A week with a stetsbar equiped Strat...

[Dave Johnson]

And the conclusion is... Not really impressed, but not hating it..
I set it up to float. I set it up to park. It does what it's supposed to do.
Is it significantly better than any other trem I've tried? NO!.
Is it the next answer to a double locking Floyd? NO WAY!
Did I manage to untune it with normal bar movement? YES, a bit!
Do I like it better than a Strat trem? YES!
Do I like it better than a Bigsby? NO!
Does it stay in tune any better than a Bigsby? Not in my opinion.
Does it stay in tune any better than a Strat trem. YES, slightly!
I gave it every chance to impress me. This Strat even has a Delrin nut that got nut sauced for good measure.

Some interesting observations about the Stetsbar...

The whole thing is held in place with one screw thru a piece of aluminum angle in the trem cavity in the back.
That's it...

It's a big piece of hardware with a lot of moving parts.

The bridge slides back & forth along with the rest of the tailpiece on a floating plate. Zero string drag or stress there.
Easier to restring than a standard Strat.

The trem arm is angled into an unnatural playing position and manages to hit the volume knob constantly when in use. This was partially resolved by raising the bar angle with the tension springs, but a serious dive bomb will still hit the volume knob. No other arm adjustment is possible.

String tension seemed very light for a Strat, but that could very well be due to this one being strung with an .009 - .048 set. My other Strat is set up with a .010 - .052 set.


Just my two cents. Opinions may vary.

 

[Dave_Death]

My opinion on trems is that unless you can play ridiculous Kerry King or Rick Rozz divebombs with it then just stick to a fixed bridge

 

[Norton]

Never had a problem with strat trem staying in tune... Never have been able to use a bigsby and keep any semblance of stable tuning.

Easier to restring than a strat? Are you serious?

 

[Dave Johnson]

Never had a problem with strat trem staying in tune... Never have been able to use a bigsby and keep any semblance of stable tuning.

Easier to restring than a strat? Are you serious?

Why wouldn't I be serious? To me it's easier. Reason being, everything loads from the top. You don't have to flip the guitar over and feed strings thru little holes. They just drop into a slot on the topside of the bridge. YES, to me, its easier.

My comments were just my observations after using this Stetsbar thing for the last week. I'm not saying any one trem is better than another.

 

[Norton]

Just surprised. Most folks find bigsby restringing to be a 3 handed operation. Which is why there are aftermarket "solutions" to make restringing them easier.

Like what you like, it's all just a conversation.

But I've got no trouble standing up to admit an extreme dislike for the functionality of bigsby's. They look amazingly cool...but like I posted, my experience over multiple guitars has been a complete failure. Not for lack of effort, money or professional setups. In the end I swapped them out for hard tail bridges or stopped touching the bar period.

Which really bummed me out.....because the bigsby can do that haunting, wavering vibrato sooooo well. I wish it would've worked for me. Having gone though all the troubles I did, I'd love to understand what I was missing to get the thing to function without extreme tuning drift.

 

[Dave Johnson]

I solved the Bigsby restring issue by removing the pins & drilling out the shaft. Then the strings slide thru & top wrap like a stop bar. As for tuning issues each guitar is it's own example.

Still not loving this Stetsbar though. I'm trying to like it. It could be because it looks and feels so different. Going to keep playing with bar height & spring tension and see if I can find that magic spot.

 

[thatbastarddon]

I can imagine how a Stetsbar might lack when mounted on a Strat...trading one non-locking trem for another would not offer up much other advantage than the few points that you have arrived at.

When you have a tune-o-matic equipped Gibson type guitar though...it can be an attractive solution(conceptually of course, certainly not visually). An SG with a small guard requires zero modification, save a set of strings, and a bit of lubricant here and there, to add... or remove a Stetsbar.

I have 2. One on an SG, and one on a Flying V. The V required a small mod to a pickguard to accommodate the Stetsbar...(much like a batwing SG would require)...no drilling in to the body though. I wanted a trem on the V, and the other alternative that I considered was a Maestro which required drilling, and left stoptail bushings hanging around. I find no interference issues between the bar, and controls in either application...but I see your point with the Strat layout. I do prefer blocked/drop pitch only set up on mine to allow for quick drop tuning etc. I also prefer locking tuners for my live guitars with non-locking trem's for quick string changes, and tuning stability.(something that started with my Strat long ago)

 

[Dave Johnson]

After playing around with this Stetsbar thing for about a month now, it's starting to grow on me. I think I finally found the sweet spot. Divebombs & upbends seem to return in tune pretty well now. The upbends are so extreme that I've managed to unwind two .009's already at the ball end. Real odd sound when all 5 out of 6 strings return to pitch, and the high E just goes slack. I soldered the wraps at the ball end on this third one. Curious how much punishment it will take before it breaks elsewhere...
My only issue with it now is the arm hits the volume knob & sometimes hits the pickup switch changing the pickup setting.

 

[DrBGood]

Wouldn't reshaping the arm, solve some impact problems ?

 

[Dave Johnson]

Wouldn't reshaping the arm, solve some impact problems ?

I did look around for options. They now make a flat Bigsby looking bar, but I don't want to change anything on the guitar. I'd be afraid to try to bend the stock one. It appears to be an alloy casting of some kind.
Not steel for sure. Magnet has no effect on it. I'm pretty sure it would snap like a fresh pretzel if I tried to re shape it. When I had the bar set higher, it was much less of a problem, but the set up guide says to have the bar level with the guitar and that happens to be the sweet spot where everything started working together. Spring tension balances out string tension, for a very light feeling trem. It's all good. I didn't get this guitar to have as a road warrior anyway. To me it's a valued piece of rock history.

 

[Biddlin]

I like vibrato handles and use them a lot. Although not a fan of the industrial aesthetic, I have contemplated an original Stetsbar for one of my LPs, but was dissuaded by reliable counsel that I wouldn't like the "middlin'" results. Recently, I did do the Strat conversion for a pro client. He has since returned to the OEM vibrato, noting the control knob issue as well as a less intuitive feel, for him, than the Fender fulcrum. I did like the system, but not enough to buy his at a substantial discount. It is very smooth and has about an octave range. It feels very light, especially with with .007-.036 strings. I have suspicions about the quality of the components used in the build. Like the arm, I believe that alloy is "pot metal." For almost 300 clams, new, I think Stetsbar could do better. Overall, though, the system works very well.
I actually thought about trying a long Maestro vibrola on my Strat build, but expense and geometry intervened. Maybe next time...
;>)/