Any one experienced a tremolo stabilizer?

R

Roadrunner

Power User
I'm looking for a stabilizer for Schaller tremolo something like this
Tremol No Products | Allparts.com
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I also found this:
Tremsetter > Store > Hipshot Products
$_57.JPG




And this:
The Last Word in Tremolo Stabilization
$(KGrHqZ,!o4FEh(idEg)BRudRkbzsw~~60_57.JPG


I need it so I can switch tuning fast like Eb or D etc…
Anyone tried any of the mentioned and can recommend?
Thanks.
 
I have experience with this...

The fist thing I would recommend- Would be the tremsetter
because it has a spring/mechanism both directions-

However- this will NOT work for you

The first one- the tremel-no would probably be the only one that would work
because you'd need to set it to only go down and not float- in order to change tunings on the fly...

I do not think it's possible to have a floating tremolo guitar and quickly tune between Standard/halfstep/wholestep down

I also don't like changing tunings on guitars at all- have a guitar for standard, have a guitar for Eb (with proper intonation and string perference) and a guitar for D once again- you might want a heavier string- or not- but there will be slight intonation issues--

---
Now to elaborate on my personal experience--
I use Ibanez Backstop is the most sought after and best- they're impossible to find and only Vai can get 'em.

I have had good results with the new zero trem system that has springs both ways....

I spent years trying to fix my whammy bar problems...

I had my guitars at times blocked off - that made my life easy- but no bar going up

NOW- here's how i solved some issues (with ibanez rg's- mostly cheaper ones with good pickups)

1- I got genuine floyd rose springs- big improvement (i used to use the black fender american springs)
2- I got genuine floyd rose made in germany nuts
3- Proper set up/fretdress/neck shim/nut shim- my guitar guy will spend hours trying to find the right tension/combination of 3 springs for perfect results
4- whenever using the bar UP- do a quick motion down again- so you're going up to pitch and not leaving everything sharp
5- The tremsetter wasn't worth the effort- didn't do wonders- a glued in piece of wood was better so you could alternate tune and still bar dive down

6- the most important for me- i ditched my cheap indonesian crap for real guitars- I got a JEM and haven't had tuning issues since-
 
I put a tremseetter on my old Ibanez RG 550 so I could use a D- Tuna on it. It stabilizes things. Your strings will will feel tighter and stiffer. Also, if you try to do the Vai trem warble effect, it will no longer flutter. I does make switching tuning a lot easier.
 
I've installed a Tremol-no on two guitars for a student here, one was a strat, the other was a JP Musicman, it worked great in both. I'm going to put one in my own strat this week in fact. I have the trem blocked in most of my guitars as I don't really use them generally, but on my strat I want to leave it floating but have the option to lock it when I want to change tunings.

I've tried guitars with tremsetters but never liked the feel of them, that slight 'click' in the middle of the action feels a bit weird to me. Maybe you get used to it though, I've never owned a guitar with one.
 
From what I see of the Tremol-No, is not really a stabilization device, it's more a way of quickly changing the 'global' behavior of the guitar (hardtail, dive, full float). I use the Super Vee Mag Lok, an ultra-simple design which IS a true stabilization device in that on my strat, with a floating trem, ALL it does is keep double stop bends etc. in tune. It essentially adds a tiny amount of resistance before you 'break' into a trem bend, using a magnet. It works. It, along with my Blade Runner trem, are a bit stiffer than my stock strat trem, which I'm not crazy about, but they work. I think the Tremol-No looks like a cool device. I might even get one, but it's quite different than something to improve intonation of bends etc. whilst using a floating trem.

P.S. It is SIMPLE to install.

joe.emenaker.com/TremStabilizers/MagLok.html

Super Vee Technology (scroll down for an explanation of the Mag-Lok).
 
^ Indeed that's true, the Tremol-no has no effect on stability when unlocked. It's whole purpose is to allow you to switch very quickly to a locked or dive only mode so that you can change tunings quickly, for that it works great but it's a totally different purpose to something like a Tremsetter.
 
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I will echo what others have said... the two typs of systems that you have posted are ment to do different things. If what your really after is tuning changes on the fly then the Tremol-no is the best way to go short of blocking the trem. Just to be clear you can't do both at the same time with this device, to use it in full floating mode the guitar has to be tuned where the Tremol-no was setup to allow the trem to float. lock it down to drop tunings and you still have the ability to dive bomb but that's it.
 
I have the one in the last pic (Göldo) Backbox in a Charvel ProMod Socal.
The initial setup takes a little time. After setting the distance of the "piston" correctly and
tightening the spring on it, the Floyd bridge is basically dive only.
I can use a D-tuner without any problem.
 
Unless you need to pull up why not just rest the bridge against the guitar body?
 
The Mag-lok looks like it could be a perfect solution for double stops and other bends. I thought the Tremol-no would do that too?
 
luke said:
Unless you need to pull up why not just rest the bridge against the guitar body?
Click to expand...

on many guitars this can create a sharp angle on the strings where it meets the saddle and is not ideal, decreasing string life. if it's designed to be floating, this is usually the case. many strat style guitars have the saddle very round so you can make the trem flush without damaging the strings.

i used a tremol-no on my first JP6 many years ago. i think they've improved the model since the first version, but i could either lock the trem completely or have it in dive only. i felt i still had to be a bit gentle on it, as it was only a couple of set screws digging into pot metal keeping me from moving the trem.

if i did forget and use the trem a bit hard when it was in lock mode, i did move it and the bridge was now angled a bit with my guitar out of tune. you also have to leave the back panel open if you want to change it around.

it's ok, but i don't need that feature anymore and i took it off. hmm maybe i should revisit - i hate being absolutely useless if a string breaks!
 
I have tried both a hipshot tremsetter (on a 1990 Strat Ultra) and a Mag-Lok (on a 2000 Tom Anderson Drop Top).

Even though both behave relatively well as claimed (they allow double-stops without the other strings going slack), I find that they completely ruin the feel of the tremolo arm. It feels stiff, and there is a very apparent neutral point that you feel every time you go across it.

In my case, even though I would love the stable tuning during double-stops, the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits. I *need* the ability to use the tremolo arm subtly, near the neutral point, just to give a bit of vibrato, and both the tremsetter and mag-lok completely kill that ability.

I took them out of both guitars and will learn to live with the natural shortcomings of floating bridges.
 
I usually don't even have the trem bar attached; I just rock my hand on the bridge to get some vibrato. If the Mag-Lok won't allow that then I probably wouldn't want to use it.
 
Just to clear, I've asked as I was looking for a quick solution for alternate tuning on a floyed loaded guitar.
It's not for compensating a broken string etc, just locking the bridge, quick tune and off you go….
Many important points where mentioned though.
I would always prefer a tuned guitar for E, and another one for D and so on but we are now just experimenting alternate tuning according to our singer so nothing is fixed yet so before I send all my guitars to the tech, I think it's easier and cheaper with the tremolo lock.

If we already mentioned bridges…
I must say I'm very disappointed with my Schaller floyed (only 3 years old), its hard as rock (can be fixed though) it never stay in tune, if I rock the vibrato arm too much it will go out of tune and if I just give it a fast dive it will not always go back to "0" state.
I like the Double Edge Pro on my RG1828X, its very solid, stay in tune but the tremolo on the MM JP6 is absolutely a killer! Its sharp, lightning fast and loose, and always in tune, it’s my favorite tremolo of all types.
 
I would say the ONLY stable way to do alternate tunings on a floyd rose is getting the guitar professionally blocked

Runs me about $20 for a piece of wood glued to the back

I can still dive down but not up- makes life a lot easier

When I played with a band that insisted on tuning 1/2 step down I had to get all my main guitars blocked for that time period...

Other than a block- I don't think any of those stablizers would be a good idea

I also don't recommend alternate tuning a floyd rose guitar- unless you have 3 tunings and 3 separate guitars
 
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