- Is the Special better than the Original?
- Learn the differences and find the right Floyd Rose system for your guitar
- Also check out our guide to floating vs non-floating tremolo systems
While there are plenty of different tremolo options out there to pick and choose from, one of them stands head and shoulders above the rest of the pack – particularly with legendary performing guitarists, including guys like Eddie Van Halen.
We are talking of course about the Floyd Rose.
An absolutely legendary tremolo, the right Floyd Rose can totally transform the way that your guitar sounds almost immediately.
Unfortunately, with a couple of different Floyd Rose tremolo options out there to pick and choose from these days, it can be tough to really zero in on that perfect addition to your favorite instrument.
But that’s why we put together this quick guide!
By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know exactly what makes the Floyd Rose tremolo system so special, the early history of this key accessory, as well as the major differences between the two most popular trem options from Floyd Rose these days – the Original and the Special.
Ready to dive right in? Let’s do it!
Thinking About Getting a Floyd Rose?
The original Floyd Rose – we are talking about the musician here, not the tremolo that would later carry his name – was not only an amazing guitar player but he also loved to tinker and toy with these instruments, too.
In 1976 he pioneered a design that changed the face of rock ‘n’ roll forever when he cooked up the locking vibrato, a component that lived (almost from that moment) on Eddie Van Halen’s guitars forever as soon as it was released.
Featuring a revolutionary new system utilizing a double blocking design that provides a lot of extra stability when tuning compared to other trem/vibrato options out there, this particular add on changed the game forever.
In 1977 Floyd Rose decided to start selling these accessories as Floyd Rose Original configurations, producing and manufacturing them in Germany – where they are still made today.
This is the OG double-locking tremolo system that continues to utilize fine-tuning capabilities so that you don’t have to fiddle around with any nuts when it’s time to tune your guitar.
Floyd Rose Original vs Special: Differences
Both feature almost identical design elements, however, the Floyd Rose Special utilizes zinc alloy in its construction, whereas the original uses classic steel saddles and a brass sustain block. It’s also worth mentioning that the Specials are made in Korea, while the Originals are made in Germany.
But how do these two trem options stack up against one another you ask? Let’s dive in.
Breaking It Down
Floyd Rose Original vs Special: Performance
As far as performance goes, when they have been installed properly in your guitar, most musicians really can’t tell the difference between either one of these options when they play.
Sure, every now and again you are going to get a lot of people that tell you that they definitely can hear the difference between Original and Special setups – but you have to have a really delicate trained ear to pick up the super subtle differences here.
Now, at the same, there are definitely some people out there that feel that the Special is significantly lighter than the Original because of the use of zinc alloy. That makes plenty of sense, especially considering the fact that the Original is using steel saddles instead of zinc saddles.
Other players feel that the Special doesn’t have the same kind of responsiveness or the same kind of “flutter”. But ultimately most players agree that this comes down to how you play your guitar rather than anything to do with the trem itself.
(If you’re constantly finding yourself unsatisfied with your guitar sound, check out How To Find Your Own Guitar Tone (My 5-Step Process) for some handy tips!)
Floyd Rose Original vs Special: Reliability
There are always going to be some reliability questions when you’re talking about different materials being used to make up core components of anything that goes on guitars – and the same argument can definitely be made here.
On top of that, Germany has a legendary reputation for fine engineering and manufacturing that South Korea (historically, anyway) doesn’t quite have yet. There are some people that just love to see that “Made in Germany” stamp.
The real issue here, though, is that the Special set up just doesn’t have the same kind of stability or the same kind of security after it has been installed as the Original.
Play a couple of shows with both of these installed and you’ll notice that one comes loose and starts to wear a lot faster than the other.
Floyd Rose Original vs Special: Value
The Special is significantly less expensive than the Original.
The materials are cheaper to source, manufacturing costs are cheaper in South Korea, and so it’s little surprise that you end up with a lower price point here – sometimes 50% less than the Original.
For some musicians, that difference is all they need to hear – especially when guitarists have to spend so much money on other guitar parts, maintenance, and other high-quality accessories like strings and studs.
For others, though, nothing can come close to delivering the same kind of mystique that the Floyd Rose Originals can. No premium price tag is going to chase those kinds of buyers away.
Final Thoughts
The difference in overall performance or sound quality isn’t worth shouting about. However, if durability is a concern for you, the extra cost of the Original might be worth it. All in all, though, you really can’t go wrong with either of the Floyd Rose designs.
Looking for other options? Check out 5 Best Floyd Rose Alternatives That Money Can Buy.
I have the special Floyd on my Jackson Dinky I got from Guitar Center. Fine tuners are crap. When you turn them they seem to skip or they don’t turn smoothly. I attribute this to poor quality materials and machining. High E string constantly goes out of tune. South Korea needs to amp up their quality control.
Have the same problem on my LTD with the special.
Ron,
I have one of the cheaper Jackson’s after having to sell my 1200 1500 versions unfortunately LOL but it has a Jackson branded fluid on it I don’t know if it’s a Floyd special or not cuz it’s far different from the fluid special that was on my schecter Omen extreme. But with that one the saddles or the soft sink crap that stripped on me in the middle of a gig where the string lock screw goes, and the thing would never stay in tune the tremolo would never return to zero if I had it floating, I had to block it so it wouldn’t pull back then it stayed in tune really well but those zinc saddles aren’t that easily replaceable with standard Floyd steel saddles because the radius numbers on them are different, I tried to just replace one and I couldn’t afford all six and the one just wouldn’t work it was actually a different height for the position of the saddle which just happened to be one of the two middle saddles the highest ones. But also like you said even when the Jackson whether it is the floyd special or a Jackson branded type of floyd, the fine tuners are crap and not smooth at all.
lol yeah i also have the floyd rose special and some string gets off tune everytime I do dive bombs, the quality of this thing is crap. Luckily I dont use tremolos alot
The tuners themselves are probably stripped.
The plate of the Floyd Special is made of Steel, Just like the OFR. Verified direct from Floyd Rose site.
Its the saddles and the block that are whats really the difference between the two.
And to be fair, I’ve had fine tuners strip on an OFR as well.
yeah I had the same problem on the LTD. I upgraded to a RFR though and it literally never goes out of tune no matter how much I use it. It’s actually insane. As expensive as the RFR is it’s definitely worth every penny.
I have 2 jacksons with licensed jackson Floyd’s. There ok but after getting the mick thomson soloist I see one difference quickly. It has a floyd on it that’s the same grade that goes on the USA models and the fine tuners work amazingly. The normal ones on my other two models are harder to turn but then easier to turn all of a sudden. I feel this is due to the threads obviously but also the bottoms of the fine tuner screws not being perfectly flat. I’m actually thinking of trying to sand them smooth and level and see if that helps. Maybe even some better lubricant. Always wanted to buy the 40 dollar floyd on Amazon to see how bad it could be. Maybe use it in one of my diy kit guitars.
Brad,
I think the reason that the fine tuners aren’t flat on the bottom is it so they don’t completely back out and you possibly lose one at least that’s what I was told like 35 years ago when I first got a floyd LOL
I think the problem with the fine tuners now is either the screws or the base plate material or both is softer and the threads get screwed up.
Base plate on Floyd Speical is steel.
Just like the OFR.
As per the Floyd Rose site.
Try a thread chaser
I have a special that came on my fender players Strat. And it’s been absolutely perfectL no issues what so ever. I have an original from the 80’s on one of my guitars and after almost 40 years it’s absolutely perfect. Now I’m not so sure the special can keep up with that.
I want to know, whether the base plate of FR special is made by steel? If so, I can just exchange the zinc alloy saddles with extra steel saddles, and the cost will be less than buying a FR original.
Fr Special IS Steel.
As per the official Floyd Site
You can get some nice steel string saver saddles from FU-Tone.com for $99.95
I installed the GraphTech string savers so my FR special is just as good as the original, maybe better because the String Saver saddle is impregnated with PTFE.
I can tell you I had to check your extreme only they had a fluid special on it. The zinc alley saddles are soft and they stripped out so I thought about doing exactly what you were talking about putting steel Floyd Rose saddles on it, the problem is the radius numbers are different for the saddle so I couldn’t just replace one saddle the numbers didn’t line up and it was a super pain so I couldn’t just change the one saddle and I couldn’t afford to buy six steel saddles and I’m not sure how the radius would have changed with that now this was 6 or 7 years ago but I do remember that wasn’t just that easy to buy a steel saddle and swap it on the special.
* schecter omen extreme FR
the pivot post inserts messurments a diffrent i have a RRx24 had a special on it i put a gohto ge1996t on it no re routing dropped right in went to use the soecial on a converson bc rich and i had use ofr template for studs nope i have fill one and redrill they are not equal thats for sure..
I both, the Jackson X with the special I replaced my alloyed block to a brass oversized block and I put on the intonation bullets. That helped a lot with tone and sustain. When I got my Jackson pro, it really didn’t need anything. If your strings are going out of tune when diving, put ghs nitrogen strings on it, these are made not to stretch as much and I rarely ever have to tune mine, even after blowing up thy enemy!