to whammy or not whammy

[vwjodyme]

so i am totally on this carvin kick and really want to build my own. trying to make the most versitile one i can so i can play all sorts of tunes (tho mostly dead), but don't have much experience with say a floyd rose. my gf has a mim strat but we always leave the trem out because it pulls it waaay out of tune the second you touch it. any thoughts?

[Rusty the Scoob]

My US made '62 Reissue strat (made in 1992 or so) stays pretty well in tune with the whammy, so it certainly can be done. That's just a stock bone nut and Fender tremelo, nothing fancy. But a hardtail does sound different from a floating bridge guitar, so there's a tradeoff.

[myoung6923]

I guess it just depends on your playing style. The thing that I HATE about tremolo systems is that when you bend a note - the rest of them are out out of tune. So if you want to bend one note and then hit a different note before releasing the bend - it's out of tune.

Drives me nuts!

[strumminsix]

I love a nice guitar, set up perfectly that has a full float.

[tcsned]

I guess it just depends on your playing style. The thing that I HATE about tremolo systems is that when you bend a note - the rest of them are out out of tune. So if you want to bend one note and then hit a different note before releasing the bend - it's out of tune.

Drives me nuts!

+1
I've never been able to work with one of those things. I blocked off my trems on my Strat and PRS. There's something to the tone you get with the weight of the trem even blocked off that a light strat-type jard tail doesn't give though. Floyds I would avoid - they are a pain in the ass. The Wilkenson type is better and easier to maintain. I hated working on Floyds when I was at the music store.

[KCJones]

I guess it just depends on your playing style. The thing that I HATE about tremolo systems is that when you bend a note - the rest of them are out out of tune. So if you want to bend one note and then hit a different note before releasing the bend - it's out of tune.

Drives me nuts!

+1
I've never been able to work with one of those things. I blocked off my trems on my Strat and PRS. There's something to the tone you get with the weight of the trem even blocked off that a light strat-type jard tail doesn't give though. Floyds I would avoid - they are a pain in the ass. The Wilkenson type is better and easier to maintain. I hated working on Floyds when I was at the music store.

-1+1
My PRS trem, somewhat like a Strat, sounds no different than a hardtail, doesnt bring other string out of tune, and requires no adjustment after initial setup unless you change string guage. I agree totally that the Floyd Rose systems should be avaoided - Royal Pain in the ASS!

[Rusty the Scoob]

My strat is set to be flat, not floating... seems to behave a LOT better that way, and string changes are no problem.

[Pete B.]

I love whammy bars and have actually written an instumental that is totally based on accurate bends. I have it set so the raise bottoms out at a perfect whole tone raise. While holding the pick between thumb & pointer fingers and playing, I find I can control pitch lowers quite well by pressing down on the bar with my remaining fingers working as one, pressing downward at the halfway-point of the bar (I rarely grab the bar at the end and reef on it).
With that said, I typically keep one of my Strats set up as a whammy guitar, and it doesn't see much action in the Jerry world, but you can do some really nice stuff with the whammy on say LLR and that type of stuff.

[tcsned]

yeah, there's some folks out there that can work some magic with those things - Adrian Belew comes to mind

[Rusty the Scoob]

Jeff Beck, too. He usulally uses it with his spare right-hand fingers as Pete B described.

[Pete B.]

Jeff Beck, too. He usulally uses it with his spare right-hand fingers as Pete B described.

Jeff Beck whammy vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMTAHsz26I

[tcsned]

Jeff Beck, too. He usulally uses it with his spare right-hand fingers as Pete B described.

for sure! forgot about him

[drewfx]

I guess it just depends on your playing style. The thing that I HATE about tremolo systems is that when you bend a note - the rest of them are out out of tune. So if you want to bend one note and then hit a different note before releasing the bend - it's out of tune.

Drives me nuts!

Put one of these Hipshot Tremsetters in - it fixes this problem:

http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=115

A bit tricky to get set up correctly, and changes the feel, but works as advertised.

[myoung6923]

-1+1
My PRS trem, somewhat like a Strat, sounds no different than a hardtail, doesnt bring other string out of tune, and requires no adjustment after initial setup unless you change string guage. I agree totally that the Floyd Rose systems should be avaoided - Royal Pain in the ASS!

Oh, I disagree on the PRS - I have a PRS custom 24 that I just had blocked for that very reason. Sounds great now!