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What Is Your Favorite Tremolo, And Why?


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I don't really like trems in general. I like the looks a Bigsby on some guitars but don't find them too functional. I like strat-style trems because they have minimum impact on the looks of a guitar. If I were to put a trem on a guitar w/ the actual intent of using it frequently, I would go Floyd Rose all the way. I think they're ugly and I hate dealing w/ the lockable nut but in my experience they fall out of tune the least. People always tell me I can do this that or the other to get a strat trem to stay in tune but that simply has not been the case in my experience.

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Don't like 'em, don't use 'em. I used to use one on a standard Strat; twenty years ago when I thought I was Ritchie Blackmore (complete with attitude). I got it to stay in tune pretty well using the right nut, roller string trees, and bevelling the bottom of the front of the bridge plate. Then I finally got over that phase. If I ever use a Strat again it will be one that I build, and will be a hardtail.

I think Floyds, Kahlers, and the like are hideous looking. It is also my belief that guitars sound better without them, but I realize that is very subjective, and some readers of this opinion will turn beet red and are already writing back to give examples of great players with great tone who use them! Differences of opinion on this subject are part of what makes the guitar world go around! I say tomato, you say...

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i love the look of a locking trem

and i used to think it was a pain in the ass to change strings but now if i need to change one i can do it in about the same time as it takes to change a string on a regular guitar. so the locking bit isnt a problem

the only problem is the floating bit... it is sooo hard to keep in tune. but apparently the new ZP trem from ibanez gets rid off all the normal problems associated with locking trems.

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the only problem is the floating bit... it is sooo hard to keep in tune. but apparently the new ZP trem from ibanez gets rid off all the normal problems associated with locking trems.

I heard that the Zero Resistance (cool design and concept) did go out of tune. I heard that the Floyd Rose models do the best at keeping in tune. Also I heard that the ZR from Ibanez is manufactured in Korea, and the quality is low. That's why I started this thread. I wanted to know what everyone thought about what tremolo is the best in there opinion.

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its not just that they have ball bearings instead of knife edges, they also have a lil gizmo at the back that levels the trem to the centerpoint if a string breaks orone string goes out of tune.

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probably, but that doesnt nessisarrily mean bad qualtiy..its probably CNC produced so as long as they are using decent metal i dont see why the qualtiy would be much worse than one made in america/uk...

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Yeah, it's kinda nationalist to assume that Korean-made products are all crap!

I don't have a "favourite" trem and I'm not a big trem guy in general. But I'm definitely more interested in the kinds of bridges already mentioned here-- the ZR, the Kahler, and the Speedloader. Add Trem-King to that, and you have a list of interesting trems to choose from.

Greg

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probably, but that doesnt nessisarrily mean bad qualtiy..its probably CNC produced so as long as they are using decent metal i dont see why the qualtiy would be much worse than one made in america/uk...

I guess. It's been my experience (not in guitars) that quality should be closely controlled. And if you sub stuff out to the lowest bidder (ie. overseas) the quality could drop considerably. You may say, "But the high end Ibanezes are made in Japan". But in Ibanezes case they can control the quality on there high end instruments. I feel that Ibanezes made in Korea or Indonesia are lacking in quality. At least that's what I've seen and heard. Not from this sight, just from general asking questions to many guitar makers.

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I'd say it's pretty good quality, I've had a ZR equipped Ibanez for about a year now, and until I pulled up on the bar REALLY hard (I don't mean I was just waving the guitar around by it, I pulled it like mad, WAY beyond the point where the trem bottomed out) and broke the nut the bar feeds into, it performed very well. My only complaint (and this is most likely a result of my not adjusting it properly) is that to the immediate up and down of the neutral position is that there's a small tonally dead spot where the guts of the trem need to catch the motion, but as I said, that's probably my own fault. Overall, don't pull on it REALLY hard, but even with thrash and crazy metal-style abuse, mine satyed in tune very well, asfter I broke my strings in (over about an hour, I do it slow).

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I'd say it's pretty good quality, I've had a ZR equipped Ibanez for about a year now, and until I pulled up on the bar REALLY hard (I don't mean I was just waving the guitar around by it, I pulled it like mad, WAY beyond the point where the trem bottomed out) and broke the nut the bar feeds into, it performed very well. My only complaint (and this is most likely a result of my not adjusting it properly) is that to the immediate up and down of the neutral position is that there's a small tonally dead spot where the guts of the trem need to catch the motion, but as I said, that's probably my own fault. Overall, don't pull on it REALLY hard, but even with thrash and crazy metal-style abuse, mine satyed in tune very well, asfter I broke my strings in (over about an hour, I do it slow).

Your making me rethink that NO ZR rule. Hmmm I don't know. :D Floyd or ZR. Hmmmm B)

Pros & cons anyone? :D

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as for making things overseas, when you go to the lowest bidder, things get bad, if you find a quality manufacturer then it will be quality. korea and china are known for their bad stuff, but there are plenty of good ones aswell. having something made in japan or america basically shows they value quality, as alot of the cost goes to the workers, so the chinese undercut them, making them focus on quality, as opposed to value/cutting every possible corner. on the other hand, with a korean/chinese manufacturer, if they dont cut corners then they can be just as good as the usa or japanese parts, for somewhere around half the price or similar. if ibanez or whoever spends a bit extra moitoring Q C then they can lower the prices for us, and is good for everyone.

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If I ever make a guitar with a tremolo, I will definitely use the stetsbar tremolo. It just looks so classy.

Classy??? No offense, but I think that thing looks like it could have been part of the mechanism for the first flushing toilet. :D

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If I ever make a guitar with a tremolo, I will definitely use the stetsbar tremolo. It just looks so classy.

Classy??? No offense, but I think that thing looks like it could have been part of the mechanism for the first flushing toilet. :D

I would agree. That looks bad (not in a good way). I hope you were joking. :D

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