You got any thoughts on the Evertune Bridge system?

CrazyBadGuitarist

CrazyBadGuitarist

Inspired
So a while back I found out about the Evertune system. I'm not going to describe what it is here, but you can YouTube it and see everything about it. Anyways, I decided to try one out and bought an LTD guitar with it installed. I literally didn't have to tune my guitar for 2 months before I decided to change my strings. I changed my strings, I didn't have to tune until I changed my strings again. It really does work. It also keeps PERFECT intonation across the entire fretboard, as long as you set the intonation when you initially set up your guitar. Once your guitar is set up, you will always be in tune and you will always have perfect intonation. It's a comfortable bridge to palm mute on and it looks nice (in my opinion).

The guitar I bought with the Evertune installed is not exactly my style of guitar, so today I bought an LTD Ben Weinman signature guitar. It's pricey for an LTD guitar, but worth it. It's a really well built guitar. It also comes with the evertune installed in it. I don't like to buy signature guitars, but if I were to have my own custom built, it would be a Ben Weinman signature looking guitar haha, so I figured I'd just buy it. No regrets.

The ONLY thing I don't really like about the Evertune guitar is that because of the way the bridge reacts to bends, it's difficult to get small little vibrato or micro bends. I mean, you can do them, you just have to bend a tiny bit further than you normally would. You get used to it pretty quickly, I did at least.

Any of you got experience with this bridge system or any knowledge on them? What are your thoughts?

-Dan
 
I have read nothing but good things about their stability. Like you I have heard some not like how they affect vibrato and smaller bends but you get used to it. The guy who built my 7 string has been working with them and he thinks they are great. I thought about getting my 7 retro fitted with one by him for kicks but the body isn't thick enough
 
I have been very curious about those, seems great when I watch demos and stuff. Never tried one IRL
.. I am waiting for their tremolo system to see what they come up with .. :)

But my ibanez tremolo holds the tuning incredibly well .. I can abuse it big time
 
CrazyBadGuitarist said:
The ONLY thing I don't really like about the Evertune guitar is that because of the way the bridge reacts to bends, it's difficult to get small little vibrato or micro bends. I mean, you can do them, you just have to bend a tiny bit further than you normally would. You get used to it pretty quickly, I did at least.
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A friend of mine who had a guitar with an Evertune bridge said exactly the same, except for the part that he got used to it. It's nice for shredding and playstyles where you don't do a lot of vibrato, but otherwise, he couldn't recommend it (mind you, as a primarily blues musician).
 
I have had no issues with micro bends. You need to tune your note until the next movement of the tuning key raises the pitch. Then tune it 1 hair back down to tuned pitch. Then when you make the slightest movement it reacts as any guitar would.

My Evertune has redefined my guitar collection. Our songs go back to back because there is no downtime tuning. I put on new strings I can instantly play with confidence during their stretch phase because it compensates for stretch. But the best part for me is in the guitar setup.

I’ve never had a guitar that the bridge adjustments were so positive and predictable. The nicest part is that when you do check tuning each rehearsal, or gig, all you are doing is getting closer and closer to perfect tuning because, literally, you are not starting over in your tuning ritual.
 
I own a partscaster with Evertune and its great. The best part is you can literally plug and play, get it out of a case and rock. I fine tune it about once per week if im gigging with that guitar. No issues with bends and vibrato if you set it right. Also its cool to adjust the action while your guitar is in tune! You can really nail it this way. Highly recommended.
 
have an esp mh1000et and I like the evertune concept a lot. however, i'm selling that guitar. now that I'm familiar with the bridge, I can move on to an 8 string evertune. a bass bridge would be very useful, but they have yet to release a prototype. i think the physical size of the system could be smaller, more compact overall. the spring cavity is pretty significant. springs can be manufactured to suit a smaller application and yield similar tension, but likely cost prohibitive.

i have the guitar set up with very light strings and can achieve subtle vibrato. it is definitely a matter of setting things up properly.
 
Had a VGS Denander with Evertune and True Temperament frets.
The system works great, if set up right there should be no prob with any kind of bends!
That with the TT frets was amazing.
Unfortunately the guitar never sounded as good as my Suhrs and Tylers.
 
mwd said:
I have had no issues with micro bends. You need to tune your note until the next movement of the tuning key raises the pitch. Then tune it 1 hair back down to tuned pitch. Then when you make the slightest movement it reacts as any guitar would.
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If you do that then you defeat the purpose of the evertune concept: that slight changes in tension don't result in pitch changes. If you set it up to "right on the edge" of getting a pitch change upwards, any increase in string tension (like colder strings) will result in a detune as with fixed saddles.

Mind you, I never played an evertune guitar myself. I wrote this response based on logic alone, not personal experience. I definitely need to get my hand on one after all the positive reviews here.
 
There is a range you work with in the fine tuning process Z. Having used the system for a few years now it kind of comes as second nature however it took a short curve to understand how it works. Point being it will play and bend like any guitar out there once set up properly and it's not complex to get there.

One giant plus I forgot about was capo use. No more fine (re)tuning when using a capo.
 
I was going to say it ain't exactly rock'n'roll to have all these smart things ..... but then mwd mentioned the capo thing ... thats a good point
 
Had one, thought it was great and had no trouble with bends using the method described above.

BUT

It does nothing any other bridge wouldn't do when it comes to INTONATION. That is to say, if your neck/fretboard is made of wood, and it reacts the way wood does when exposed to different temperature/humidity, you will still need to check your action and intonation (most likely with a TR adjustment, as bridges don't move on their own).

I'm not knocking the product, I really loved it, but it's not a magic cure for intonation woes.
 
I like neat stuff and it's definitely a neat product, but I know for an absolute fact that I couldn't get used to it because I use a lot of bending and vibrato in my playing because my technique and phrasing are pathetic. If I couldn't vary pitch it'd just be even more embarrassing.

I can imagine someone who is into tight rhythm being falling absolutely in love with it though. It's definitely got a place in music.
 
shasha said:
I like neat stuff and it's definitely a neat product, but I know for an absolute fact that I couldn't get used to it because I use a lot of bending and vibrato in my playing because my technique and phrasing are pathetic. If I couldn't vary pitch it'd just be even more embarrassing.

I can imagine someone who is into tight rhythm being falling absolutely in love with it though. It's definitely got a place in music.
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you can set it up so it react like a normal bridge, i bend and vibrato all day long on it if i want to.
 
Rotti said:
Had one, thought it was great and had no trouble with bends using the method described above.

BUT

It does nothing any other bridge wouldn't do when it comes to INTONATION. That is to say, if your neck/fretboard is made of wood, and it reacts the way wood does when exposed to different temperature/humidity, you will still need to check your action and intonation (most likely with a TR adjustment, as bridges don't move on their own).

I'm not knocking the product, I really loved it, but it's not a magic cure for intonation woes.
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I disagree. The reason it does much better with intonation is because of finger pressure on the strings. Every time you press on the fret, as I'm sure we are all aware, you bend it slightly between the frets. Harder pressure, more bend and it CAN sound out of tune. Mostly this is a problem on guitars with jumbo frets. If you were to play a G chord on the 3rd fret and then a G chord on the 15th fret, sometimes the 15th fret sounds different because your fingers are more squished together and your pressure is different. I've talked to some engineers who said they have had people hold cords up on high frets and retune while holding them so they sound more in tune. With the Evertune bridge, you get exactly ZERO bend from finger pressure, so the guitar sounds much more in tune across the entire neck.

You can intonate another guitar without Evertune just as well sure, but that doesn't eliminate finger pressure, which is the biggest reason for a perfectly tuned and intonated guitar to sound a bit out. I have had many guitars over the years with many bridges. I always intonate my guitars perfectly, but I've never had a guitar sound as in tune across the whole fretboard as either of my Evertune guitars.

-Dan
 
mwd said:
I have had no issues with micro bends. You need to tune your note until the next movement of the tuning key raises the pitch. Then tune it 1 hair back down to tuned pitch. Then when you make the slightest movement it reacts as any guitar would.

My Evertune has redefined my guitar collection. Our songs go back to back because there is no downtime tuning. I put on new strings I can instantly play with confidence during their stretch phase because it compensates for stretch. But the best part for me is in the guitar setup.

I’ve never had a guitar that the bridge adjustments were so positive and predictable. The nicest part is that when you do check tuning each rehearsal, or gig, all you are doing is getting closer and closer to perfect tuning because, literally, you are not starting over in your tuning ritual.
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In my experience with the evertune, it depends on string gauge and tension if this will work great or not. I play in C and use 10-52 strings. These strings are heavy bottom, light top. I am able to do micro bends and small vibrato on the G, B and high E strings, but any wound strings won't bend instantly. I know it's a matter of setting it up, and with thinner strings I find it's much more capable to of micro bending the heavy section of the fretboard. This is just me. I use a really precise rack tuner that is really sensitive and I've done string tests and so far it has come down to string gauge and tension. So if I were to take my strings and go down to A or even B, micro bends become easier. The higher the tension, the harder it seems to get right at the top of zone 2 PERFECTLY.
 
I bought a VGS 7 string with an Evertune bridge. The guitar was bad but the bridge was really good. I got Bare Knuckles for that guitar. The 4th and last time I try BKPs. That guitar is long gone now. :) When I had that guitar I noticed I was mostly playing that guitar alone because that's really the first time I noticed how much time of playing guitar is being wasted on tuning. It's insane!

It does not actually give your guitar perfect intonation (it doesn't turn your frets to true temperament) but simply doesn't allow you the minor bends when you f.ex. play a chord. You will most likely bend all the strings slightly with a normal guitar when playing a chord but since Evertune doesn't allow that it gives you something that's more in tune but it's not perfectly intonated. For that you need "True Temperament frets":



I would definitely love to have a True Temperament Evertune bridge guitar. That would be awesome. However I do feel like Evertune does remove some of "your signature sound" by not letting those minor bends through. I'm not sure if we all do it knowingly but even when playing riffs we accent certain notes with minor bends here and there. Losing that is the only downside. I play PRS guitars so they keep their tune quite well but it's not even comparable to Evertune although it might be the second best option for that.

I would say definitely get an Evertune bridge guitar but remember that it's just one piece of the puzzle. The VGS 7-string was only good because of the Evertune bridge so I ended up selling it.
 
I guess I just like my action lower and don't fret that hard. I've never had a problem with getting audibly sharper due to finger pressure.

Whatever works for you man.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
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Rotti said:
I guess I just like my action lower and don't fret that hard. I've never had a problem with getting audibly sharper due to finger pressure.

Whatever works for you man.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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You know, I've always had decent guitars, but not really good ones. This Ben Weinman signature I just picked up is a really good guitar. Because I never had a really good guitar, I could never lower my action really close to the fretboard without a bunch of buzz going on, or at least I didn't know how to set it up properly. With this Weinman signature guitar, I am able to lower the string incredibly close to the neck. I hardly have to press! I'm totally not used to it so I don't know how I feel about it, but I'm going to keep it like that for a while and see if it grows on me.
 
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