Kahlers

[mupps]

Are they any good at all?

Need to know as im thinking of buying a secondhand Jackson with a Kahler, dont know which one though. May be a flat top.

Andsy!

[Jim Shine]

Re: Kahlers

They are great units, but they have their own feel. Floyd players tend to not like them as they have a very soft action. There are heavy springs you can use to help make them more Floyd like. There are advantages to the Kahler. The saddles don't move when you use the bar, so the pitch changes a little more precisly than a Floyd. I like the clean look of the back of a Kahler guitar. My personal advantage is I do alot of double bends on the strings and the Kahler barely moves whereas with the Floyd it throws the unbent note out of tune killing the intended effect. I switch from vintage Strat, Jazzmaster, Floyd and Kahler trems, so I am a little more open to experimenting. Try one and see what you think.

[ June 14, 2003, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[shreddermon]

Re: Kahlers

Tangentally related: is it true Kahler has bit the big donut? I heard rumors to that effect, and their web site has been down for weeks now.

[Jim Shine]

Re: Kahlers

A guy named Bill Antell told me two or so years ago that Kahler was making golf clubs. I heard they were preparing to re-enter the guitar parts market this year. I don't know what is going on with them now though. One thing is for sure and that is they wont be getting the money they used to for these things.

[Sprinter36]

Re: Kahlers

My '85 G&L Invader has a Kahler and I love it. I like the smoother action it has over the Floyd on my Jackson.

Sprinter 36

[lerxstcat]

Re: Kahlers

I like both Kahlers and Floyds; Kahlers are much better for the double bends and unison bends as mentioned above, because
they don't move enough to ruin the effect
like a Floyd will. Yes you can compensate with a Floyd by bending one string more than the other, but if you want to use the same technique as you'd use on a hardtail the Kahler's the one.

The biggest drag with Kahlers is parts availability. I've also noticed the website is down, as I was trying to get a
single roller saddle assembly. They only
sell these in sets of 6 for $88.50 (OUCH)
but said to check back after inventory and IF they had an odd # left over they might sell me one. The website and email
have been down since a few weeks after that time.

I've seen incomplete Kahler trems being sold for parts on Ebay, and I think that's my tactic now since I can't reach Kahler any longer. I think if you oil the moving parts every 3 months they last
indefinitely though, as my V220 has lasted since 1985-86 with no parts needed
(I've owned it since '88 but it has the skirt knobs dating it to '85 or '86).

Note though that Flyer parts won't work on a Pro though, except maybe the string holders. The saddles are different.