Best Floyded-guitars for under $800?

[Metaguitarist]

I'm possibly going to be selling my Carvin DC127M sometime soon, and am thinking of picking up a guitar with a floyd in exchange, because I've never owned one. I've played guitar for about 12 years now and have always played on a fixed bridge but its time for that to change. I'd prefer to get something used, so I guess that opens up the playing field a bit and such, but I'd love to get some ideas from you guys. I don't know Ibanez's lineup very well but hear they have a lot of good offerings. I'm open to any brand though, so please give me some guitars to look into! (7-strings would also be fine!)

 

[TauSigmaNova]

LTD M-1000 Maple
If you could expand by a 100 or go uses Schecter has a plethora of 900 dollar fr'd guitars which are all great and come in different colors, woods, and pickups. (Banshee FR, Hellraiser FR, Hellraiser Hybrid FR, Blackjack/Blackjack SLS). They come in 7/8s too.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Jackson SLX.

 

[shikamaru]

Charvel So Cal (no 7 strings though)

 

[axxessdenied]

Get yourself an older MIJ Ibanez. Anything built before 1994 when they switched factories. They will destroy anything in that price range you could get that is more modern.

 

[vilk]

Jackson DKMG

or anything else with floyd from the MG series. They all have licensed OFR.

I bet they might go for around 800 if it's totally completely mint. But you could find one that's been used a lot for probably half that. But I say go all out and get a mint one.

 

[Jarmake]

Rg3120 full stop.

 

[Shask]

Charvel So-Cal or San Dimas

 

[Promit]

Schecter would be my vote...

 

[Chokey Chicken]

How about trying something with a Floyd out first before abandoning a nice guitar for something you might absolutely hate? You have some decent recommendations already, but I still say play with one before committing. Hell, maybe get a cheap as shit Douglas or agile just to play around with. Change tunings, do setups, change strings, and see if they're something you're still into.

 

[s4tch]

Used Jackson, Charvel or Ibanez, depending on wood, design preferences.

- Jackson: you may find some MIJ Soloists in that price range. Any Professional series Dinky would do the trick, too.
- Charvel: So-Cal, San Dimas like some suggested. 22 frets, a bit on the classic Fender-like style, neck thickness and profile might be similar to the Carvin. Awesome workhorses.
- Ibanez: I'm with axxessdenied, practically all old MIJ Ibbies with either an Edge or a Lo-Pro Edge will be great. RG5XX/7XX series for 24 frets, mostly basswood body, S-series for 22 frets, mahogany body, or an RG3120, which is widely considered as the best of the RG-line - you can get them all for $800.

 

[eaeolian]

Charvel So Cal (no 7 strings though)

Yes.

 

[pantallica87]

Schecter Hellraiser, $300-$500 used

 

[Metaguitarist]

How about trying something with a Floyd out first before abandoning a nice guitar for something you might absolutely hate? You have some decent recommendations already, but I still say play with one before committing. Hell, maybe get a cheap as shit Douglas or agile just to play around with. Change tunings, do setups, change strings, and see if they're something you're still into.

A guy I know has a Carvin ST-300C and I absolutely loved the feel of the floyd.

 

[axxessdenied]

Used Jackson, Charvel or Ibanez, depending on wood, design preferences.

- Jackson: you may find some MIJ Soloists in that price range. Any Professional series Dinky would do the trick, too.
- Charvel: So-Cal, San Dimas like some suggested. 22 frets, a bit on the classic Fender-like style, neck thickness and profile might be similar to the Carvin. Awesome workhorses.
- Ibanez: I'm with axxessdenied, practically all old MIJ Ibbies with either an Edge or a Lo-Pro Edge will be great. RG5XX/7XX series for 24 frets, mostly basswood body, S-series for 22 frets, mahogany body, or an RG3120, which is widely considered as the best of the RG-line - you can get them all for $800.

Even cheaper if it's beat up and has been played

 

[FILTHnFEAR]

Rg3120 full stop.

Definitely on my guitar bucket list. One day.

 

[Chokey Chicken]

A guy I know has a Carvin ST-300C and I absolutely loved the feel of the floyd.

It's more than just the feel though, which is why I recommended having one a bit more long term. That way you know more in depth how much of a "hassle" it'll be. Doing setups, changing strings, changing gauges, changing tunings, etc. are all quite a bit different with a floyd. I personally love the feel of floyds, but the hassle of changing tunings/string gauges has me prefer to go without them.

 

[s4tch]

The only thing I hate about Floyds is the lack of tuning versatility. But if you use only one tuning in a band (or have different floyd-equipped guitars for various tunings), then a good floating trem might be a joy.

 

[Shask]

It's more than just the feel though, which is why I recommended having one a bit more long term. That way you know more in depth how much of a "hassle" it'll be. Doing setups, changing strings, changing gauges, changing tunings, etc. are all quite a bit different with a floyd. I personally love the feel of floyds, but the hassle of changing tunings/string gauges has me prefer to go without them.

I dont think a Floyd is as big of a deal as you are making it. They are not that hard to work with, and actually very easy once you have all the tools and know how.

I actually spend less time with my Floyds than my Hardtail guitars. The Floyd does take longer to set up the first time, but after that you can lock it down and not touch it for 6 months. One of my favorite things about Floyd guitars is that they do not go out of tune for months. With my Hardtail guitars it seems like I have to tune the strings once every 15 minutes. Seems like they are always falling out of tune just a small bit to be noticeable. Over time, I fiddle with the tuning on the Hardtails way more than the Floyds.

I get what you are saying though. I actually started shifting from Floyds to Hardtails about 5 years ago. I haven't really had many Floyds and recently started buying guitars with them again. Now that I am back, I feel like I am home. I missed that tuning stability and sleek feel.

 

[MrPowers]

I'm also voting Charvel SoCal or San Dimas. Preferably a used USA or MIJ. I have a Wildcard and it's easily on the same level as my ESP E-II 7 string.