I recently walked into a music store and tried out a left-handed Jet brand guitar priced around $600. I heard about these guitars only recently. Apparently, there has been plenty of online buzz claiming these Chinese-made instruments are surprisingly "good" for entry-level players. The model on the floor was a seafoam green Stratocaster-style guitar that definitely looked the part hanging on the wall. Fit, Finish, and Action Let’s start with the positives, because credit wher

Next to my own brand, my favourite guitar brand is Fernandes. I have spent over 3 years writing the five-part Floyd Rose Tremolos for Lefties series. (Every time I think I have finished, something else comes up.) That was how I first came to appreciate Fernandes guitars. Fernandes was probably the most accommodating Japanese brand for left-handed guitars until the 2000s, after which the company lost its way. For the last 18 months, I have been building a collection of left‑ha

This series is the definitive guide on Floyd Rose tremolos (and variants) with a special (but not exclusive) emphasis on left-handed guitars. It covers genuine, licensed, and proprietary systems, both historical and current. Nowhere else on the internet will you find all this information in the one place. This series is in five parts: Part 1: Original and Genuine Floyd Rose (Floyd Rose, Fernandes, Schaller, Sung il, Ping Well) Part 2: Licensed Versions (Schaller, Kahler, Goto

The following series is the definitive guide on Floyd Rose tremolos (and variants) with a special (but not exclusive) emphasis on left-handed guitars. It covers genuine, licensed, and proprietary systems, both historical and current. Nowhere else on the internet will you find all this information in the one place. This series is in five parts: Part 1: Original and Genuine Floyd Rose (Floyd Rose, Fernandes, Schaller, Sung-il, Ping Well) Part 2: Licensed Versions (Schaller, Kah

The following series is the definitive guide on Floyd Rose tremolos (and variants) with a special (but not exclusive) emphasis on left-handed guitars. It covers genuine, licensed, and proprietary systems, both historical and current. Nowhere else on the internet will you find all this information in the one place. This series is in five parts: Part 1: Original and Genuine Floyd Rose (Floyd Rose, Fernandes, Schaller, Sung-il, Ping Well) Part 2: Licensed Versions (Schaller, Kah

The following series is the definitive guide on Floyd Rose tremolos (and variants) with a special (but not exclusive) emphasis on left-handed guitars. It covers genuine, licensed, and proprietary systems, both historical and current. Nowhere else on the internet will you find all this information in the one place. This series is in five parts: Part 1: Original and Genuine Floyd Rose (Floyd Rose, Fernandes, Schaller, Sung-il, Ping Well) Part 2: Licensed Versions (Schaller, Kah

The following series is the definitive guide on Floyd Rose tremolos (and variants) with a special (but not exclusive) emphasis on left-handed guitars. It covers genuine, licensed, and proprietary systems, both historical and current. Nowhere else on the internet will you find all this information in the one place. This series is in five parts: Part 1: Original and Genuine Floyd Rose (Floyd Rose, Fernandes, Schaller, Sung-il, Ping Well) Part 2: Licensed Versions (Schaller, Kah

In the beginning, Fernandes Electric Sound Research Group Co. Ltd. of Japan (not Schaller) was Floyd Rose’s first commercial manufacturing partner, producing the early Floyd Rose tremolo system for Floyd Rose. The following is a concise summary of Fernandes' connection with Floyd Rose and the subsequent development of its own guitar vibrato systems with particular emphasis on left-handed guitar production. 1976–1981: Origins 1976–1980. Following its development in 1976, Ameri

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Update: November 2025. It has taken me more than two years to put this series together, but I have finally written the absolute definitive guide on left-handed Floyd Rose tremolos. I spent thousands of hours, and it turned out to be more of a rabbit hole than I anticipated. I have drawn from personal experience and very detailed research. This is everything you would ever need to know (if you were interested) in Floyd Rose and other types of OEM or proprietary locking tremolo

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