Is a roller bridge better than tune-o-matic?
Roller bridges are worth it if you have a guitar with a Bigsby style tremolo system for better tuning stability and relieving the break angle of the strings. Roller bridges also provide less resting pressure and friction than a tune-o-matic bridge.
Should I use tremolo?
If there’s a lot of chords and rhythm playing, then it may be a good idea to buy a fixed bridge equipped guitar. If there’s lots of Divebombs, Scoops and other strange techniques, it may be worth starting on a guitar with a Fender style tremolo before graduating to one with a Floyd Rose.
What is a tune-o-matic style bridge?
Tune-o-matic (also abbreviated to TOM) is the name of a fixed or floating bridge design for electric guitars. It was designed by Ted McCarty (Gibson Guitar Corporation president) and introduced on the Gibson Super 400 guitar in 1953 and the Les Paul Custom the following year.
What is a Bigsby on a guitar?
The Bigsby vibrato tailpiece (or Bigsby for short) is a type of mechanical vibrato device for electric guitar designed by Paul Bigsby and produced by the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company (currently an independently operated subsidiary of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation).
Where should a guitar bridge be placed?
On pretty much every guitar the bridge should be located so that the break point of the string will be exactly at the distance of the scale length, from the nut. The scale length of any guitar is defined as double the distance from the nut to the 12th fret.
Do Bigsby bridges stay in tune?
They don’t stay in tune, they don’t have as much travel as a Strat and, the no 1 complaint, they’re a nightmare to restring. If you’re a regular to the shop, you probably already know we’re a firmly pro-Bigsby establishment, so we thought we’d spend a few moments with you to unpick the myths and give you some tips.
What does a tremolo bridge sound like on a guitar?
The odds are pretty good that plenty of your favorite classic rock songs have the tremolo bridge sound in them, that “whoa whoa whoa whoa” sound of a guitar screeching and screaming from some dives on the whammy bar. Or maybe it’s just the slight wobble on sustained notes from some subtle play on the tremolo bar.
When did the floating tremolo guitar come out?
But it wasn’t until Fender released the legendary Stratocaster in 1954 that the idea of a floating tremolo really took off, with the strat’s floating “synchronised” tremolo equipped bridge bringing this type of guitar to the masses.
Why do you need a locking nut on a tremolo guitar?
One of the most important things to consider to improve tuning stability with any tremolo system is the inclusion of a locking nut. Placed at the headstock of the guitar, a locking nut will ensure that your strings do not slide across the nut when you use the bar, which is part of what causes the strings to go out of tune.
Can a non floating tremolo be used on a Strat?
In theory, you can set up any type of tremolo in this way, so there is not really a specific “type” of system that is exclusively a non-floating vibrato. However, the most common guitars that can use a non-floating vibrato are strat style guitars where the player does not rely on the vibrato arm all that much.