Post by Akira on Apr 17, 2008 21:28:41 GMT -4
Tremol-no
Price Paid:
£45 (it's $65 in the states which is a bargain compared to what I paid over here)
Pro's:
Fairly easy to install
No routing or drilling required
Does exactly what it says on the tin
Con's:
Can be a bit tricky if you have no idea how to set up a guitar
Can be fiddly to set up
Requires patience
Review:
So the trem system on my Ibanez RG470 has been playing up more and more recently, yielding ever unpredictable stability. I did some research and found that the particular trem model for my guitar wasn't made from hardened steel, which meant it would fatigue more easily over time when compared to other trem types. I also found that the knives and the studs in the trem were significantly worn.
I thought that the best option would be to block the trem off. It is meant as a back up guitar, although for my degree performance in May the rhythm guitarist in my band will be using it, so obviously having reliable stability is paramount.
I decided to get a "Tremol-no". It's a device you install in your trem which can either leave your trem as fully floating, dive only, or serve as making it essentially like a hard tail - blocking it off. I took the plunge and picked one up.
Installing it was relatively easy, there is a video on the Tremol-no website that walks you through how to install it, as well as a useful set of instructions that come with the package itself. I would say some prior knowledge of setting a guitar up is needed though as it does involve unscrewing the trems screws and replacing the metal plate that the screws go through, then some very fine adjustment to make sure the Tremol-no is set up properly. The great thing about it is there is no drilling required, and there is a screw on the device provided for locking down your grounding wire - as you need to cut that in order to remove the old parts.
Having set it up, I automatically set it to "Hard-tail" mode, which involved simply tightening two screws with my fingers. It has made a HUGE difference so far. It doesn't stay completely still in this mode - there is some minor movement (very minor) - although this could be down to me using 2 springs in the trem rather than the more common 3 springs, and also due to the trem systems previous fatigue. Also, to be honest, I doubt you'd put that much pressure on the trem whilst playing to actually move it anyway.
Changing strings is now a complete doddle, as is intonating, being as the trem no longer moves, it's actually quite exciting (coming from someone who has only ever used floating trem set ups). I can not comment on the "dive only" mode as I bought it with the intention of using it purely in hard tail mode, but I can only assume this mode works well as it seems like a quality piece of kit.
After installing this on the Ibanez I gave some thought to installing one on the Jackson, but decided against it, by the simple rule of "if it isn't broke...", but I would definetly recommend one if your trem is getting old and unpredictable, or if you want a guitar that will stay in tune during those make or break gigging moments. It also stays relatively in tune when you snap a string, which means you could theoretically make it to the end of a song without having to switch guitars half way through, which is neat.
Here it is installed in my Ibanez:
If you want to read more about the Tremol-no then check it out at www.tremol-no.com/