Tone vs whammy fun

[JB_From_Hell]

I have two Strats. One is blocked, the other recently set to float. They both sound and feel better blocked/not floating, but I love whammying around. The floating one stays in tune better now with bar usage than when the bridge was decked, but like I said, doesn't sound or feel as good.

Would you give up the tone for the bar?

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I have one decked, two floating. None blocked, don't feel it adds much once you're decked and tightened down well. The real difference is bend feel and the lack of "sponge/flutter" when you dig in. Like each of mine the way they are.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I use a floyd a lot. No tone loss and locked nut goodness means I can whammy myself blind!

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

You can also try a brass trem block to gain some girth back.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

Tone > Whammy

.02

 

[greekdude]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I'd say have both. Flush mount trem gives all the sustain of the fixed bridge.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I use a floyd a lot. No tone loss and locked nut goodness means I can whammy myself blind!

This. The purists will disagree with the no tone loss part, but to me the difference is negligible; the difference in stability and usability is not.

That being said, I'm a bit paranoid about tuning, so stability trumps all other concerns. If a guitar sounded great but didn't stay in tune when the whammy was used I think I'd leave it alone. You also have to look at application. What type of music are you playing? Are people listening to you really going to notice when you are playing live? (That is, if you are playing live.) Will you notice? I used to be quite anal on this point, but have since grown to realise that the differences in most cases (outside of the studio!) will be negligible, and that most people won't care much. In the end you'll have to decide for yourself, but do keep in mind that very few people except yourself are likely to notice.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

A Floyd (or any trem) will by its nature impact the ease of bending and vibrato, as it "works against" you and de-tunes the string; more effort/motion needed to achieve a bend, no double-stop bends available... This is noticeable to whatever degree you prefer loose/stiff feel from the springs. The tuning stability of the Floyd does not aid or prevent this, and it can often have a huge impact on ease of playing and techniques which can be performed, if not sound. A backstop/trem-setter will help. On a Strat style trem, there's also a big difference in tone incurred by block material.

That said? I like to trem. Just own a trem guitar and a hardtail, problem solved.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

A Floyd (or any trem) will by its nature impact the ease of bending and vibrato, as it "works against" you and de-tunes the string; more effort/motion needed to achieve a bend, no double-stop bends available... This is noticeable to whatever degree you prefer loose/stiff feel from the springs. The tuning stability of the Floyd does not aid or prevent this, and it can often have a huge impact on ease of playing and techniques which can be performed, if not sound. A backstop/trem-setter will help. On a Strat style trem, there's also a big difference in tone incurred by block material.

Would this be so different from a floating strat system,though? Whilst a Floyd is more sensitive I would think that they would act much the same? regarding double stop bending and related techniques, I think there is little of this that flat out cannot be done with a floys, but it needs a little more nurturing and perhaps some compensation with the whammy bar to work well.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I personally like trem not floating but unblocked, as it gives the best of both. I use the trem very little, and like the solid feel of non-floating trem, but blocked strat just doesn't sound as good. There's that lively "bounce" in unblocked strat sound. Though if you use lot of gain, it may muddle up the tone.

If you don't get enough sustain with flush-set trem on strat, I don't think blocking the trem should be first thing to look at.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

This makes the assumption that blocked tone = better tone.

I've got 5 guitars with Strat style trems, for the ones that lean vintage and I play more "Stratty" things on (Hendrix, SRV, Frusciante, bluesy stuff) I like it to float, for the ones that are more "superstrat" and I play more hard rock on, I like it firmly decked. (I haven't blocked one yet though)

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

This makes the assumption that blocked tone = better tone.

My Predator is blocked. It sounds great. I pulled the block awhile back to try using the bar, and it sounded noticeably thinner. My American Standard sounded and played better with the bridge decked, but it didn't stay in tune as well as when it's floating. I've never tried blocking it, because I don't want to know how much better it may sound and have to give up the bar entirely.

In my ever so humble opinion, I suppose I do think blocked = better tone.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I have two Strats. One of them is decked, five springs and claw against the body. The other has the craw about 3/8" away from the body but still decked and has five springs. Gives a nice trem feel and sound with nice tuning stability.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

There is a certain extra 'authority' or lower mid content from the decked trem. The floating bit misses the direct plate/body contact.

Unless you have a guitar where you have directly had it decked then floated, you can hardly say 'there is no tone shift'. And that applied to practically EVERY floyd trem guitar. I think only an EVH guitar would have a floyd and not have it fully floating.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

There is a certain extra 'authority' or lower mid content from the decked trem. The floating bit misses the direct plate/body contact.

Unless you have a guitar where you have directly had it decked then floated, you can hardly say 'there is no tone shift'. And that applied to practically EVERY floyd trem guitar. I think only an EVH guitar would have a floyd and not have it fully floating.

I don't know much about floyds, so I have to ask. How you can have Floyd Rose trem that's not floating? I've always thought it's build as floating and cannot be decked.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I don't know much about floyds, so I have to ask. How you can have Floyd Rose trem that's not floating? I've always thought it's build as floating and cannot be decked.

If you don't route the body underneath and behind the bridge, then set it flat, it will not be floating. Same as a standard Fender.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I don't know much about floyds, so I have to ask. How you can have Floyd Rose trem that's not floating? I've always thought it's build as floating and cannot be decked.

The first floyd ever to grace vinyl was decked as described above.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

I've owned a particular 1983 MIJ Strat on and off for 20 years (bro in law had it for a few years). I've had it blocked, decked, and floating. I blocked or decked it mainly for tuning stability in case of a string breaking mid song at a gig.

It's floating now, and I'm fine I enjoying using it in the manner that floating allows, and whatever the tone loss, it certainly isn't preventing me from having fun playing! YMMV...

 

[Mincer]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

Well, I don't buy guitars with a whammy if I don't intend to use them. A well-set up bridge can get great tone (see Jeff Beck), so I don't put all the tone factors in just the bridge. I grew up playing a floating Strat bridge (vintage) and have no problems with tone from it. My hardtail guitars sound just as good, but not better.

 

[philthis]

Re: Tone vs whammy fun

This. The purists will disagree with the no tone loss part, but to me the difference is negligible; the difference in stability and usability is not.

That being said, I'm a bit paranoid about tuning, so stability trumps all other concerns. If a guitar sounded great but didn't stay in tune when the whammy was used I think I'd leave it alone. You also have to look at application. What type of music are you playing? Are people listening to you really going to notice when you are playing live? (That is, if you are playing live.) Will you notice? I used to be quite anal on this point, but have since grown to realise that the differences in most cases (outside of the studio!) will be negligible, and that most people won't care much. In the end you'll have to decide for yourself, but do keep in mind that very few people except yourself are likely to notice.

I agree with this. most people in the bar cant tell the difference but they sure love the wammy stuff. Try a company called "FU-Tone". They make some cool tone upgrades for strats that seem to really make up the difference. Maybe somebody else here who has used there stuff can chime in and give us an opinion.