Evertune bridge

[Freeman Keller]

Anyone have any experience with this thing?

 

http://www.evertune.com/shop/index.php

 

I have a customer who wants one installed.

[DeepEnd]

Never heard of it but it sounds a bit infomercialy to me. (Is that a word?) Not sure I buy what they're selling.

[Grant Harding]

Pretty crazy stuff! You can set it so that string bending doesn't change the pitch! WTF???

[badpenguin]

Uuuhhhh, ok.... I keep hearing in the back of my mind.."And if you order now, we'll double the offer! Pay separate shipping and handling."

[1001gear]

Seems to be a floating system. When it floats, the spring maintains the tension - or something...

 

[video=youtube;KUc-khzFn64]

[DeepEnd]

Thanks. Glad I'm not the only one.

[t_e_l_e]

i haven't looked into details and never heard of them before, but have you asked your customer why he wants one installed?

 

would be interesting what he wants the achieve with it, or which problem he wants to have solved...

 

i tune my ´guitars once beginnning rehearsal and i have not to tune them until the finish again, so tuning once should be ok i guess you can't make it with less

 

edit: maybe there is an easier or cheaper way to help your customer beside installing a 300$ wonder bridge

[1001gear]

One good example they cite is hard driving rhythm parts will stay in tune since the bridge is able to respond to the increased force. In the examples on Ytoob the tone frets out but the intonation stays piano like.

[Les Paul Lover]

Interesting concept.

 

Id like to try one out to see how it is. Looks like once set it's pretty easy to use.

[WRGKMC]

What real difference is there between it and a typical whammy?

 

I simply don't see it doing what it claims to any more then a typical whammy can lessen the string pull as the string is stretched.

 

All the strings are connected to the same fulcrum so when one string goes out of tune they all do.

Because its a pivot the intonation will change as well.

 

All you do by adding a spring here is add more flex to a string which adds its own can of worms.

 

Anyone whose used a floating whammy knows the issues they cause. When you bend strings up the other strings go down in pitch (and sharper in intonation)

 

If you do typical country or blues string bends where you're plucking two strings, bending one up to meet the pitch of another to the point where the string beating stops the pair will always wind up being flat when you get to that point because the string that isn't being bent will go down in pitch. By the time the beating stops the two will be flat the same as any other whammy system.

 

You also have to factor in the string flabbiness, reduced string recoil and strings bounce a spring can add.

 

There's no way around that with a fulcrum. You also have Springs change temp just like strings do and can vary in tension.

 

This system may appeal to someone who likes the way strings feel using a floating whammy system. I don't see it being anything more then that.

Maybe if they used separate springs for each saddle and the saddles were fixed and used roller similar to a Bigsby there might be some benefit. One string wouldn't cause another to go out of tune when its bent or stretches. This thing is simply a whammy which spreads the tuning and tension out amongst the strings and I don't see it being anything revolutionary - in fact it simply makes it just as big of a pain in the backside as any other floating system.

 

The best floating system I've used is on Steinberger guitars. The strings use double ball ends that are epoxies do they don't unwrap.

The bridge can be locked for regular playing and string changes. Unlocked you can turn a knob at the end of the tail to adjust the overall string tension and match the tuning to the strings when they are locked. They are the only guitars I've played where I can consistently play entire set and not have to tune.

 

The only tuning compensation you have to make is due to string wear of your hands warming the strings as they go from room temp to your body temp which is usually a few cents.

[hellion_213]

Actual experience setting one up, no. I did have the chance to play with one at a GC. Unlike the automatic adjustment tuning system, this one isn't as annoying, or wasn't. And the salesman at GC mentioned that individual saddles could be set for ' evertuning' or not set to Evertune, so if memory serves, one could set the low E and G to Evertune (heavy rhthym) and not set the higher strings for bending? I cant recall how that one was set up, but I didn't really care for the feel of it, if that makes sense. Some of the strings felt dead, they sounded fine, but didn't feel right. I guess you could get used to it though, or it could have been me.

[1001gear]

The saddles articulate individually. 1 spring each. It's kinda elegant how it works. The tuners no longer tune. They tension the string and actual tuning is done at the saddle. According to the video the former tuners merely zone the range of action at the saddle since the floating saddle automatically compensates tension to retain the set pitch.

[Freeman Keller]

Thanks, you seem to be the only one here who has actually seen or played one.

[Freeman Keller]

I agree that there is a certain elegance here and within small ranges of tension variations it should work. I still have a bunch of questions and after I've discussed it more with my customer I'll summarize my thoughts.

[GoldJim]

I have a problem with this statement from their FAQ: In this day where every thing is digital and robotic, it is nice to know that EverTune relies only on Physics and springs. It’s a dependable maintenance-free solution for people who like to play hard and sound perfect, every note.

 

If you have used springs in the past for anything, they will lose tension as time goes on. The term "maintenance free" and the use of springs are two things that just don't seem to go together.

[Freeman Keller]

Once again, thank you to everyone who commented here. I just had a chat with the guy who wanted this done an here is a summary of my conversation.

 

First, he plays in a P&W band and says its a hassle when his guitar is goes out of tune during the service (we'll come back to this)., His guitar is a 1972 ES-325 (we'll come back to this too). He saw the review for the Evertune and thought it was the answer to his prayers - so called me.

 

As far as the Evertune bridge is concerned, I think that from an engineering standpoint it would work more or less as advertised. The frequency of vibration of a guitar string is a function of length, material and tension (actually tension squared) - if you can maintain the tension the frequency won't change. The engineering is clever (remember, I'm an engineer) - the spring is well within its working range, the knife edge pivot should be about as low in friction as you can get and the adjustment of tuning, action and intonation is well thought out. I can see no reason it wouldn't work.

 

Next, is it necessary? Well, not to me or anyone who changes tunings or strings or even tempers his tuning if he changes keys. It seems like a band should tune to itself rather than relying on each player to "be in tune" to their own little electronic gizmo (have you compared yours to a tuning fork, they are frequently a few cents off). I guess I see lots of solo players tweaking their tune during a gig - anyone who uses a capo does - but I really don't see folks in bands reaching for their headstocks between songs. So, is this thing really needed or is it a solution looking for a problem?

 

Next next, I told him that we can certainly do some things to his guitar that might help stabilize the tuning - possibly a roller bridge (his guitar has a tailpiece), certainly nut slots, and other setup stuff.

 

Now the guitar - this is a 45 year old Gibbie, not a highly collectible or desirable model, but still worth 2 or 3K. I have a real problem cutting big holes in old guitars. There had better be a good reason. I told the owner I would be happy to put this in any old Fender or Ibanez or whatever he came up with but he would have to find someone else to cut up his Gibson.

 

In addition, I had never seen an ES-325 but its sorta like a 335 (which I know pretty well) except instead of an f-hole on the treble side it has a plastic plate with the controls (looks ugly but would sure be easy to work on). However big difference between 325 and 335 is that it doesn't have the big block in the middle - its pretty much a hollow body like a 175. There is nothing to support this bridge thing so it couldn't be done even if I wanted to. End of discussion.

 

So, bottom line, he agreed with my logic, made an appointment with me to go over the 325, do a setup and see if we can make it play in tune., He liked the idea of putting one of these bridges in his strat and I'm perfectly happy to do that. I'll report back when we do.

[DeepEnd]

Freeman - Every engineer I've ever known had a weakness for "gee whiz" type stuff so I get the attraction. Good on you for refusing to make radical mods to a 45 year old Gibson, even if it were possible. As you know I'm also a P&W guitarist. I check both guitars and a bass before worship with the same tuner. We're all on the same page even if we may not be in the same ballpark with the piano. Keep us posted when you install the Evertune on your customer's Strat. I'd like to see what it entails.

[Freeman Keller]

Seems like the reference in a band should be the piano. A long time ago when we bought a grand piano for my wife and daughter someone asked me if I was going to learn to play it. I said "no, I just needed something to tune my guitar to". (Back then we used to use a pitch pipe or tuning fork. Everyone who owns a tuning fork put up your hand....)

 

I'll add the one of the more interesting experiences was watching that grand piano get tuned.

[DeepEnd]

It probably should be but that would require me to be in two places at once or obtain cooperation, which isn't likely. Either way, my tuner is better than my ear. YMMV.

[hellion_213]

It's actually the polar opposite of a typical floating bridge. I Love floating trems, this is not a floating trem. In this case, each floating saddle is independent from the next, and the spring works backwards in comparison to a floating trem. You are correct with the floating bridge string bending scenario, though it has never been an issue for me. Satriani, Vai, Dime, EVH, etc. have played on floating trems for years. Anyway, this thing will not even allow your pitch to change when you bend. It's like you never bent anything, which is why I said it felt weird. The one I tried out had a couple of strings 'normal' and a couple of strings Evertuned. So that's like playing a guitar where half of the strings are on a TOM and the other half are on this weird compensated bridge that defies string physics with springs and a fulcrum. IMO, it's for the guitar player that picks rhythm riffs exceptionally hard, to the point they're knocking the guitar out of tune on the bottom end, but still wants to play lead on the upper registers? Or someone who is Super obsessed with staying in tune, to the $300+ point, and just really hates making minor adjustments during a set. A simpler fix, IMO, would be locking tuners and a locking bridge - edge FX or the like.