Give me your take on locking trems.

[Grindspine]

All of my electric guitars have trems, only my acoustic and bass instruments do not. I mean, even my Kurzweil keyboard has a pitch wheel, which is pretty much variation of a trem.

String changes take a bit longer with a double-locking tremolo, but if you keep your strings clean and do not do string changes constantly, it should not take too much time out of your day. Once you learn how to deal with balancing a trem and intonating one, what seems like a big task gets pretty mundane.

 

[works0fheart]

Both of my next incoming guitars have trems.

This piqued my curiosity, so here I go derailing the thread to ask what those might be.

Also, for anyone in need of some floyd stuff that's also kind of niche.



There, now I can say I contributed.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Double-locking trems really aren't much hassle once you're used to them.

I find my Prestige Ibanez guitars with double-locking Ibanez bridges (Edge, Lo-Pro, Edge Zero & ZR) to have superior tuning stability and to be more comfortable than any fixed bridges I've tried.

I've never had any issues with palm mutes pulling my strings sharp, but if you're heavy-handed enough that it's an inconvenience to you, an Edge Zero bridge (with ZPS system) may solve that problem for you - it's more stable (stiffer) than an original Edge / Edge Pro / Lo-Pro Edge / Edge III / Floyd Rose etc.

Changing to a different tuning and/or string gauge is widely considered to be far more effort than with a fixed bridge. However, even with a fixed bridge a thorough setup is needed - neck relief adjustments, intonation etc.
I'd argue that double-locking bridges are in fact less hassle, as the nuts accommodate a far wider range of string gauges without needing to file the nut slots or replace the nut altogether.
At the end of the day, if you intend to regularly play in multiple tunings, it makes sense to have a separate guitar for each (my reason for.owning multiple guitars).

 

[Adriel]

I have pitch on a pedal. It's not good for vibrato and stuff but you can dive bomb without the hassle of a floating trem.

 

[odibrom]

WOW this thread blew up. Thank you for all your replies!

UPDATE: I DID THE THING

Prestige RG1527 2008. NGD soon I guess, when the thing comes to me. Let's see how this goes.

That was my latest buy, the royal blue one with small dots...

 

[dspellman]

I've got a lot of trems on guitars, including Floyds, Kahlers, Wilkinsons, one Bigsby and even a few hand-built things. I've got Floyds on a lot of my LP-alikes because it keeps them in tune. I pull them out of the guitar (usually) altogether when restringing; none of this "one string at a time" stuff. I clean them by dropping them into an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. You don't change tunings on guitars that have them installed unless you own a Line 6 Variax JTV89F (I have two). Then you can change to nearly any tuning you like. What you'll hear acoustically will make no sense, but what comes out of the amp is what you intended all along. But most guitar players don't know they exist.

I like modern Kahlers because they're cam-based, and the new ones will allow you to go back and forth from trem to hard tail mode in a few seconds. The Wilkinsons I have feel pretty much like a hard tail when you take the arm off, but they're still fulcrum-based trems and you can't do alternate tuning on them. Most of the Floyds I own have larger/heavier brass sustain blocks mounted on them. It increases the inertia of the trem but it still allows you to use it in "flutter" mode. You'll have to make your own decisions regarding tone and sustain. Fast bends can be done before the other strings know enough to go flat.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

No, but you can pop the springs and clean the fretboard any time you want without even having to re-tune.

Popping the spring off is the easy part but man I've had some blisters from wrestling with the springs to get it back on would rather avoid going forward!

This piqued my curiosity, so here I go derailing the thread to ask what those might be.

Also, for anyone in need of some floyd stuff that's also kind of niche.



There, now I can say I contributed.

First one is a kit guitar, 7-string Explorer. Gotoh GE1996T-7 for the trem. Pics here:

Second is a custom Waghorn 8-string Explorer. Gonna have a T4M multiscale trem. No pics yet, build due to commence imminently.

Cool song! Very melodeath. If we're posting solos with cool trem usage then for me it's gotta be:

 

[AndiKravljaca]

I love it how people say how changing strings on a Floyd is a hassle. Like, man, you're practicing sweeps for 14 hours and you're telling me the string change is the hassle? Guitar playing is a hassle, if you want to go down that road. As far as I'm concerned, why limit your options and deny yourself one more dimension of expressiveness. I unequivocally want a trem on all my guitars - because I know there's things you can do and which I do, which I would miss if I didn't have one.

Does it have to be a locking trem? Not really - it just has to work, and for the most part a locking trem is about as set-it-and-forget-it as they come. That's why I love them. I have a video out of a guitar I hadn't changed the strings for in 16 years, and guess what, it was still in tune enough for the fine-tuners to sort it out. It just works.

 

[tedtan]

Popping the spring off is the easy part but man I've had some blisters from wrestling with the springs to get it back on would rather avoid going forward!

This makes reinstalling the strings easy: Stewart Macdonald Tremolo Spring Installer.

 

[Legion]

That was my latest buy, the royal blue one with small dots...

AYYY SAME! Royal blue, small dots, 5 piece neck with the headstock volute. IDK if I will turn it into a personal project just yet, but it's on the cards. Mine is coming with Duncan Blackouts that the previous owner installed, and I actually quite like Blackouts.

 

[eaeolian]

I love my trems. I don't even use the bar, but they stay in tune forever and since I use Elixirs, string changes are far and between.

Give me a flat bridge (either a FR style or a Hipshot style) and I'm happy. I won't even touch a guitar with a TOM style bridge. They're extremely uncomfortable to me.

I am the exact opposite, at least for metal. I like the bridge up in the air. Even the tele I have bugs me, and what's really funny is I started on Strats!

 

[eaeolian]

Just don't overtighten the saddle lockdown screws (intonation screws, whatever you call them) the baseplate/threads aren't hardened.

The ZRT is a great idea ruined by Ibanez cheaping out the parts.

 

[Emperoff]

I am the exact opposite, at least for metal. I like the bridge up in the air. Even the tele I have bugs me, and what's really funny is I started on Strats!

I know! I used to drool over your Jackson CS7 but I wouldn't really enjoy playing it . I find that very dependant on picking style, and I just plain suck (more than usual) with the wrist angle a TOM forces you into.

I have a cheap Peavey 7-string with a recessed TOM, though. Which is a kickass construction method that more companies should adopt.

 

[GraemeH]

There are positives that have nothing to do with the trem functionality;
-They basically eliminate nut cut issues, since the string clamps. On non-locking nuts, the quality of the nut cut is everything to both setup and tuning stability, it's an underrated factor. It can't be a problem with a locking system.

-Something that doesn't get said enough about string-changes is STRETCH THE EVER LOVING FUCK OUT OF THOSE STRINGS. Stretch 'em like they're a Dutch cam-girl with daddy issues. There's no point blocking off the trem during a string change if you don't do this, when you remove the block, it all goes to shit.

My biggest issue with them doesn't get mentioned much, but the intonation adjustment method is utter dog-shit. Tiny clamp-down bolts that sit right under the string, so you have to loosen the string or push aside under tension, so when you start loosening the clamp-down bolt the saddle pings forwards. Then just guess where it should be, clamp it back down, tune back up if you loosened the string to avoid the saddle pinging forwards, and iterate over and over - good luck. It's maddeningly shit. It's the guitar equivalent of a German car; you can only presume it was engineered by lobotomized chimps who desperately needed the toilet but weren't allowed to go until they'd banged out just any old design to tick the box quickly.

 

[Drew]

Late to the party here, but for me the big difference isn't between locking and non locking trems, so much as between floating and non floating. Even a vintage style 6-point can be set to float, and you can make a Floyd dive only, and really it's not cutting the ball ends off your strings that makes Floyds harder to live with, it's the fact that you need to carefully balance string and spring tension.

For me its worth it, but I get its not for everyone.

regarding the Tremol-no, I was around when Kevin was developing it and talking about it on Jemsite. IMHO, I've tried it and it tries to do too much and be too flexible, but there are better solutions for the individual things it does. Its advertised as being able to lock and unlock on the fly, but in reality you have to lock it back in the exact same place to be in tune, and that doesn't really work on the fly trying to reach in the back of the guitar and turn a small thumb screw, same for going to dive only on the fly. Or, if you have it locked and tune, then unlock it, you probably have to tune again.

Same here, and I was one of his beta testers. I guess over the years I've found I don't ever really find myself locking them, and just leave them on float-only mode (and the newest iteration is good enough that, well, I once bought a 550 and didn't realize for months that there was a Tremol-no installed under the cavity) but for what it's worth I've never had trouble locking it down and pulling the guitar out of tune somehow - if you think about it, if it's floating, your equiliberum point IS going to maintain tune if you just lock it there.

They're a godsend for adjusting intonation, I'll say. I haven't gotten around to installing one in my newest Suhr (of a couple years now) and probably should, I dont use them much but it's a nice option to have.

 

[devastone]

for what it's worth I've never had trouble locking it down and pulling the guitar out of tune somehow - if you think about it, if it's floating, your equiliberum point IS going to maintain tune if you just lock it there.

Sorry, I didn't follow here, if you can lock it down but still knock it out of tune, what exactly is it helping with?

Yes, the equilibrium point is where it is in tune, the problem is if you put any directional pressure on the trem-no when tightening the locking screw moves you off the equilibrium point, so it is in tune, until you unlock it, except, see your previous statement, hence my confusion.

I can see it being helpful with intonation unless it gets knocked out of tune, but I'm not messing with intonation enough that I'm going to put one in just for that. I'm much happier with the trem stabilizers like I linked to previously.

If it works for you, great (still confused on whether it does or doesn't).

 

[MaxOfMetal]

There are positives that have nothing to do with the trem functionality;
-They basically eliminate nut cut issues, since the string clamps. On non-locking nuts, the quality of the nut cut is everything to both setup and tuning stability, it's an underrated factor. It can't be a problem with a locking system.

-Something that doesn't get said enough about string-changes is STRETCH THE EVER LOVING FUCK OUT OF THOSE STRINGS. Stretch 'em like they're a Dutch cam-girl with daddy issues. There's no point blocking off the trem during a string change if you don't do this, when you remove the block, it all goes to shit.

My biggest issue with them doesn't get mentioned much, but the intonation adjustment method is utter dog-shit. Tiny clamp-down bolts that sit right under the string, so you have to loosen the string or push aside under tension, so when you start loosening the clamp-down bolt the saddle pings forwards. Then just guess where it should be, clamp it back down, tune back up if you loosened the string to avoid the saddle pinging forwards, and iterate over and over - good luck. It's maddeningly shit. It's the guitar equivalent of a German car; you can only presume it was engineered by lobotomized chimps who desperately needed the toilet but weren't allowed to go until they'd banged out just any old design to tick the box quickly.

Floyd intonation "keys" have been available for like 30 years now.

 

[AMOS]

I love it how people say how changing strings on a Floyd is a hassle. Like, man, you're practicing sweeps for 14 hours and you're telling me the string change is the hassle? Guitar playing is a hassle, if you want to go down that road. As far as I'm concerned, why limit your options and deny yourself one more dimension of expressiveness. I unequivocally want a trem on all my guitars - because I know there's things you can do and which I do, which I would miss if I didn't have one.

Does it have to be a locking trem? Not really - it just has to work, and for the most part a locking trem is about as set-it-and-forget-it as they come. That's why I love them. I have a video out of a guitar I hadn't changed the strings for in 16 years, and guess what, it was still in tune enough for the fine-tuners to sort it out. It just works.

Then there's the ones that say "I don't need a tremolo, I can do that with my fingers" yeah sure ya can..

 

[noise in my mind]

I go back and forth with floating trems. I have been using a whammy pedal for for dive bombs as of lately lol.

 

[Yul Brynner]

Locking tuner companies hate me because of this one simple trick.