Floyd Rose Original: Changing Guitar Bridges Forever

floyd rose original

There are very few people who have completely changed electric guitars, such as Floyd D. Rose, whose creation of the Floyd Rose Original completely changed guitarists’ lives. Floyd was a guitarist as well, playing in several local bands.

Inspired by musicians such as Jimi Hendrix he would use his tremolo bar frequently. Despite his best efforts his guitars could not stay in tune no matter what he tried. So he set out to discover a solution for this common problem among guitarists.

The first Floyd Rose Original prototype

Being a handy jeweler, Floyd Rose was good at crafting and making metal parts. This is where he started to think he could definitely build a better alternative to the common tremolo bars used by Fender on most of its models.

He first installed the locking nut on his 1957 Fender Stratocaster, which would certainly make most of the guitarists today that are into vintage guitars be completely horrified.

However, this was the 70s and during this time, older guitarists were not as desirable as they are today.

The creation of the first Floyd Rose original is interesting not only in terms of advancement for guitarists but also in how it deeply influenced some musicians at the time.

It is no wonder that some of the first guitarists to get their hands on a Floyd Rose original were Eddie Van Halen, and Steve Vai.

Eddie Van Halen playing with his Floyd Rose Original

Who would later use Floyd Rose as a way to create their own tones and unique careers. Some of their most iconic songs could not be done if it wasn’t for the Floyd Rose Original.

Commercializing the Floyd Rose Original

Soon after some guitarists started using the Floyd Rose Original, guitar manufacturers started noticing how the Floyd bridge really improved the playability of the instrument and allowed guitarists to create new sounds.

Kramer noticed this and decided to partner with Floyd, in order to bring his creation to the masses. 

The deal signed between Kramer and Floyd gave Kramer the exclusive rights to sell the Floyd Rose Original. Fender stepped into the Floyd Rose Original in the early ’90s as it became the exclusive distributor of this iconic guitar bridge. Putting it on many of its new models.

New Floyd Rose models

Since the creation of the Floyd Rose Original, many models have been released that try to update and improve this iconic guitar bridge. Over time some guitarists adopt these new models, but some of them are die-hard fans of the Floyd Rose Original. Floyd Rose has also established several licensing deals with companies like Ibanez that continue to use versions of its creation.

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