Guitar bridges

[almondx]

Torn between a fixed brige vs. a trem equipped for my next guitar! Need help people or I won't ever be able to settle down and mug for my A levels.

Sustain is not a concern for me. I'm more into the tone - something that sounds big, punchy, open, airy, warm and organic.

Apparently because of the trem routing in the middle of the body this acts as a semi hollow routing/sound hole and imparts that open, airy tone that I dig.

However conventional wisdom tends to point in the direction of fixed bridges in order to obtain the best tone due to better coupling. I prefer the simple aesthestics of a one piece wraparound bridge as well.

I'm not too sure about picking dynamics for each type of bridge but I guess that fixed will be more responsive?

Maybe I should just get another tremol-no and get the best of both worlds >.< foolishly sold my first one without even trying cause I couldn't get my soldering tip hot enough to unsolder the grounding wire of the trem claw.

 

[almondx]

YAY 1 vote. LOL

 

[Rossie]

I would get the tremol-no though. You can turn it to a floating trem anytime you want.

For me, a floating bridge + tremol-no.

But the simplicity of the fixed bridge is tempting too.

 

[ShredCow]

i've been using floyd rose bridges since I started playing.

I love the versatility, that added dimension of whammy madness, or subtle-ness.

Never wanted to go fixed bridge. Tunning is more stable than a fixed bridge. Granted, if I broke a string, I'm screwed... and that happened ONE time - at home.

However, I believe in the purity of a bridge's purpose. I had the tremol-no too but I never used it much. There was no need. They say a floyd rose bridge would cut bass / have less bass, so when I locked the t-no, I got more bass but that translated into mud because my settings were set specifically... to my floyd rose guitar. Stuff like that. And for osme reason I could feel the t-no when using the floyd and I hated that, it just... me lah, I want optimum performance from my instrument, I see no need to fight the instrument so that T-No detracted from that ideal.

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

Contrary to ShredCow (and countless Floyd Rose aficionados) I've never been enchanted by tremolo-equipped guitars because I prefer to have my guitar set up for a beating.

I've tried a wrap-around style bridge before but I still prefer a tune-o-matic (with strings wrapped above the bar) or a string-thru design for sustain reasons.

But you can also say that I detract away from guitars which take a long time to set up... just wrap your thumb around the neck and rip, bro!!!

 

[thor666]

Sustain is not a concern for me. I'm more into the tone - something that sounds big, punchy, open, airy, warm and organic.

One word:

Tele.

 

[AEnimic]

Fixed Bridge 8)

 

[Marksman]

If you don't need to do any whammying, take fixed bridge.

 

[Everdying]

shredcow...the tremol-no really isnt that useful?
guess i'll go put in a tremsetter, and yes i do want my trem to feel stiffer

 

[shioks76]

tremolno sucks

Ended up using it to block the floyd only.
After a while I just gave up and sold the guitar

 

[ShredCow]

shredcow...the tremol-no really isnt that useful?
guess i'll go put in a tremsetter, and yes i do want my trem to feel stiffer

The t-no IS useful if you NEED to have a fixed bridge or dive only setup WHILE having a full floating setup.

I don't see the point in the Tremsetter. Its not only stiffer, it has a centre catch.. where you can feel it "locking/catching" your trem, totally ruins the feel of the floyd. If you set it to be less of a hinderance, then you break a string, it still goes out of out. Even if you set it stiff, it doesn't ensure you will not detune if a string breaks. Plus you get to drill a nice hole in your guitar just to install it.

 

[Everdying]

actually for the tremsetter, it depends on the individial.
i tried my friend's guitar with tremsetter equipped, i like the stiffer feel in that if i accidentally bang the trem it doesnt flutter.
of cos then you cant do flutters, which i dont.
and the center notch doesnt bother me or affects feel, since when you do do a vibrato, the note technically goes above or below and back to the original note.
so you do not feel the center notch anyway.

 

[Rossie]

Is the Tremol-no sold locally?

 

[ShredCow]

and the center notch doesnt bother me or affects feel, since when you do do a vibrato, the note technically goes above or below and back to the original note.
so you do not feel the center notch anyway.

Hmmmm.... I can't say that is correct unless your vibrato on a whammy is really going original pitch, get out of notch, up pitch, down pitch but not till you hit the notch, repeat, kind of vibrato - that would make your vibrato out of tune wouldn't it?

Perhaps you wanna re-check, when doing vibrato with a whammy, people usually (not a rule of thumb for a few I suppose) whammy from original pitch (where notch is) to another pitch, back and forth, because, drilling a hole for that trem setter is... MAN! its drilling a hole leh! :lol:

If you enjoy a stiff feel on your whammy, you can do a few things:
1) Up your string guage
2) Use shorter springs

Short springs = more tension and there are 2 lengths of springs usually used, 41mm and 44mm or something... its on ibanezrules website, can't rem the lengths. The shorter one has a LOT more pulling power so it is VERY stiff when you do dives, which is what people usually do. Just watch the trem claw screws because you usually have to release quite a bit of screw in order to have your trem back @ floating point...

 

[Everdying]

ahems, noticed i typed 'above OR below and back to the original note.'

which is the same as what you typed...
whammy from original pitch (where notch is) to another pitch, back and forth.

so basically you will not really feel the center notch when you do a proper vibrato.

as for spring lengths, didnt know that.
i got my springs from stewmac, was also thinking of getting powersprings also from stewmac.

 

[almondx]

Thanks for your input guys. Tele isn't really my thing, I prefer the traditional maple and mahogany woods combi and a doublecut shape. But just maybe I'll find a tele which sounds surprisingly good!

Heh well my next guitar to acquire hopefully by this year end is the PRS modern eagle. It's madness but I realised I love collecting guitars! (is that a bad thing?) I'm more a gear junkie hmm.. :roll:

I can't confirm this but trem equipped guitars tend to sound more "owww" while fixed bridge sounds more "ooooh" it's kinda hard to describe, and even then this is only a general trend among guitars with similar specs.

Shredcow - Exactly! I share the same views on you on trem purity.

Well worse come to worse I'll just take one of each 8) and be perpetually broke for life. I'm just a financially poor kid who has nothing nice except guitars lol.

Realistically, if I want to whammy I should just get a separate floyd rose guitar and do everything with it instead of a vintage trem which although maitains its stability well is neither here nor there? I mean I can only do dips and flutters with the PRS trem since it does not have any uprooting.

 

[thor666]

Just a note... even a standard, say Fender licensed Floyd, and a Ibanez Edge, have varying feel. Tonewise I can't say much but you should take that into consideration.

Also remember that the feel of the neck and body is very important - you have to feel comfortable with a guitar to settle into playing.

 

[almondx]

Thanks thor666, my current guitar is equipped with the trem which I am used to but I'm still undecided whether I should go for trem or stoptail for my next guitar. Reason I'm getting another because I just can't stand thin necks more and more.

The ergonomics of the trem is nicer to me than the stoptail, but the stoptail is just plain simple - it's one piece.

 

[ShredCow]

Hmmm...

I don't think the concern of whether to go trem or not should be based on tone.

It should be will you USE the trem?

If yes, then...

How much will you use it?

If you realise... heck... you don't touch it till you suddenly realise its there, then... why get a trem? But if you, like me, will instinctively reach down and try to grab the trem arm on an acoustic (yes, I did that before), then please, get a trem equipped guitar.

When you decide on whether you need a trem or not, then you think about tone.

 

[Everdying]

almondx, i'm trying to understand what you said here...
"Reason I'm getting another because I just can't stand thin necks more and more. "
and what it has to do with trems?

but yea, on getting a trem...question is if you're gonna use it or not.
then once you get a trem and really think you care about the tone, you can do what lots have done...
replace the block with brass, change to different saddles etc