Pros and Cons of the Kahler Tremolo

[Stickk]

Well, I have enough money to buy one of these right now, still deciding if I should get one, so i was wondering about the pros and cons of this bridge. Are there any? I'll be putting it on my FenderOmega.

[sickest beast]

pro = you can do tremolo stuff.
con = you can do tremolo stuff.

[two fingers]

I wouldn't do it. That bass is really different and really nice. I think a trem on it would just be a bit much.

[walterw]

besides, that thing is fretless, right? you can get pretty much the same effects without ripping the heart out of your tone with a tremolo bridge.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by walterw

besides, that thing is fretless, right? you can get pretty much the same effects without ripping the heart out of your tone with a tremolo bridge.

I don't think it would rip the heart of the tone out at all. Nobody ever complained about Victor Wooten's Foderas or Dave LaRue's Sterlings with Kahlers. I have a bass with one and I have no desire to get another one, but I do like mine. I'm not an expert on them, but here's what I know:

1. Strings won't last if the break angle is too steep. I actually had to put a thin plate under mine in order to raise the bridge up to lessen the break angle.

2. It's a giant PITA to install one. It involves a considerable amount of routing. It would probably cost you as much as the bridge itself to have a pro repairman install it.

3. You get past the first two and it works really well and it's a lot of fun. Stays in tune well, too. Not a whole lot of range to it, but you can do some cool stuff.

Again, I have no desire to have another bass with one, but I'm glad I have one. It's definitely something you can live without.

[Stickk]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I don't think it would rip the heart of the tone out at all. Nobody ever complained about Victor Wooten's Foderas or Dave LaRue's Sterlings with Kahlers. I have a bass with one and I have no desire to get another one, but I do like mine. I'm not an expert on them, but here's what I know:

1. Strings won't last if the break angle is too steep. I actually had to put a thin plate under mine in order to raise the bridge up to lessen the break angle.

2. It's a giant PITA to install one. It involves a considerable amount of routing. It would probably cost you as much as the bridge itself to have a pro repairman install it.

3. You get past the first two and it works really well and it's a lot of fun. Stays in tune well, too. Not a whole lot of range to it, but you can do some cool stuff.

Again, I have no desire to have another bass with one, but I'm glad I have one. It's definitely something you can live without.

Thanks for the info. Routing's no problem for me, so I can install it.

[Yvarg]

The biggest kicker for me is that in order to get a decent bending range you have to use lighter strings, which can be annoying if you prefer heavier gauge strings. I actually string my Kahler with the highest four strings from a six string set, but still tuned E A D G.