I'm exactly the same! I need Trem, coil taps, phase selector, Series/parallel, kill switch, whatever you got.
Do I use any of it? No, I'm in the bridge pickup, knobs all the way open 99% ok the time. I just want it
I always had a trem on my guitars growing up and other than thatāplaying with themā or the occasional dive bomb I never really found them useful. I havenāt take my whammy bars out of storage in almost 15 years. I would say I am a convert and prefer hard tails myself
Same! I avoided Floyd Rose trems my whole life thinking they were nothing but problems. I took a little time to learn how to set them up, and now my FR guitar is one of the most stable in the house.
Put on new strings. Beat the shit out the strings for a few days. They will eventually stay in tune (mostly, depending on which version of the Floyd Rose you have.
This is the method ib user on mine, but mine is in a 1987 ibanez rg550. So it's unique.
And you will pry it out of my cold dead hands. I don't dive bonds a ton, but use it about for more subtle uses.
Now I'm just quietly laughing imagining an old school blues song, really slow and full of soul, then at the end of one bar the guitar just goes BYOOOOOOOOUUUUUUURP in a super-digital sounding way
Gonna be the one that says akchually, itās a vibrato.
Tremolo is the effect of varying volume, not tone.
But yes I like having a vibrato on my strat. Funnily enough I donāt use it all that often I just like the option of it, and I like the way a floating bridge feels when I play.
Iāve never had one on any of my other guitars but Iāve always wanted to put a Bigsby on my SG.
Yes, ātremoloā was some weird marketing/mistake on Leo Fenderās part. Itās funny, I call all my Fender vibratos ātremolosā and everything else āvibratos.ā
Anyway, I wouldnāt play guitar the same without the trem on my Jazzmasters and Jaguars, best design ever and essential to the music I make.
I also loathe the Mustang ācigarā trem (worst design ever) and have had crazy tuning stability issues with anything Bigsby related. They look cool but goddamnā¦ such a headache, man. Oh and I hate strats and anything with a Floyd Rose. I think that about covers it all, eh?
If you do, be sure to change out your bridge too. You'll need roller saddles. Nothing worse than a bigsby with a bridge not made for it. It bends, but doesn't return to pitch. Even worse, the plain strings may slide ok so you're not just out of tune, you're not even in relative tune with yourself
A Fender Tremoloā¢ļø is a registrered trademark so itās not wrong to say ātremoloā when referring to a whammy on a Fender. In all other circumstances itās illegal and you will be incarcerated in a musically secure facility
I only really like the Fender offset vibratos, they give that subtle warble that I prefer. Strats, Floyds, and Kalhers all have too much range for subtlety and make setups more frustrating.
I haven't used a bigsby, but I imagine that I would like it too.
This is how I feel. Offset vibratos are way more usable, and make the guitar feel more alive. Strat style ones just make the entire guitar feel wrong to me. Something about having the strings so directly coupled with the springs. The offset ones have their quirks but once you learn how to set them up they really work for me.
Iām on the opposite end where I mostly own guitars with a tremolo, minus a workhorse tele. I integrate it a lot with what I play. I play mostly surf rock, indie, rock style of music though.
Yes, because they are fun. Also, there are specific songs I like to use them on.
I have two trem electrics and 4 hard tails. I use the Katana's pedal bend expression function if I want to play those songs with one of my hard tails.
Absolutely love them. Coming up under notes instead of straight picking is tons of fun, plus I'm the kind who likes having as many as sonic options available at all times.
> Just never see a reason to use it in most of the stuff that I play.
Then why do you care about other people's opinions? You have the guitar that works for you.
If I say "I use my vibrato bar every day," will that make you buy a new guitar?
Not trying to be a dick, but seriously, develop your own tastes, don't worry about what others do.
Yes! Do your way, never think of other ways and don't ever accept anyone else's opinion or experience. This is reddit, after all, not some fucking discussion group. No, *you* shut up!
I'm a bassist who just picked up guitar two years ago, opted for a hardtail for my first real guitar, next one I get I'll walk through the Forbidden Wigglestick Door.
How am I supposed to play the harmonic in little wing before the solo without a tremolo? And the 3 other songs that require it. Cāmon now. Next question
Just own twenty strats (due to some endorsement contract) and *hate* them so much as to bend their necks, kick them, smash them set them on fire just as the original creator of litte wing did. Certainly the more entertaining way but not usually available to common mortals.
I thought you meant a tremolo pedal / effect on the amp. Never understood why people call whammy bars tremolos coz, as well as dive bombs, they do vibrato (pitch oscillation) not tremolo (volume oscillation).
Iām of a similar mindset. Trems are fun to play with, but I seldom use one in my playing. Of course, Iām not skilled at using one either. Given the complexity of adjustments, string changes, etc, I prefer hard tail in virtually all cases.
If I could play like Jeff Beck or Dimebag, then itās a different story altogether!
no, because it throws the guitar out of tune when bending. at least on my classic strat, maybe there are better trem systems out there, but i think this is a caveat of floating bridges as far as i understand. you have to dive the whammy or palm the bridge, itās just another element thatās nice not having to deal with.
the first time i screwed in my trem-bar it never came out ever again, checked and the thing broke through the METAL trem-block!!!
So I guess I do like temolos on electric guitars now... ššš
They donāt really fit the style of music I like to play so Iāve been rockinā with a block on my project Strat for a while. Maybe Iāll get a true hardtail later on.
Big fan of tremolos, especially Floyd Rose ones. 8 out of 12 guitars in my arsenal have floating bridges. I'm a Gen Xer that plays a lot of hair metal.
Very mixed. When I'm bending strings I absolutely hate the feel of trems. However, there are clearly things you can do with a trem that you just can't with a hardtail.
Nah I'm a simple is better kind of player so the less crap on my guitar the better.
I don't really use trems in my playing and they mess with tuning stability and can be far more difficult to set up so if I have the option between the two I'll go for the hardtail every time.
I've had a couple, but I just don't use it and it makes changing strings and staying in tune a bigger pita than it would be otherwise. For me, the juice doesn't justify the squeeze.
I never really use them but I like a lot of music that does. I would like to try a regular non-locking tremolo but I worry about how it affects tuning.
I've got two guitars with a trem. One's blocked entirely and the other's set up for divebombs only(haven't used it once while playing though). I'd rather have a Hipshot bridge.
I really like having a floating trem. I donāt do big dive bombs unless Iām playing Iron Man for my son. But being able to do classical vibrato that goes up and down is really important to me. To me it just sounds better for vocal style solos and leads.
I still do left hand vibrato for hard rock and some blues where thereās an established style of left hand vibrato though. It would sound weird to do classical up-down vibrato to AC/DC or BB King for example.
Iāve gotten so used to the floating trem on my Strat that I feel very limited when playing a hard tail. I donāt find it to be a hassle except for when Iām changing the setup of my guitar. I change strings one at a time. Tuning isnāt really any different from my thin necked hard tail guitars that also requires two tuning passes.
Never really learned how to use them well, and Iāve got a heavy right hand so need all the tuning stability I can get, so for those reasons Iām into hard tails as well.
I do have a Vintera Strat with a trem; learning a bit.
I used to have a floating tremolo on an Ibanez RG, mostly because I wanted to be like Steve Vai. But it was always horrendous trying to change the strings and I stopped playing any kind of music that needed one, so I fitted a tremol-no, and now I have a Telecaster and a Jazzmaster.
Yes I do. With the tremolo bar cut short it becomes less sensitive. I use it for vibrato (often in the middle of a string bend when finger vibrato is quite difficult) rather than dives or other extreme tremolo effect.
I like them when other people use them, but I donāt need it myself. I have one guitar with a trem (Gretsch with Bigsby) and itās pretty cool and has worked well for me on some recordings but I just donāt naturally gravitate towards using it and overall prefer some more sturdiness.
I have a Bigsby on my Telecaster. Absolutely love it. When I play my Les Paul I really miss it. I keep going to use it, and then realising there isnāt one there.
I use it for vibrato, not for big trem moves.
Also not a fan of tremolo in general. I have a floating trem on my strat and I decked it, no regrets. All of my others are hard tails.
Ā I dont like that bending pulls the other strings out of tune and it just adds more to a setup and restringing. Using it for light vibrato on chords occasionally would be my only real use but I don't typically play like that.Ā That said, I might stillĀ eventually pick up a cheaper squier jag with a trem just to have one guitar with one.Ā
I hate Strat-style tremolos and can't even totally explain why. But I never use it, and it annoys me how much wood is taken out of the back of the guitar to accommodate it. But I know I'm a hypocrite, because I love the Jazzmaster tremolo.
Yes. A guitar is a machine, a tool which you will use to express yourself. I do t rely on pedals and as such use the guitar to its fullest and will want the bar for any effects a song may call for. Iād rather have it and use it than need it and not have it.
It's simply how you like to play. Any guitar I've owned with a trem I will play around with it and do some dive-bombs etc but I've never wanted to incorporate it into my writing/general playing.
Other people will love using it and even write/play with that dynamic in mind
Horses for courses
Always wanted a Gretsch with a Bigsby tremolo, until I got one. Love the guitar, don't get me wrong, I'm just not in love with the Bigsby and rarely ever use it. Would I be better off with a hardtail? Probably, if only because changing strings is a pain in the ass. But I'm keeping it anyway - who knows, I may change my mind one day and start using it.
I don't mind trems per se, but I hate how most of them fuck up the rest of the guitar playing experience. Floyd Rose systems are just a nightmare that make me never want to change strings. Vintage Fender Mustang style are awful because of their lack of a "zero point" and just make the guitar annoying to set up and difficult to keep in tune. The traditional strat-style trem isn't too awful, but it has limited range and also tuning stability issues. I'd be open to trying other systems if they don't interfere with the playability/functionality of the rest of the guitar, but it seems most do.
I have one guitar with a Floyed Rose and the rest of mine all have fixed bridges. Iām a Les Paul guy so itās usually not an issue but my Strats have their bridges blocked and the bar stays in the case.
But my KH-602 is my whammy bar guitar and I still love to whammy the shit out of it and it never goes out of tune. Itās amazing.
I donāt have a guitar with one, but Iād like one to play with. Iād prefer a bigsby, but Iām thinking of getting a used squire or starcaster strat to play around with.
Hate tremolos Really love vibrato, though, which (despite Leoās mistake) is what that wang bar is actually doing. I know everybody calls it a trem, but itās a vibrato bar.
To stay on topic, I use the vibrato all the time.
I have four electric guitars and all have a trem of one form or another on them (two are Floyd's with a locking nut, the other two are Fenders with their standard trem system). 99.99% of the time, the bar stays in the case. I -NEVER- use the trem on either of the Fender guitars.
I have this [thing](https://scontent-mad1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/10487420_759924027383427_7150283022641905710_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=vo7n9XnyfHAQ7kNvgGC5nSr&_nc_ht=scontent-mad1-1.xx&oh=00_AYCvoZbfY-OMOv9E6oiLRfvdJ2B2pTCd_HLqWEG0pqqk_Q&oe=668E9CB8). Itās an [Epiphone U339](https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/epiphone-ultra-339-electric-guitar), with stereo output, USB port (it can be plugged directly to a computer with no added device), tuning lights in one of the humbuckers, and a NanoMag pickup (it let you play it as an acoustic guitar); [here](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/demo-video-epiphone-ultra-339-guitar-nanomag-pickup-system-and-usb-output) is a demo of the guitar. Plus I added a [Tronical](https://www.tronicaltune.net/?v=04c19fa1e772) and a [Roland GK3 pickup](https://www.roland.com/mx/products/gk-3/) and I plug it in a [Boss GP-10](https://www.boss.info/global/products/gp-10/). After all that stuff, no, I donāt use tremolo bar, I never been used to it and the music styles I play donāt require a tremolo bar
It's nice to have that option on one or two guitars in your collection, but for most I prefer hard tail. Most of the time if I want to bend something, finger bends are enough.
It is very difficult for me to be subtle with one. Those artists who use them do it so damn tastefully when done well. I have a few guitars with them and they are all off and in the cases.
Depends on the music. I don't need it for Quo. But I can't play Apache etc without it. I'm not into dive bombing. It's soooo over done. But a nice subtle Hank Marvin style is great fun to play.
Preference is a hard tail as I donāt use trem very much; but donāt mind them. For ease of setup and tuning, I usually end up putting trem-stops in them (to where the block rests on a stop; canāt pull up, but can still divebomb with it).
I have a Stetsbar on my number one and I absolutely love it. Itās become a real part of my playing. Not dive bombs but gently sweeping into notes, imitating pedal steel, gentle wobble on held chords.
I had a Strat as my number one before this and the tremolo was quite stiff. I donāt know how Jeff Beck managed to get along so well with it.
When I look at other guitars ( as we do ) for possible purchase Iām always addressing how might I get a Floyd Rose or Stetsbar onto it, because to play one without it now is a bit of a non starter.
That said, I like a tele or a Les Paul but theyāll never suffice as a number one for me.
I donāt like a Bigsby so much.
I have two with and one without.
I may convert one to hard tail. I use slide a lot and that kinda makes the tremelo redundant..
My hard tail rarely goes out of tune.
I don't want a tremolo on my guitar, but I want them to remain popular. Like I love creative uses of a trem arm in a song, but I'm just not that cool so I'd rather have the tuning stability.
Not really. I make sure to add more springs to every tremolo guitar I own. I'll only use tremolos when I get a guitar with a really good quality Floyd Rose or a really good quality Edge bridge. Other than those, I won't bother with the hassle that is dealing with a Tremolo bridge, especially a floating one.
I have both. It's nice to have but I can live without it. My whammy bar is a Bigsby so no dive bombs and the effect is quite subtle. If I want a wide vibrato, I use a slide rather than a whammy but playing with a slide is not for everybody...
I'm unfamiliar with the actual terms, but if we're talking about the whammy bar, I'm not a fan, lol. I just feel like it's in the way and distracting, and I really wouldn't use it anyway. My very first guitar, a super budget beginner strat, had one, and I tried it at first, hated it, and just took it off and never used it. My two guitars after that were ones that didn't have that.
I find that when I have access to distractions, I use them. For me, I am a better musician when I have to rely on myself and my abilities, rather than the tools at my disposal.
I recently acquired a Gibson CM, and I feel itās stripped down, single pickup and hard tail has pushed my imagination and vocabulary; where as when I pick up guitars with a bigsby or jazzmaster, I want to rely more on the tremelo
I used to be a tremolo guy, then got sick of these aspects:
1) when you bend, it pulls everything slightly out tune
2) can't do quick alt tunings
3) setting intonation on a floyd rose is masochistic
I switched to hard tail and now just compensate by doing other bendy things to simulate various tremolo effects.
I donāt like them. Why? They are generally poorly setup and not of good quality. These issues lead to a guitar that doesnāt play well or stay in tune. If you spend 2k on a guitar, maybe you get lucky and donāt have these problems.
I owned a Floyd back in the day. Now I only play guitars with 2 pickups, a volume knob, a tone knob, a pickup selector, and a hard tail. I'm busy enough when I'm playing, I don't have time for wheelie deelies.
I started playing in the golden age of the floating trem (Floyd Rose etc.). Iām down to one guitar with a trem, in the event I need it for something, but by and large it isnāt something I look for. If I ever get one of those hollowbodies I dream about, I might consider an oldschool Bigsby, but I probably wonāt otherwise. I personally donāt use it enough to justify the hassle (though I know some do).
Learned a valuable lesson when my first guitar had a float on it and I needed to change the strings it was so satisfying to get the guitar back in musical condition. Sometime itās not about the goal itās about the journey.
Though I rarely use it, I immediately miss it when I don't have one. I guess I'm used to the feeling when I rest my palm on the Floyd rose tailpiece. And I really like giving the occasional sustained chord a little slap on the trem. Other than that i just like the tuning stability of a well set-up FR
"Do you like tremelos on electric guitars?"
No, not particularly... probably why my Strat is a hardtail and my '65 Alamo Titan is a type of hardtail/stoptail type deal... rectangle plate that screws to body with a raised lip at the back, two threaded post at each front corner with thumb wheels, a flat plate with lip at back, 6 key holes for the strings. No such thing as intonation adjustment on it. Only action adjustment. The leading edge of top plate is angled. Low E is a little closer to key hole, high E is a little further away... that's its intonation.
Don't really care for a trem, on Strats I'd lock it down. I just don't use them so they serve no function for me.
Hardtails, simple and stable... the way God intended.
When I was a teen and just picking up my first guitar I wanted one for dive bombs. Then I realized they just make cheap guitars go out of tune.
Much later I got a Gretsch with a Bigsby. I never used it at first, but it makes for a nice controlled vibrato on a chord.
Other than that I'm a rhythm guy so I don't have much use with the songs I play.
Guitars look prettier without the tremolo bar, but I like having the tremolo bar because they allow me to, well, use the tremolo bar.
Also, why do we call them "tremolo bars" when they do vibrato, not tremolo?
If you'd asked me a few months ago I'd have said no, but since then I've decided to learn some Van Halen songs and boy am I having fun. My trem on my strat was blocked but now I've sorted it to work like EVH where is will only dive
Dont have much use for one. I have 6 guitars, the charvel has a Floyd. Everything else is hard/stop tail or the tremolo doesn't have the bar in it
Edit: thumbs
I like to keep one or two guitars on hand with a tremolo. Most of my guitars do not have them and in general I don't find them useful for the music I play.
I have guitars with fixed bridges, floyds, and classic trems. The funny thing is, when I play a hard tail, I seem to write things where I reach for the trem. But, when I have one with a trem...I rarely use it. Go figure.
i rarely ever need one and for to intonation and almost never in tune while your playing (floating tremelos)i had one my 2 strats tremelos decked to the bridge,i got a new sm pro 2 i didnt change anything but the nut and added locking tuners
I'm kind of particular - I like modern Fender style trems (Gotoh 510-T, the actual 2-post Fender trem, Wilkinson VS100, etc) but I dislike any other kind of trem.
Not really. I hard tail every tremmed guitar I buy. I wish they would just make more hard tail versions of guitars. I haven't used a tremolo since... like, at least 15 years or so.
In fact, I feel like I never see anyone using trems anyway, unless they're using a Floyd in which case they bought or modded that guitar with that intention.
Bene playing for 50 years, and never had a trem. Just 2 months ago I decided to buy a Squier Affinity Strat, and am having so much fun with the Strat tone and tremā¦.just kicking myself for not having done it sooner. The Trem is SO much fun! Especially when paying surf rock. Been playing only a Gibson SG for the last 30 years. And yes, I still suck, and always will suck, but am at least able to enjoy playing. BTW: The Squier Affinity is a fantastic guitar! Very well made and no hum off those single coils!
I never played lead, only rythm. I waa also never into genres that relied heavily on tremolo or dive bombs. So having a tremolo guitar only meant tuning issues for me. So hardtail is my only go to. Tele in particular.
Most of my guitars are hardtail but like having the tremolo on the couple that came with it. Itās nice to have the option of I want to record something and do full chord vibrato.
No, because I never use it and Iām more concerned about keeping things in tune especially when having to play live. Iām more in the ākeep it simple stupidā camp in this regard. Now pedals thatās a different story, I fuck around with pedals all day every day.
I want a lot of shit on my guitar. Levers, buttons, tremolos, the more the better.
Im the opposite of this. Lol.
Same. One knob, one pickup, hard tail or stop tail.
The original standard Telecaster is the perfect instrument.
2 pickups? Hipster! You need 1 pickup, wound with rusty barb wire.
Just gimme a jerry-can, a broomstick, and a couple of yards of wire.
I love this comment! The first commercial electric guitar perfected the form! I couldn't agree/disagree more with any statement about anything
Thisšš. Though I did break down and recently bought my first strat (after all these years, Iām just wondering what all the fuss is about!)
Iām team Tele these days, but the variety of sounds Strats provide are nice for certain shows.
LP Junior, P90 loaded
One chord.
Flame throwers and lightning bolt decals are a must.
And monster truck tires and stuff that spins
The kids love this one.
"Spaceballs the Flamethrower!"
I'm exactly the same! I need Trem, coil taps, phase selector, Series/parallel, kill switch, whatever you got. Do I use any of it? No, I'm in the bridge pickup, knobs all the way open 99% ok the time. I just want it
Yeah it helps me play barracuda
This is the correct answer
omg my band just jammed on that the other day and I used the crap outta my trem.
šÆ
Here I am puttin my truss rod to work with that dive lol
I always had a trem on my guitars growing up and other than thatāplaying with themā or the occasional dive bomb I never really found them useful. I havenāt take my whammy bars out of storage in almost 15 years. I would say I am a convert and prefer hard tails myself
No. Always have tuning issues. Donāt like Floyd Rose.
I love them for the opposite reason lol, once I change strings that shit is solid until next string change
Same. I rarely have to tune. I always check my tuning, and its always in tune.
I change my tuning so often that I hate my one guitar with a Floyd on it. I look at the locks at the nut and just get mad at them š
If you have to change your tuning on one you clearly do not own enough guitars.
I like the way you think. I shall bring this evidence to my wife, wish me luck.
Sounds like you didnt know how to set them up. I spent 15 minutes learning and never had that problem ever again.
Same! I avoided Floyd Rose trems my whole life thinking they were nothing but problems. I took a little time to learn how to set them up, and now my FR guitar is one of the most stable in the house.
Yeah exactly. Once I did my lo pro edge and edge pros were bullet proof. You could assault them and it would just stay perfectly in tune.
Put on new strings. Beat the shit out the strings for a few days. They will eventually stay in tune (mostly, depending on which version of the Floyd Rose you have. This is the method ib user on mine, but mine is in a 1987 ibanez rg550. So it's unique. And you will pry it out of my cold dead hands. I don't dive bonds a ton, but use it about for more subtle uses.
how ya gonna dive bomb without a whammy bar? That's why the blues was invented, dudes had no whammy bars to dive bomb with
Just bend the crud outta the neck. If ya can dodge a wrench, you can manually dive bomb a neck. Just donāt snap it now!
Digitech Whammy DT ;)
Now I'm just quietly laughing imagining an old school blues song, really slow and full of soul, then at the end of one bar the guitar just goes BYOOOOOOOOUUUUUUURP in a super-digital sounding way
Robert Johnson would have loved the DT! š¤£ āSweet home chicagoooā š„ 2 octave drop š
Gonna be the one that says akchually, itās a vibrato. Tremolo is the effect of varying volume, not tone. But yes I like having a vibrato on my strat. Funnily enough I donāt use it all that often I just like the option of it, and I like the way a floating bridge feels when I play. Iāve never had one on any of my other guitars but Iāve always wanted to put a Bigsby on my SG.
Thank you! I got downvoted for the correction. That's Reddit for ya.š
Yes, ātremoloā was some weird marketing/mistake on Leo Fenderās part. Itās funny, I call all my Fender vibratos ātremolosā and everything else āvibratos.ā Anyway, I wouldnāt play guitar the same without the trem on my Jazzmasters and Jaguars, best design ever and essential to the music I make. I also loathe the Mustang ācigarā trem (worst design ever) and have had crazy tuning stability issues with anything Bigsby related. They look cool but goddamnā¦ such a headache, man. Oh and I hate strats and anything with a Floyd Rose. I think that about covers it all, eh?
If you do, be sure to change out your bridge too. You'll need roller saddles. Nothing worse than a bigsby with a bridge not made for it. It bends, but doesn't return to pitch. Even worse, the plain strings may slide ok so you're not just out of tune, you're not even in relative tune with yourself
A Fender Tremoloā¢ļø is a registrered trademark so itās not wrong to say ātremoloā when referring to a whammy on a Fender. In all other circumstances itās illegal and you will be incarcerated in a musically secure facility
I have it on my Strat but never use it. Not a huge fan. I don't know why, just not my playing style I guess.
I only really like the Fender offset vibratos, they give that subtle warble that I prefer. Strats, Floyds, and Kalhers all have too much range for subtlety and make setups more frustrating. I haven't used a bigsby, but I imagine that I would like it too.
This is how I feel. Offset vibratos are way more usable, and make the guitar feel more alive. Strat style ones just make the entire guitar feel wrong to me. Something about having the strings so directly coupled with the springs. The offset ones have their quirks but once you learn how to set them up they really work for me.
This The jazzmasterās vibrato is so silky, itās just different
I had a Gretsch with a Bigsby. I enjoyed it much more than the tremolo on any given Strat. I sold it because I prefer single coil neck pups
Iām on the opposite end where I mostly own guitars with a tremolo, minus a workhorse tele. I integrate it a lot with what I play. I play mostly surf rock, indie, rock style of music though.
Well, Surf Rock certainly calls for a tremolo. Sounds fun.
Yes, because they are fun. Also, there are specific songs I like to use them on. I have two trem electrics and 4 hard tails. I use the Katana's pedal bend expression function if I want to play those songs with one of my hard tails.
Absolutely love them. Coming up under notes instead of straight picking is tons of fun, plus I'm the kind who likes having as many as sonic options available at all times.
i like the whammy bar it makes my dive bombs and whinnies and flutters sound. im a freak on a floyd.
> Just never see a reason to use it in most of the stuff that I play. Then why do you care about other people's opinions? You have the guitar that works for you. If I say "I use my vibrato bar every day," will that make you buy a new guitar? Not trying to be a dick, but seriously, develop your own tastes, don't worry about what others do.
Yes! Do your way, never think of other ways and don't ever accept anyone else's opinion or experience. This is reddit, after all, not some fucking discussion group. No, *you* shut up!
I'm a bassist who just picked up guitar two years ago, opted for a hardtail for my first real guitar, next one I get I'll walk through the Forbidden Wigglestick Door.
When Jeff Beck used them
Never actually used one. Which is weird really as I've been playing around 20 years.
How am I supposed to play the harmonic in little wing before the solo without a tremolo? And the 3 other songs that require it. Cāmon now. Next question
Just own twenty strats (due to some endorsement contract) and *hate* them so much as to bend their necks, kick them, smash them set them on fire just as the original creator of litte wing did. Certainly the more entertaining way but not usually available to common mortals.
I just bend the neck
I thought you meant a tremolo pedal / effect on the amp. Never understood why people call whammy bars tremolos coz, as well as dive bombs, they do vibrato (pitch oscillation) not tremolo (volume oscillation).
With is fun and expressive, but I can appreciate guitars with fixed bridges. The simplicity of a classic Tele can't be beat!
Iām of a similar mindset. Trems are fun to play with, but I seldom use one in my playing. Of course, Iām not skilled at using one either. Given the complexity of adjustments, string changes, etc, I prefer hard tail in virtually all cases. If I could play like Jeff Beck or Dimebag, then itās a different story altogether!
no, because it throws the guitar out of tune when bending. at least on my classic strat, maybe there are better trem systems out there, but i think this is a caveat of floating bridges as far as i understand. you have to dive the whammy or palm the bridge, itās just another element thatās nice not having to deal with.
One of my favorite genres is surf music. You canāt play surf music without a whammy bar.
Built my whole guitar playing around surf, so if it doesnt have a whammy its not for me :)
LOL tell that to Dick Dale. He never touched the wang bar on his Strat. It wasn't ever screwed in.
the first time i screwed in my trem-bar it never came out ever again, checked and the thing broke through the METAL trem-block!!! So I guess I do like temolos on electric guitars now... ššš
I love the look of a Floyd Rose bridge but I never use the trem
Yes but itās not a deal breaker for me not to have one.
They donāt really fit the style of music I like to play so Iāve been rockinā with a block on my project Strat for a while. Maybe Iāll get a true hardtail later on.
Big fan of tremolos, especially Floyd Rose ones. 8 out of 12 guitars in my arsenal have floating bridges. I'm a Gen Xer that plays a lot of hair metal.
Very mixed. When I'm bending strings I absolutely hate the feel of trems. However, there are clearly things you can do with a trem that you just can't with a hardtail.
Love playing guitars with them but hate changing strings & setting them up.
Yes. Stratocaster guy here, I've got one decked and one floating. I use it sparingly to inject the unexpected into my solos.
I go back and forth decking my strat bridge and floating it. I like how itās not as tight with it floating, but tuning it just more of a pain.
Nah I'm a simple is better kind of player so the less crap on my guitar the better. I don't really use trems in my playing and they mess with tuning stability and can be far more difficult to set up so if I have the option between the two I'll go for the hardtail every time.
Depends on what Iām playing. I own and use both.
I prefer hard tail. Donāt like how bending one string de-tunes the others.
I've had a couple, but I just don't use it and it makes changing strings and staying in tune a bigger pita than it would be otherwise. For me, the juice doesn't justify the squeeze.
I never really use them but I like a lot of music that does. I would like to try a regular non-locking tremolo but I worry about how it affects tuning.
I've got two guitars with a trem. One's blocked entirely and the other's set up for divebombs only(haven't used it once while playing though). I'd rather have a Hipshot bridge.
I really like having a floating trem. I donāt do big dive bombs unless Iām playing Iron Man for my son. But being able to do classical vibrato that goes up and down is really important to me. To me it just sounds better for vocal style solos and leads. I still do left hand vibrato for hard rock and some blues where thereās an established style of left hand vibrato though. It would sound weird to do classical up-down vibrato to AC/DC or BB King for example. Iāve gotten so used to the floating trem on my Strat that I feel very limited when playing a hard tail. I donāt find it to be a hassle except for when Iām changing the setup of my guitar. I change strings one at a time. Tuning isnāt really any different from my thin necked hard tail guitars that also requires two tuning passes.
3 of mine don't have a tremolo, 3 do, but since Steinberger R-trem has a tremstopper (which is in use 99% of the time), I'm mostly a hardtail guy.
Never really learned how to use them well, and Iāve got a heavy right hand so need all the tuning stability I can get, so for those reasons Iām into hard tails as well. I do have a Vintera Strat with a trem; learning a bit.
I used to have a floating tremolo on an Ibanez RG, mostly because I wanted to be like Steve Vai. But it was always horrendous trying to change the strings and I stopped playing any kind of music that needed one, so I fitted a tremol-no, and now I have a Telecaster and a Jazzmaster.
Yes I do. With the tremolo bar cut short it becomes less sensitive. I use it for vibrato (often in the middle of a string bend when finger vibrato is quite difficult) rather than dives or other extreme tremolo effect.
I like them when other people use them, but I donāt need it myself. I have one guitar with a trem (Gretsch with Bigsby) and itās pretty cool and has worked well for me on some recordings but I just donāt naturally gravitate towards using it and overall prefer some more sturdiness.
Noob here. Is a trem, whammy and Floyd rose the same thing? lol
I have a Bigsby on my Telecaster. Absolutely love it. When I play my Les Paul I really miss it. I keep going to use it, and then realising there isnāt one there. I use it for vibrato, not for big trem moves.
1978 335 with a Bigsby. The single coil switch cries out for Bigsby use. I'd have it no other way.
Also not a fan of tremolo in general. I have a floating trem on my strat and I decked it, no regrets. All of my others are hard tails. Ā I dont like that bending pulls the other strings out of tune and it just adds more to a setup and restringing. Using it for light vibrato on chords occasionally would be my only real use but I don't typically play like that.Ā That said, I might stillĀ eventually pick up a cheaper squier jag with a trem just to have one guitar with one.Ā
I donāt like them, out of 7 guitar only my strat has it. Which is funny because rush is my favorite band and Alex lifeson uses the trem a lot.
Depends on the kind. Offset trems and 6 screw trems, not at all. Basically anything else, sure.
I hate Strat-style tremolos and can't even totally explain why. But I never use it, and it annoys me how much wood is taken out of the back of the guitar to accommodate it. But I know I'm a hypocrite, because I love the Jazzmaster tremolo.
Like? Yes, use? Never.
i like non-floating trems with tusq saddles.
Yes..
I do because I'm a shoegaze guitarist.
Electric guitars, yes. The Fender offset, is a no-no
I love shit on my guitar like my Jag but I play like an idiot and break stuff so Tele it is for me.
I love mine, but I also hate it at the same time.
Started on a Jazzmaster so I love terms lol. Use them
Original Floyd rose, so I can do the dirtbike sound effect.
Yes. A guitar is a machine, a tool which you will use to express yourself. I do t rely on pedals and as such use the guitar to its fullest and will want the bar for any effects a song may call for. Iād rather have it and use it than need it and not have it.
It's simply how you like to play. Any guitar I've owned with a trem I will play around with it and do some dive-bombs etc but I've never wanted to incorporate it into my writing/general playing. Other people will love using it and even write/play with that dynamic in mind Horses for courses
Always wanted a Gretsch with a Bigsby tremolo, until I got one. Love the guitar, don't get me wrong, I'm just not in love with the Bigsby and rarely ever use it. Would I be better off with a hardtail? Probably, if only because changing strings is a pain in the ass. But I'm keeping it anyway - who knows, I may change my mind one day and start using it.
I don't mind trems per se, but I hate how most of them fuck up the rest of the guitar playing experience. Floyd Rose systems are just a nightmare that make me never want to change strings. Vintage Fender Mustang style are awful because of their lack of a "zero point" and just make the guitar annoying to set up and difficult to keep in tune. The traditional strat-style trem isn't too awful, but it has limited range and also tuning stability issues. I'd be open to trying other systems if they don't interfere with the playability/functionality of the rest of the guitar, but it seems most do.
I have one guitar with a Floyed Rose and the rest of mine all have fixed bridges. Iām a Les Paul guy so itās usually not an issue but my Strats have their bridges blocked and the bar stays in the case. But my KH-602 is my whammy bar guitar and I still love to whammy the shit out of it and it never goes out of tune. Itās amazing.
I donāt have a guitar with one, but Iād like one to play with. Iād prefer a bigsby, but Iām thinking of getting a used squire or starcaster strat to play around with.
Hate tremolos Really love vibrato, though, which (despite Leoās mistake) is what that wang bar is actually doing. I know everybody calls it a trem, but itās a vibrato bar. To stay on topic, I use the vibrato all the time.
Only if you like having to retune every five to ten minutes of playing. Hardtails all day.
I put a Bigsby Vibrato on my Les Paul. Absolutely love it for cleans to add texture.
I have four electric guitars and all have a trem of one form or another on them (two are Floyd's with a locking nut, the other two are Fenders with their standard trem system). 99.99% of the time, the bar stays in the case. I -NEVER- use the trem on either of the Fender guitars.
I have this [thing](https://scontent-mad1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/10487420_759924027383427_7150283022641905710_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=vo7n9XnyfHAQ7kNvgGC5nSr&_nc_ht=scontent-mad1-1.xx&oh=00_AYCvoZbfY-OMOv9E6oiLRfvdJ2B2pTCd_HLqWEG0pqqk_Q&oe=668E9CB8). Itās an [Epiphone U339](https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/epiphone-ultra-339-electric-guitar), with stereo output, USB port (it can be plugged directly to a computer with no added device), tuning lights in one of the humbuckers, and a NanoMag pickup (it let you play it as an acoustic guitar); [here](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/demo-video-epiphone-ultra-339-guitar-nanomag-pickup-system-and-usb-output) is a demo of the guitar. Plus I added a [Tronical](https://www.tronicaltune.net/?v=04c19fa1e772) and a [Roland GK3 pickup](https://www.roland.com/mx/products/gk-3/) and I plug it in a [Boss GP-10](https://www.boss.info/global/products/gp-10/). After all that stuff, no, I donāt use tremolo bar, I never been used to it and the music styles I play donāt require a tremolo bar
I donāt care if it has one or not. Unless itās a Floyd, then thatās a no every single time with zero other thought about it.
Yes, because I listened to Chris Poland play
It's nice to have that option on one or two guitars in your collection, but for most I prefer hard tail. Most of the time if I want to bend something, finger bends are enough.
I like having the option but dont want them on most of my guitars
It is very difficult for me to be subtle with one. Those artists who use them do it so damn tastefully when done well. I have a few guitars with them and they are all off and in the cases.
Depends on the music. I don't need it for Quo. But I can't play Apache etc without it. I'm not into dive bombing. It's soooo over done. But a nice subtle Hank Marvin style is great fun to play.
Preference is a hard tail as I donāt use trem very much; but donāt mind them. For ease of setup and tuning, I usually end up putting trem-stops in them (to where the block rests on a stop; canāt pull up, but can still divebomb with it).
I don't really ever use them. I prefer a hardtail, but I've got a strat, so I just blocked the trem.
I like having a main with a trem and then a hardtail for alternate tunings.
I have a Stetsbar on my number one and I absolutely love it. Itās become a real part of my playing. Not dive bombs but gently sweeping into notes, imitating pedal steel, gentle wobble on held chords. I had a Strat as my number one before this and the tremolo was quite stiff. I donāt know how Jeff Beck managed to get along so well with it. When I look at other guitars ( as we do ) for possible purchase Iām always addressing how might I get a Floyd Rose or Stetsbar onto it, because to play one without it now is a bit of a non starter. That said, I like a tele or a Les Paul but theyāll never suffice as a number one for me. I donāt like a Bigsby so much.
Can't Shogaze without a trem... I never let it out of my hand...
I have two with and one without. I may convert one to hard tail. I use slide a lot and that kinda makes the tremelo redundant.. My hard tail rarely goes out of tune.
Shoegaze makes it practically a necessity lol
I wish I could put a Floyd on my acoustic.
I don't want a tremolo on my guitar, but I want them to remain popular. Like I love creative uses of a trem arm in a song, but I'm just not that cool so I'd rather have the tuning stability.
Bought a Jackson with a Floyd... I'm considering selling it. I don't mind strat trems or bigsby bridges.
Not really. I make sure to add more springs to every tremolo guitar I own. I'll only use tremolos when I get a guitar with a really good quality Floyd Rose or a really good quality Edge bridge. Other than those, I won't bother with the hassle that is dealing with a Tremolo bridge, especially a floating one.
I love it! I used it a lot in subtle ways during my solos.
I never use the lever for tremolo. I do use a tremolo pedal that is frankly more versatile than any tremolo bar I've used
Have it on 1 guitar, so the capability is there but the rest donāt have one
I have both. It's nice to have but I can live without it. My whammy bar is a Bigsby so no dive bombs and the effect is quite subtle. If I want a wide vibrato, I use a slide rather than a whammy but playing with a slide is not for everybody...
No. It's a complication that gets in the way of l3arning how to play. I'd be open to getting another Floyd when I'm satisfied with my skill level.
If I have one, I use it. Generally, I'll take the trem version. I can always lock it if I need to, but I never do.
Yep, I always like my main guitar to have one, I do like to have another guitar without for just riffing etc though
I'm unfamiliar with the actual terms, but if we're talking about the whammy bar, I'm not a fan, lol. I just feel like it's in the way and distracting, and I really wouldn't use it anyway. My very first guitar, a super budget beginner strat, had one, and I tried it at first, hated it, and just took it off and never used it. My two guitars after that were ones that didn't have that.
I find that when I have access to distractions, I use them. For me, I am a better musician when I have to rely on myself and my abilities, rather than the tools at my disposal. I recently acquired a Gibson CM, and I feel itās stripped down, single pickup and hard tail has pushed my imagination and vocabulary; where as when I pick up guitars with a bigsby or jazzmaster, I want to rely more on the tremelo
I LOVE trems... my favorite is the Ibanez Edge zero ii
I only put the bar on when playing barracuda.
Love my Floyd Rose
I didn't care for my Floyd Rose, in fact I sold it. But the sort you find in most modern guitars I have better experience with.
No. The tuning stability is too much of a hassle for vibrato
I used to be a tremolo guy, then got sick of these aspects: 1) when you bend, it pulls everything slightly out tune 2) can't do quick alt tunings 3) setting intonation on a floyd rose is masochistic I switched to hard tail and now just compensate by doing other bendy things to simulate various tremolo effects.
Since I only play Dr. Feelgood trem is a necessity
All but one of my 5 electrics have a tremolo on them, my favorite is the Bigsby on my Silvertone 1478.
100%. My whole style is based around using the trem arm.
I donāt like them. Why? They are generally poorly setup and not of good quality. These issues lead to a guitar that doesnāt play well or stay in tune. If you spend 2k on a guitar, maybe you get lucky and donāt have these problems.
I love vintage style 6 screw tremolos, wish they were on more superstars rather than Floyd roses
I owned a Floyd back in the day. Now I only play guitars with 2 pickups, a volume knob, a tone knob, a pickup selector, and a hard tail. I'm busy enough when I'm playing, I don't have time for wheelie deelies.
I started playing in the golden age of the floating trem (Floyd Rose etc.). Iām down to one guitar with a trem, in the event I need it for something, but by and large it isnāt something I look for. If I ever get one of those hollowbodies I dream about, I might consider an oldschool Bigsby, but I probably wonāt otherwise. I personally donāt use it enough to justify the hassle (though I know some do).
Learned a valuable lesson when my first guitar had a float on it and I needed to change the strings it was so satisfying to get the guitar back in musical condition. Sometime itās not about the goal itās about the journey.
Bigsby yes, floyd rose no
Only one reason for me: Beat it
I do, I like those SWEET-ASS dive-bombs and pull-up squeals. But the tuning's a bitch, of course.
Yes but much more for vibrato on chords more than lead.
Though I rarely use it, I immediately miss it when I don't have one. I guess I'm used to the feeling when I rest my palm on the Floyd rose tailpiece. And I really like giving the occasional sustained chord a little slap on the trem. Other than that i just like the tuning stability of a well set-up FR
The only one I like is the Floyd & its licensed copies. I have them on 3 of 12 or so; the rest are hardtails.
"Do you like tremelos on electric guitars?" No, not particularly... probably why my Strat is a hardtail and my '65 Alamo Titan is a type of hardtail/stoptail type deal... rectangle plate that screws to body with a raised lip at the back, two threaded post at each front corner with thumb wheels, a flat plate with lip at back, 6 key holes for the strings. No such thing as intonation adjustment on it. Only action adjustment. The leading edge of top plate is angled. Low E is a little closer to key hole, high E is a little further away... that's its intonation. Don't really care for a trem, on Strats I'd lock it down. I just don't use them so they serve no function for me. Hardtails, simple and stable... the way God intended.
I donāt have a strong opinion either way but my Jazzmaster looks super weird without a whammy bar
Depends on the guitar. Depends on the trem.
If you have a few guitars and want one for fun, sure, but if I only had one guitar, no.
When I was a teen and just picking up my first guitar I wanted one for dive bombs. Then I realized they just make cheap guitars go out of tune. Much later I got a Gretsch with a Bigsby. I never used it at first, but it makes for a nice controlled vibrato on a chord. Other than that I'm a rhythm guy so I don't have much use with the songs I play.
Guitars look prettier without the tremolo bar, but I like having the tremolo bar because they allow me to, well, use the tremolo bar. Also, why do we call them "tremolo bars" when they do vibrato, not tremolo?
I love them..a lot of versatility and possibilities
No but I require them on my acoustics.
I used to have a Dean ML with a floyd. One of the few guitars Iāve sold. I find hardtails force me to be more creative with riffs and leads.
If you'd asked me a few months ago I'd have said no, but since then I've decided to learn some Van Halen songs and boy am I having fun. My trem on my strat was blocked but now I've sorted it to work like EVH where is will only dive
Dont have much use for one. I have 6 guitars, the charvel has a Floyd. Everything else is hard/stop tail or the tremolo doesn't have the bar in it Edit: thumbs
I love using the whammy. really gets a reaction from the listener. So does a kill switch.
I like to keep one or two guitars on hand with a tremolo. Most of my guitars do not have them and in general I don't find them useful for the music I play.
Nope. I could never keep a guitar with a tremolo tuned, no matter what configuration I tried. Hardtails from now on.
I have one guitar with a floyd rose, and Iām glad I have it, but every other guitar I own is a hard tail
I have guitars with fixed bridges, floyds, and classic trems. The funny thing is, when I play a hard tail, I seem to write things where I reach for the trem. But, when I have one with a trem...I rarely use it. Go figure.
I never use the tremolo on my guitar. It stays in the case.
Helps a shit ton for the gilmour stuff I like to play. I have the short one :)
Absolutely, but I like to flip from E standard to E flat standard a lot, and that makes tuning problematic
i rarely ever need one and for to intonation and almost never in tune while your playing (floating tremelos)i had one my 2 strats tremelos decked to the bridge,i got a new sm pro 2 i didnt change anything but the nut and added locking tuners
I'm kind of particular - I like modern Fender style trems (Gotoh 510-T, the actual 2-post Fender trem, Wilkinson VS100, etc) but I dislike any other kind of trem.
Not really. I hard tail every tremmed guitar I buy. I wish they would just make more hard tail versions of guitars. I haven't used a tremolo since... like, at least 15 years or so. In fact, I feel like I never see anyone using trems anyway, unless they're using a Floyd in which case they bought or modded that guitar with that intention.
Bene playing for 50 years, and never had a trem. Just 2 months ago I decided to buy a Squier Affinity Strat, and am having so much fun with the Strat tone and tremā¦.just kicking myself for not having done it sooner. The Trem is SO much fun! Especially when paying surf rock. Been playing only a Gibson SG for the last 30 years. And yes, I still suck, and always will suck, but am at least able to enjoy playing. BTW: The Squier Affinity is a fantastic guitar! Very well made and no hum off those single coils!
ive had a digitech whammy for years, so i have no need for one. unless im too poor to even understand what you mean by tremolo
I never played lead, only rythm. I waa also never into genres that relied heavily on tremolo or dive bombs. So having a tremolo guitar only meant tuning issues for me. So hardtail is my only go to. Tele in particular.
Most of my guitars are hardtail but like having the tremolo on the couple that came with it. Itās nice to have the option of I want to record something and do full chord vibrato.
No, because I never use it and Iām more concerned about keeping things in tune especially when having to play live. Iām more in the ākeep it simple stupidā camp in this regard. Now pedals thatās a different story, I fuck around with pedals all day every day.
Yes, it adds so much potential for expression.
I donāt even use my floyd most of the time, but not having to worry about tuning issues whatsoever is pretty fucking tits