Steinberger tremolo system question
Evstratios Karaiwasoglou
Hi
I have a guitar with a steinberger tremolo system. It seems that at the tail
of the system ( on the bridge ) there's a short handle ( switch ) that can be
moved vertically to the strings and I don't have any idea of its function.
Can anyone help me with this?
Stratos
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Jose Hilario
That is probably the lock for the floating tail piece. If your spring
tension is adjusted properly the lever's hook should slide right on the
latch built into the tremolo tail piece without changing the pitch of
the strings. This locks the guitar in tune and comes in handy when
restringing or when you break a string in the middle of a live set.
!^NavFont02F011B0006QGHHHd54DB
lebow
If you push it all the way up till it locks, it locks the tremolo.
Adjust the knob until the tuning of the guitar is the same whether the
tremolo is locked or unlocked.
Paul
Captain Liberal
In article <57h93q$3n0$1...@news.uni-paderborn.de>, kar...@uni-paderborn.de
says...
>
>
> I have a guitar with a steinberger tremolo system. It seems that at the tail
> of the system ( on the bridge ) there's a short handle ( switch ) that can
be
> moved vertically to the strings and I don't have any idea of its function.
> Can anyone help me with this?
>
no movement occurs when doing string bends and such. It is, effectively,
useless for a number of reasons.
Number one: you'll never get it to align right... Unless you spend a while
tuning and adjusting the global tension knob (the big under the lever) to get
the tremelo to sit in the exact position, the tuning will go sharp or flat (as
applicable) when you lock the thing.
Number two: they tend to wear away so that they won't lock anyway.
Number three: why would you want to lock a Steinberger tremelo system? Unless
you have the crappy version of the S-trem, they are the best tremelo systems on
the planet. They stay in tune relentlessly and are a joy to use.
Hope this doesn't belabor the point...
Captain Liberal
Evstratios Karaiwasoglou
In article <329F5B...@nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil>,
Guys, thanks for the answers
but i was not talking about the tremolo lock switch. I will try to make a
sketch of what I mean
( strings ) (Bridge)
-------------------------=O| O Tuning Knobs
-------------------------=O|---
-------------------------=O| 2| (1) Tremolo lock switch ( left-right)
-------------------------=O|1 | (2) Unknown lever ( up - down )
-------------------------=O|---
-------------------------=O|
Hope this helps!
Jose Hilario
Perhpas we should clarify something. Are we talking about the standard
Steinberger tremolo or the Steinberger "Trans Trem" tremolo?
What effect does the mystery lever appear to have when you throw it?
Does it change the pitch/tuning? What specific guitar parts does it
move? Perhaps it's supposed to drop the tuning down by a half step.
!^NavFont02F01190006QGHHHb55FB
Jose Hilario
Stratos,
I'm reply to your e-mail on the newsgroup because my reply was kicked
back. This is the error message I received in case you're at all
curious:
<local kar...@uni-paderborn.de karaiw 60001>: procmail: Unknown user
"karaiw"[exit status 67 (addressee unknown)]
>> Sorry for the trouble but it seems to be an extremely hard task to
tune the guitar and still have room for forward and backward movement of
the tremolo system <<
Well, that certainly shouldn't be the case with a Steinberger, and
especially if you have the trans trem system which I suspect is the
case. I have a regular, non trans trem Steinberger tremolo and I have
no such additional lever or yellow screw. Neither have I ever
experienced any tuning problems and I'm a fairly heavy tremolo user.
Perhaps you should have a qualified tech/luthier adjust the tremolo for
you. Another option may be to contact Steinberger directly for a manual,
and/or the information you need (or the name of the nearest dealer). I
believe they have their own web page which you might try searching for.
Alternatively, you can get their address from Gibson Guitar's web site
as I believe Steinberger is now a subsidiary of Gibson. (I'm almost
positive that's where I saw them listed).
Good luck.
Debra Y. Weber
Hello-
I was hoping you could answer some questions about steinberger
tremolo sytems. Which of their trems feels and acts most like a
floyd rose, also, can yu divebomb with a trans-trem system??
I'm thinking about buying a steinberger and want to be able to do
what a floyd would let me do.
Thanks alot,
Debra Weber
Anonymous X. Incognito
Dear Captain Liberal:
Your post indicates joy with the Steinberger trem...
Have you ever had any problems with the spring going soft?
If so, do you know of the fix?
I am presently trying to find a Die spring to replace the original
Steinberger spring --- their replacement part didn't last very long.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Wolf
Jose Hilario
>> Which of their trems feels and acts most like a
I have a standard steinberger floating tremolo and it really does feel
great. I'm not sure how compares with a Floyd though as I haven't used
one of those in a while. The standard steinberger tremolo feels very
similar to a strat tremolo that has been set up to float with three
springs. The difference is the steinberger's tremolo is a lot more
stable and bending one string doesn't make the other go flat as is the
case with a strat with 3 springs.
You can do all the Beck/Van halen tricks with either although if I
remember correctly the trans trem supposedly has the added benefit of
keeping the strings in tune (relative pitch stays the same) even when
being yanked around with the tremolo. This allows one to do a "dive
bomb" with an entire chord. But I can't personally attest to the trans
trem's effectiveness as I've never tried one. Additionally, I believe
the trans trem systems require special strings.
!^NavFont02F034E000FMGJHG5DQG5FHJ4FE938
Joseph T. Kung
Jose Hilario (71171...@compuserve.com) wrote:
: >> Which of their trems feels and acts most like a
: I have a standard steinberger floating tremolo and it really does feel
: great. I'm not sure how compares with a Floyd though as I haven't used
: one of those in a while. The standard steinberger tremolo feels very
: similar to a strat tremolo that has been set up to float with three
: springs. The difference is the steinberger's tremolo is a lot more
: stable and bending one string doesn't make the other go flat as is the
: case with a strat with 3 springs.
this is the case if you have the tremolo locked. if you use heavy
gauge strings and bend, the bridge will move, and things will
eventually go out of tune. but the transtrem will keep all the strings
in relative tune since the saddles don't move, only the bridge.
: You can do all the Beck/Van halen tricks with either although if I
: remember correctly the trans trem supposedly has the added benefit of
: keeping the strings in tune (relative pitch stays the same) even when
: being yanked around with the tremolo. This allows one to do a "dive
: bomb" with an entire chord. But I can't personally attest to the trans
: trem's effectiveness as I've never tried one. Additionally, I believe
: the trans trem systems require special strings.
the transtrem is great for nice vibrato and pitch shifting and
detuning. however, it isn't as good as a floyd-rose for dive bombing.
in addition, i don't suggest yanking *up* on the bar as you can on the
rose. the high e has a habit of breaking depending on how it is seated
in the locking jaw in the bridge. careful installation is needed here.
but overall, the transtrem is the smootheset trem out there.
- joe
Captain Liberal
In article <32abb802...@news.provide.net>, fake@address says...
>
>Dear Captain Liberal:
>
>Your post indicates joy with the Steinberger trem...
>
>Have you ever had any problems with the spring going soft?
>If so, do you know of the fix?
>
No and No. I have owned six Steinberger guitars (4 TransTrems and 2 S-Trems).
I have never had a problem with the spring "going soft." I would be careful
about using a non-spec part to replace the stock spring. The block at the
upper part of the spring mount could conceivably break from the added stress if
the spring you use has too much force. I understand that you want a higher e
value (ability to return to previous state).
How long did your original spring last? Have you talked to Gibson about the
problem? They've been pretty helpful with me and have turned around parts
orders on short order...
>I am presently trying to find a Die spring to replace the original
>Steinberger spring --- their replacement part didn't last very long.
>
>Any thoughts?
>
See above...
Captain Liberal
Captain Liberal
In article <587uq4$n...@news.istar.ca>, 71171...@compuserve.com says...
>
>Stratos,
>
> Sorry for the trouble but it seems to be an extremely hard task to
>tune the guitar and still have room for forward and backward movement of
>the tremolo system <<
>
Once you get it set right, you'll never really mess with it too much. Assuming
that the thing isn't broken (and if it was, you'd definately know it), Just
install a new set of strings. If the tremelo is cocked too far in either
direction,, adjust as follows: If the thing is pitched too far toward the
strings (so you can't decrease pitch enough), lower the pitch of the strings
using the tuners, then tighten the global tension knob on the butt of the
tremelo. Then retune. This should alter the center point which you're
referring to. Repeat the process until you get it where you want it. Once
this is done, you shouldn't have a problem since string tension is relatively
the same between sets (unless you switch guages).
Captain Liberal
Captain Liberal
In article <58cl6p$b...@charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu>, debr...@ecst.csuchico.edu
says...
really setup for dive-bombing because of the "relative tuning" act that it
plays. In other words, Since you detune entire chords in relative pitch, and
the high E never dive-bombs on a floyd, the low E can't on a TransTrem since
(ideally) it only detunes as much as the high E.
The S-Trem is closer to a standard tremelo "feel." None of them feel like
Floyds though...(since Floyd's suck and Steinberger tremelos generally don't
<g>). Just kidding....
Captain Liberal
Captain Liberal
In article <58ht9m$j...@news.istar.ca>, 71171...@compuserve.com says...
>
>>> Which of their trems feels and acts most like a
>
><snip>
> You can do all the Beck/Van halen tricks with either although if I
>remember correctly the trans trem supposedly has the added benefit of
>keeping the strings in tune (relative pitch stays the same) even when
>being yanked around with the tremolo. This allows one to do a "dive
>bomb" with an entire chord. But I can't personally attest to the trans
>trem's effectiveness as I've never tried one. Additionally, I believe
>the trans trem systems require special strings.
>
You really can't dive bomb with the TransTrem as I mentioned in the previous
post. The TransTrem also does not "require" special strings. You can use the
same strings (assuming you don't have a really old TransTrem that requires the
threaded ball sets - none of the new ones are like this). LaBella makes
calibrated sets specifically for the TransTrem, but you don't have to use them.
They do work better...
Captain Liberal