Super Vee Tremolos

[MSP]

Hey there. For my third mostly-Warmoth build I'm thinking of dropping a Super Vee trem in. Does anyone have any experience with them? I'm thinking of getting the Bladerunner, rather than the original Super Vee trem, because it's cheaper and less Floyd-y. Does anyone know if the Bladerunner bridges handle wild whammy antics well? Any other thoughts?

 

[Cagey]

I haven't used one so I don't know how well they work or how long they'll last. I'd be concerned about the life expectancy and repeatability of a constantly flexing piece of spring steel. They're attractive units, but primarily designed as retrofit parts for those unfortunate enough to have 6-point Strat trems or bodies drilled for them, not for new construction. Not that you couldn't put one on a new build, but if you have a choice the Wilkinson design is more robust. 

 

[MSP]

Thanks for your input, Cagey. Yeah, I wonder about the life span for the bit of spring steel, too. That knowledge is not within my area of expertise. I'd hate to have one explode during use. That could be painful. I'm hoping that they've thought that aspect through and tested them enough to expect them to last for quite a while. Hopefully.

One thing though, they can be fitted into basically any Strat-ish trem route, according to their website. So apparently they'll replace a modern trem, too.

As for a Wilkinson, I'm hoping to get something that will stay in tune after fairly heavy whammy use. I'd go for something like a Floyd, but the Bladerunners are being sold as somewhat able to keep up with the same amount of whammy abuse, yet sound better than a Floyd and not need all the lock down. It sounds almost too good to be true, but maybe it's not.

 

[Cagey]

There's no point in replacing a modern "Fender" trem; it's based on the Wilkinson design and works well. It doesn't have the range of the Floyd, but only because the rear route isn't cut for it. The sustain block hits the sidewalls. Open the neck-side wall up a 1/4" or so and you're there.

As for tuning stability, there's nothing better than the two-point fulcrum design, unless you want to suffer the Floyd.

 

[Great Ape]

I've got a Bladerunner trem on a couple of guitars, and although I think they're very well made, I certainly wouldn't say they're made for wild whammy whackin', though to be honest I don't use a whammy a whole lot, and not very wildly, so I don't really know how they perform and hold up in that regard. As a 'vintage-style' replacement, I'd say they're great, but as with ANY trem, its performance is equally dependent on how well the OTHER end of the neck is set up--if the strings are hangin' in the nut, no trem is gonna sound good...

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    I've got a Blade Runner in two of my strats and a locking Super Vee trem and nut in another one.  I can't speak to the longevity of them, since I've only had them for a year or two, but they work great. I had a Wilkinson that was absolute garbage. Maybe I just got the one lemon of the bunch in that case. Regardless, I'm never buying another Wilkinson after my experience.  With my Blade Runners, I have a LSR Roller Nut on the other end and they stay in tune better than any other non-locking trem I've ever used.

 

[MSP]

Thanks, guys. 

Hmm. Maybe the original Super Vee is gonna suit me better. I have a tendency of throwing out modern Strat-style trems after a few seconds of serious wobbling. Of course, I'm probably not setting them up ideally. After all, EVH didn't have a Floyd in the beginning and he did some fairly radical stuff.

So, you can't really go wild with the Bladerunner and not go out of tune? For WoW and anyone else who has tried both, how do they compare?

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    I can go wild with the Blade Runner and not throw it out of tune, for awhile. I've been playing for 23 years and this is the best non-locking trem I've ever had.  Of course, the LSR nut and locking tuners don't hurt either. The locking Super-Vee works great, but it was causing some buzzing noise that had to be fixed by putting a plastic tube around one of the springs.  Other than that, I've had no problems with it.

 

[MSP]

Thanks, man. I'm leaning towards the Bladerunner for now, but I might change my mind at purchase time. 

 

[stubhead]

I wondered about the leaf spring too, but you got to remember - several hundreds of millions of people have been driving around on them for a long, long time. Springs seem to be trustworthy enough for guns to work on too - bitty little springs. One of them technology things they've been working on a long time. Any whammy bar at all is going to operate essentially with two spring actions in opposition - one of them being your six strings.

I've read quotes from Mr. Van Halen and Steve Vai to the effect that they basically destroy a Floyd in a week of touring, and it's apparently their tech's #1 job. Yes I know there's the Ibanez too, but they really didn't intend for you to pick the guitar up by the bar and shake it, or set it face down on the stage and jump on it. Whatever somebody can invent, somebody can break it. It would not be wise to play your upcoming Carnegie Hall gig with only one of any kind of whammy bar git, methinks.

 

[MSP]

True, true.

I actually miss both of my floyd-y Ibanez guitars. They were a lot of fun! I never busted a trem, though I wore out the bushings on one (big deal).

 

[Cagey]

Did you pick the guitar up by the bar and shake it, or set it face down on the stage and jump on it? How about lighter fluid? Any of that in your act?

 

[MSP]

Actually, yeah, I have held guitars by the whammy bar and shaken them.

 

[stubhead]

Go to YouTube, if you must, and look up "Herman Li." Once you learn his tricks 'n' licks, you can tackle the Dragonforce repertoire. I tried to link but my computer barfed. Between Dragonforce and the Black Veil Brides, there are... well, no time for that.

 

[MSP]

Go to YouTube, if you must, and look up "Herman Li."

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