It has been a long time since I had a Les Paul of sorts. I do have a Carvin CS6 which is decent but lacks the stop tail as it strings through the body. There are some other differences with it too. I bought it used, if I had ordered it from Carvin/Kiesel I would have opted for the 4 controls and the stop tail. I did try an Epiphone a few years ago in a store and thought it felt good, played well, should I buy it? So last year I decided to look into this again. Always wanted the Black and gold Les Paul Custom but did not want to pay the exuberant price for one. Just for kicks, I ordered an Epiphone Les Paul Custom for a fraction of the cost of the real deal. Epiphones are made in China. That was sort of a turn-off. I bought two of them just for kicks, one in Black and the other Koa (not talking about the figured Koa here and like most instruments under a price point will have a thin lamination of the decorative surface).
The one in the center is the Carvin CS6.
First impressions, nice. Both play quite well so no complaint on the neck, it is the thin profile but standard nut width. Very comfortable on the hand. The CS does have a slightly longer scale (25") vs the Epiphones at 24.75". I really cannot tell the difference. The Black one has a nice tone to it plugged in. I did consider changing pickups but after playing with it for a while, I am not going to make the change. The Koa one has a different character to its tone. Sort of reminds me of the old 1984 LP I had long ago. That one was much heavier as I recall. I bought it when I turned 18, got a great deal on it too, brand new that list $2000 but they sold it to me for $899. It was also number 009 and from what the dealer said they only made 52 that year, not sure that was true or not.
Hmm, not quite the same value based on inflation. What I bought for $899 was a decent value. They probably dropped the price on the guitar as it was very heavy. I did not care on the weight. So the Epiphones cost $799 + tax and I got them just after I bought the first Mark VII. Are they of the same quality as the Gibson Spotlight Special? Heck no. That was a guitar I wish I held onto. Perhaps that is why I bought the Carvin CS sometime around 2013. Not quite the same thing but I was longing for a Les Paul but did not want to pay the high dollar amount for one. At the time back in the late 80's as it is now, I am more of a Super Strat person. The Robin guitar next to the LP was my first locking tremolo guitar. I sort of become fond of the Kahler bridge and eventually got a Charvel Model 4. The Gibson did get played once in a while but mostly remained in its case and was well kept in mint condition until I was forced to sell it to finance a divorce 15 years after I bought it. As time moved on, I became more interested in the Floyd Rose bridge to the point I was hooked on it. What inspired me to get the Epiphones in the first place was this:
Not because it looks interesting as it does, but for the engineering behind it. I wanted one but did not have a suitable candidate to mount it on. I did consider an ES-335 or something a bit smaller. Sort of wanted a semi-hollow guitar but instead of the typical Bigsby bridge, the FRX would be much better. I bought the two Epiphones from different resources. The primary was the Black with gold hardware. The Koa model was an impulse buy. Two guitars for the price of one Charvel MJ San Dimas. Not bad. As I said, I am impressed with how well they play. fit and finish is really good. Not one issue I can complain about. Sure, I have seen the others list their issues, usually with the pickup selector or the knobs. So far no issues yet.
I have to thank @domct203 for getting me on track with the FRX. I held off on getting it as I sort of liked the change of the hard tail and not making use of the Floyd Rose. So I bought another Epi Les Paul Custom in black and gold and opted to install the FRX on the one I have. That turned out quite well. Did not take long to install it. I have to say it took me longer to tune it than a standard FR 1000. It has more to do with the neck angle and the amount of drop on the strings after the nut and the compression from the string lock. Just a hint on the install, I did not use the screws that came with the FRX to mount the string lock. Those were too long and would have made it through the headstock. I had some on hand that I bought for mounting pickguards to a Strat body, they were about half the length, more of a half inch than the inch long screws in the kit.
The FRX retains the same string spacing as the TOM bridge. That was good to know. No need for stretching out the pickup cavity to fit a Trembucker pickup, not needed here. Unlike the traditional Floyd Rose 1000, 1500 or original, that uses a Fender string spacing so Trembucker bridge pickup would be needed if you wanted to keep the pole pieces in the proper location. The alternative is to use a pickup with 11 poles for each coil, the type with the solid bar magnet, or perhaps a Zexcoil humbucker since that uses angled bar magnets and small coils per each pole piece. So not mods required except for two holes drilled into the head stock to secure the string lock. Could I opt for the locking tuners instead? No, Sperzels, Goto, Graph Tech Ratio, and the like will not keep the stings in tune when using a tremolo bridge that and deep dive or pull up. Sure they are much better than the standard type of tuner. Most cases it is the gear ratio in combination of the string gauge that may require frequent tuning. Tuning stability is mostly due to the strings stretching more so than tension on the tuner peg but that has something to do with it too. Don't need as much as a string wrap with the locking tuners. I have several guitars with that type of tuner with fixed bridge and Floyd Rose but I would not use the FR without a string lock.
The FRX feels a bit different than the standard Floyd Rose bridge. Depends on your perspective. Most of the guitars I have with the Floyd Rose bridge are free floating types since the body is routed for it. I have three FR equipped guitars that had a different concept, dive only and the bridge would rest on the body of the guitar in its normal position. Those tend to have more spring tension if it is set that way, depends on the string gauge you use. It does take a little more effort to dive with the traditional Floyd Rose bridge. Depends on the springs used, string gauge and so on. The FRX just moves or dives/pulls up with ease. The pivot point is still a knife edge on two secured posts fixed to the frame. No fear of wearing into the edge when adjusting for string height as that is managed by two set screws that rest on plastic pads you place on the guitar to prevent damage to the finish. I figured out how to get the intonation set without having to adjust the saddles. It was just a factor of moving the bridge closer or farther from the bridge pickup with the two set screws that anchor to the studs. It was quite easy to set up. Moving the saddles with the traditional method using the key or intonation tool would be difficult, again the frame is sort of in the way.
The FRX has an adjustable thumb wheel so you can make the bridge into a dive only function. However, it is not compatible with the D-tuna that is common with EVH guitars as there is not enough room to make use of it due to the frame of the bridge that houses the main spring.
Since I bought the fitted Epiphone case to go with the Epi LP, I was also concerned if the guitar would fit the case after installing the FRX. No problem for fit if you remove the tremolo arm and place it in the accessory compartment before closing the case. The tremolo arm is secured with two set screws, so an Allen key is needed to secure it and to remove it.
Dom had a cool trick for that with a thumb screw in place of the one set screw. Cool idea. Will have to try it one of these days. Here is a link to his thread.
https://boogieforum.com/threads/ngd-ltd-eclipse-ec256.87617/#post-538403
The one in the center is the Carvin CS6.
First impressions, nice. Both play quite well so no complaint on the neck, it is the thin profile but standard nut width. Very comfortable on the hand. The CS does have a slightly longer scale (25") vs the Epiphones at 24.75". I really cannot tell the difference. The Black one has a nice tone to it plugged in. I did consider changing pickups but after playing with it for a while, I am not going to make the change. The Koa one has a different character to its tone. Sort of reminds me of the old 1984 LP I had long ago. That one was much heavier as I recall. I bought it when I turned 18, got a great deal on it too, brand new that list $2000 but they sold it to me for $899. It was also number 009 and from what the dealer said they only made 52 that year, not sure that was true or not.
Hmm, not quite the same value based on inflation. What I bought for $899 was a decent value. They probably dropped the price on the guitar as it was very heavy. I did not care on the weight. So the Epiphones cost $799 + tax and I got them just after I bought the first Mark VII. Are they of the same quality as the Gibson Spotlight Special? Heck no. That was a guitar I wish I held onto. Perhaps that is why I bought the Carvin CS sometime around 2013. Not quite the same thing but I was longing for a Les Paul but did not want to pay the high dollar amount for one. At the time back in the late 80's as it is now, I am more of a Super Strat person. The Robin guitar next to the LP was my first locking tremolo guitar. I sort of become fond of the Kahler bridge and eventually got a Charvel Model 4. The Gibson did get played once in a while but mostly remained in its case and was well kept in mint condition until I was forced to sell it to finance a divorce 15 years after I bought it. As time moved on, I became more interested in the Floyd Rose bridge to the point I was hooked on it. What inspired me to get the Epiphones in the first place was this:
Not because it looks interesting as it does, but for the engineering behind it. I wanted one but did not have a suitable candidate to mount it on. I did consider an ES-335 or something a bit smaller. Sort of wanted a semi-hollow guitar but instead of the typical Bigsby bridge, the FRX would be much better. I bought the two Epiphones from different resources. The primary was the Black with gold hardware. The Koa model was an impulse buy. Two guitars for the price of one Charvel MJ San Dimas. Not bad. As I said, I am impressed with how well they play. fit and finish is really good. Not one issue I can complain about. Sure, I have seen the others list their issues, usually with the pickup selector or the knobs. So far no issues yet.
I have to thank @domct203 for getting me on track with the FRX. I held off on getting it as I sort of liked the change of the hard tail and not making use of the Floyd Rose. So I bought another Epi Les Paul Custom in black and gold and opted to install the FRX on the one I have. That turned out quite well. Did not take long to install it. I have to say it took me longer to tune it than a standard FR 1000. It has more to do with the neck angle and the amount of drop on the strings after the nut and the compression from the string lock. Just a hint on the install, I did not use the screws that came with the FRX to mount the string lock. Those were too long and would have made it through the headstock. I had some on hand that I bought for mounting pickguards to a Strat body, they were about half the length, more of a half inch than the inch long screws in the kit.
The FRX retains the same string spacing as the TOM bridge. That was good to know. No need for stretching out the pickup cavity to fit a Trembucker pickup, not needed here. Unlike the traditional Floyd Rose 1000, 1500 or original, that uses a Fender string spacing so Trembucker bridge pickup would be needed if you wanted to keep the pole pieces in the proper location. The alternative is to use a pickup with 11 poles for each coil, the type with the solid bar magnet, or perhaps a Zexcoil humbucker since that uses angled bar magnets and small coils per each pole piece. So not mods required except for two holes drilled into the head stock to secure the string lock. Could I opt for the locking tuners instead? No, Sperzels, Goto, Graph Tech Ratio, and the like will not keep the stings in tune when using a tremolo bridge that and deep dive or pull up. Sure they are much better than the standard type of tuner. Most cases it is the gear ratio in combination of the string gauge that may require frequent tuning. Tuning stability is mostly due to the strings stretching more so than tension on the tuner peg but that has something to do with it too. Don't need as much as a string wrap with the locking tuners. I have several guitars with that type of tuner with fixed bridge and Floyd Rose but I would not use the FR without a string lock.
The FRX feels a bit different than the standard Floyd Rose bridge. Depends on your perspective. Most of the guitars I have with the Floyd Rose bridge are free floating types since the body is routed for it. I have three FR equipped guitars that had a different concept, dive only and the bridge would rest on the body of the guitar in its normal position. Those tend to have more spring tension if it is set that way, depends on the string gauge you use. It does take a little more effort to dive with the traditional Floyd Rose bridge. Depends on the springs used, string gauge and so on. The FRX just moves or dives/pulls up with ease. The pivot point is still a knife edge on two secured posts fixed to the frame. No fear of wearing into the edge when adjusting for string height as that is managed by two set screws that rest on plastic pads you place on the guitar to prevent damage to the finish. I figured out how to get the intonation set without having to adjust the saddles. It was just a factor of moving the bridge closer or farther from the bridge pickup with the two set screws that anchor to the studs. It was quite easy to set up. Moving the saddles with the traditional method using the key or intonation tool would be difficult, again the frame is sort of in the way.
The FRX has an adjustable thumb wheel so you can make the bridge into a dive only function. However, it is not compatible with the D-tuna that is common with EVH guitars as there is not enough room to make use of it due to the frame of the bridge that houses the main spring.
Since I bought the fitted Epiphone case to go with the Epi LP, I was also concerned if the guitar would fit the case after installing the FRX. No problem for fit if you remove the tremolo arm and place it in the accessory compartment before closing the case. The tremolo arm is secured with two set screws, so an Allen key is needed to secure it and to remove it.
Dom had a cool trick for that with a thumb screw in place of the one set screw. Cool idea. Will have to try it one of these days. Here is a link to his thread.
https://boogieforum.com/threads/ngd-ltd-eclipse-ec256.87617/#post-538403
