Tremelo arms??? Liz? Sara?

[spideyjg]

I know Maiden is not very heavy on trem use but there is some. However I don't see any pictures that either of you have a trem arm attached.

I thought I saw Liz reach back and just give a lift to the tailpiece Saturday.

Come on ladies is is slight of hand with the trem arms, a different technique, or should I go pester my optometrist because I can't see squat?

Jim

 

[Jeff Milne]

On many occasions I've seen Sara grab the tailpiece and lift and/or depress it without using a trem arm. I haven't noticed Liz do that.

 

[RoboCaster]

I don’t know if they’re using tremolos or not, I would assume they do:

However, many players won't use a trem because the guitar goes out of tune, so I got one word for that, Tremsetter:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Replacement/Parts?sku=361269

Yea, they will even work on Floyd Rose, but be aware, very few people ever figure out how to set it up properly so they think it don't work, and they get a lump effect on the dive bomb. If it’s set up to retain pressure in zero position then it’s working.

Which reminds me of this guy I knew who refused to use one, he always said “Oh it’s not Eddie’s specs...”, this guy would not, and outright refused to use finger ease, cause he said “Oh it’s not Eddie’s specs...” and his finger tips would get rope burn and he use liquid bandage stuff on his finger tips as artificial callous…!

Sara, Liz:
I’ve wanted to ask you about that for a while, do you use “finger ease spray”? Do you think Iron Maiden does? I bet they do.

 

[MiniMurray]

yes that's correct - i haven't used a tremelo bar since 1999. i was playing with a blues band in st. joseph missouri and forgot to screw it in before the first set started - i didn't miss it much and by the last set i'd adapted my playing and never looked back. i was always bugged by it lopping around anyways and didn't like having it in a fixed position cuz it'd get in the way of my right hand picking. now i just grab the bar and yank it, hammering on the notes or chord(s) to give time to reach for the bridge. i'll also use pull offs like one normally does while using the trem and use the rest of my fret hand for string muting as needed. it's really become part of my style now - i like the way it sounds like jeff beck and not like vai and satch.

finger ease - good for in the studio if your getting excessive string noise. haven't used it since i only owned an acoustic tho...

 

[spideyjg]

Thanks Sara. At least my eyes are still good.

I was adjusting my Comanche last night and the tailpiece is pretty damn hard to lift without the trem arm. I'll have to grab a Floyd equipped geetar and see if it is any easier just to be curious.

Now in May hopefully I can get on your side of the stage and see you do this.

Jim

 

[RoboCaster]

finger ease - good for in the studio if your getting excessive string noise. haven't used it since i only owned an acoustic tho...

Sometimes squeak on the finger tips can be used musically like the click from a celluloid pick can be used.

Anyway, I believe that Jimmy Hendrix used Mojo Oil on his strings, it just reduces friction and keeps your finger tips from sticking when you push notes, and keeps your fingers from getting raw.

I used to use a little bit of Vaseline in my finger tips, but these days I use finger ease, it’s much better, just a little bit each time, one can will last weeks.

That and I do use lotion on my fingers too, but I don’t have calluses, haven’t in years, just tough skin, but playing dry, my fingers get burned.

Mojo Oil:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bass/Accessories?sku=424727

 

[spideyjg]

Which reminds me of this guy I knew who refused to use one, he always said “Oh it’s not Eddie’s specs...”, this guy would not, and outright refused to use finger ease, cause he said “Oh it’s not Eddie’s specs...” and his finger tips would get rope burn and he use liquid bandage stuff on his finger tips as artificial callous…!

I idolize Geddy Lee but I don't have a single item that is like his. No Jazz bass (hate the ergonomics with a passion), no flats, and no Sansamp. Call me stoopid but I want to sound like myself.
As a player you need what works for you. What player X uses may not fit you well.

That and I do use lotion on my fingers too, but I don’t have calluses, haven’t in years, just tough skin, but playing dry, my fingers get burned.

Oh Robo, don't be a weenie. Do some full octave slides on a bass with roundwounds and develops some skin. :Spin:

The forward part of my left hand fingers have serious buildup from sliding a lot.
A guy does a Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute and uses super glue on his tips like SRV supposedly did. He said otherwise there is no way the tips could survive the excessive bending.

Jim

 

[RoboCaster]

I idolize Geddy Lee but I don't have a single item that is like his. No Jazz bass (hate the ergonomics with a passion), no flats, and no Sansamp. Call me stoopid but I want to sound like myself.
As a player you need what works for you. What player X uses may not fit you well.



Oh Robo, don't be a weenie. Do some full octave slides on a bass with roundwounds and develops some skin. :Spin:

The forward part of my left hand fingers have serious buildup from sliding a lot.
A guy does a Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute and uses super glue on his tips like SRV supposedly did. He said otherwise there is no way the tips could survive the excessive bending.

Jim

What I’m saying is soloing you’re calluses are ground off, and you’re left with a thick softer skin instead of just playing chords you get a hard skin, it’s better to use lotion to keep the skin soft so it doesn't flake off. But Steve use superglue because of the 14 or 15’s he used would cause his fingers to tear under the finger nail from string bending not from the rubbing. I went back to 9’s, because you can play them like rubber bands and interact with the left hand almost as much as with your right hand by slapping chords, damping, trills and things, not to mention harmonic finger tapping and artificial harmonics as a whole. To my surprise I have talked to many guitar players who play dry, and when you mention string ease or oil, it’s like talking about a UFO or something…

 

[spideyjg]

What I’m saying is soloing you’re calluses are ground off, and you’re left with a thick softer skin instead of just playing chords you get a hard skin, it’s better to use lotion to keep the skin soft so it doesn't flake off.

I may try that. I am just used to "finger dandruff" of sawed away callus.

I know a girl in Scotland that cleans her flatwounds in a teflon impregnated bike chain cleaner. She says it cleans all the finger goo and leaves the strings slick as can be.

Jim

 

[RoboCaster]

I may try that. I am just used to "finger dandruff" of sawed away callus.

I know a girl in Scotland that cleans her flatwounds in a teflon impregnated bike chain cleaner. She says it cleans all the finger goo and leaves the strings slick as can be.

Jim

One guy recommended Sail Kote, but it’s not very good and most likely toxic… finger ease isn’t toxic, but you need to wipe off the under side of the strings every few hours it gets a black powder, but wipes off easy. Oil can darken the tone.

I don’t know about the bass much but finger ease does help me slide around but it also helps your finger slide across the gain of the fingerboard on string bend; I don’t think bass do much string bending, but what do I know…

Mainly if you use lotion on your fingers then you won’t have the flaking off thing it just stays like leather. A Jazz teacher told me about it.

 

[Lord of Delusions]

I never really cared for a trem too much. I bought a V that had the Schaller (sp?) trem, and I hated it. Always going out of tune, and it didn't matter if I was playing it or not. My Ibanez has a Floyd Rose which is much better, but after a month I blocked it in place. I didn't have a problem with it staying in tune, rather it was just a pain in the ass if I decided to drop down a step or three. The only one I have really been sucessful in using was my buddies old SG with a Bigsby. God that thing played nice!

As far as the finger junk goes, I'm a mechanic so my hands are pretty thick skinned anyway. I've never had a problem with bleeding or tearing, though they do get a bit noisy from time to time. The only thing I've used on the strings is Fast Fret. That chain lube you guys were speaking of is pretty good stuff. I use it for alot more than just chains. It feels like its mostly wax instead of oil, and if sprayed on heavily it will set up pretty thick. I never thought about lubing strings with it though, I imagine it would work pretty well.

 

[Rendclaw]

I need to set up my new baby, and I am finding out that Ibanez guitars tend to have the G-string go out of tune after playing for a short amount of time, whether its a standard trem or a fixed bridge.

 

[RoboCaster]

I need to set up my new baby, and I am finding out that Ibanez guitars tend to have the G-string go out of tune after playing for a short amount of time, whether its a standard trem or a fixed bridge.

It sounds to me like a stretching problem, it's common, what I do with new strings is tighten them one full step (two frets) above A440 (standard tune), okay, then stretch them in by pulling the strings back and forth you know at the 12th fret, and do it two or three times. Then tune back down to A440, and those strings will be very stable, and after you warm them up from playing they won’t go out of tune, mine don’t.

 

[MiniMurray]

I need to set up my new baby, and I am finding out that Ibanez guitars tend to have the G-string go out of tune after playing for a short amount of time, whether its a standard trem or a fixed bridge.

i have a similar problem - with my sg! i switched string brands and it's alot more stable now. i also used some graphite nut sauce and that helped too.
with my ibanez, i noticed my g string is the first to go dead. my tech friend told me it's cuz of the thin wizard necks - fast and furious hahhaha!

 

[Rendclaw]

That's interesting because my new baby is a strat/les paul hybrid... but yes, its true, the same thing is true for both my GX-20 and my new baby.... and I put D'addario XL 10s on my black Ibanez... what do you use, Sara? I've been using XLs since I started playing and I am always open to recommendations.

 

[RoboCaster]

Hey Rend, if you going to be changing gauges, they your gonna’ need to adjust your truss rod because the warp will slightly change so that your neck aint perfectly strait at a440, and this will either cause strings to fret out or action to be too high which aint no good. Many blues players like the heavier gauge for tone, but lots of metal players use 9’s for speed of notes and fretting hand nuances.

 

[spideyjg]

Sara and I were talking at NAMM about the royal PITA a floating trem is to reset after changing string brands.

Any different make may require different tensions and need to tweak and tweakandtweakandtweaktweaktweak.....to get your trem reset. That is in addition to the truss tweaking.

I'll strip a bass down in a blink but I don't want to deal with trem setups. :zombie:

Jim

 

[Lord of Delusions]

I'll strip a bass down in a blink but I don't want to deal with trem setups. :zombie:

Jim

That reminds me, why hasn't some crazy f'er put a trem on a bass yet? I'm really suprised I haven't seen one.

 

[RoboCaster]

Trems aren't that bad, once you understand how to calibrate it, setting the neck, bridge, tremsetter and sattle height; it's all part of tuning your guitar IMO.

 

[Rendclaw]

Billy Sheehan used to play a bass with a trem way back when.

Trems always give me problems, which is why my latest guitar is a fixed bridge. I want solidity, dammit. Anytime I wanted to mess around with a trem I would pull up or press down on the tailpiece of my Yamaha SE250.