Recommend me a guitar

[Lunch Money]

There are lots of cool trems out there besides the Fender one. I agree that Steinberger is ze bezt, but there are other options, especially since if I remember correctly you mostly play strats and "super-strats"..?

Since you're a professional, you can justify investing a bit more back into your instruments than shlubs like me. That being the case, I recommend checking out the Skyway trem (their website doesn't have much info, but a forum acquaintance, David Myka, recommends them very highly) or the TremKing which to my eyes is a wee bit uglier, but also has great things to be said for it (there's an impressive demo video on the site).

Don't forget about Kahler (awful website out of the early 90s) trems-- they're a lot chunkier, but they have cam action, the ability to lock it down with a hex wrench, and due to the cam it doesn't go out of tune when a string breaks.

None of them are the Steinberger. But they all solve your problem.

[Sascha Franck]

Hi Greg,

I recommend checking out the Skyway trem

Hm, not much info seems to be quite an overstatement. I mean, I can see a pic of a tremolo bridge and that's about it

or the TremKing which to my eyes is a wee bit uglier, but also has great things to be said for it (there's an impressive demo video on the site).

I've played the Tremking already. It's the same as with all those tremsetters and what not. The tremolo doesn't exactly float free. And well, that's just normal, given that the strings *always* work against the tremolo tension, no matter how you construct it. And well, on that video you can't see any smooth "vibrating around zero" action. Because that's exactly what isn't possible with all these systems. At least not smoothly.

Really, over the years I must've been checking all the trems there were. I'd gladly replace one of mine, even if it'd cost a premium. But the only solution would be something to actually lock the tremolo in zero-position. Fwiw, there's been a tremolo by Hohner, actually a Steinberger designed one, which offered some locking as well - but you had to use a little extra "switch" which was really difficult to grab and adjustment has been a true PITA as well.

I'm really wondering why nobody is developing any such a thing. Maybe I should just head over to Rockinger/Duesenberg (Germanys biggest part dealer, they also develop their own stuff and are located here in Hannover) and have a chat with them. Could be quite a sucess because all tremolo players suffer from the same problems.

[Lunch Money]

Hey Sascha,

I just got off the phone with Rick of Skyway. He knows that the website doesn't have anything and apparently there's a new one chock-full of content that's waiting on a few things to go live. He's a precision engineer with 20 yrs. experience, and the unit's been tested in one way or another for the last 10 years. Supposedly in addition to solving the tuning problem, it will never wear out (no bearings as per a cam-based trem, and no knife-edges). I don't think it uses a cam, so it won't have that "sticky in neutral" feeling like the TremKing or Kahler. I can't say for sure-- it wasn't something I thought to ask at the time.

It's expensive because they're a small company. $300 USD, and hoping to lower the price as the laws of supply and demand start to take over. He's promised to send some information over to me, so when I find out more, I'll let you know. It seems as though it requires some routing, though-- the mechanism is self-contained, and sits a bit into the body. Not a cheap retrofit, unless you've the skills to do it yourself. I'm not 100% about all the info yet, but as I say, I'll let you know more as I get more.

Greg

[Sascha Franck]

That'd be nice, Greg. I really don't mind the additional costs in case it's really working well. Too bad demoing the thing will hardly ever be possible over here - I'm surrounded by "vintage Strat here, Plexi there" kinda guitar players.

[Sascha Franck]

Oh, and btw, if you got a good relationship with that bloke, tell him the world needs a trem locking automatically in zero position when you put the arm back down. He will already have one customer for sure.

[Shane Sanders]

Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany Electric Guitar $749

Resell value will always be good and these are really nice guitars for the price. Plus it's USA made and you get a nice hardshell case with it.

[bagginz]

Now, WHY IN THE WORLD has no company ever developed something as decent as the vibrato in Steinbergers TransTrems for other guitars?
To those not in the knows (I'm not talking about the transposing feature here, which requires quite some more things): When you put the vibrato arm down, it would simply lock the entire system in its place, so you could do double bends, sustain was getting better, no more spring noise on staccato chords, no complete detuning in case a string breaks.

Totally agree.

If someone makes something similar that I could retrofit, I would buy one immediately.

bagginz

[Sascha Franck]

i personally find the G&L Dual-Fulcrum tremolo to be by far the finest trem unit I've ever used. It's not big and ugly and full of techno like a FR trem (this is a good thing), and it's smooth and reliablae and stays in tune forever, and it can bend up and down. One of Leo Fender's greatest inventions. In fact, when used with Sperzel locking tuners, I cannot imagine what anyone else could want in a trem (except perhaps locking features....), it's just rock solid and so perfect.

Totally seconded. I just love the trem in my Legacy. Had a bit of a string breaking problem for some time, but exchanging the bridge saddles with Graphtechs perfectly solved that.

However, all trems are a sort of a trade off. As soon as it's indeed free floating, you'll lose sustain. In addition, double bends and what not are getting tougher. And finally, you *will* hear some spring noise. On my Anderson it's particularly bad because it's semi-hollow, so the body really helps the springs to resonate. On the G&L it's quite ok, but sometimes I still wish it was less. I'm right now thinking about a solution for the Anderson because it needs a decent luthier job anyways. Too bad there's nothing like a truly locking trem, which would indeed sort the spring resonance problem as well (at least by a large amount). And fwiw, I tried all the usual tricks, having different tensions on each spring, wrapping some stuff around them - all to no avail, at least not exactly.

[dancerchris]

Good luck on the Koa Strat. It is a Korean build and the fit and form seem good but I never could see dumping that much when I could get USA made for a little more (highway one or the like). The trems get a big improvement by going to a greater mass tremelo block like the retrofit unit that Calaham sells. IMO the who floating trem sound is critical for that strat vibe. Putting a little petroleum jelly in the nut grooves works wonders on the nut problems with a trem. Also lubing the contact point on the saddles helps too.

For the money on the Koa you could have bought a Schecter Classic. Another Korean guitar, but I reach for it more than my Fenders and Gibsons. Plays like a dream and has great fit/finish, through neck construction and Seymour Duncan Pickups.

My $0.02

[deastman]

Just to say it again, feel free to go off topic, because I'm learning a lot from all of this discussion. To be honest, I really know nothing about the technical workings of all these different tremolo units. I've never used anything other than a basic Strat style one, and I suspect this would all make much more sense if I just tried them out at the store.

[donkey tugger]

Geetar!

Stick with what you've got. You said you had geetar rig or some such. That'll do nicely. Yer cheap geetar will do ok. (All guitars sound more or less the same, pickups, strings....blugh, its the way you play and the effects that matters, don't listen to these jazzer c**ts).

Obviosly I am utterly shite.

[Lunch Money]

MW, a fulcrum trem WILL eventually have its pivot points wear down. But if that happens toward the end of your lifetime, it's not something you need to worry about. As for Gilmour and the Kahler-- people have also been saying that Floyds also "rob" sustain for a long time. And it might be true to a certain extent, I dunno. But the Kahler is definitely still a top piece of gear. Plenty of people with both Floyds and Kahlers (the latter being a much more elegant unit, IMO) have had plenty of sustain for years. But plenty of people aren't Gilmour.

Sascha, I don't have a relationship with the Skyway guy at all-- I only just talked to him by phone today for the first time. If I'm ever in contact with him again, I'll mention that the world needs a trem that builds on the Steinberger ideas. Though, that's an important point-- the Steinberger is heavily patented. You'd have to be sure that you were making a significant change/improvement to the design or license the technology; otherwise, patent lawyers will be on your heels. Gibson is notorious for calling out the hounds, and now that they own Steinberger, they probably own all those patents. I don't imagine any of them stayed with Ned.

[Chuck E. Jesus]

Geetar!

Stick with what you've got. You said you had geetar rig or some such. That'll do nicely. Yer cheap geetar will do ok. (All guitars sound more or less the same, pickups, strings....blugh, its the way you play and the effects that matters, don't listen to these jazzer c**ts).

Obviosly I am utterly shite.

[donkey tugger]

Seriously though,

Any time some poor f**ker asks for geetar recommendation, all the widdlers come out and start recommedning changing pickups etc. I feel out of me depth, never mind anyone else. Pickups and that really is some kind of Brian Gay thing. I'm sure you're all top widdlly gitarists, but not everyone needs that.

[whitecat.tv]

I'm way late in this thread, but the very best guitar I've ever owned is my Godin Solidac. I can play it better than anything else, it sounds great, it did require £100 worth of electronics work (bad pots) around its two-year birthday, but it was worth it, it sounds sooooo good.