Metropoulos Forum

In this thread it would be cool to discuss what the differences, similarities, etc, of ALL the various types are. Not just how they dip and dive, but how they sound when playing a chord or muted riffs, etc.In other words, an OPEN DISCUSSION on guitar tremelo's. Sound examples/comparisons would be extra cool

Vintage style (6 screw) Fender tremelo - Is the loudest & most resonant/sustaining acoustically, which transfers over when amplified. Has broader mid frequincies. Least tremelo range and expediency.

Floyd Rose - Has more of a tun'o'matic bridge type tone and eq. Has deep lows and highs resulting in a 'cleaner' type sound as compared to the fuller response of the 6 screw tremelo.

Kahler- Has less sustain than either and has a softer feel and overall tone.Lacks the attack and has a too soft feel to the tremelo. Too smooth.

Friends don't let friends use Kahlers,

Use enhanced blocks with Floyd Rose,

and full-size steel block with Fender vintage style,

and all will be well, depending on what kind of trem use you are shooting for...

I like stock Fender and Floyd's for different things

I will agree
I prefer my modded 6 screw trems, but, they are finnicky as to the guitars set up, and one must be on top of that.
The 2006 OFR on my Warmoth (2006 build) is the best floyd equipped guitar I've played. It is basically fool proof in regards to how to keep it in tune (as we all know about floyds ). I agree about Kahlers, not only do they sound bad (imo of course) but they LOOK bad (again, imo).

not the purpose here, but have you guys tried the floyd rose special (that chinese one)?

I'm looking over parts to build a superstrat but have been finding the FR and Schalers too expensive...

I prefer the stock Fender 6 screw Tremolo to any other mostly for the superior tone but I also like the playability.

Me too. I think that there are quite alot of guy's that dont use a vintage Fender style tremelo because they cant keep them in tune. There are also guy's that just simply dont like them because of the 'limited' tremelo range, regardless of whether they stay in tune or not. BUT, there are also guys who, in the future, WILL discover that the Vintage 6 screw is what they have always been searching for.
There is no 'perfect' anything, so a compromise always has to be made. IMO, the ONLY thing that gives a tremelo an advantage over a vintage style Fender 6 screw tremelo is that they have a quicker response and lower pitch drop capabilities (I'll include 'floating' too). Thats it, cause I can keep my vintage tremelos in tune as well as a floyd stays in tune, and most definately, you get better sustain & detail of tone out of the vintage units, as compared to any other.

Tone Slinger wrote: Thats it, cause I can keep my vintage tremelos in tune as well as a floyd stays in tune, and most definately, you get better sustain & detail of tone out of the vintage units, as compared to any other.

How in the name of god can you make your 6 screw stay in tune??

I have 2 types of 6 screw tremolos, one with vintage saddles and vintage string trees and another with am std saddles and am std string trees... the am std works better for tuning, but if I divebomb it will be slightly out of tune for sure... I tried different string tension techniques, and so on... I"m about to try graphite nuts and saddles and if that doesn't work, I quit trying to use the tremolo in 6 screw bridges..

The sustain and attack are way better than FRs though.

Like others I am really happy with the action and performance of the vintage bridge on my '62 RI Strat although it does not get used for major divebombs with flapping strings so tuning stability has never been an issue. Never managed to get a Floyd Rose to perform consistently
At one extreme I have the Bigsby on my L5 copy (Antoria Jazzstar) for rockabilly wobbles and the other is the Hipshot trem on my Martyn Booth Signature. This has excellent attack, great tuning stability and resonance.

http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.p ... tail&p=181

Very sweet axe Looks classic yet Modern.

Fernando, I basically applied the mods that FRUDUA demonstrates in his Youtube vids. He, like myself and many others (including PRS) has applied much thought and effort into this tuning issue. I think he applied a bit more of a logical/mechanical angle to this than anyone else and came up with a good thing. I have modded tremelo's for myself and others and can honestly say that they work. Set up is key though and the nut and tuning Keys need addressed on MOST guitars. Other than that, the spring tension has to be right. When those 'fundamentals' are dealt with, the modded tremelo's work EXTREMELY well.

Nice! going to see this video (with an absurdly SLOW internet, but.)

Thought of using micro tuning trem (non floating FR for ex) with no locking nut.... graphite saddles and nut and also locking tuners....

I know carvin uses floating tremolos with micro tuning without locking nuts and heard they work REALLY fine...

Just wanted to bump this thread again and say "MAN, these dog'on vintage style 6 screw tremolo's are amazingly finnicky". You REALLY have to stay on top of everything you have ever known or realized about them. If you take a break from playing or start using another type of guitar (like a LP or something), it takes a few rounds to re- acclimate yourself to them (6 screw trems).

One 'MAIN' problem is that the 6 mounting holes on strats are often 'slightly' imperfect (cnc or not) along with the fact that no two mounting screws are perfectly straight. This results in at least one screw (or more) 'offsetting' the pressure of the plates 'fulcrum' effect resulting in certain strings either coming off flat or sharp when using the bar. You either make a shallower or deeper 'bevel' on the odd mounting hole/
screw (if you mod them) or you thin out the mass a hair on the top (unthreaded) part of the mounting screw that is 'off'. If you try and counter this by tightening ONE of the claw screws more than the other it will not work, cause then you will get 'flat' results with the strings on the "less tight" spring side , etc.

TS, do you set up your 6-screw tremolo to be floating? Or do you set it up to only go down in pitch?

From what I understand, the original Leo Fender design specified that it be set up floating, and was wondering how you guys were doing it.

I set my trems up to come back flush to the body. This guarantees that the string/s get pulled back 100%.Otherwise,you will get 'slack' build up at the nut, resulting in binding or gathering of string (between the nut and tuning keys), shortening the 'playing' part of the string resulting in 'sharp' pitches. I drill the holes in the block to around 3/16ths or so from where it attaches to the plate. This VERY much helps with the whole binding (sharp) and pulling of that 'bind' (flat), pretty much taking the bridge out of the variable concerning tuning issue's. This little trick doesnt have any affect on the tone as well. The density of the blocks metal bears that responsibility (tone).
So, as long as the nut is cut right, and the plate isnt warped or set up wrong (where one side is slightly higher than the other, etc) along with the block mod, tuning is GREATLY improved. You can also do BIG left hand bends without having to constantly 're-set' the flat pitch via a tremolo dip.

One of the old tricks on the Fender trem (and I think even the dutch boy mentioned it in an interview ) after a dive palm mute the strings and give each of them a quick bend up and release and they'll snap back in tune.

I guess there's no ove for the Bigsby's in this thread, eh?