Transtrem

[Alexander]

Hi all, merry xmas and all that!

I'm planning my next build and I've been looking into the Steinberger transtrem. They look interesting, if complicated. I have a few questions:

1) Are they still available, if so from where?

2) Are they any better or worse than an OFR?

3) Anyone here had any experience of fitting or setting one up?

Cheers!

[westhemann]

you can get them from musicyo.com

but be prepared to spend about $700 on the good one if i remember correctly.from what i understand the lower priced one(which is still expensive) is not the same

here it is..yes i remember right

http://www.musicyo.com/product_specs.asp?pf_id=542

by the way if you are looking to make a headstockless guitar(as i am planning in the future)use the speedloader from floyd...it is about $400 cheaper and very nice

that is what i will be using on mine

[darren wilson]

by the way if you are looking to make a headstockless guitar(as i am planning in the future)use the speedloader from floyd...it is about $400 cheaper and very nice

Except with the speedloader, you HAVE to use the special Speedloader strings. With the Steinberger, you can get adapters that allow you to use regular guitar strings.

The TransTrem is pretty cool, but i hear they can be tricky to set up, and sometimes parts of them can wear out with heavy use. Definitely check out Steinberger World for more info and a lot of advice from some die-hard Steinberger players.

[westhemann]

Except with the speedloader, you HAVE to use the special Speedloader strings. With the Steinberger, you can get adapters that allow you to use regular guitar strings.

that makes me want to spend an extra $400?

and with the speedloader,you don't need a zero fret,and it attaches to the top of the "headstock" only,allowing truss rod placement at the headstock end

it's a tradeoff...but really i don't see the problem getting the floyd strings...i use them on mine and they are fine strings.

and i think they will not stop making them ever,since all the new bc rich nj series have them...i am sure soon enough others will start in the manufacture

[daveq]

I have heard that you can lock the transtrem into a certain position (1/2 step or more down) and unlock on the fly - is this true? I'm guessing that they set it up so that all of the strings remain in tune with respect to eachother - yes?

Where can you buy the zero-fret or nut (or whatever they call it)? It didn't look like musicyo had them.

[westhemann]

from what i understand you can do alot of things with the transtrem that you can't with other trems...that's why it is more expensive......it is technically superior.

but that being said...if you are like 99.9% of the guitarists out there,you will only use it to do the same things you could do with a kahler or floyd,in which case it is a waste of money

[Alexander]

Wow... $700! Jeebus.

Well thanks guys - I reckon a Floyd it is! Interesting bit of gear though isn't it?

[bowser]

I have heard that you can lock the transtrem into a certain position (1/2 step or more down) and unlock on the fly - is this true? I'm guessing that they set it up so that all of the strings remain in tune with respect to eachother - yes?

Where can you buy the zero-fret or nut (or whatever they call it)? It didn't look like musicyo had them.

EVH used his steinberger w/ transtrem to record "summer Nights" I believe the song starts out like 1.5 steps up, goes to standard a ways in, and the solo is in another different place, can't remember where.

[darren wilson]

The TransTrem's transposing feature is what makes it unique and complicated and expensive. If you don't want/need the strings to all change pitch at a uniform rate, just go with an S-trem for $449 instead. You might want to check with MusicYo... i'm not sure, but i think the Steinberger bridges might include the headpiece.

Or if you're comfortable with no choice in strings, go for a Floyd Speedloader setup. You could probably make a pretty cool headless guitar using one of those.

[Marzocchi705]

If you want to traspose your tuning get a variax, it does it for you.

[bowser]

That won't give you the ability to do the same level of trem work that a transtrem will, though

[Marzocchi705]

True, but $700 for a trem, id rather get a variax and build a new nicer body for it.

[Alexander]

Which would cost you more than $700?

[Marzocchi705]

I like in scotland so i can get the the better variax for about £650 With the exchange rate $700 is about £400.

[Cokemachine]

I've had a Trans Trem on a custom Dingwall guitar for over ten years now & I can say that it does have some unique features that no other trem on the market sports. Besides the transposing feature, you can lock the trem so that it functions as a hard tail. It also sports the 40:1 tuners which are unmatched for tuning precision. The trem itself also has very smooth feel. Rather than go with a headless guitar, I went with just a lock nut on the neck & no tuners on the headstock. For what it is, the Trans Trem is pretty neat piece of hardware.

The Trans Trem is not without its weakness though. It doesn't quite have the range of say a Floyd. You can't completely slack the strings with a dive bomb. Also, you're also limited in the string gauge that you can use, so if you use a heavier set than say 9-42, you're going to run into problems with transposing feature. The transposing feature is also not perfect, as it's not going to transpose perfectly both up and down. You can get close, but I usually set up my Trans Trem to be optimized for transposing up. For the best transposing results, the stiffer your neck, the better. The neck on my guitar is the size of a baseball bat & has 2 carbon reinforcement strips. There is very little play in the neck when using the trem.

There are some inherent design flaws in the Trans Trem. The use of roller bearings is, from an engineering standpoint, completely wrong for the application. Bearings are meant to be used in situations where you have continuous circular motion. The constant back & forth motion of the trem drastically reduces the wear life of the bearings. Also, the roller saddles themselves are prone to wear due to wear for the same reasons. The quality of the Trans Trem is also pretty pathetic. They are cast from cheap pot metal & are particularly susceptible to brittle failure.

I've gone through 2 Trans Trems over the past 10 years & both of them broke at the same place. I had to toss both trems since replacement parts are non-existent. You don't fix Trans Trems, you just buy a new one & at $700 a pop, it can get pricey.

A word of caution - MusicYo has no plans to sell or support the Type II Trans Trems beyond their current stock. MusicYo received 300 Trans Trems back in February & when they are gone, they are gone. Ned Steinberger has been working on the Type III Trans Trem for about a year now, but who knows when it will hit the market. If I were you, I'd pass on the current Type II Trans Trems from MusicYo - they are pricey, bound to break & are impossible to fix. Check out the Skyway trem from Skyway Music. I'm currently waiting on one to replace my Trans Trem.