TemjinStrife Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I am looking for an aftermarket R-Trem for a project... Does anyone know where I can find one? MusicYo isn't selling them, eBay comes up dry, and I'm a little leery of eBaying a Spirit and dismantling it because it's impossible to tell the condition of the trem without using it yourself before buying. There are cheap Steinberger copies all over eBay... does anyone know if those trems are any good? I have an old Spirit with an R-trem and I honestly like the stability and stiff action (despite the pain of getting double-ball strings) over pretty much any other "extreme" trem setup... so any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 MusicYo used to be the only place, and when they stopped carrying them the source became getting a Spirit and dismantling it, as you say. I've heard that the cheap copy you're referring to is acceptable but not extraordinary. Given how tricky it is to source these things, "acceptable" ain't bad. I only got that from one source, though, so you might want to continue checking around before investing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 You know what's real bad? MusicYo doesn't even carry Spirits anymore. Are they genuinely out of parts/manufacturing, or are they just trying to increase demand? The Spirit line has been constantly sold out or out of stock for over a year, and now they've been pulled from the MusicYo site altogether. I'll try some more research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 You can still get Spirits on evilBay. I'm surprised MusicYo is out of them, too, though. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 One of the "major" aftermarket parts suppliers - AllParts or WD I think - carries all the parts to make a headless axe. The bridge IS a trem, but I don' tknow if it's an R type or not. They're quite pricey, but the quality is likely to be better. You could probably get an entire Spirit on eBay for what this trem alone would cost you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I can't seem to find the parts on either of those sites. I know Allparts used to carry the ABM (non-trem) parts, and they were indeed pricey. But ABM is now defunct. One of them also used to carry the Floyd Rose Speedloader, which I had once upon a time been considering for a headless project. Is that perhaps what you had in mind? I don't see the Speedloader anywhere either now. I wonder if FR has dropped it as quickly as it arrived. I hope not! There's plenty of room in the world for non-traditional approaches. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 AllParts headless bridge This eBay store has a bunch of headless guitars & trems, but I don't know about the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 AllParts headless bridge This eBay store has a bunch of headless guitars & trems, but I don't know about the quality. The AllParts ABM unit is very nice (and very expensive!), but unfortunately I'm looking for a trem. I saw those eBay headless trems, and I'm a little leery of them because if they don't work out, they use an entirely different route than the Steinberger trems, which I know work very well. However, if those bridges are any good, I might not need to worry. I know at least one person on the forums has used one, but he doesn't speak English very well and hasn't given any real feedback on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Well, unless someone else comes up with another place to get a trem, you may be "stuck" with pillaging a Spirit for parts. On the good side, you may be able to re-sell the unused parts and recoup a little cash. This'll make you sick: I've had a Steinberger since '89. I haven't used the trem since '90. I don't use trems at all, in fact, so it'll be locked & the arm in the gig bag pretty much forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Heh! Other people must've had a similar experience-- the Synapse line, to my disappointment, is fixed-bridge only! Crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted January 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 This'll make you sick: I've had a Steinberger since '89. I haven't used the trem since '90. I don't use trems at all, in fact, so it'll be locked & the arm in the gig bag pretty much forever. I'm not much of a trem guy; however, that's mostly due to the ridiculous tuning issues, incredible amounts of maintenance required, and general unfriendliness putting me off actually playing the things. The R-Trem is stiff enough to barely detune on unison bends when unlocked (and can be locked!), can be easily adjusted for spring tension with convenient wheel, and with double-ball strings you can practically tear the bridge off while stepping into a blizzard and it'll return to pitch... all sensibilities that appeal to my hardtail-loving instincts. Sure it takes a metric ton of force to move, but that's kind of the point for me... I can dive and warble and whatnot without losing tuning stability, then turn around and double-stop bend and stay in tune without fiddling with buttons or levers. Despite my general belief in the superiority of hardtails for most guitar work, I received a Fernandes Sustainer for Christmas, and I think getting the most out of it would involve putting it in a heavy-duty trem-equipped guitar with a killswitch and a decent bridge pickup for sheer noise-nik awesomeness.. I'd stick it in place of the (currently nonfunctional) neck pickup in my Spirit in an instant, except it's one of the "broom handle" ones and there's not enough room in those for a 9v battery, much less a circuit board with two hard-mounted integral toggle switches. I'm loath to disassemble such a unique (and frankly wonderful-sounding) guitar for the project as I've played many Spirits that weren't nearly as good as this one and I don't want to lose it. However, it looks like I may have to gamble on an eBay Spirit and loot it for parts. Thanks for your help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strandberg Guitarworks Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I can recommend this South Korean company http://www.jcustom.kr/ They have a store on eBay called CUSTOM HEADLESS http://stores.ebay.com/CUSTOM-HEADLESS_W0Q...sQ3amesstQQtZkm I bought a combination locking nut for double-ball ended and regular strings and am very happy with the quality and the service. They are developing their own version of an R-Trem like system that should be launched shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElRay Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 If you can do without the trem, and you're just looking for a replacement bridge/tunners, there's: http://buildingtheergonomicguitar.com/2008...idge-bondy.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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