Tremolo vs Headstock

breakdanceattiffanys

breakdanceattiffanys

New member
If there has already been like a billion and seven threads on this, please forgive me - must've used all the wrong words to search before I posted - but here's my thing... My first guitar EVER was a Fernandes strat from like 1990, and ever since then have played Gibsons. I like the tilt-back headstock, but am trying to make my own guitar since no one makes what I want, and I want a Wilkinson trem on a tilt-back headstock (or pay extra for a flat one, since- again - no one makes a neck with a standardized head I like otherwise). Have read about headaches in such a set-up, but plenty of people use trems with angled heads...

Please enlighten this humble noob as to how, have only bought guitars that 'kinda' were what I've wanted my whole life.
 
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Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

The other purpose of the headstock angle is to look awesome; don't discount that part.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

Carvin offers several guitars and several different headstock shapes all tilt back available WITH a wilkinson tremolo too...
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

Actually trems work better with the angled headstock since they don't need the string trees that might hold on to the strings in the wrong moment.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

uOpt said:
Actually trems work better with the angled headstock since they don't need the string trees that might hold on to the strings in the wrong moment.
Click to expand...

Unless of course you're using a double locking such as an OFR. Personally, I love non-tilt necks. Something about an angled headstock that makes me think broken headstocks. Honestly though, hanging out at the Kramer Forum a lot, so many tilt back headstocks get broken during shipping. Gotta secure and protect those guitars the right way, especially with an angled headstock.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

kramer.geetar said:
Unless of course you're using a double locking such as an OFR. Personally, I love non-tilt necks. Something about an angled headstock that makes me think broken headstocks. Honestly though, hanging out at the Kramer Forum a lot, so many tilt back headstocks get broken during shipping. Gotta secure and protect those guitars the right way, especially with an angled headstock.
Click to expand...

I guess a non-angled headstock with a hold-down bar is pretty cool, too. It's very rock-n-roll, rough-and-tumble, likely to survive a bar fight. If it's on a vintage Kramer, is has to be right, no?
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

Jessie Sammler said:
I guess a non-angled headstock with a hold-down bar is pretty cool, too. It's very rock-n-roll, rough-and-tumble, likely to survive a bar fight. If it's on a vintage Kramer, is has to be right, no?
Click to expand...

Well EVH always preferred non-angled headstocks, even though 1985 and onwards Kramer pretty much only made angled ones except for some import models but by '87 that changed as well. I love the look of non-tilt headstocks but if you think about it how many headstock breaks do you hear from Fender? Almost none, but with Gibson....
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

kramer.geetar said:
Well EVH always preferred non-angled headstocks, even though 1985 and onwards Kramer pretty much only made angled ones except for some import models but by '87 that changed as well. I love the look of non-tilt headstocks but if you think about it how many headstock breaks do you hear from Fender? Almost none, but with Gibson....
Click to expand...

Yup. There's a hairline started on the back of my V and am just waiting...
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

I'm hoping the same thing, in case I should ever need that service. Some guitars are well-suited to the sound of a one-piece mahogany neck, and I'm glad Gibson still builds them that way. Anyone who can't accept the risks should write "scarf joint" and/or "non-tilt" at the top of their shopping lists.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

The biggest issue with tilt headstocks is the how much angle. If you are using a more severe angle that Gibson uses, it may cause binding at the nut when using the Wilkinson. Carvin has a much less sever angle, so it creates enough pressure without causing problems for the trem. If you are talking about a hard tail guitar, then the tilt angle becomes more about preference. However, the more severe angles do increase the chance of cracks and breaks.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

shred4Him said:
The biggest issue with tilt headstocks is the how much angle. If you are using a more severe angle that Gibson uses, it may cause binding at the nut when using the Wilkinson. Carvin has a much less sever angle, so it creates enough pressure without causing problems for the trem. If you are talking about a hard tail guitar, then the tilt angle becomes more about preference. However, the more severe angles do increase the chance of cracks and breaks.
Click to expand...

This was pretty much my main area of concern, since it most likely would be coming from Warmoth, who uses a 13deg angle. Even with a graphite nut, that still seems like it would just not be a good combination. I think I've decided what I'm going to do is just get a paddle head with no angle and cut it/drill it myself, since the only other realistic option from them is a Strat, CBS, or Tele neck otherwise.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

kramer.geetar said:
Unless of course you're using a double locking such as an OFR. Personally, I love non-tilt necks. Something about an angled headstock that makes me think broken headstocks. Honestly though, hanging out at the Kramer Forum a lot, so many tilt back headstocks get broken during shipping. Gotta secure and protect those guitars the right way, especially with an angled headstock.
Click to expand...

Of course none of this matters if you have a heavy piece of metal locking nut.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

uOpt said:
Of course none of this matters if you have a heavy piece of metal locking nut.
Click to expand...

Yea but you still need to angle the strings coming into the locking nut from the tuners and have tension there, cause if you don't and you lock the 3 pads you'll have to retune quite a bit or compensate beforehand either flat or sharp. Thats of course where the retainer bar comes into play. Anyways, I'm sure you know all this and we're just repeating the same thing to each other and saying 'No sh*t moron, tell me something I don't know!!' :chairfall
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

I prefer a slightly shallower tilt than a Gibson, such as what PRS and Warmoth use (granted, my experience with this comes from my hardtails). I also find that my hardtails with the best tuning stability have relatively straight pull through the headstock (PRS, Warmoth VIP, Gibson Flying V, custom tilt-back Warmoth Fender-style) whereas my a Les Paul style headstocks (SG in my case) tend to bind.
 
Re: Tremolo vs Headstock

I can't tell you the physics or the math but my personal experience has taught me that a straight headstock combined with CORRECTLY staggered tuners will produce a far better result than angled headstocks will...

The trick is that you need the string to have a completely straight shoot from the saddle to the tuning peg and at a SLIGHT (less than Gibson's) downward angle after the nut.
And for all that is holy, DON'T use a string tree, a string tree is just an easy solution for too shallow angled strings to still stay in the nut slot while at the same time you're adding YET another place the string might bind.
A tuning peg of the appropriate height will be better every time.
 
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