Shark Guitars Convertible Bridge

Peavey Herman said:

Has anybody here seen this? Looks like a marriage of the best aspects of a Floyd and a Kahler.

Damn expensive, though. $780/€671 plus the nut for $175/€150.

But their whole "Guitar 2.0" concept looks intriguing.
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It looks cool, aside from the price. Also, don't think it would be an easy retrofit.
 
I had a Carvin D400 back in the mid-1990s that had a Wilkinson VS100CV convertible bridge that worked pretty well.

They stopped making them for quite a while due to patent infringement(IIRC), but they're available now.
 

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secondwindow said:
It looks cool, aside from the price. Also, don't think it would be an easy retrofit.
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How do you mean? DIY? Sure. I don't even have a CNC machine. Give it to a pro. As you can see in the video, they provide the CNC templates and the route is smaller than Floyd/Kahler, as far as I can tell.

Or do you mean replacing an existing whammy?
 
Peavey Herman said:
How do you mean? DIY? Sure. I don't even have a CNC machine. Give it to a pro. As you can see in the video, they provide the CNC templates and the route is smaller than Floyd/Kahler, as far as I can tell.

Or do you mean replacing an existing whammy?
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Maybe "retrofit" isn't the right term. I did mean replacing an existing whammy. Definitely would need to be installed by someone with the right skills.
 
It looks like a nice design and the build looks to be high quality.

The real issue is that getting a guitar with one of these bridges (or any niche design) will be a nightmare for long term serviceability. Unless the bridge gets picked up by a major manufacturer and becomes used widespread, you'll be in a tough spot if something breaks down the line due to limited availability of replacement parts.
 
OrganicZed said:
It looks like a nice design and the build looks to be high quality.

The real issue is that getting a guitar with one of these bridges (or any niche design) will be a nightmare for long term serviceability. Unless the bridge gets picked up by a major manufacturer and becomes used widespread, you'll be in a tough spot if something breaks down the line due to limited availability of replacement parts.
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That's a good point.
 
secondwindow said:
I had a Carvin D400 back in the mid-1990s that had a Wilkinson VS100CV convertible bridge that worked pretty well.

They stopped making them for quite a while due to patent infringement(IIRC), butyd they're available now.
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I retrofitted a Carvin DC127's stock tremolo to that convertible bridge 20 years ago. Maybe it was me, but I could never get it to feel/work right. Eventually went to a Gotoh. Miss the performance of a double-locking Floyd, but not the headaches. Always keeping an eye out for new options.
 
Justmc said:
I retrofitted a Carvin DC127's stock tremolo to that convertible bridge 20 years ago. Maybe it was me, but I could never get it to feel/work right. Eventually went to a Gotoh. Miss the performance of a double-locking Floyd, but not the headaches. Always keeping an eye out for new options.
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I don't use the trem much, so the VS100CV was alright. These days, I wouldn't care for it because I like getting a gentle vibrato by just using the heel of my hand on the bridge, without reaching for the bar. With the VS100VC, it's always a fixed bridge until you rotate the arm up. Also, no possible to flick the bar to get that warble. The Shark bridge seems like it would resolve those "issues".
 
The break angle at the rollers bothers me. This is too similar to a Kahler in this respect, and that's a recipe for major tone sucking, unless I'm misunderstanding something. My Kahler would not even begin to stay in tune unless I reduced the break angle massively, and it sounded thin and awful. The Kahler also maintains the same string action during trem use, but I that does not seem like a good thing to me. I'd like to be wrong, because I think this trem is beautiful, and I like that so much thought has gone into it, but I'd have to hear a lot of examples of great tone before I went for one. If I had the extra cash I'd opt for the MayTrem MyTrem, or just get a VegaTrem.
 
Peavey Herman said:
Go to SharkGuitars.com and find out. :D They sell direct to customer, have customization options (but you need to register an account to use the "3D Builder"), but I don't know their S&H costs and all those taxes and customs and sh1t.
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Way too pricey for the average guitarist, but if they OEM the bridge, nuts, and the frets, check out Gotoh for the improved design :)
 
oacikgoz said:
Way too pricey for the average guitarist, but if they OEM the bridge, nuts, and the frets, check out Gotoh for the improved design :)
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The bridge is unexpectedly expensive, but full guitars are more in line with moderately high end pricing, with the caveat of unknown shipping, taxes, customs fees, etc. But dang that bridge is expensive!
 
Ì was thinking the prices were much less than I thought they would be. I guess these are not for the average guitarist. The NAMM video explains everything about the bridge. It’s a hell of a design and piece of equipment. I haven’t seen anything that comes close. Has everyone asking questions watched the whole NAMM video with Dweezil?

The only thing that gave me some concern was the connection of the neck and whether it affects energy transfer. I suppose it’s a nice trade for all the options it gives. I was very curious about the fret and nut adjustment.
 
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