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I made a new type of guitar tremolo


js tremolo

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This started years ago when I was customizing a guitar for someone, I am a carpenter by trade not a luthier. I could not find a tremolo I was happy with so I started working on designing one. I am not much of a guitar player, I just have a strong interest in designing/making things. Here it is, my third prototype, trying to figure out how to get it into production at this point. This is a crude one shot video, that is not me playing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ClbjLjG5Y

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Looks like you were using nut and bolt to tighten the bridge down when the arm was pulled up. Its a unique thing but my concern would be with the wear on the threads. You'd need to use hardened steel for the threads and grease the crap out of it to prevent wear, and even then its not going to last too long.

The cure would be to have some kind of ball bearings between the threads so the arms action is super smooth. They have ball bearings in normal cynically grooves. I wonder if it would be possible in a spiral groove or would they all bunch up?

You could probably modify it so the arm had notches. Then use the arm to switch guitar tunings. Low tune the guitar then use the arm to select normal and high tunings. It would be like using a Capo except you have the arm or a knob to do that.

Don't think anyone has something like that. You'll likely have an issue with all the strings changing in pitch evenly but some tremolo systems like Bigsby's do a pretty good job at that. Changing the diameter of the shaft for the individual strings would find tune how much rotation each string saw and keep the strings in pitch with each other. Probably need specific string gauges as well.

I always though a tremolo that was motor driven and workable with a foot switch would be a big seller. One big problem with the hand job is you loose allot of use of the pick hand.

They kind of made my idea obsolete with pitch bender pedals but I still think it has a valid foundation. There's something about stringed instruments that the player likes when he feels the strings bend that he can unite with emotionally playing the instrument and doing things electronically just doesn't feel the same.

You could actual put 6 motors in there then use the foot pedals to do some creative things. You could select all or single strings to bend up and down or have some go up whiles others bend down.

If you build it precisely you can use it as a tuner, and with additional electronics you could adjust how quickly the strings change pitch and even set them to preset pitch bends.

Learning to use all those options would be difficult but you'd have some super cool things you could perform live others can only do in the studio.

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