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Avibrato system on aguitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change thepitch of the strings. It addsvibrato to the sound by changing thetension of the strings, typically at thebridge ortailpiece of anelectric guitar using a controllinglever, which is alternately referred to as awhammy bar,vibrato bar, ortremolo arm.[1] The lever enables the player to quickly and temporarily vary the tension and sometimes length of the strings, changing the pitch to create avibrato,portamento, orpitch bend effect. Instruments without a vibrato have otherbridge and tailpiece systems.
The pitch-bending effects have become an important part of many styles, allowing creation of sounds that could not be played without the device, such as the 1980s-erashred guitar "dive bomb" effect.
The mechanical vibrato systems began as a device for more easily producing the vibrato effects thatblues andjazz guitarists had achieved onarch top guitars by manipulating thetailpiece with their picking hand. Guitar makers have developed a variety of vibrato systems since the 1890s.[2]
A vibrato-equipped guitar is typically more difficult to re-string and tune than a fixed-tailpiece guitar.[3]
Since the regular appearance of mechanical vibrato systems in the 1950s, many guitarists have used them—fromChet Atkins toDuane Eddy and thesurf music ofThe Ventures,The Shadows, andDick Dale. In the 1960s and 1970s,Jimi Hendrix,Jeff Beck,David Gilmour,Ritchie Blackmore,Jimmy Page,[4] andFrank Zappa used vibrato arms for more pronounced effects. In the 1980s, shred guitaristsEddie Van Halen,Eric Johnson,Joe Satriani andSteve Vai, and metal guitaristsKerry King,Ritchie Blackmore,Kirk Hammett,Terje Rypdal,Vernon Reid,David Torn andDavid Duhig used vibrato in a range of metal-influenced styles, many aided by the development of the double-locking design pioneered byFloyd Rose or the later Kahler, which eliminated many of the tuning issues associated with more basic designs and allowed guitarists to employ dramatic "dive bomb" effects freely throughout a performance.[5]
Though a guitar's "tremolo arm" can produce variations ofpitch, including vibrato, it cannot produce tremolo (rapid modulation of volume).However it has become common practice for electric guitarists and manufacturers to use the termsvibrato andtremolo the other way round when referring to hardware devices and the effects they produce. This reversal of terminology is generally attributed toLeo Fender and the naming of his 1954Stratocaster mechanical vibrato system as a "Tremolo Device for Stringed Instruments".[6][1] Additionally, the 1956 Fender "Vibrolux"guitar amplifier, used electronically generated tremolo that Fender called "vibrato". Other classic guitar amplifiers contain electronic "vibrato units" that produce a tremolo effect via atremolo circuit.
Doc Kauffman patent application for his "Vibrola" device (see below) spoke of "producing tremolo effects" in 1928.
Other widely used names for the device include "vibrato bar" and "whammy bar", the latter attributed to guitaristLonnie Mack's aggressive, rapid manipulation of the pitch-bending device in his 1963 song "Wham!"[7] It has also been called a "whang bar".[8]
Most vibrato systems for guitar are based on one of four basic designs:
Many other designs exist in smaller numbers, notably several original designs marketed by Gibson under theVibrola name, which they also used for some licensed Bigsby units.
In 2015 the FOMOfx company released a "Digital Whammy Bar System" calledVirtual Jeff with a control lever mounted on the body of the guitar. The design won awards in Australia and the USA.[9][10] An updated model, theVirtual Jeff Pro, was released in 2022.[11]
The world's first patented mechanical vibrato unit was created and designed byDoc Kauffman. The initial patent was filed in August 1929 and was officially published in 1932 under the title,Apparatus for producing tremolo effects.[12] Between 1920 and 1980 Kauffman collaborated with many pioneering guitar manufacturers including Rickenbacker, Gibson and Fender. In the late 1930s Rickenbacker produced the first commercial batch ofelectric Spanish guitars, utilizing the Kauffman"Vib-rol-a" as a stock option,[13] thus setting precedence for electric guitars produced by Fender and Gibson.
TheEpiphone guitar company first offered the Vibrola as an option on somearchtop guitars from 1935 to 1937. Epiphone sold the Vibrola as an aftermarket option as well.[14] This Vibrola was also used on some Rickenbackerlap steel guitars at around the same time and was introduced on their six string 'Electro Spanish' guitars beginning about 1937.
Some early Vibrolas on Rickenbacker guitars were not operated by hand, but rather moved with an electrical mechanism developed by Doc Kauffman to simulate the pitch manipulation available with steel guitars. The Vibrola distributed as an option with Rickenbacker Electro Spanish guitars was hand operated like the earliest Epiphone Vibrolas.[15] A later unit was created and used on Rickenbacker's Capri line of guitars in the 1950s, such asJohn Lennon's 1958Rickenbacker 325. It was a side-to-side action vibrato unit (rather than the up-down action of later units) that was notorious for throwing the guitar out of tune, hence Lennon's replacing his with a Bigsby B5 unit[16] (Lennon's 1964 Rickenbacker 325 came fitted with a Rickenbacker Ac'cent vibrato unit).[17]
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The first commercially successful vibrato system for guitar was theBigsby vibrato tailpiece, often just called aBigsby, invented byPaul Bigsby (US Patent D169120 filed in 1952, issued in 1953).[18] The exact date of its first availability is uncertain, as Bigsby kept few records, but it was on Bigsby-built guitars photographed in 1952, in what became its standard form.[19]
In several interviews, the lateMerle Travis, for whom Bigsby designed his first vibrato, recalled the prototype as being built for him in the "late '40s". The design uses a spring-loaded arm that rotates a cylindrical bar in the tailpiece, varying the string tension to create vibrato and other pitch variations. The string tension is balanced against a single, short helicalcompressionspring, positioned under the arm pivot.
Blues-rock guitar pioneerLonnie Mack, who considered Travis one of his three most significant guitar inspirations,[20] was known for using a Bigsby on his 1958 GibsonFlying V electric guitar.[21]
The Bigsby remains popular, especially on hollow-body guitars. It's available as a factory-fitted option on top-line models both hollow and solid-bodied from many makers, and as an aftermarket addition. It remains the only widely used design whose mechanism is entirely above the belly of the guitar body, making it particularly suitable for acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars.
After the Bigsby, the next major development wasLeo Fender'ssynchronized tremolo, the device that introduced the termtremolo arm (U.S. patent 2,741,146 filed in 1954, issued in 1956).[22] First released in 1954 onFender'sStratocaster, the simple but effective design offers a greater range of pitch change than the Bigsby, and a better capability for up-bends. Fender incorrectly labeled the arm as a "tremolo arm" rather than a "vibrato arm", conversely referring to thetremolo circuit on his amplifiers as "vibrato".[23]
Vibrato systems send a guitar out of tune when friction inhibits the vibrating length of string from returning to its original tension after a pitch bend. Fender's design is 'synchronized' in the way that the bridge saddles and string ends move together as one rigid unit, mostly eliminating sliding between string and saddle.
The unit attaches to the guitar's body with six steel wood screws. So the bridge can pivot smoothly about the screws, the upper portion of each one is unthreaded, they are not tightened all the way, and they pass through slightly oversized holes in the plate at the center of the design.
Six bridge saddles are held against this plate by string tension, individually adjustable both for height and intonation. Another of the components which make up the tailpiece consists of a solid block of metal, commonly made of zinc, but aftermarket products can be made out of materials such as titanium or brass (often like the saddles). The different compositions, as well as its mass, helps to determine the quality of the sound of the guitar. The block is secured to the base plate by three machine screws and resides in a cavity routed all the way through the guitar's body. In this cavity, up to fivecoil springs tether the end of the bridge block to the body, counteracting the pull of the strings, should this be the setup choice for the guitarist. There can even be differing sizes of tremolo arms in thickness depending on the date and country of manufacture.
The number and length of springs may be adjusted to set the neutral position of the bridge, determining the range of upward and downward pitch bending available. A bridge set to 'float' off the guitar lets the guitarist raise the pitch until the bridge presses against the body. Pitch bends are accomplished by pulling up or down on an arm screwed into the tailpiece block, usually free to swing.
The Fendersynchronized tremolo is the most widely copied vibrato system. The original design is still in production virtually unchanged today.
Thesynchronized tremolo may have been the reason for the popularity of the Stratocaster among rock musicians in the late '60s and '70s. Owing to its superiority in aggressive use, all Fender guitars using any other vibrato system other than thesynchronized tremolo were for a time withdrawn, to return to the catalog as classic or retro models in the '90s.
Later models are pivoted about two specially shaped studs rather than a row of six screws. This development sacrifices economical manufacture for decreased friction at the pivot point.
Currently, the Fendertwo-point system is their standard and most popular design.
Featuring stainless steel block saddles since its introduction in 1986, the Fender two-point system has been redesigned with new vintage-style bent sheet steel saddles as of 2008. The Fender two-point system is available with two types of "tremolo bars": traditional "screw-in" type with a plastic tip at the end and deluxe "pop-in" type without the plastic tip.
Not to be confused with the similarly namedFloyd Rose two-point locking tremolo, the two systems use the wordstwo-point to describe entirely different concepts.
Thefloating bridge featured on two Fender "tremolo arm" designs, both developed by Leo Fender subsequently to the original synchronized tremolo but overshadowed by it. Despite its not being the most popular bridge, there are benefits unique to guitars with this type of bridge (See3rd bridge guitars).
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Thefloating tremolo was designed by Fender for the FenderJazzmaster, and first appeared with the release of the Jazzmaster in 1958. A larger, heavier and more complex vibrato mechanism than the synchronized tremolo and promoted over it by Fender as their premium "tremolo arm" mechanism, it never achieved the same popularity, though if properly set up according to Fender's recommendations, it held tune as well as or better than the synchronized tremolo unit.[citation needed] A major cause of the floating tremolo's increasingly poor reputation since its introduction is the far-increased availability and popularity oflighter guitar strings, which do not produce enough tension in standard tuning to compensate for the low break-angle over the bridge and, in theJaguar's case, the exceptionally short scale length of 24 inches. This places relatively little downwards force on the bridge, making it unreliable in returning to the correct position after tremolo operation.[24]
The main difference is that, while much of the mechanism of the synchronized tremolo including the springs is accessed by removing a rectangular plate in the back of the guitar body, and is mounted on the guitar body in a routed bay extending behind the pickups, the entire mechanism of the floating tremolo is mounted on a roughly triangular chromed plate in the front of the guitar body, on the opposite side of the bridge to the pickups. The string tension is balanced against a single short helical spring, incompression rather thantension, mounted on the back of the "tremolo mounting plate". The spring is adjustable by turning a screw located towards the center of this plate.
The ferrule ends of the strings are held on the top of the guitar in a tailpiece plate called theknife plate, which emerges from the mechanism, rather than the strings vanishing into the mechanism as with the synchronized tremolo. It is the knife plate that is moved when the tremolo arm is operated. Unlike the synchronized tremolo, the bridge is not moved directly by the mechanism, but only by the movement of the strings, and is allowed to tilt to accommodate this movement. This is called afloating bridge.
The Fender floating tremolo also features a knob that enables the player to lock, and thus disable, the tremolo mechanism. This facilitates quick retuning in the event of a string breaking and strives to provide tuning stability similar to a fixed bridge guitar. In practice, the lock doesn't generally achieve as much stability as a fixed bridge, leading some players to replace the mechanism with a fixed bridge and tailpiece.[citation needed] The "floating tremolo" was greatly favored by somesurf music bands, particularly for its ability to produce a pronounced and distinctive vibrato on a sustained chord without disturbing the tuning of the guitar. To fully achieve this benefit however, correct setup, as per Fender's recommendations, was essential.
In addition to the Jazzmaster, Fender used the floating tremolo on the then top-of-the-lineFender Jaguars, released in 1962, and also on theFender Bass VI, released in 1961. Jaguar and Jazzmasters share the same bridge plate and string saddles, though Jaguar bridges (and the earliest Jazzmaster bridges) have tallerlegs. The two are functionally interchangeable and replacement parts for each are identical. The Bass VI bridge has a wider plate and longer intonation screws to accommodate bass string intonation, and the saddles have threads cut for larger diameter strings.[original research?] There have also been a small number of not very notable imitations by other makers, generally without the locking knob. Fender discontinued all floating tremolo models by 1980, but reintroduced both the Jazzmaster and Jaguar first as Japanese models in the mid 1980s, then as American-made reissues in the 1990s. The tremolo-equipped Bass VI was reintroduced as a US Custom Shop model in 2006.
An advantage or disadvantage, depending on taste, isstring resonance audible at several fret positions where a simple relation exists between the length to the fret and the string length behind the bridge (for instance 48:12 = 4:1). At those positions, a high overtone rises in volume. This becomes clearer with an over-driven guitar sound. The overtone might sound odd, but it still has a harmonic relation to the note, so is not out of tune related to the open string. For staccato playing, it can be annoying.[opinion] Muting the strings behind the bridge with felt or other material solves the issue.[original research?]
TheFender Dynamic Vibrato (also colloquially referred to as theMustang tremolo orStang trem) was introduced in 1964 on theFender Mustang, intended as a student model. It was also notably used on theJag-Stang, a custom design byNirvana frontmanKurt Cobain combining features of theJaguar and the Mustang. Some late 1960s Mustangs were fitted instead with thefloating tremolo, which was promoted by Fender as their premium unit, but later Mustangs returned to the Dynamic Vibrato.
The Dynamic Vibrato is still preferred by somelead guitarists above all other designs. It features a floating bridge similar to that of the floating tremolo, but the bridge is integral with the vibrato unit, unlike that of the floating tremolo, which is mounted separately. The strings are controlled by a tailpiece bar to which the vibrato arm is visibly connected, similar to the Bigsby, and the mechanism is installed from the top of the instrument, similar to the floating tremolo. It combines some features of all three basic designs.
The Dynamic Vibrato is often confused with the Fender floating tremolo, which it resembles. The original production runs of the two overlap by more than a decade, but the mechanisms are quite different. The existence of a few 1960s Mustangs factory fitted with the floating tremolo has probably added to the confusion. The concealed mechanism is in a chamber of a completely different shape and position, requiring an impractical amount of woodwork to convert from one to the other, and the mounting plate is of a different shape with different mounting holes.
The string tension is balanced against two medium length helical springs under tension, mounted on the underside of the tremolo mounting plate, one attached to each of the two feet of the tailpiece bar. Dynamic Vibrato units may be recognized by the integrated floating bridge and the stamps "Fender" and "DYNAMIC VIBRATO". Many but not all units also have the words "PAT PEND" or "PAT. NO. 3,241,418" stamped under the word "Fender". The Dynamic Vibrato was the last of the floating bridge designs Fender discontinued, with the Mustang in 1982—and the first they reintroduced, again with the Mustang, in 1990.
Still another design appeared on the student modelFender Bronco, released mid-1967. This was simply known as theFender vibrato tailpiece, or sometimes theFender steel vibrato. It was again designed by Leo Fender although he had sold the company by the time it appeared. Basically, a synchronized tremolo simplified to reduce cost, it had little popularity, and as of 2005[update] was the only Leo Fender vibrato arm design not available on any current Fender model.
In 1981G&L released the F-100 guitar with adual-fulcrum vibrato designed by Leo Fender, one of G&L's owners.
| Period | Name /nickname | Spec. |
|---|---|---|
| Earlier vibrato options | ||
| 1950s | Gibson Vibra-Rest | adapter in guitar shape |
| 1950s– | Licensed version ofBigsby vibrato tailpiece | |
| early 1960s | Maestro VibrolaorEpiphone Tremotone | roller bridge mechanism |
| Gibson Vibrola (Gibson Vibrola Tailpiece) | ||
| 1962 | Gibson vibrato | long tailpiece with folding arm |
| 1962 | short tailpiece with pearl inlay | |
| 1963 | Deluxe Gibson Vibrato | long tailpiece |
| 1964– | long tailpiece with Lyre engrave | |
| 1967– present | Maestro Vibrola
| long and short |
From the 1950s,Gibson offered either a guitar-shapedGibson Vibra-Rest or a Bigsby option.[25]
Since the early 1960s, Gibson have marketed a number of vibrato system designs under the name "Vibrola".
Vibrola tailpieces include a licensed version of theBigsby vibrato tailpiece, earlier version ofMaestro Vibrola (orEpiphone Tremotone[26][27]) using roller bridge (U.S. patent 3,124,991 filed in 1961, issued in 1964),[25] and several in-house Gibson designs. The Gibson designs did not have the impact of the Bigsby and Fender designs, and have inspired few if any copies, but they competed reasonably successfully and continue to sell.
Gibson designs tend to have the mechanism surface-mounted on the belly of guitar, similar to the Bigsby, and are therefore equally suitable for use onacoustic guitars and especially onarchtops. This reflects the Gibson company's history as the developer of the archtop guitars, and their continued strength and focus on this market, but carries over even to the designs used only on solid body guitars, such as theShort Lyre Vibrola used on someFlying V andSG models. While these do require some woodwork for installation (primarily drilling), this is minimal in comparison to the routing required for the more common Fender synchronized, floating, and dynamic vibratos.
_1962.jpg)
TheGibson Vibrato, an earliest Gibson-designed vibrato systems, was a distinctive longtailpiece released in 1962 on someSG models. This mechanism later became known as theside-to-side vibrato (orSideways Vibrola)[25] because of the position of the lever, which emerged from the side of the long tailpiece. This lever had only restricted movement up and down in a plane close to that of the strings, so its action was unlike that of the Bigsby and Fender units, and remains unique. It was also described as the "Gibson Vibrola Tailpiece" in Gibson documents, but this name can be applied to any of the Gibson vibrato mechanisms. It was not a success and is of interest mainly to historians and collectors.
Also an earliest short vibrato, referred as "ebony vibratowith the inlaid pearl", was seen on the severalLes Paul/SG Standard in the same year.[28]
TheDeluxe Gibson Vibrato (orGibson Deluxe Vibrola,etc)—another long tailpiece mechanism, released in 1963—replaced the Gibson Vibrato. Its vibrato arm and all subsequent designs adopted the action popularized by Bigsby and Fender. Short version ofDeluxe Gibson Vibrola was fitted as standard to the 1967 reissueGibson Flying V. Also, there are two other names on theDeluxe Gibson Vibrato: "Lyre Vibrola" nicknamed after thelyre engraved on the cover plate, which was fitted toGibson ES-335 series as an option by 1964; and "Maestro Vibrola" renamed for keeping Maestro brand, which was an option on the ES-335 by 1967.
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Most Vibrola tailpieces, including theBigsby,Lyre andMaestro, exist in both long and short versions. Thelong version replaces a trapeze-style tailpiece, such as found on mostarchtop guitars, and transmits the string tension to the guitar side. Theshort version replaces a string stop style tailpiece, such as found on the originalGibson Les Paul, and transmits the string tension to the guitar belly, so short versions are generally used only on solid body guitars. Long tailpieces can be used on almost any guitar (an exception being theGibson Flying V where there is no room for one), and both long and short versions have been used on various models ofGibson SG andGibson Les Paul guitars.
The Gibson designs were less suitable for the sounds that the Stratocaster tremolo and its derivatives made possible. They have almost always been offered as extra cost options on guitars that sold better in non-vibrato versions. As a result, some versions are rare and command high prices from restorers and collectors. Gibson encourages this trend by refusing to sell reissue units as parts, offering them only on complete guitars (a policy similar to most guitar manufacturers). As of 2006[update] Gibson was continuing to offer Vibrola units as options on many models, but also offered a few Fender-inspired tremolo arms such as theFloyd Rose on someGibson branded guitars (Nighthawk,M3), and a wider variety through theirKramer andEpiphone brands. Kramer have always fittedFloyd Rose trems as standard and this association continues.
Other notable vibrato designs include the Kahler, Washburn Wonderbar,Hagstrom Tremar, TheSemie Moseley-designedMosrite "Vibramute", theStetsbar, the crossed-roller bearing linear tremolo and the early Rockinger from Germany. This last company was contracted by Kramer to develop a new fine-tuning tremolo with Edward Van Halen. The Rockinger designs proved problematic and Van Halen ultimately came to favor the Floyd Rose tremolo.
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Semie Moseley developed the vibrato unit used on hisMosrite guitars from the basic concept of the Bigsby vibrato, but with many engineering improvements. The entire vibrato unit is top mounted. The strings feed through six holes in the upright plate at the rear of the unit (somewhat similar to the Fender Floating Trem) and the bridge is also rigidly mounted. But the string saddles are vertically mounted grooved "wheels" that roll with the string during vibrato usage, and also make palm muting very easy to achieve. Moseley advertised the unit as the "feather touch" vibrato, and the touch is exceptionally light with all but heavy gauge strings. Pitch stability is excellent. Moseley made several designs of the unit, the first being sand cast, with early versions having an attached string mute beneath the bridge (much like the Fender Jaguar) and a rather short handle. This he called the "Vibramute". Two years later, he slightly simplified the design, going to a die cast design, eliminating the mute (which more players complained about than favored) and lengthening the vibrato arm slightly. This incarnation, called the "Moseley", was used on all Mosrite guitars from that point on. The actual feel and response of the two different models is virtually identical, however. Moseley also designed a companion 12-string vibrato for the 12-string version of the instrument, and this may have been one of the only – if not the only – vibratos designed for use on a 12-string guitar.
Around 1979,Floyd D. Rose invented thelocking tremolo. This vibrato system became highly popular among 1980s heavy metal guitarists due to its tuning stability and wide range of pitch variation. The original Floyd Rose system was similar to the Fender synchronized tremolo, but with a number of extra mechanisms. The first and most obvious is a locking plate on thehead nut, tightened with ahex key that fixes the strings at this point after tuning. This provides extra tuning stability, particularly while using the vibrato arm—but it also prevents tuning with themachine heads.
Fine tuners have been provided as part of the bridge mechanism on all but the earliest units to allow minor retuning without unlocking the nut. It is rumored, but has never been confirmed thatEddie Van Halen had a part in the inclusion of the fine tuning unit. In a 1982Guitar World interview for Van Halen'sDiver Down album, Eddie claimed that he co-invented the fine tuners.
Nonetheless, a gift of a unit to Van Halen by Floyd Rose himself gave the unit instant overnight success and credibility. Still more stability was provided by the addition of a second lock on the bridge nut, making adouble locking tremolo system that was more complex to set up. The double locking design is sometimes called atwo-point locking tremolo, inviting confusion with the Fendertwo-point synchronized tremolo, which is a different concept and not a locking tremolo at all.
Many guitars equipped with locking tremolo systems have a cavityrouted in the body beneath and behind the bridge, extending the range of motion, a concept first popularized bySteve Vai.
Floyd Rose orFloyd Rose licensed locking tremolo units are available factory fitted on many guitars, as well as complete aftermarket retrofit kits. Fitting the correct kit to a guitar already fitted with a compatible tremolo may be quite straightforward; on others a high level of woodworking skill may be required, or it may not be possible at all.
The Fender Deluxe "Locking Tremolo" (better known as Fender/Floyd Rose) is essentially a modified American "2-point tremolo" bridge with locking saddles and pop-in arm. Designed by Fender and Floyd Rose himself, this type of tremolo bridge was introduced in the early '90s on the Deluxe Plus and Ultra series guitars. The concept is primarily intended for guitarists searching for the features of a locking tremolo system without the need to perform routing on their instrument. Nowadays, the Fender Deluxe tremolo is available on American Deluxe, Plus, Ultra Series and many Custom Shop guitars. The whole assembly also includes a set of locking machine heads and an LSR roller nut for optimal tuning stability.
Floyd Rose also produces complete guitars with their tremolo systems - most notably with theSpeedloader system, which eliminates conventional peghead tuners, leaving all tuning to the bridge end of the strings. They accomplish this without sacrificing stability by requiring strings that are produced to extremely fine length tolerances, essentially having two ferrule ends and no tail. As of 2006[update] the Speedloader system is the latest Floyd Rose design, but has yet to catch on to the degree Floyd Rose's original tremolo did.
In 2015,[29] the company began the commercialization of the FRX surface-mounting locking tremolo system, designed to fit exactly onTune-O-Matic bridge guitars, but with a locking nut that is fastened to the truss rod cover. This model resembles the Washburn Wonderbar in that the springs and strings do not go through the body, thus eliminating the routing necessary to install the classic Floyd Rose tremolo in classic, fixed-bridge electric guitars.[30]
One of the most simplified ways to have a double locking tremolo system without making any major alteration to a solid-body electric guitar can be done by using a modified American Series 2-point synchronized bridge with locking saddles, a set of locking machine heads and a low-friction LSR Roller Nut. Fender's version of this system is also known as Fender/Floyd Rose (Fender Deluxe Locking Tremolo Assembly), as it was developed in conjunction with Floyd Rose.
Several other "locking" type vibrato systems have been developed, but none of these have gained the popularity that the Floyd Rose or vintage Fender "tremolo" systems have. The most notable of these is the cam-operated Kahler Double-locking tremolo,[31] which is similar in practical use, but not in design, to the Floyd Rose. Another system that emerged in the 1980s was theSteinberger TransTrem system (meaningTransposing Tremolo).
Ibanez have their own range of double-locking vibrato systems on their range of guitars. TheEdge III tremolo, featured on their low-mid range guitars, is a very similar bridge to a Floyd Rose. It features a pop in/out arm and lower profile tuners. Another system is theEdge Zero, which has what Ibanez calls theZero Point System. This system lets the guitarist lock the guitar's floating state for tuning purposes. There is also theEdge Pro tremolo with a very low profile. Possibly its most notable feature is that it is designed to take strings without the removal of the ball end (or stringing backwards with the ball ends at the headstock). The Edge Pro also comes in a version called theDouble Edge Pro, which haspiezoelectric pickups for acoustic sound.
In 2007, the Super-Vee company developed a double-locking vibrato system that requires no modifications to the body or neck of the guitar. This system received a patent for its "Blade" technology,[citation needed] which is based on what they call "frictionless action." This action removes the contact pivot point that other vibrato systems rely on, aiming to eliminate wear irregularities that cause tuning instability. Super-Vee also received a patent for their side-locking nut system,[citation needed] which does not require instrument modification.
The Steinberger TransTrem, like the Floyd Rose Speedloader, requires special strings that can only be used on the TransTrem unit. However, the TransTrem had the novel design that the bar could be pushed in to "transpose" the tuning of the entire unit to various other keys. The system saw limited use (mainly due to its high price and limited string availability), althoughEdward Van Halen had continued to experiment with the system. Notable Van Halen songs where the TransTrem can be heard include "Get Up" and "Summer Nights", from the album5150.
Various add-on gadgets strive to improve vibrato systems. An issue with nearly all vibrato systems is that bending one string can slightly drop the pitch of all the others—a problem not present on fixed-bridge instruments. One after-market tool, the Tremol-No, temporarily locks the vibrato mechanism. Two thumbscrews let a player choose between completely locked, downwards pitch only, or normal free movement.[32] One of the guitarists who was well known for using this gadget isGuthrie Govan, who had it as a standard feature on his signature guitar models fromSuhr Guitars.[33][34] He has however since moved toCharvel guitars, and appears to have dropped it from his specs.[35]A few vibrato system designs also have various ability to "lock" the system's action:Steinberger TransTrem, Ibanez Edge Zero, Fender Floating/Jaguar/Jazzmaster, and the ChordBender.
Many vibrato systems can be set up in such a way that they allow for changing string pitch both up and down.Eddie Van Halen preferred instead to have his set up so it is flush with the guitar body,[36] which has two advantages: first, a broken string doesn't affect the pitch of the other strings, and it can accommodate attachment of a device called a D-Tuna to the bridge. This device can drop the low E-string down a whole step to D to extend the tonal variety of the guitar, even during live performance.[37]
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EPIPHONE TREMOTONE VIBRATO for the guitar The exciting new sound in guitars is Tremotone vibrato by Epiphone. An Epiphone exclusive - this rich, ringing, vibrant effect adds a new dimension to guitar playing.
Epiphone's 1961 ad (below) sets out the advantages of the company's new Tremotone vibrato bridge.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)General
Synchronized tremolo
Floating tremolo
Dynamic Vibrato
Bigsby Vibrato
Vibrola and other Gibson units
Locking tremolo
Kahler tremolo
Stetsbar
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