevent that from happening.
That's not true at all. Plenty of Floyd Rose players use angled springs. You need to understand why they do this. Angled springs increase the spring tension, allowing you to get higher spring tension without going to heavier duty springs.
@@thetonekingofficial hi, do you mind showing how one can go half step or full step down and back to standard easily with this unit? Also, they have a drop D optional attachment. Not sure how either of those work as I couldn't really find any detailed videos showing that functionality. Thanks
Great video, as always! I have basically the same guitar as that in blue. Thanks to your video, I want to get one of those but when I went to the Sophia site, there were so many options to choose from. Can you tell me exactly which options you put on this guitar? I figure you got the Sophia 2:92 Pro -- GT Pro w/ Dual Stabilizer Upgrade but what size? They are saying the 42 mm is out of stock... I always enjoy your videos. Cheers! \m/
Ping ( this isn't some off beat , fly by night company they've been around for a long time and manufactured serious products not bottle caps or paper clips) is doing the manufacturing for the trems and was used by floyd rose for the first .model floyd which was just single locking at the bridge without the locking nut. That chrvel has the locking nut from the original floyd double locking model. That charvel is drop dead
I'm wondering if you can pun intended review the Trem King, which Joe Perry from Aerosmith uses. In that case the tremolo block pivots while the bridge and like a fixed bridge.
I have had literally none of these issues actually be a game changing issue with my Floyd Rose guitars. I find it to be simple I guess to just maintain it properly, if those things are issues, like the fine tuners, why wouldn't you check it once in a while before it becomes an issue?? My Floyd trem bars also stay where I put them if I tighten them the same way you do on this thing. I don't know, this is just bashing Floyd Rose at every chance. It feels like the next thing will be "Aren't you tired of tuning a guitar? Shouldn't it just stay in tune once you tune it? Here's a guitar that will make you burn all the rest of your guitars!!" After all, we have AI to write songs for us now... but I digress... Anyhoo, I'll stick with my perfectly functioning Floyd Rose original
I'm a big Floyd Rose fan, and I think you're misunderstanding something. Yes, we often have to defend the Floyd Rose against uneducated people who aren't familiar with the system, but the Sophia is literally the ultimate Floyd Rose. The Floyd does have some minor issues, we can't deny that. You might not know what a double stop bend is. But on a Floyd Rose, doing one puts the guitar out of tune. Many people add stabilizers to their Floyd to fix this. Steve Vai used stabilizers. But the Sophia has stabilizers built into the trem, no need to screw some into the spring cavity
Changing tunings on the fly is also a pain with a Floyd Rose. That's why they have stuff like the EVH D-Tuna, or the tonevise pitch shifter. But the Sophia has a drop tuner built in
When a Floyd is setup right and everything settles in, it's magic. It is a pain in the ass though. Not only do I have my own axe with a Floyd but I have to maintain 2 of my sons guitars and both of them have multiple guitars with a Floyd. This Sophia does look interesting but like it was said, what if something on it goes belly up ? At least with the Floyd you can go to Sam Ash or Guitar Center or the part.
The Steinberger Jam Trem had the spring adjuster adjuster ,so did the Parker Fly. The rest is over engineered. The Zero point has been done by Floyd ,Ibanez, Hipshot ,Esp and others. A good Floyd like a Gotoh 1996 works perfectly and does not introduce huge additional metalwork for marginal benefit . Yes its a good trem but it is not better than existing designs.
You could also just get a trem stabilizer and never spend this kind of money ever again. Turn any crappy licensed trem into a pro trem that stays in tune
I'm less worried about tuning stability with crappy tremeloes, and more worried about parts breaking like the saddle blocks, the screws stripping, the knife-edge wearing out, stuff like that. This tremolo is really only for people like me, rather than owning multiple guitars for different occasions, I'm trying to get one super guitar that can do anything. And the Sophia is the ultimate Floyd, so...
![Sophia Tremolos: Upgrading from Floyd to Sophia 2:92 pro [+]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/79BOARAmhsQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sophia Tremolos: Upgrading from Floyd to Sophia 2:92 pro [+]](/img/tr.png)
![Sophia 2:92 Pro [+] Tremolo Demo - by Eric Morettin](/img/n.gif)
My jaw is still on the floor. Fell off when you said "infinite tuners".
I like using the vintage style brass big blocks for tone and sustain. The ability to fine tune quickly is what makes this system very good. Thanks TK, you brought something new to the game!
I restored my 91 ibanez, I kept the edge lo pro, it seems the new replacement parts these days have softer metal, lower quality, but I put the global tuner pro on as the block on the lo pro and it's very good, little technical to set up correctly but when it is it's awesome. I highly recommend to them perfection chasers. Mr McCabe is very helpful and honest. He sent me replacement parts for free when a lesser company would've denied a production prototype flaw. (too much thread lock on a tiny part, nbd.) This is my way of thanking him, lol
I love hard tail guitars as I’ve never wanted to deal with a Floyd. You may have just swayed me to open my options towards tremolo guitars again!
Thank you for doing this review, it was very insightful in learning about this super functional trem!
In your 2.5-minute-jam-out, you never lifted the bar. Supposed to do that then show the tuner/tuning stability. Didn't describe if it could flutter or not. Some folks need that info.
@@DjinnGSXR link...?
Great demo. The trem was bang on and so easy to use. Thanks
I'm already looking forward to your next video. Excellence, as always!
Well, I will tell you this, IF it works the way its advertised - its worth every penny. Some people below are saying its expensive....well an OFR with upgrades and a trem stop plus installation time is EASILY over $300. depending on what options you request. This trem for $325.00 is a really great deal and option if it works as advertised.
Not to mention that new OFRs are becoming increasingly harder to order online, most of the time Stewmac keep saying that they are waiting for more new OFRs to come in so they can re-stock, I had to resort to ordering parts to build a Floyd Rose Special bridge instead, but I've grown thoroughly frustrated with the poor performance of the Floyd Rose Special due to metal being used which is too soft for the job.
TTK, you are awesome Man. What a great video. I bought a Harley Benton guitar with a Floyd Rose Special. Could not keep it in tune to save my life. Wrote to Floyd Rose (AP International). Long story short, they told me to upgrade my Zinc Alloy Saddles to the real thing. I said no way. Thomman gave me credit for what I paid for the guitar and I ordered something else (w/o a Floyd Rose) So, I still have a guitar that I can't use unless I fork over another $90-$100 for the premium saddles. Plus I still will have to go through all the crap that OFR still are plagued with. Then I come across your video. Eureka!!!!! Now, how do I justify paying for this Sophia Tremolo that's twice the cost of the Harley Benton? I'll find a way. Thanks man.
I'd say that only TRUE LOVE could justify haha
I’m not a Floyd Rose guy, but this upgrade looks interesting.
I noticed that when bending a string it does not seem to effect the tremolo way better than a Floyd rose . the tone is like a hard tail one bad a ss trem made for 7 and I think 8 string also plus you can get on the e string like eddies design. where you can drop the tuning and go back to original pitch. they are worth every penny think of how many hours a day you play then per year it comes pennies a day to have the best ,[ go pro with a sophia tremolo] tdcw they make them for stratocasters and Gibson's the guitars that started it all
I can't understand this because of the grammar
At 17:03, you are doing the 3rd string bend... with my S series that has the Ibanez Edge Zero Vibrato (Floyd copy), that would have made the 1st & 2nd strings go slightly flat...
Man I got the same problem, I've never bother because I thought was normal if we use a floating trem
@@ClaimedEagle Yup. Years ago I owned an Aria Pro 2 which had Kahler trem. I loved that thing. Didn't go out of tune, much easier and more subtle bar manipulation, didnt get in the way, & very comfortable palm rest/muting... The only issue was that since the balls were still attached to the string and used when installed, the ball needed to be soldered at the winding to keep it from letting loose over time. No prob IMO.
Don't know the inside politics that caused the Floyd Rose to grab dominant market share... Maybe because EVH liked them... Did I say I loved that tremolo?
Is there enough adjustability in those tuners for a headless?
Edit: According to their website, yes, it has been designed with this in mind.
Yes
They tune infinite in either way
Thank you for this review -- love back!
I've purchased one of these tremolos for my headless guitar and let me assure you, they are the "bees knees". If you ever dreamed that Evertune bridges had a whammy bar - This is it! The best thing to happen to guitars since the Floyd Rose. My guitar really does stay in tune ALL DAY. Even after regular trem use. I don't do 'crazy stunts' with the trem but I do use it regularily in my playing and yet it totally stays in tune. I'm really impressed. On the down side, they are quite expensive. However they are well made with high quality materials. I can tell this bridge will never wear out or break down. Easy to restring and tune, too. Also they look great. I especially like how they feel when palm-muting - totally smooth and comfortable wth nothing spiky sticking out. Postage was expensive as standard postage isn't an option unfortunately. Only FedEx, etc was available but it was mailed same day as puchase. There were a few hiccups in communication on the website - some product information is confusing and sometimes response to inquiries are within an hour, sometimes same day, and sometimes days. I thought I was being ""ghosted" and one point. But please be patient. He answered all my questions eventually. He explained that it's basically a one-man show and he's quite busy. He even once gave me his number and invited me to call, which impressed me.
This guy is a genius and is constantly improving and refining his builds. He recently sold me a prototype trem (not available on the site yet) that can lock down in place even better than the default style, which was already better than Ibanez / Floyd Rose trems in the first place.
At the end of the day I'm so happy with these bridges, they are worth every penny. Extremely customisable too. Took me a while to dial in how i like it but now it's set up i don't think I'll ever go back to my Ibanez ZR.
Now I've just got to figure out what to do with all my other guitars LOL
Did you get all the upgrades? Like the drop tuner? I'm wondering if that drop tuner is any good
@@jamesmoses4066 I didn't get the drop tuner. I don't see the need as you can just tune your 6th string down to D like a normal guitar.
@@Peterplayingguitar ahh that's a shame. I have the mindset of rather than having multiple guitars for different purposes, I want a super guitar that can do everything. Hence why if I'm getting a locking trem, I want to upgrade it to cut back on set up time without compromising on it's intended purpose. I'll also probably get the D'Addario Auto trimming locking tuners, so I don't have to cut the strings
@@jamesmoses4066 These trems are the best for headless guitars. Not many choices out there for headless guitars. If your guitar isn't headless, they are still awesome! But you have more trem options out there. Sophia Trems also have VegaTrem - style trems for strat-style guitars. The one in this video is the one that I have and is really easy to restring and can lock at the bridge for better tuning stability. Also the tuning rollers a quite good - easy and comfortable to turn. I'm sure the drop D mechanism works fine if you order it. Thanks for telling me about D'Addario Auto trimming locking tuners - they look great!
My Ibanez RG350dxz has that "counter screw"-system with the wheel on the back. It's called "Edge Zero" and has been around for years. It works very well and the whole guitar was cheaper than the Sophia Trems. Okay, you still have to clip off the ball ends, but that takes a second.
I played loads of tremolo systems in 30 years and always prefered Ibanez, they are the best and most advanced vibratos out there. Even the cheapest of them used to outperform Schaller Floyds. That was until Ibanez decided to switch from their "stick-it-in"-system to the average (not working) locking screw.
I see that the Sophia has that screw. So it doesn't solve ALL problems that come with a Floyd.
same inventor
Nothing tops the steinberger transtrem design and function. You could trem whole chords and in tune
And when is Gibson going to start manufacturing it again? Exactly.
@@einarabelc5 I don't know why they killed it
Because fck nirvana.. killed everything, including innovations
I bought a LP Access Alex Lifeson with a FR 1000... what a fun instrument but an absolute nightmare to restring. And I run out of fine tuning headroom all of the time...
Can you comment if I can install one of these into a PRS with a stop tail?
Really cool tk. Great vid
Saw this in your NAMM interview and though they really rock!
Interesting trem system. I'm curious to try it!! Thanks my friend!!
I wonder if it flutters as well as a floyd... does anyone know?
Beautiful guitar
Something I've wondered about this trem is since the strings go through the micro-tiners, when you adjust the micro-tuners, doesn't that twist the strings too?
If so that can't be good.
I imagine it is just pulling the string further from the tuning machines, rather than pressing down on them like a normal fine tuner
i use a floyd on all of my guitars. i even built a guitar out of parts and put an old jackson bridge on it and locked it so it wasn't floating because i like how the bridge feels. cwhen you said infinite tuners and the back tuner i was sold
do the saddles lock down or do the locking parts actually lock the string like a floyd? because without strings being directly locked i feel like it's still succeptible to the old "bend a string, strings goes flat, dive the bar, string goes back in tune" issue that prs and fender trems have
How easy is it to retune it? Can you make a video?
Remember seeing these kind of bridges in magazines a few years ago they were in bright different colors
Very nice presentation. Thanks
don t the strings twist with the tube if you turn it ? or how is this solved ?
Nothing beats a German made Floyd. So easy to set up if you know what you’re doing! Wish the Sophia looked better.
I loved my washburn wonderbar, and the parker deluxe bridge is also superior in my opinion....sound quality and operationally speaking. The flutter wasn't as good on the wonderbar, but I made a heavier arm and then it was passable
Hm looks like radius adjustment / trem height cant easily be changed, unless you can somehow shim those barrels
How comfortable is the bridge to play with those tubular saddles? In talking aboutv anchoring on both DPS and UPS.
Nice review!
Will this trem drop in place of a JT 280 that was put in the 1991 CX 692 Charvel guitars?
You were the first one to cover them but as I remember Sophia is the name of the product not the company. Is Cohesive Light and Sound.
Also, with the San Dimas, did you need to get the shims?
I’ve been checking these out recently and am pretty interested in picking one up.
I play a Wolfgang USA which has a dive only trem and the reason apparently being to increase the bridge contact with the body for maximum sustain. Wondering if the two stop pins are enough contact to deliver the same results if the guitar was routed for one of these?
The GT Pro contact pins provide a "soft stop" that can reinforce a floating tremolo for Drop D tuning and stay within 5 cents...
It would be nice of possibly you would be able to do a video of a stud mounted tunomatic bridges Would love to really see one of those tremolos on a Les Paul and SG and explorer anything tunomatic stud mounted design
Does it have a block and springs????
It's essentially a better designed Ibanez Edge Zero (2) and ZPS3 system that has the legal patent to be sold in the United States. The macro tuners and the ease of restring is pretty convenient.
same inventor
How does it feel? It looks like it sits kind of high
Will this be a drop in replacement for an IBZ edge/edge pro/pro2 ? ? Will locknut be required still?
What happens to the tuning when a string breaks?
Stays in tune.
This is the solution for anyone with a FR speedloader system, use fender bullets and change the trem to this
You use a squier bullet and a $400+ trem?
@@jamesmoses4066 fender bullet strings
It’s super musical sounding
How do the stabilizers compare to something like the tremmory? Are they any better, worse, or pretty much the same?
Why the tremmory? Why not a normal black box stabilizer
I have always been anti floyd since day one. In fact I think I may have attended a protest down at the state capitol. This is the 1st thing. I have seen that has my interest. Although,,,,, I have not looked the price up yet. Good vid as usual.
Sucks to be you I guess
So if you have it in standard tuning, can you drop it down a full step down and be in tuned or do you have to adjust the springs too?
There is a version of the Sophia which comes with a drop tuner switch. Like standard to instant drop D. Search for the vids
Looks like they took a few design cues from Ibanez and their ZPS. I may have missed it, but having the claw screws in bell brass would alter tone as well.
@SQUIRE LOVA You got your facts right
If the demand is there and they can get the manufacturing right (and keep the quality), this will come way down in price and still be profitable.
Is that a nylon bushing on the tremolo bar?
32mm 34 mm for charvel?
It has some similarities with the old Kahler floyd style that u might find on some Peavey nitros that you can feed the strings thru the back, but of course this one has more well thought usefull features.
You're really hung up on that wheel but you can add that wheel to any Floyd for next to nothing. Can't flutter with shocks in the trem by the way. Might as well just block it off. When people say they've solved problems with the floyd rose what they mean is they've removed features.
How do you set the string radius?
Oh. Apparently it is 14 inch radius and it comes with shims.
I am definitely interested in this!
shims
Great video, thanks for that. I am curious about whether it helps with double stop bends going flat.
Cheers
Yes, it does. The trem block has a stabilizer
What about individual string height
14” radius stock. shims avail, but their concept for tone is based on as little materials so as to maximize full contact as possible.
thx ttk great !
Thoughts out to Charvel and all their employees... I hope I'm not out of bounds for stating that, seeing the guitar made me think of them and what they're going through.
Charvel is owned by fender and their factory is in Arizona. Wayne Charvel who sold it to them is the one who lost his house. He's still making guitars.
Walt Bonczek what do you mean?
Hey Tone King, thank you for the awesome video! I was already thinking in exchanging my Mexican Fender Murray Floyd for a Sofia trem... Which model is the correct replacement for the Mexican Murray Model? All the best!!
I keep hearing this idea of "when you have temperature or weather changes, a Floyd goes out of tune". I find nothing of the sort. Of all of my guitars that are hanging on my walls, my Floyd Rose equipped guitars stay in tune no matter what the season. Because they are floating, the springs are always making up for whatever tension changes occur due to the neck warping due to humidity changes (assuming you haven't run out of fine tuner adjustment on one of the strings). If anything, my Floyd Rose guitars are rock-stable.
Temperature and humidity affects all guitars, not just a Floyd Rose.
@@jamesmoses4066 I'm saying that my floating Floyds are not affected by humidity.
@@mattpeterson553 you need to learn about relief, intonation, and so on before you say that. Every guitar is affected by it. It's not a big difference, but there's still a difference. Maybe you're fine with +/- 5 cents tuning, but personally I like to have +/- 0.1 cents
I saw these in person at NAMM a few years ago. Their demo guitar didn't hold a tune or flutter for me. I understand its possibly a setup thing but the dealbreaker for me is that when I asked how consumers can service these, you're basically out of luck. I restring once a week and I'm just curious to know how to get a replacement component if something eventually wears (or god-forbid) strips out.
Pretty sure the Vegatrem I just installed has it beat.
The vegatrem isn't like a Floyd rose
But in that charvel you have a stock floyd rose 1000 series ,not a original floyd rose ,so that problems that you mention don t happen in the original germany floyd rose
Wrong. The only difference between the special, 1000, and ofr is the quality of the materials. The special sucks because of the zinc components, they break really fast. But all Floyd roses have the same issues. Learn what a double stop bend is. A Floyd Rose can't do one and stay in tune
Insane! I am seriously late to this but on the pins why wouldn’t a pin system work on a FR? Or more accurately could that term block system be effectively applied to a FR?
This trem seems to be the perfect trem tho. Mind blown.
I would love to know does it flutter freely real nice and easy. ,
Depends on how you adjust the springs and the stabilizer. Trems don't inherently affect flutter. It's the springs and stabilizers that affect flutter, and string gauge
$400 ILL ASK TONE KING FOR CHRISTMAS. 75% of us can barely spend $400 on a guitar let alone a freaking trem bridge.
TONE KINGS AUDIENCE IS LIKE HOS MUSIC ROOM.
RICH
400 is just the basic model, you really want to get the 700 dollar version
Omg you got me when you said infinite tuners lol
Looks like it might be the answer for my strat
I'm Sold!!! I need this for my BcRich Beast
That is one cool trem.... Game changer! thanks for that 👍
how bout the rail tail just as good?
Those three trem springs really need to be installed so that all three of them run parallel to each other, rather than splayed-out like that, the reason for that is because all three springs need to be contributing an equal amount of spring-tension to counter-acting the string-tension, with the three springs installed as shown in this video, only the two outer springs are contributing the most tension, the middle spring is contributing less spring-tension than the other two springs, all these Floyd-style trem systems work on the principle of balancing the tension on the strings with the tension on the springs, in order to work properly, if less tension is put on the middle spring there's an increased likelihood that it will literally fall-out of it's mounting-hole when you're pulling-up on the whammy-bar, if that happens right in the middle of a song performance all the strings will go flat, so each spring really needs to be installed parallel to each other to prevent that from happening.
That's not true at all. Plenty of Floyd Rose players use angled springs. You need to understand why they do this. Angled springs increase the spring tension, allowing you to get higher spring tension without going to heavier duty springs.
Expensive .. but vs a floyd its not so much & also much more accurate n simplified !! Nice job as always !! :)
Thanks Terrybear!
@@thetonekingofficial hi, do you mind showing how one can go half step or full step down and back to standard easily with this unit? Also, they have a drop D optional attachment. Not sure how either of those work as I couldn't really find any detailed videos showing that functionality. Thanks
Great video, as always! I have basically the same guitar as that in blue. Thanks to your video, I want to get one of those but when I went to the Sophia site, there were so many options to choose from.
Can you tell me exactly which options you put on this guitar? I figure you got the Sophia 2:92 Pro -- GT Pro w/ Dual Stabilizer Upgrade but what size? They are saying the 42 mm is out of stock... I always enjoy your videos. Cheers! \m/
Floyd Rose II was a string thru design.
I think it looks amazing, one day when I have the money if I still feel the need
Just wait for the tunner when you bend the G string after dive bomb .. and you dont do that...why?
Ping ( this isn't some off beat , fly by night company they've been around for a long time and manufactured serious products not bottle caps or paper clips) is doing the manufacturing for the trems and was used by floyd rose for the first .model floyd which was just single locking at the bridge without the locking nut. That chrvel has the locking nut from the original floyd double locking model. That charvel is drop dead
Interesting TTK
I'm wondering if you can pun intended review the Trem King, which Joe Perry from Aerosmith uses. In that case the tremolo block pivots while the bridge and like a fixed bridge.
I have had literally none of these issues actually be a game changing issue with my Floyd Rose guitars. I find it to be simple I guess to just maintain it properly, if those things are issues, like the fine tuners, why wouldn't you check it once in a while before it becomes an issue?? My Floyd trem bars also stay where I put them if I tighten them the same way you do on this thing. I don't know, this is just bashing Floyd Rose at every chance. It feels like the next thing will be "Aren't you tired of tuning a guitar? Shouldn't it just stay in tune once you tune it? Here's a guitar that will make you burn all the rest of your guitars!!" After all, we have AI to write songs for us now... but I digress... Anyhoo, I'll stick with my perfectly functioning Floyd Rose original
I'm a big Floyd Rose fan, and I think you're misunderstanding something. Yes, we often have to defend the Floyd Rose against uneducated people who aren't familiar with the system, but the Sophia is literally the ultimate Floyd Rose. The Floyd does have some minor issues, we can't deny that.
You might not know what a double stop bend is. But on a Floyd Rose, doing one puts the guitar out of tune. Many people add stabilizers to their Floyd to fix this. Steve Vai used stabilizers. But the Sophia has stabilizers built into the trem, no need to screw some into the spring cavity
Changing tunings on the fly is also a pain with a Floyd Rose. That's why they have stuff like the EVH D-Tuna, or the tonevise pitch shifter. But the Sophia has a drop tuner built in
cool unit and wasnt the inventor a kahler guy?
When a Floyd is setup right and everything settles in, it's magic. It is a pain in the ass though. Not only do I have my own axe with a Floyd but I have to maintain 2 of my sons guitars and both of them have multiple guitars with a Floyd. This Sophia does look interesting but like it was said, what if something on it goes belly up ? At least with the Floyd you can go to Sam Ash or Guitar Center or the part.
I think this is a game changer TK. Like #8
Can you turn the trem into a hard tail with a clever gizmo in that trem? This is an issue for me.
You want to be able to switch between them and hardtail?
The Steinberger Jam Trem had the spring adjuster adjuster ,so did the Parker Fly. The rest is over engineered. The Zero point has been done by Floyd ,Ibanez, Hipshot ,Esp and others. A good Floyd like a Gotoh 1996 works perfectly and does not introduce huge additional metalwork for marginal benefit . Yes its a good trem but it is not better than existing designs.
The inventor licenses the Zero Point to Ibanez -- built in the spring block has revolutionary advantages
@@sophiatremolos3365 look at the Jam Trem is has the spring block adjuster 28 years ago.
You could also just get a trem stabilizer and never spend this kind of money ever again. Turn any crappy licensed trem into a pro trem that stays in tune
I'm less worried about tuning stability with crappy tremeloes, and more worried about parts breaking like the saddle blocks, the screws stripping, the knife-edge wearing out, stuff like that. This tremolo is really only for people like me, rather than owning multiple guitars for different occasions, I'm trying to get one super guitar that can do anything. And the Sophia is the ultimate Floyd, so...
awsome,
Man I just got a floyd special on a korean richbich and I just DONT DIG FLOATIN!!!
Not enough "okay"s
That things bigger than a catapult on a aircraft carrier! Think I'll wait on Evertune design
This is relevant to my interests.
🤘 😎 👍
But would Brad Gillis approve???
Great job explaining this stuff.
They are super nice Im putting one on my V custom Im making.
This guy always knows good gear in the given year. I remember him covering BC Rich a decade ago. Love seeing the Sun Valley and the Charvels nowadays.
Halfway through this video and I’m thinking....why would I ever want a floyd if this exists?