Help! Steve Morse Trem Mod

[Siddius]

I made a grievous mistake! I was never a whammy bar sorta guy up until I got my Music Man Silhouette. I hated my guitars going out of tune so frequently, and I had absolutely gotten over the FR. When I ordered my Morse Neptune Blue PDN I had no idea how ingrained the Music Man Trem had gotten into my playing style. By the time it arrived, it was almost alien going back to hardtail. My picking hand just jumps for a bar that is not there (my style is vibrato heavy on both hands).

So, now for the "Help" part of the post-

Does anyone know of a good non-routing trem that will work on a Morse? I prefer not to drill new holes, but even more than that, I am not cutting out a huge chunk of wood for some springs.

Kahler? Floyd? Bigsby?

Feel free to post any similar experiences!

 

[kestrou]

Siddius,

There's a pic in this thread where BanjoPlayer posted a shot of Ian Thornley's Y2D with Bigsby - and it LOOKS like it works, but who knows for sure...

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/55600-ian-thornley-big-wreck.html

Kevin

 

[kestrou]

Siddius,

By the way - did you post pics of your Neptune Blue? I'd love to see it since I'm still doing the pee-pee-dance waiting for mine to arrive...

Kevin

 

[uOpt]

Bigsby or route.

 

[scottie]

Maybe a Stetsbar?

http://www.stetsbar.com/

I've never tried it myself but have always been curious.


Hope that helps.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I think Bigsby's are complete crapola, imho.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

Maybe a Stetsbar?

Stetsbar

I've never tried it myself but have always been curious.


Hope that helps.

That thing is pretty cool!

 

[Siddius]

I think Bigsby's are complete crapola, imho.

How so? I haven't gotten to try one.

On another note, if it makes a difference, I like dive bombs, but I really use the bar for dipping into notes (push down on the bar and release just after I hit the note) and other small vibrato movements. Dive bombs a definite plus.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Trade it for one with a Floyd!

 

[Siddius]

Trade it for one with a Floyd!

Ehh, I am not sure how serious you are being here, but I really love the neck on this guitar. I am connecting extremely well with it in regards to my left hand- which is the most important part for me. As far as I am concerned, this guitar/ piece of art is mine. I can cope with this guitar not having a trem, but that just means it can't perform the few things that I have written with signature right hand vibratos. Compensating for that is easy, none the less. I was hoping that there might be something easy without any routing that could get me that little bit of right hand vibrato.

I didn't get one with a Floyd because I only have bad memories of Floyds. My original axe's Floyd has just crapped out on me, and after pouring money into it time and again to fix it, it is still crapping out me. Hell, that guitar I only keep out of nostalgia.

The pro of having a hard tail- I've got something solid for laying down rhythm tracks. Potentially less need for tuning between takes.

Anyway- Still up for suggestions- The runners are:
Kahler 2320
Bigsby B5, B50, or B500
Stetsbar (I think their hard-tail model)
Floyd Rose FRX (unfortunately it is made for the tail piece ala Gibson, so some routing)

 

[Mikey]

Have you seen the Schaller Trem for Les Paul type guitars that replaces the Tune-o-Matic Bridge? I don't know the dimensions of the Steve Morse model bridge but maybe this will fit....
Tremolos | Schaller-Electronic

Cheers
Mikey

 

[Siddius]

Have you seen the Schaller Trem for Les Paul type guitars that replaces the Tune-o-Matic Bridge? I don't know the dimensions of the Steve Morse model bridge but maybe this will fit....
Tremolos | Schaller-Electronic

Cheers
Mikey

That might just work... the damn problem with these non-routing trems is that they are all for the les paul tailpiece, but this one may be compatible with the Morse with no tailpiece.
Thanks Mikey

 

[Siddius]

By Dammit, Mikey! You done gone found it! That guy fits on there with no screws and no need for a tailpiece. The worst thing I would have to do would be taking off the tailpiece of the Morse, and then it is more of a question of how to keep the exposed screw holes clean (tape, other easy options I am sure).

 

[beej]

Huh- that is interesting! Love to see how that works out.

 

[kestrou]

Yeah, Siddius - post up some pics when you get this bad boy working - we'd love to see it!

Kevin

 

[Siddius]

It'll take me a bit to save for this. I've dropped about 3k on studio gear very recently, not to mention the PDN itself

Worry not, I'll post here first.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Ehh, I am not sure how serious you are being here, but I really love the neck on this guitar. I am connecting extremely well with it in regards to my left hand- which is the most important part for me. As far as I am concerned, this guitar/ piece of art is mine. I can cope with this guitar not having a trem, but that just means it can't perform the few things that I have written with signature right hand vibratos. Compensating for that is easy, none the less. I was hoping that there might be something easy without any routing that could get me that little bit of right hand vibrato.

I didn't get one with a Floyd because I only have bad memories of Floyds. My original axe's Floyd has just crapped out on me, and after pouring money into it time and again to fix it, it is still crapping out me. Hell, that guitar I only keep out of nostalgia.

The pro of having a hard tail- I've got something solid for laying down rhythm tracks. Potentially less need for tuning between takes.

Anyway- Still up for suggestions- The runners are:
Kahler 2320
Bigsby B5, B50, or B500
Stetsbar (I think their hard-tail model)
Floyd Rose FRX (unfortunately it is made for the tail piece ala Gibson, so some routing)

I was serious! EBMM guitars are super consistent and i am sure a Floyd model would have an almost identical neck to the one you have. I dislike all wobbler sticks, but from what I understand the Floyd's that EBMM use are top quality. That said, I have never owned a Floyd guitar and probably never will!

 

[Samoht]

Did anyone ever try this Schaller? I'm intrigued, but can only find one video of it on a LP and the guy just wanks around with the bar. Thanks!