fixed vs. trem bridge

[olectric]

From what I understand, if I have two identical guitars except one has a fixed bridge and one has a vintage trem, the one with fixed bridge will be a little more resonant or punchier or...? What I would like to know is, how much difference tonewise is there really?

I've got an HTC on order due in March, and I just listened to Mark Goldenberg do some really tasty stuff with a trem on one of his probably many HTCs. I asked for a fixed bridge for mine, but that is making me reconsider. What's the real trade-off?

[bruce]

One of the questions you should ask yourself is "do I really need/use the trem".

I tend to lean towards a non-trem but the vintage trems are great too. It may only be in my head but the non-trem feels more solid when hit hard. The wrap-around bridge on the Atoms have a nice quality that is similar.

[GaryMcT]

I have to say, I love trems for a bit of chordal vibrato, but I've never been happy with the pain of having one until my drop top with a vintage-style trem showed up. Bruce (or whoever did the setup on this guitar) did an outstanding job of making feel like it's (nearly) floating while still allowing drop d tuning and bends to not cause other strings to go out of tune. You can tell that it's nearly floating because if you bend the B string, the low E string goes a tad bit flat.

[Rhys]

You can tell that it's nearly floating because if you bend the B string, the low E string goes a tad bit flat.

That's what always anoyed me about the trem on my fender--that's why i got my htc with a fixed bridge and eventually blocked off the trem in my strat. I'm sure the TAG would be more stable than the fender though. And if you use the trem, I guess the tradeoff is worth it.

[olectric]

You can tell that it's nearly floating because if you bend the B string, the low E string goes a tad bit flat.

True, but I never really considered that a problem because I don't ever have the low E ringing out when I'm bending notes on the B string. My last Anderson had a vintage trem, and I did use it quite a bit for chord vibrato; I've been trying to simulate that on the Atom with just my hands, and I'm getting interesting results. On the old Andy, I could do pedal steel licks and have everything stay pretty well in tune even with the vintage trem. So I'm not worried about that. I'm just wondering how much the tradeoff is in terms of tone.

[tom]

to me, the noticable difference is in the low end. with the trem the low end is a little more bell like, with more high harmonics. the non trem is fatter and darker in the low end. don't forget with the steel block, the trem adds a significant amount of weight too.

[olectric]

How much does that block weigh?

[tom]

the non trem weighs 4.8 oz., the trem weighs 1lb. with all the springs, claw and arm. for you who are metricly inclined, that is 135 and 455 grams.

[olectric]

Thanks for the info. I just got done metrically inclining a group of auto tech students in a math class earlier today. They sure do love math...

[bruce]

There is some amount of wood missing on a trem guitar too... sorry can't estimate the grams.

[Suriel Zayas]

sorry can't estimate the grams.
that's simple....we know the area and depth of route, which gives us the volume. now all we need is the specific gravity of the particular species of wood and waaaaaaaaaaallllllllaaaaaaaaa! yikes! this reminds me of school. :mad:

[GaryMcT]

That's what always anoyed me about the trem on my fender--that's why i got my htc with a fixed bridge and eventually blocked off the trem in my strat. I'm sure the TAG would be more stable than the fender though. And if you use the trem, I guess the tradeoff is worth it.

The point that I was trying to make it that my Drop Top is set up in such a way that I never "see" the bad side of having a trem. It isn't often that I bend the the G or B string while I'm playing the low E string.

[Rhys]

The point that I was trying to make it that my Drop Top is set up in such a way that I never "see" the bad side of having a trem. It isn't often that I bend the the G or B string while I'm playing the low E string.

actually, its not the detuning of the low E that ever bothered me with my fender; it was when i'd hold a note on the B string while bending a note on the G string or the same with a note on the high E while bending on the B string--the higher note would go flat. but i'm not trying to hate on trems. i'm sure my problem could be fixed with a better trem setup or a better player.

[Roy (maybe)]

If I may, I’d like to jump in on this one.

To keep it simple, a vintage trem setup from Anderson is every bit as stable as a fixed bridge. It can be set for the extent of your bending and will not move pitch in an unwanted manner any more than a fixed bridge.

Sonically, a fixed bridge gives a more focused feel with a tight bottom end. The vintage trem has more bottom end but with a slightly looser feel to it. The difference is slight enough that the audience will not hear the difference on a Hollow T Classic—you will feel it more than they can hear it.

If you enjoy and a tremolo for some stuff then feel free and safe to get one on a Hollow T Classic—traditional tones will not be sacrificed.

Happy Playing,
Roy (maybe)

[GaryMcT]

actually, its not the detuning of the low E that ever bothered me with my fender; it was when i'd hold a note on the B string while bending a note on the G string or the same with a note on the high E while bending on the B string--the higher note would go flat. but i'm not trying to hate on trems. i'm sure my problem could be fixed with a better trem setup or a better player.

That doesn't happen with an Anderson vintage trem and their factory setup. You can even tune to drop D and that still doesn't happen.

[Marty S Horne]

I've never been a big trem user and I like the stability of a fixed bridge but I think my next Anderson will have a vintage trem. Some guys my age buy a sports car (too expensive) or have an affair (not my style) so I figure throwing in a few whammy moves should get me through my second (third?) childhood (already passed my mid-life crises).