Name that Tremelo System

[wilkinsi]

Shit on shit?

[Matt_B]

Rockinger? That's what the string lock looks like..

Yeah, the string lock looks like a Rockinger but the bridge is not quite. My first locking trem was a Rockinger and it did not look like that.

[Axewielder]

I took a shit this morning and it didn't look like it either (close though)

[84sups]

Looks like a vintage trem with a lock nut to me. The intonation screws look to be changed but there were several locking ideas back then. I have no idea what the hell it is....looks like shit..

[Axewielder]

So I actually did a more comprehensive comparison of the morning shit with the pics of this trem, and the results were quite conclusive and interesting (with a few lingering questions). I'm actually intrigued by the idea that this trem is shit. So I've got a project guitar that has a Kahler route on the body that I don't want to spend a lot of money on. This is the perfect route for a shit trem, and I got things rolling by fishing the fecal pile out of the bowl and sort of plopping it right on there. Already there is a discrepancy, because the OP's guitar clearly doesn't have the ideal Kahler route. Moving on, I had a really hard time getting the strings to stay in place and tune up. The damn things just sort of pulled through the pile, and the whole mess oozed down the face of the guitar. What a mess LOL! Then I realized...duh...that I needed to dry things out with a hairdryer first. So I did that, and let me tell you...what a difference! So now I've got the string height and spacing set nicely, and the guitar tunes up. I was able to fashion the lump into a trem which closely resembles the OP's. However, there are some subtle giveaways that an experienced guitar restorer will notice. For starters, there aren't "saddles" per se, just a solidified mass that strings are sort of encapsulated in. There are others, too. Technically it's not a trem anymore as it basically hardened into the equivalent of a fixed bridge. It might be possible to engineer some sort of shitty cam operation, but it seems beyond my pay grade LOL! So, in conclusion: I do not believe that the OP's trem is "shit". That being said, shit can be a viable material to build trems out of with some interesting pros and cons:

Pros

- Extremely cost effective compared to an OFR
- Even more flexible string height and spacing than a Kahler
- Comparable tuning stability to a v-trem
- Really can nail the "brown sound"
- Looks pretty cool

Cons

- Smells like shit (not as bad after drying, though)
- Impossible to intonate or change strings (I never do that anyways)
- Fixed bridge only?


EDIT: Fuck this, I'm seeing some real durability issues with this piece of shit bridge already.

[Carbuff]

I have to add to the cons. You will need to replace it once you play the shit out of the guitar.

[Axewielder]

I have to add to the cons. You will need to replace it once you play the shit out of the guitar.

Yeah or like five minutes. I'm already seeing some durability issues.:dunno:

So I didn't have the foresight to see the fixed bridge debacle develop, so now I have this non-functional Kahler arm embedded in it. It's like the Sword in the Stone trying to pull it out.

[Vass]

Next time eat some corn nibblets. They would make good saddles.

Try to chew as little as possible, obviously.

[Chad]

Encase it in cyanoacrylate (super glue), then hit it with some accelerator. That's what Dan Erlewine would do.

[SausageofPower]

Get a big sustain block. It'll improve the shit's tone.

[straycat]

As long as it works I'd be good with it.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

IIRC....& I may not....early Rockinger trem!!

[j2379]

Yep...^ what he said

[ps43203]

Kahler fail rip off. Just tape it on with duct tape? Soak in piss first. Sorry couldn't resist.