tremolo choices

[R]

alright i have a les paul black beauty 3 and i want to add a tremolo which one would any of you recomend
i like the bigsby but the ones i tried in guitar center only moved a little not enough for my taste im thinking no to a tremolo that would require deep routing any suggestions

[Trey]

Your only choices for a LP area Bigsby or something like a stretsbar, not alot of other options. With the stretsbar you don't have to do any routing at all, and can return the guitar to stock if you ever so desire, but it is a little more expensive than say a Bigsby(factor in installation for the Bigsby and it might be equal or more than the stretsbar)

Stretsbar

[Runewalker]

Yeah, I thought about this type customization for the Lessie for a long time, but did not want to risk loosing it's Paulness, so just started turning Strats into humbucker configs to get the dives. As always a Strat is a poor subsitute for a Lessie .... whups that's a dangerous statement on this board.

Here is another conversion alternative:

www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar_tremolos/Les_Trem_Stop-Tailpiece_Tremolos.html

Have not used it but got close to doing so. You see them on ebay occasionally for less, but not often.

[UnklMickey]

Trey, that bridge looks awesome. if it works well, and it mounts as easily as it appears to ...WOW!

runewalker said:

... As always a Strat is a poor subsitute for a Lessie .... whups that's a dangerous statement on this board. ...

no danger here -- the 'Paul is also a poor substitute for a Strat too! ... apples 'n' oranges and all that stuff. they both taste great, just way different!

[GuyaGuy]

bigsby-made models tend to be a bit stiff. i'd look into knockoffs, although they're not easy to find. the one on my eastwood goes up a whole step and down a whole step on the treble strings and 4-5 steps in the bass.
or experiment w/ different springs on a real bigsby. you can get em cheap at a hardware/diy store.

[UnklMickey]

you know, i might just be trippin' here, but i think i remember a Gibson back around 1970 (maybe an SG?) that had a strange tremolo variant. 2 separate bars, one for the b string one for the g. and i think it had some kind of adjustable stop on each to limit how much bend (or did i just think it should have the stops?). i think it was targeted at the country pickers.

anybody remember this one, or am i just having some weird '60s flashback?

[TooManyWires]

I don't know about Gibson, but I know Fender made something like this. It was a telecaster and I believe they called it the B-Bender. I never played one, but from what I understood there was a special bending mechanism on the B string which was activated through the strap peg, so you couldn't really use it without a strap. The only thing I could really think of other than a Bigsby would be the thing that Runewalker already posted.

[GuyaGuy]

unklmickey said:

you know, i might just be trippin' here, but i think i remember a Gibson back around 1970 (maybe an SG?) that had a strange tremolo variant. 2 separate bars, one for the b string one for the g. and i think it had some kind of adjustable stop on each to limit how much bend (or did i just think it should have the stops?). i think it was targeted at the country pickers.

anybody remember this one, or am i just having some weird '60s flashback?

here you go:

www.geocities.com/dbalde.geo/dbBigsbypp.html

(flashback at yr own risk! )

[UnklMickey]

thanks GuyaGuy.

thats EXACTLY what i had seen. saw it on an SG and thought it was a gibson thing. i remembered it only bending down, but as i look at it now i see my memory wasn't so good (imagine that!).

they don't recommend it for carved tops, so i guess even if you were interested R, this was a dead end. (sorry).

if i have generated any interest in bending one or two strings alone, you won't go away empty handed. here's a little device that attaches to your existing stopbar tailpiece -- no mods!:

www.musicyo.com/product_specs.asp?pf_id=772

[R]

thanks guys i im thinking about that bending system unklmickey suggested i might even use one for each string and get some really cool sounds i know that stew mac has a bending system that has a hip lever that lets you raise the 2nd string and with a flick of a lever drop the 6th string to low d it fits a les paul, tele, strat, and es-335 with out mods i think its called hipshot string bending system

[Mustang]

If you get a chance, watch the Sheryl Crow DVD 'Come On' and watch Peter Stroud wear these palm pedals out in combination with using a slide. Very cool..... that is if you can keep your eyes off Sheryl in those patriotic pants!