Strat tremolo "rise"

[Old Tele man]

How many of you Strat players "notice" the slight "rise" of the bridges/strings (increase in string height above body) when you press down on the tremolo bar?

You ignore it or what?

[Kevan]

It's an inherent issue with all fulcrum-type trems.
It's slight, but I've learned to live with it.

[alderbody]

i don't use mine so i have all 5 springs stretched to keep the bridge flat on the body... :)

[John Phillips]

Live with it? :confused:

It's an inherent advantage of the Strat-type trem.

:)

As the tension goes down, the strings tend to flap about more, so you want a higher action to stop them rattling.

Whether this was intentionally part of the design I don't know. If so, it's pure genius. If not, a happy accident...

[Old Tele man]

...I mostly play a Tele (but once had a Strat) and was wondering how many people would deem this "rise" as:

A) a problem/nuisance
...or as
B) a benefit/feature.

So far, John Phillips is the first person to vote for the "B" column.

I, personally, found it a nuisance especially when palm-muting individual strings off a sustained chord.

Was just curious to see if I was in the majority or the minority over this slight idiosyncracy of the Strat (actually, all fulcrum bridges, as Kevan noted).

[Kevan]

I don't really see it as a problem or an advantage. It's just part of the design.

There are trems that have zero rise in string height when dropping pitch- Wonderbar, Kahler 2200, 2300 (and the 2400 for you bassists), and if I remember correctly the Steinbergers maintain string height as well.

I guess I'd vote for Column B, but only because I really need a trem to help bail me out of my hack playing.
:D

[Tone_Terrific]

Originally posted by Old Tele man
[B]...
I, personally, found it a nuisance especially when palm-muting individual strings off a sustained chord.



While using the bar??? You have greater dexterity than I.

I vote B.

[Old Tele man]

...a little "convoluted" but had to have my little finger wrapped around the bar to get my hand back over the bridge pieces...it can be done, but you've gotta have a STRONG little finger to move that bar too.

[Ed DeGenaro]

Par for the course, doesn't bother me.

[Mark Robinson]

I just habituate to it. I've frankly never truthfully noticed the rising action deal. I probably don't do as much fingering as some players, while working the bar.

The sagging pitch of unbent double-stop notes, issue, only really "IS" an issue, if I'm flighty and switching guitars around a lot. Like playing a set on a hard-tail then going to a floated bridge. Using a normal non-locking Fender trem is not "an issue" if that's all I play consistently. You kinda end up bending both strings on the double stops, and perhaps muting via palm and mute as necessary, with any digit of the picking hand. I also mute a hell of a lot with my fretting hand. I'm a rock player mostly, so muting is pretty important to my sound. FWIW, I play Telecasters a lot as well, and my personal opinion in general is that almost anything I want to do, with my feeble skills, is ergonomically easier on a Strat. But I do enjoy the nasty, bitchy snaggle of the Telecaster.. YMMV.