The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

It has been over a year since I installed a Trem-Endus in my Aria Pro II Bobcat IV. I have always hated floating trems. Why, because the darn things don't stay in tune. In the 90s I had a Knight Warrior with a Kahler Flyer trem. I know, they are hated but they do have their strong points. One is the center detent. I have set up literally hundreds of Flap Rash trems and can tell you I REALLY hate them from a technical standpoint. They are difficult to set up properly and that locking nut is a pure nuisance. And nevermind setting intonation. Fortunately being retired I no longer have to mess with them.

There are a number of tremolo stabilizers out there. Some simply lock the trem such as a Trem-Stop and Wilkinson's Convertible Arm for the VS100 trem with a price tag that would choke a Texas Oilionaire.

There are quite a few copies of the Flap Rash Trem-Endus. Musiclily makes one with both single plunger and dual and so does Guyker. I've used both with the same results. Since the trem is floating I still have true vibrato (pitch up and down) but the trem always returns to a specific spot. They are easy to install although it does take a little time to get the tension on it and the trem springs just right.

I know a lot of people love the Flap Rash but give me a simple 2-piont fulcrum trem and a stabilizer any day. The Guykers are gong for $25 and in my opinion well worth it. Now back to having fun with my Aria MAC.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851JR51Q

Got the one for the Ibanez installed. Got the preload/tension pretty much spot on. I won't have a floating trem without one now. One day I may replace that wimpy sustain block. May as well be sheet metal. I added the orange fabric to eliminate the clicking noise when the trem makes contact with the stabilizer. Some come with a self adhesive pad but that falls off in no time.

I'm not a fan of floaters either. Back in the day ( I believe it was a Wednesday... ) I had a higher end Kahler that worked like a champ.
I have a similar contraption in my strat but mostly I just deck 'em. I have 3 others that way.
I will say this, I got a Gretsch with a Bigsby not too long ago and I never expected it would stay in tune very well but DANG does it ever.

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These tremolo stabilizers have changed my outlook on trems entirely. I had a Carvin with a Wilkinson VS100 in it and loved that guitar but the fact it was never in tune drove me nuts. Same with a Parker Fly Deluxe and a Hohner Revelation RTX. Both of those were 2-point fulcrum trems. My Brian May Red Special also has a VS100 and I have a dual cylinder trem stabilizer in that.

I have no problem now with floating trems. $25 cures all the issues. Worth it to me. You never really miss a trem until you go to use it.

Looks like a copy of the ESP trem stabilizer:

https://reverb.com/item/17824462-esp-ar ... lated-look

I came across those when the daughter of a colleague got a beginner guitar with a Floyd copy. How are you supposed to learn to play guitar, when you have a nightmare to keep it in tune... so I installed one of the ESP stabilizers on her guitar... simple and does the trick.

I never used the trem on my Spectrum ST when I was actively gigging "back in the day" but I now have all the trems set up on all my equipped guitars. Still don't use them much but it's nice for the odd little accent.

Yep I'm a fan of the Gretsch Bigsby too. Bit of a nuisance changing strings but they are reliable machines alright. And schmooooth as a baby's bum!

The only other one which gets my accolade is the Music Man trem which is a beautifully engineered piece of metal and stays in tune! That's also due in part to the 4+2 machine head arrangement which keeps the strings straight through the nut.

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There are quite a few out there. Some look identical, others not. The principle is the same though. I've used the Ibanez, the Musiclily and lately the Guyker. I'm really impressed with the Guyker locking tuners. I recently put sets on a Line 6 Variax 500 and a Switch Vibracell Innovo IV. Works like a charm. I installed the Guyker in three trem equipped guitars and I couldn't ask for better.

I just can't picture someone learning to play with a stock Flap Rash tremolo. That's a good way to kill inspiration early on. The whole reason I began the beginner guitar project is that if a guitar sounds like garbage and plays like garbage that is one Jimi Hendrix or Joe Satriani that will never emerge. I take shoddy beginner guitars and turn them into proper instruments. Then give them away.

That's one of the things I hate about some headstocks. The nut to tuner break angle. I've lost count of the Les Pauls I had to file the nuts on for that annoying G and B string bind. I can still hear the "ping" of a G or B sting binding at the nut. The stuff nightmares are made of.

I had a PE-60 with a Bigsby on it and it was pretty darn reliable stock. The only thing I don't like about them is the stings eventually wear grooves in the saddle slots. Back in the day it was cheaper to replace the saddles than to replace the ABR1 bridge (Greedson had the market there) but it was tedious and aggravating work. However I had a full hollow jazz box with a Bigsby and because the bridge was floating it could flex so no saddle wear and it stayed pretty well in tune. Many moons ago I had to re-set the bridge on a solid body because the changing string tension caused the bridge to wiggle back and forth softening the wood at the screw posts. Greedson in all their brilliance chose to put 1/8" screws directly into the wood rather than using anchors as most guitars do today.

Actually I love the way the string vibration transfers to the body when the screws are directly into the wood. It just needs the proper wood selection and awareness that you should not use excesive string gauges. My Ibanez AS-50 is constructed like this. After 43 years everything is still straight and hasn't moved. I think the problem is more with some manufacturers wood selection.

Vibration transfer is identical whether the screw itself is in the wood or an anchor. In reality the screw is still in the wood either way, just fatter with the anchor. It is a myth that the Greedson post screw affects tone. Show me someone who can truly hear the difference and I'll show you Superman's offspring.

The only guitars I have ever had a bridge post problem with (and there were MANY) is Greedson. 99% of the other manufacturers use anchors. I would cringe when a customer walked in with a Les Puke same as I would a Stratocrapper or worse a Telecrapper.

If you are talking about wood density and how it affects tone then yes, it does matter, not the screws/anchors. Wood with a higher density such as hard rock maple absorbs fewer high frequencies where woods with a lower density such as mahogany absorb more. It is not simply opinion, it is science. The higher the density the fewer frequencies are absorbed. "Tonewood" purists are forever arguing the difference between tone woods. What they are actually arguing is the cell density of the media. It doesn't matter if it is yellow, turd brown or fuchsia. More cellulose, more density, brighter tone. Less cellulose, less density, warmer tone.

There are so many points that guitarists argue about such as pickup, string gauge, wood used and even bolt vs set neck. It will never end. Same as tube amp vs modeler. I am not religious on the matter. Show me the science. If empirical evidence proves me wrong I will change my opinion. That's how science works.

Question: Does the AS-50 also have a Bigsby? I have probably replaced more ABR1 saddles than I have owned or serviced guitars and that is in the 1000s.

Here is a great vid that dispels many common misconceptions and superstitions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02tImce3AE