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Bass Whammy: Good Or Bad?

#23
Barkless Dog said:
That's usually a Strat. I knew a guitarist that had a Strat and if he ever used the trem, the guitar would go out of tune!

Floyd Rose & Kahlers if installed & set up right stay in tune.
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Actually, it's rarely that the bridge is at fault, so it wouldn't matter if it were stock, a Rose, or a Kahler. The vast majority of Strat tuning probs with a whammy bar are due to friction on the strings in the nut and string tree(s).
 
#26
No way.

Maybe one of those frail Mahogany Tbird necks. I once took a bass to a luthier to adjust the neck and he stuck the body between his knees and physically bent the neck to adjust it. You would be surprised how much wood can flex without issue.

I have had mine on my bass since the early 80's and my basses neck is still in great shape.

Its like the foolish notion you should store or ship a bass with the strings loose. It's better to keep the neck under tension, thats what they are designed for.
 
#28
Barkless Dog said:
True, Jeff Beck does not have problems, but I believe he has his tremolo tricked out to keep it in tune, I read.

The roller saddles is what keeps a kahler in tune, no string hang ups.
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I have been playing an early 60's Strat with a stock whammy bar for 30+ years (I'm a relative newbie to bass) and I have been round and round with this. Most of the string hang up on a Strat is at the other end in the nut. I have a bone nut precisely cut for the gauge strings I use, lubed with graphite and Teflon, and a graphite string tree. It stays in tune pretty well. On my strobe tuner I can see a little variation, but it's pretty good. It possibly would be a little better with roller saddles, but the diff is not worth the trouble or hacking a vintage instrument.
 
#29
ggunn said:
I have been playing an early 60's Strat with a stock whammy bar for 30+ years (I'm a relative newbie to bass) and I have been round and round with this. Most of the string hang up on a Strat is at the other end in the nut. I have a bone nut precisely cut for the gauge strings I use, lubed with graphite and Teflon, and a graphite string tree. It stays in tune pretty well. On my strobe tuner I can see a little variation, but it's pretty good. It possibly would be a little better with roller saddles, but the diff is not worth the trouble or hacking a vintage instrument.
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A graphite, or delrin nut would be even better for that, I would believe, but you sem to be having no trouble anyway.
 
#31
I have a 5-string Carvin from '88 or '89 with a Kahler whammy bridge. Carvin used to offer it as an option, and the idea seemed so freaky I just had to have one! (I was young at the time :smug:.)

It's interesting to see the look on the guitar player's face when they first see it. The reaction varies -- :eek: :eyebrow: :rollno: :scowl: :D :atoz:

I'll admit it is of very limited usefulness -- but I did find a couple of songs (originals) where a dive-bomb on the low B string actually made sense in context. I used an 18" subwoofer in those days, so the dive-bomb created a pretty awesome low frequency effect. The whammy can also be fun to mess with if you're doing the cliched rock-n-roll song ending where everyone makes a bunch of noise before hitting that last beat together. :D Completely unnecessary, but fun nonetheless.

IIRC, Roscoe also offered the Kahler whammy as an option back in the late '80s. This was back when the Roscoe basses had a hole (like a carrying handle) cut through the upper-rear part of the body. (Man, I hope this isn't a false memory from a dream or something. :hmm:) I'd love to see a pic of one of those old Roscoes if anybody has one.

I'll try to post a pic of my Carvin on this thread tonight. I don't think I've ever shown that bass on TB.

Edit: Forgot to mention -- I've never had any problems with the whammy putting me out of tune, as long as the strings have been "broken in" for a couple hours. The bass has a graphite nut, which probably helps.
 
#33
130-3066_IMG.jpg


(where are my manners) Here's mine. It's alright, but the tension of 35" scale doesn't make it particularly responsive. I have a Stambaugh on order that will be a 33" scale PJ bass. Hopefully it will be a little more nimble.
 
#34
Krist Waterston said:
thanks for the help... do you have any idea where i might be able to find a floyd rose or a Steinberger TransTrem bridge for bass, from what i've read those are the 2 that stay in tune the best
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I had the opportunity to try the Steinberger Bass TransTrem when they came out in the late 80's. Totally awesome and I wish I could have afforded one back them. At the most, 200 Bass TransTrems were ever made. They are rare and pricy these days.
 

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