THOUGHTS ON BASS TREMOLO

[Al3x]

Hello,

I am considering putting a Kahler tremolo on my fretless. Does anyone have any past experience or feelings on this?

 

[deaf pea]

What's the point? a fretless can do all that the Kahler tremolo can do AND MORE . . .

I CAN understand putting a Kahler tremolo on a fretted bass, however . . . . . .

 

[tbassist4]

What's the point? a fretless can do all that the Kahler tremolo can do AND MORE . . .

I CAN understand putting a Kahler tremolo on a fretted bass, however . . . . . .

+1. Beat me to the punch, haha.

 

[Evan Ciambrone]

Yea on a fretless I see no point unless you just love bending natural harmonics.

HOWEVER it's YOUR bass, do whatever you want to do with it

Hata's gon hate

 

[Denial]

Yea on a fretless I see no point unless you just love bending natural harmonics.

^This

 

[Funkinthetrunk]

What's the point? a fretless can do all that the Kahler tremolo can do AND MORE . . .

Except dive bombs on the E string. Or low B.

I have a Kahler on one of my bass...it's a great thing. Can add whole new dimension to your bass.

 

[line6man]

Except dive bombs on the E string. Or low B.

I have a Kahler on one of my bass...it's a great thing. Can add whole new dimension to your bass.

You can do that by bending the neck.

 

[Funkinthetrunk]

You can do that by bending the neck.

Oh, I forgot about that....my bad.

 

[line6man]

Oh, I forgot about that....my bad.

Clearly you have not been listening to enough of Billy Sheehan's rocking!

 

[MonkeyBass]

People that say "What's the point" clearly have never tried one.

I have two basses with the Kahlers and they're awesome. You have to route out the bass, and it takes some time to get it set up but they stay in tune, you can dive down or bend up, and they're really well made.

Go for it.

 

[Al3x]

I understand bending the neck, but won't that eventually break it?

 

[R. Laevinus]

I think it's a great idea... if you use whammy bars much. Every skinny six I've ever bought has had a whang bar, except one; I have used a whammy in precisely 0 gigs and 1 recording.

Of course, YMMV. I personally would love to have one on a bass; I think it over from time to time. But the fact of the matter is, I never use it on guitar, so why get one on my bass? (note: I play guitar in very much the same manner as I play bass.)

So if you're going to use it, I say definitely! They're totally cool and can really open up your playing. But be honest with yourself as to whether or not you'll use it - maybe try to find a bass with a trem to rent or borrow, if you haven't used one before - because if you don't end up using it, it's just a chunk of metal that cost a lot of money and scuppered the resale value of your axe.

 

[Al3x]

Well I was a Guitar Center (Gasp! Treason!) yesterday, trying out some of their basses, and before I left, I went over to the hollow-body guitars (it had a tremolo) and I messed around on it.

I liked the sound, and dive bombing was pretty fun, and I think I just may shell out the money to get one...

Sadly, the Kahler site is down, so I can't see their prices...


Thanks for the input though.
And I definitely rent a bass with a tremolo. Thanks for the tip.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I had a Kahler on a fretless back in the 80s. My reason was that I was used to playing Ricks, and could hit harmonics and bend the neck.

Then I started playing a fretless bass I made from a Hondo II P bass copy, and I couldn't bent that neck.

But I used it for a lot of other stuff, like dive bombs on open strings and vibrato on cords.

It was a lot of fun.

 

[line6man]

I understand bending the neck, but won't that eventually break it?

I would think that it would depend on the construction of the bass.
For example, I play two Warmoth basses, which have steel reinforcement rods in the necks. I have never tried bending them, but I would have to imagine that they would be too stiff to flex.

You also want to make sure you have a good neck joint.
Billy Sheehan's basses have ridiculous neck joints that would be pretty much impossible to break. On the other hand, he claims that he's never broken a neck, and that includes playing a P bass for many years.

Well I was a Guitar Center (Gasp! Treason!) yesterday, trying out some of their basses, and before I left, I went over to the hollow-body guitars (it had a tremolo) and I messed around on it.

I liked the sound, and dive bombing was pretty fun, and I think I just may shell out the money to get one...

Sadly, the Kahler site is down, so I can't see their prices...


Thanks for the input though.
And I definitely rent a bass with a tremolo. Thanks for the tip.

I can't live without a tremolo on a guitar. Hardtail guitars are essentially worthless to me. Bass is different for some reason, probably because I only play fretless basses, so that gives me enough pitch control.

Is the Kahler website the only place to buy it?
In many cases, manufacturers (For example, Hipshot.) charge a fortune for you to buy directly from them, in an effort to encourage you to give your business to one of their dealers. If, on the other hand, Kahler does not sell directly, the website will probably only give you the MSRP.
In any case, I'm sure you can google the price if you're unsure.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Is the Kahler website the only place to buy it?

No, just google. Ltts of links to buy the pop up.

This eBay store has them:

Pitch Perfect Music items - Get great deals on Stratocaster, Bridge Saddles items on eBay Stores!

NEW - Kahler Hybrid 7410 Bass Tremolo - CHROME | eBay

NEW - Kahler Hybrid 7415 5-String Bass Tremolo - CHROME | eBay

 

[knucklehead G]

I've seen people say these things destroy strings quickly, can you guys with experience comment on that?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I've seen people say these things destroy strings quickly, can you guys with experience comment on that?

I never had any issues. I used to break strings on Badass bridges though.

 

[Mike M.]

I understand bending the neck, but won't that eventually break it?

That happened to Slash with his Les Paul. Bent the neck one too many times, the neck broke and slammed right into his face! Said it felt like someone hit him with a baseball bat!

 

[Deathblade Eric]

I've seen people say these things destroy strings quickly, can you guys with experience comment on that?

I used to get about a month to 6 weeks out of a set before either the A or D failed - always right on the roller. Probably compounded by my liking for bending as well.