Bass with a whammy bar? - Page 7

Kevindm215 · #**121** 03-02-2010, 05:16 PM

how'd the bridge turn out on the pbass?? did you lose any sound on it? does it stay in tune? im just looking to get one for my stingray, any info be very much appreciated

7string · #**122** 03-02-2010, 05:29 PM

I was after a fretted 5 string, preferably white (as I have mostly black instruments for some strange reason) and if I happened to find one with a whammy then that would be great.

Then on eBay I found this:

It's on it's way....

hachi kid · #**123** 03-29-2010, 01:57 PM

so, the Kahler is a full floating trim? as in the bass would go out of tune if I were to go to drop D?...

moonshinegtrs · #**124** 03-29-2010, 08:14 PM

Here's a couple of pic's of my Hamer USA Blitz bass with non- factory Kahler. When I got it, the Kahler had been installed, but it was sunken into the body. I kept it stashed away for about three years, but last year, I finally got aroung to repairing it. I plays and sound great.

Note that there is another bass in the first photo that is routed out for a Kahler. It is an eighties Arbor star bass and it needs to be restored. I found a Kahler for it about two years ago. I need to get that one back together.

Moonshine

spade2you · #**125** 03-29-2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hachi kid

so, the Kahler is a full floating trim? as in the bass would go out of tune if I were to go to drop D?...

Yes.

amimbari · #**126** 03-30-2010, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hachi kid

so, the Kahler is a full floating trim? as in the bass would go out of tune if I were to go to drop D?...

Quote:

Originally Posted by spade2you

Yes.

NO

maybe on yours it does but on mine it stays in tune at CGCF DGCF DADG, EADG...whatever mine dont matter....

chowderboots has a blitz and it is a bear to keep in tune..perhaps it is specific to each bass. the Kahler on this one is flat mounted as the countersinking was not necessary for string height.

Moonbot · #**127** 03-30-2010, 06:12 AM

Johnny Brown has some great examples of the kahler in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&h...&v=W-9wY57AZIs

I'm planning to put one on my Cirrus BXP soon as I can afford to.

Darkstrike · #**128** 03-30-2010, 06:35 AM

The Kahler is *not* floating, it's cam operated.

spade2you · #**129** 03-30-2010, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amimbari

NO

maybe on yours it does but on mine it stays in tune at CGCF DGCF DADG, EADG...whatever mine dont matter....

chowderboots has a blitz and it is a bear to keep in tune..perhaps it is specific to each bass. the Kahler on this one is flat mounted as the countersinking was not necessary for string height.

You can leave it in any tuning you want, but changing the pitch of one string will throw the pitch off of the rest of the strings.

Mulebagger · #**130** 03-30-2010, 07:11 AM

I had a Kahler on a 90 MIJ reissue of a 75. It was a nice conversation piece, but brought up the regular question: why not just play guitar? Well, because I'm a bassist and not a guitar player.

Overall, it was an expensive bridge, an expensive install, a killer of strings, a killer of sustain, and not anything that I couldn't accomplish by bending strings.

I sold that bass and never looked back. Tried it, didn't like it, moved on. I was going to say that the only way it could be more useless to me would be if it were on a fretless, but alas, I see some fretless basses with them. huh? I don't get it, but more power to them if it is something they dig.

amimbari · #**131** 03-30-2010, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spade2you

You can leave it in any tuning you want, but changing the pitch of one string will throw the pitch off of the rest of the strings.

^^^^^^ now that is the statement I was looking for...yes once ALL strings are tuned it will stay in tune....

Metal Bassist · #**132** 03-03-2011, 02:42 PM

Are any of these any good for divebombing and other obnoxious sounds?

MNAirHead · #**133** 03-03-2011, 02:48 PM

I had one.. dorky and silly.

jaywa · #**134** 03-03-2011, 02:49 PM

Does anyone else remember the print ad from way way back with the late Ben Orr holding a white P-Bass fitted with what I believe was a Kahler tremolo bar?

That ad always stuck with me for two reasons... first, it was the first time I had ever seen what The Cars bassist looked like -- actually it was the first time I knew they HAD a bassist -- and 2nd I remember thinking if there was one guy who probably never actually used that product, it was him!

The best selling recorded example of bass trem bar use would have to be at the end of Motley Crue Smokin in the Boys Room where Nikki Sixx does a little fill at the end and whammys it down.

amimbari · #**135** 03-03-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metal Bassist

Are any of these any good for divebombing and other obnoxious sounds?

they sure are......

here's my latest one:

.

forget the wank factor, forget the creative factor. to me it is a nice heavy bridge that stays in tune on my unit no matter how much I abuse it.....period.

I can tell you that just because everyone THINKS they are for wanking quite a few highend companies have it as an option and I don't mean for divebomb dorky distortion uses either.

Bassman62 · #**136** 03-03-2011, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitfiddle0409

Yep -- my Fender Bass VI. But then again numerous "Bass Fascists" on this site have contemptuously considered them to be something less than a bass!

I tried the reissue a few years back and still loved it.
For those who don't consider it to be a true Bass that is only through lack of knowledge, it plays the same register as a standard 4 string plus two more strings at the top that I tuned to C & F on my Burns 6 string bass.

bassbenj · #**137** 03-03-2011, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Willy!

I have an '80s Steinberger with a Trans-Trem. It works great....just takes a while to calibrate. Locking the whole bass up or down a step or two is kinda handy every now & then too.

Yes. The Steinberger is THE trem for bass. Let talk trem theory. For a guitar a Floyd Rose is the ultimate trem. There are a couple of reasons. The principal one is that it has a locking nut so all strings are exactly the same length. You see on a normal bass or guitar the strings are gripped at the nut to give equal "effective" lengths but the "real" length that responds to tension changes is not equal. The position of the tuners makes them different. Equal lengths on your strings means that a tension change has all strings "tracking" each other harmonically. Hence the excellent sound of huge dive bombs that Floyds are known for. They do not go out of tune on huge dive bombs.

But once you lock the nut on a Floyd, you can not longer use tuners to tune the instrument. This is why a Floyd has micro tuners down at the bridge so you can tweak tuning without unlocking the nut.

An other feature of Floyds (unlike say a Bigsby) is that the springs that balance the string tension are long which means the compression force doesn't greatly increase over a short range of motion like a Bigsby does. And even more, the Floyd is a balanced lever where the string tension is largely held by the posts the flat Bridge unit pivots against. This greatly reduces the force the trem lever needs since only a small part of the string tension is compensated by the springs. Floyds are THE coolest trems on the planet.

However. Let me note that Floyds are ALSO the biggest pain in the butt on the planet. The locked nut and inoperative tuners are bad enough but setting one up with new strings or the like and getting the spring tension balanced is nightmare city! If they didn't work so well they wouldn't be worth it.

OK. Now lets talk about Steinbergers! They are like the ULTIMATE FLOYD. Note headless neck means all strings are ALREADY clamped at identical lengths. Floyd feature #1. And then the string tuners are at the bridge but unlike a Floyd where they are just fine tuners, these are the REAL ACTUAL tuners for the bass! How cool is that? And lastly, the motion of the pivoting bridge mechanism like a Floyd reduces the amount of force needed to change pitch and does not use the short springs that have to take ALL the string tension like a Kahler. Floyd feature #2.

In short, the Steinberger trem system is like THE ULTIMATE system for EITHER guitar or bass. And I'm getting a terrific case of GAS for one or more right now!

DerHoggz · #**138** 03-03-2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassbenj

Yes. The Steinberger is THE trem for bass. Let talk trem theory. For a guitar a Floyd Rose is the ultimate trem. There are a couple of reasons. The principal one is that it has a locking nut so all strings are exactly the same length. You see on a normal bass or guitar the strings are gripped at the nut to give equal "effective" lengths but the "real" length that responds to tension changes is not equal. The position of the tuners makes them different. Equal lengths on your strings means that a tension change has all strings "tracking" each other harmonically. Hence the excellent sound of huge dive bombs that Floyds are known for. They do not go out of tune on huge dive bombs.

But once you lock the nut on a Floyd, you can not longer use tuners to tune the instrument. This is why a Floyd has micro tuners down at the bridge so you can tweak tuning without unlocking the nut.

I'm pretty sure the locking nut just makes it so you can't cause the tuners them self to detune, or the string to bind in the nut. This tension thing your talking makes no sense.

Rockingbird · #**139** 03-03-2011, 07:14 PM

Just out of curiosity, has anyone here got word on the Tremologic? I remember first discovering them and have heard nothing since.

angel.of.death · #**140** 03-05-2011, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Years ago when I was young and stupid I had a Kahler bass whammy bar bridge professionally installed on a quality bass. The result was terrible.

It wouldn't stay in tune, ever. It was pretty useless for anything but radical "dive bomb" effects, and when you did that not only did it go severely out of tune, but it would snap strings at the bridge rollers because the bass strings were too stiff and would weaken at that point.

I know Victor Wooten has a whammy bar on one of his Fodera's, but for the life of me I've never seen him use it.

here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVQEe...eature=related