the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Raw Vintage Springs
Hmm...there is a downside or 2 first...
With a decked bridge there is a solid contact all over which means a better stronger attack and it also means more often than not more sustain.
Now, that said and out of the way here is what I like about floating...
You can pull up on the bar and bend pitches up which can be cool and very musical if you want it to be. I set mine up so that the G string goes up 3 semi tones to Bb when pulled all the way back...the B string goes up a full step to C# and the high E goes up a semi tone to F. This is nice if you want to get into using the bar in that manor as it gives you a stopping point.
Also, and this will vary GREATLY on your guitar, your vibrato, your strings and your set up but often it will allow you better tuning stability... The reason is simple...if you bridge is decked and you dive there is a chance that the string can slip on the post and get hung up then all the sudden when you return your D string for example is somewhere between a D and an E...if your bridge is floating then a quick yank backwards will often times return it to pitch or very close to pitch.
That said with the Callaham tremolo I have had ZERO tuning issues...the things that Bill changed from a standard Fender Vibrato make HUGE improvements in tuning..
Now, the last and b est part of floating IMHO.
If your bridge is decked you can only go down in pitch but floating allows down AND up so if you use the vibrato as a subtle note shaking unit (like David Gilmour for example) then what you get is a note that goes up AND down when you shake the bar so if you grab a C then shake the bar you get a pitch that dips below C then hits C then goes slightly above C then back to C over and over until you stop shaking the bar...
This is true vibrato...like a great singer, pitch above and below the "target" pitch.
I find this type of set up FAR more expressive than anything else...again, listen to David Gilmour, he is a MASTER of this approach, also listen to Jeff Beck...his stuff tends to lean a little more to the wild side than Gilmour but is still just as expressive.
To me this is THE reason to own a Strat...I like the sound of Tele's or LP's, 335's, etc better than a Strat but the vibrato on a Strat makes it worth having and using.
Hmm...there is a downside or 2 first...
With a decked bridge there is a solid contact all over which means a better stronger attack and it also means more often than not more sustain.
Now, that said and out of the way here is what I like about floating...
You can pull up on the bar and bend pitches up which can be cool and very musical if you want it to be. I set mine up so that the G string goes up 3 semi tones to Bb when pulled all the way back...the B string goes up a full step to C# and the high E goes up a semi tone to F. This is nice if you want to get into using the bar in that manor as it gives you a stopping point.
Also, and this will vary GREATLY on your guitar, your vibrato, your strings and your set up but often it will allow you better tuning stability... The reason is simple...if you bridge is decked and you dive there is a chance that the string can slip on the post and get hung up then all the sudden when you return your D string for example is somewhere between a D and an E...if your bridge is floating then a quick yank backwards will often times return it to pitch or very close to pitch.
That said with the Callaham tremolo I have had ZERO tuning issues...the things that Bill changed from a standard Fender Vibrato make HUGE improvements in tuning..
Now, the last and b est part of floating IMHO.
If your bridge is decked you can only go down in pitch but floating allows down AND up so if you use the vibrato as a subtle note shaking unit (like David Gilmour for example) then what you get is a note that goes up AND down when you shake the bar so if you grab a C then shake the bar you get a pitch that dips below C then hits C then goes slightly above C then back to C over and over until you stop shaking the bar...
This is true vibrato...like a great singer, pitch above and below the "target" pitch.
I find this type of set up FAR more expressive than anything else...again, listen to David Gilmour, he is a MASTER of this approach, also listen to Jeff Beck...his stuff tends to lean a little more to the wild side than Gilmour but is still just as expressive.
To me this is THE reason to own a Strat...I like the sound of Tele's or LP's, 335's, etc better than a Strat but the vibrato on a Strat makes it worth having and using.
