Tremsetter

[Shaker3]

Just got (and installed) a tremsetter (from Hipshot productions) on my Ibanez Rg500 floating Floyd Rose. I'm still messing with getting the tremsetter set up just right.
So far slight use of the tremolo works okay but if I, say divebomb, forget it. Still goes out of tune.
Anyone have a tremsetter? Any tips? With the tremsetter I was thinking I should be able to leave my string locks unlocked. Is this true?
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[Drew]

Originally Posted by Shaker3

Anyone have a tremsetter? Any tips? With the tremsetter I was thinking I should be able to leave my string locks unlocked. Is this true?

Nope, it still needs to be locked.

I used to have a tremsetter in a 7620 - I eventually just pulled it out. It did make a huge difference in compound bends, but it changed the "feel" of the trem too much for me, and that slight catch as you returned to and passed neutral began to bug me.

What are you looking for, with your tremsetter? If in-tune compound bending is what made you pick one up, then it's probably the right peice of gear for you, but I managed to get my hands on one of the Tremol-no prototypes, and if you wanted a tremsetter so as to be able to retune on the fly and not have to lock your guitar down, this might be a better option for you.

-D

[Shaker3]

Well I was hoping it would keep the guitar in tune without using the locks.
Usually even with the locks I've never been able to use the trem and keep the strings in tune. Hopefully with the setter AND the locks I can use the trem and stay in tune. I also like being able to go to drop D with just turning the fine tuner on the E

[CrossingStar]

It will let you drop the low E to D w/o throwing the guitar tuning out of whack but then again blocking will allow that also and blocking is cheaper & easier.

[Drew]

Never tried a tremsetter on a 6, but it wouldn't let me go to drop-A without retuning on my 7. Then again, I run pretty heavy strings - .56 or .58 for the B, generally.

If you want your guitar to hold tune without the locking nut locked down, Crossingstar's right, just block your trem. A tremol-no, when locked down, will let you play without the locking studs, but whever you unlock it, you'll need to re-lock your nut.

Maybe one of the fixed-bridge RG's is what you're looking for...?

-D

[Shaker3]

One thing I don't understand. If the tremsetter is supposed to bring the trem back to zero position why do we need to still use the locks?

Doesn't blocking the tremelo render the trem useless?

Charles

[Drew]

Yeah, it does.

It's SUPPOSED to bring the trem back to a zero position, true. However, the trem's also SUPPOSED to come back to a zero position anyway, on it's own, so why then do we need the locking pads in the first place?

Try this - take the locking pads off, like completely off your guitar, and dive. See what happens. You COULD leave the nut unlocked with the pads in, and this would kinda hold them in place on full dives, but the strings still get really slack at the tuning pegs, which translates into slippage. This translates into an out of tune trem, with or without a tremsetter.

The tremsetter is intended to give you in-tune bending while allowing mostly fully functional trem useage, no more, no less. If you want a non-locking nut, you're playing the wrong guitar. Go for a fixed bridge or a vintage-style trem - the SA series looks awfully sweet.

-D

[CrossingStar]

Blocking only renders pulling up on the trem useless.

[Drew]

if done right, it immoblizes the trem completely, whcih does a lot more than "making pulling up useless."

[nightfiend14]

Originally Posted by Drew

if done right, it immoblizes the trem completely, whcih does a lot more than "making pulling up useless."

guess that just depends on what you consider "done right". A lot of people just block for some extra stability but still want to divebomb and are fine with just losing pull-ups. So in that case it's "right" for them

[DotNetTim]

You can block it so it can only dive or pull up or neither.. I've done all of the formentioned, but the best is to block it completely.. Then you don't have to have the locks.. I only did this though on cheap trems.. Non Floyd Roses.. On the OFR I only blocked it so I could dive only, and on a Wolfgang trem it was that way from the factory and kept tune pretty damn good... On my old Kramer with the real floyd, it always went right back to tune.. Unless I used strings lighter than 10's.. but you have to set it up right too and make sure your springs are adjusted correctly, and that it's level, and the whole nine yards.. You also have to make sure you stretch your strings, etc..
Tim

[JTM45]

Originally Posted by nightfiend14

guess that just depends on what you consider "done right". A lot of people just block for some extra stability but still want to divebomb and are fine with just losing pull-ups. So in that case it's "right" for them

'Blocking' by definition means completely blocking the trem and making it completely inoperative and effectively a fixed-bridge so,as Drew says, "if done right it immobilizes the trem completely".

If it's adapted to only pull-up or dive then it's partially blocked!

[CrossingStar]

That's not the way I look at it. If you are going to "block" to the point of total immobilization, what is the point of having a tremolo bridge? Just get a hard tail bridge.