I hate tremolos

Yes, I hate tremolos. It sounds pretty broad - I mean, there are a LOT of tremolos out there - but it's true. Don't like them. Could really do without them. Wish Fender made a hardtail Strat. Some people love them, I'm not one of them.

I wasn't always this way. When I was younger - back in the 80s, when hair metal ruled - I really wanted a guitar with a good tremolo. I finally got my wish when I bought a used Charvel Model 2 - a Van Halen-style Superstrat with one humbucker, one volume (no tone), and a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo. At the time, I didn't care that it was a one trick pony with virtually no tonal variety. I just cared that I could make all kind of wobbly squealy noises without the guitar going out of tune. And for that, it was really good. But as I got older, I had more of a need for tonal variety and less for strange noises, so I ended up trading it in on a Fender Standard Stratocaster.

I had every intention of utilizing the 6-screw vintage tremolo on my new Strat. I read dozens of articles online on how to keep a vintage tremolo in tune. I even found a video where the great Carl Verheyen explains how he keeps his in tune (I still have it). I worked hard on the setup and at one point thought I finally got it to stay in tune.

Then it started slipping. So I tried another method.

Then another.

Then another.

Finally I got so fed up that I locked it down. I put on an extra spring and tightened the claw so that the bridge was flat against the body and no amount of string bending would affect it.

You know what? The guitar came alive.

I no longer had to worry about tuning. I could bend as hard as I could and not worry. I could do double-stops without the stationary string detuning. I loved my Strat all over again and vowed, at that point, that I would never use the tremolo again.

Some people use tremolos very well and incorporate them into their style flawlessly. Alan Morse of Spock's Beard, one of my favorite guitarists, wields his Floyd-equipped Strat like a master. Alex Lifeson of Rush abuses both Floyds and Wilkinsons to great effect. On a more traditional front, Jeff Beck is known for his mastery of the vintage Strat tremolo. For me, though, I'm happier without. Not having a tremolo makes me think more about what I'm playing instead of cheating with a dive-bomb or other tremolo effect. As I develop my own style, I'm sure that I won't miss having a tremolo.

Then again, maybe I'm just giving up too soon. So many guitarists use tremolos of all kinds with little or no difficulty that I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. There are some, however, who share my beliefs. Rob "Chappers" Chapman, who I follow on YouTube (look him up - he's a great guitarist and makes damn funny videos) publicly denounces tremolos and blocks off any guitars he has that are so equipped.

I have one guitar in my collection that has a Wilkinson tremolo, which is much better than a stock Fender unit. It still has tuning issues (which is why I don't play it very much) but at least I have one in case I'm feeling adventurous. Maybe someday I'll dabble into the world of Floyd Rose tremolos again, but on a guitar that has more than one sound. For now, though, I'm happy to live trem-free.