Tremolo bar. Decisions, decisions...

[Soylent]

It has four ears, two for listening and two "are sort of back-up ears". Some might be on the inside of its head

 

[DangerousR6]

in case of doubt, floyd it!

:headbang1:

 

[m4rk0]

It only has eyebrows on Saturdays

 

[Soylent]

This has been a selection from Father Ted, The beast of Craggy Island.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

FLOYD IT!

 

[Musicman418]

Haha, thanks guys!  Although, really, which is better, the Super-Vee, or the Floyd Rose?  If they were equal per-se, I'd go with the Super-Vee, as that one just looks awesome.  (In my opinion at least!) 

 

[Mor Paul]

It has a retractable leg

:doh:

 

[B3Guy]

keep in mind that the Wilky locks in a special way that not even a FR locks: it locks down the actual saddles to the rest of the trem. so no re-adjusting saddles and crap when you change strings.

 

[DangerousR6]

keep in mind that the Wilky locks in a special way that not even a FR locks: it locks down the actual saddles to the rest of the trem. so no re-adjusting saddles and crap when you change strings.

I have numerous guitars with Floyds, and I change strings regularly. Never had to readjust any saddles. FWIW, Floyd saddles are "bolted" to the baseplate...

 

[B3Guy]

ok, so are they adjustable, or do they adjust then bolt down? just curious, I've never looked into them a whole lot. ccasion14:

 

[DangerousR6]

ok, so are they adjustable, or do they adjust then bolt down? just curious, I've never looked into them a whole lot. ccasion14:

If you need to intonate the bridge, you loosen the bolt holding the saddle down and adjust with the long bolt in the back of the bridge. Then tighten down the saddle bolt.

 

[nexrex]

ok, so are they adjustable, or do they adjust then bolt down? just curious, I've never looked into them a whole lot. ccasion14:

If you need to intonate the bridge, you loosen the bolt holding the saddle down and adjust with the long bolt in the back of the bridge. Then tighten down the saddle bolt.

Sounds like pretty much the same way as the wilkinson then

 

[B3Guy]

ya. I looked at some pics on the web. its basically the same. except for of course the fr also locks the strings to the bridge, right?

 

[ORCRiST]

Yeah, go with a OFR or a Schaller Floyd man, you won't go wrong!

On a side note, Warmoth offers some of the best pricing I've seen on Floyd's - and I've searched far and wide
across the internet.

:rock-on:

ORC

 

[Musicman418]

Okay, so as of now, the bridges now in consideration are:

Locking versions

1.  Floyd Rose
2.  Schaller
3.  Super-Vee

Non-locking versions

4.  Wilkinson
5.  Blade-Runner
6.  Stetsbar

I'd like to get some more opinions on these.  I think I'll end up going with a locking trem in the end, but wanna get some more advice.  Personally, I prefer the more vintage look of the Super-Vee, Wilkinson, and Blade-Runner.  Thanks buys!

 

[nexrex]

K, the only experience i have is with my Wilkinson VS-100. It always seems to stay in tune for me, even after heavy use. I do have Gotoh locking tuners and a Graphtech XL nut.

 

[rockskate4x]

To Rockskate:  Yeah, I was thinking that!  If I go with something other than the Floyd Rose, I wanted to get something to take me to Drop-D tuning anyway. I've heard of tuners that can go to E to D by hitting  a switch. What do you guys know about those?

Here is one of those tuners.
http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=7
Tuners like this will be ineffective if you use a locking nut, so it won't work with floyds or the super vee. If you NEED to go to drop D, the super vee will not be the best option.

 

[Musicman418]

Nexrex:  Hmm, what kind of range does it have?

Rockskate:  Yeah, it would be preferable, but I have a stoptail, so it isn't really a concern.  Thanks, I'll check that out!

 

[Cagey]

I've had modern locking and non-locking bridges of several designs from several different manufacturers, and they all work. That is, if they're properly set up they tend to keep you in tune longer than the traditional designs, all of which are crap. Vintage bridges are kukka, pure and simple. Always have been. That's why there are so many aftermarket parts.

That said, I do have a preference. The Wilkinson VS100 is, in my opinion, about the best vibrato bridge you can put on a guitar provided you provision the rest of the guitar properly.

That is, you need locking tuners and a GOOD nut. By "good" nut, I mean one of the slippery nylon/graphite parts properly cut, or an LSR roller nut. Given those two things, there's no need for one of those pain-in-the-ass locking nuts and the complications of bridge-mounted tuners and all the mechanical gimcrackery involved with that. Granted, the Transformer/MechWarrior/BattleTech machinery of the Floyd Rose-style design looks impressive on the ass end of your fiddle, but they're really just too much. You want simple. Run a string from the bridge to the tuner, wind it up, and call it a love story. Nothing to remember, nothing to adjust, nothing to worry about, nothing to get in your way. Just shut up and play yer guitar. Plus, they're not terribly expensive, relatively speaking.

You don't want to fight with your guitar. It's supposed to be on your side. Don't turn it into a problem child by making it unnecessarily complicated.

 

[Musicman418]

Haha, loved the post!  Well, I need a wide range of motion, both down, and up.  When posting a suggestion for a tremolo, please put what kind of range it is too!  Thanks everybody!

 

[Cagey]

Range of motion has more to do with the body routing the bridge sits in than anything else. You have to have room underneath for the "sustain" block to go back and forth, and room on top for the saddle plate to go up and down. Within limits, you can get a Wilkinson or Fender bridge to swing farther than a Floyd if you route the body right, and vice-versa. So, that's not really an issue. That's why I say you're better off with a simpler unit. If there's nothing hanging the strings up at the nut or the trees or the tuners, then the headstock isn't an issue and you don't need all the complicated mechanics down at the bridge to tune the little bugger.

If you terrorize the strings a lot, they're eventually going to go out of tune no matter what system you use. That's why even Floyds have tuners on them. So they're locked at the nut. So what? Now you have to tune them at the bridge. May as well only have one set of tuners, that way you're not doing all sorts of resetting when you change strings or replace a broken one. Plus, without a locking nut changing a string isn't something you have to go looking for a tool to do.

All I know is the Floyds I've had have caused me to do more work than I need to, cost more money than I needed to spend, got in my way while trying to play, and added maintenance difficulty. I can set up a guitar with a Wilkinson that stays in tune almost no matter how hard I beat on it, and is dead simple to deal with. Not that the Floyds won't do the job. They do. I just think they're just unnecessarily complicated, time-consuming and expensive. They do look cool, though <grin>