Never used Hipshot, so I dunno about those. It usually takes me about 9 Norther songs so... uhh... that's what? An hour? Hahah. Unless of course I decide to clean everything, that's another 30 minutes or so. (What can I say? I like to take my time...) But yeah, unless you have a good reason to get a FR, say you prefer locked trem or whatever, then they're worth the time if you keep the strings clean. Otherwise... I'd avoid em.