vintage58
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2003
- Messages
- 3,958
What specific effects do: (a) the number of tremolo springs; and (b) the tension of the springs, have upon a guitar's sound?
The reason I ask is, a few months back I got a guitar with a Fender-style tremolo. I've never really used a tremolo (or played very many guitars that have one), and this new guitar's factory setup was such that the guitar has almost like a built-in "natural" reverb sound, that I'm guessing comes from the tremolo springs. The last Stratocaster I played at any length was a while ago, and I was using .012's on it, with five tremolo springs adjusted to maximum tension. I never used the tremolo arm on that guitar, and needless to say, given the string gauge and the spring adjustment, I didn't get too much of a springy, reverberant sound from that guitar.
Anyway, having heard this quasi-reverb effect on this new guitar I got a few months ago, I really like it. And being the guitar psycho that I am, about a week ago I got a second one of the same make/model of guitar, and it has the same tremolo system. But here's the thing—even though the new guitar has the same number of tremolo springs as the guitar from a few months back, this new one is really quiet, it gets not even a hint of the reverberant sound that I like so much on the first guitar.
Now, I realize that a lot of guitarists are hell-bent on getting their tremolo springs to make less noise, but I am actually interested in the opposite—i.e., how do I get the tremolo on this new guitar to get that reverb-y sound? For example, would fewer tremolo springs make the guitar sound more like that? Or is there some spring-tension adjustment that could be made (loosening the springs, perhaps?) that would give the guitar the desired metallic, echoey sound?
Any info would be helpful, thanks.
.
The reason I ask is, a few months back I got a guitar with a Fender-style tremolo. I've never really used a tremolo (or played very many guitars that have one), and this new guitar's factory setup was such that the guitar has almost like a built-in "natural" reverb sound, that I'm guessing comes from the tremolo springs. The last Stratocaster I played at any length was a while ago, and I was using .012's on it, with five tremolo springs adjusted to maximum tension. I never used the tremolo arm on that guitar, and needless to say, given the string gauge and the spring adjustment, I didn't get too much of a springy, reverberant sound from that guitar.
Anyway, having heard this quasi-reverb effect on this new guitar I got a few months ago, I really like it. And being the guitar psycho that I am, about a week ago I got a second one of the same make/model of guitar, and it has the same tremolo system. But here's the thing—even though the new guitar has the same number of tremolo springs as the guitar from a few months back, this new one is really quiet, it gets not even a hint of the reverberant sound that I like so much on the first guitar.
Now, I realize that a lot of guitarists are hell-bent on getting their tremolo springs to make less noise, but I am actually interested in the opposite—i.e., how do I get the tremolo on this new guitar to get that reverb-y sound? For example, would fewer tremolo springs make the guitar sound more like that? Or is there some spring-tension adjustment that could be made (loosening the springs, perhaps?) that would give the guitar the desired metallic, echoey sound?
Any info would be helpful, thanks.
.