Guitar Stuff » tremolo

Schecter C-1 Hellraiser FR Guitar

Matt — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:53:45 +0000

Schecter is another popular manufacturer of guitars used by metal guitarists. The C-1 model is one of their nicest aesthetically. As of late I have been really thinking about purchasing a second guitar. I currently own an Epiphone Les Paul standard which is a great guitar. However, sometimes I feel limited with its classic design. I am looking for a guitar that has 24 frets and a tremolo bridge. Also the design of the neck is very important, something with better access to the higher frets is important. This is one of the guitars that I have been looking at.

The C-1 Hellraiser FR (Floyd Rose) model is one of many in the C-1 line. This guitar has many features that set it apart and that appeal to me. The first and most apparent is it’s bright red semi-transparent finish on a quilted maple top bordered with an abalone binding. It really is stunning to look at, but if red is not your thing it also comes in a black on black finish. The body is made of mahogany and the neck is mahogany on the backing and rosewood on the fingerboard. As for functionality it has that too.

This guitar has all the sound qualities a metal guitarist would want. It comes with an EMG active 81 pickup in the neck and an 85 in the bridge. This is the same setup that Zakk Wylde and many other players use. The bridge is an Original Floyd Rose Tremolo System complete with a locking nut for the headstock. The pickups are controlled using two volume knobs and one tone knob with a 3-way toggle for pickup switching.

The neck has 24 X-Jumbo frets for those extreme metal bends. The frets are decorated with gothic cross inlays. The neck is constructed using Ultra Access design for great accessibility on the high frets.

Feature Summary

Mahogany body/Quilted maple top/Mahogany & Rosewood neck
24 X-Jumbo frets with gothic cross inlays
EMG 81 pickup in the neck and EMG 85 pickup in the bridge
2 volume/1 tone/3-way toggle switch
Original Floyd Rose Tremolo
Grover tuners
Red or black finish with black hardware

Basically, this guitar covers all of the features I was looking for in a metal guitar so I will have to add it to my list of hopefuls. As an added bonus it is backed by Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold.1

Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Signature Guitar

Matt — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 18:49:29 +0000

John Petrucci is one guitarist that until lately I haven’t paid much attention to. I knew of him and of Dream Theatre but had never had much exposure to his music. I recently got my hands on his instructional DVD Rock Discipline and I can’t believe what I have been missing all of these years. The guy is a god.

One of John’s many guitars is his own Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Signature guitar. Petrucci worked very closely with Ernie Ball Guitars to develop a guitar that had a new level of style and practicality. The guitar comes in both 6 and 7 string versions and can be purchased with or without a piezo bridge. The body of the guitar has a sculpted neck joint for better access to the high frets and a contoured top for better picking arm support.

The guitar features a basswood body with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. 24 wide high profile frets are lined with custom inlays including a “JP” just above the first fret. All Petrucci Signature models come with Music Man bridges and saddles.

The guitar has a custom John Petrucci Tremolo bridge and Schaller locking tuners. Consistent with the rest of his guitars John Petrucci uses 2 custom DiMarzio humbuckers. The guitar also comes complete with a hard-shell case.

Feature Summary

Basswood Body/Maple Neck/Rosewood Fingerboard
Sculpted neck joint/Contoured body
24 high-profile frets/Custom Inlays
John Petrucci Custom Tremolo bridge
Schaller Locking Tuners
2 Custom DiMarzio Humbuckers

ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Guitar

Matt — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:20:38 +0000

When Fender bought out Jackson Guitars Alexi was told it would take 1 year for them to build him a new signature guitar. When ESP told him it would only take them 3 months it was a no-brainer for him to switch. The Alexi Laiho signature is basically a Jackson RR Custom clone with some added visual flair.

The design of the guitar plays on the black pinstripe on white look that the Jackson RR1 Rhoads has, but with a more stylized look. The shark fin points on the body are straighter and slightly curved as opposed to the true edges on the RR.

Like the more expensive Jackson RR models the Alexi ESP is designed with neck-through-body construction for maximum sustain. The body is made of alder and the neck is made with maple with an ebony fingerboard. The 24 XJ frets are decorated with custom saw tooth inlays.

For a $4000 suggested retail guitar I am a little shocked by this: the guitar only has one EMG HZ-4 Pickup in the bridge position and one volume control. For the minimalists it may be great but to me that just seems like a rip. Alexi being another avid tremolo user his guitar has an original Floyd Rose tremolo bridge.

Feature Summary

Alder Body/Maple Neck/Ebony Fingerboard
Neck-thru-body construction
4 XJ Frets/Saw blade Pearl Inlays
1 EMG-HZ H-4 Pickup in the Bridge
Original Floyd Rose Tremolo

This is probably the least impressive guitar I have looked at this week. It is basically a Jackson RR1 with one less pickup. Besides its rad paint job it doesn’t have much going for it.

That raps up my 7 day look at metal guitars. You can check out all of the previous posts here:

Dean USA Razorback Tribute Dimebag Darrell Signature Guitar

Matt — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 02:41:02 +0000

Dimebag had always been a Dean player in his youth. His first Dean was a cherry sunburst ML bought for him by his father and his second a Dean that he won in a playing competition. The guitar he won later became his most popular guitar, the custom lighting bolt painted Cowboy from Hell.

When Dean went out of business in the mid 80’s Dimebag became a Washburn promoter. In 2004, not long before Dime’s death the Dean company was reopened by Dean Zelinsky and Dimebag was brought back on as an endorser. The Razorback Tribute has been released along with a range of reissued ML guitars in Dimebag’s name.

The Razorback Tribute guitar is similar to the ML in many ways but has been updated with a modern body design. The points of the ML have been made jagged to simulate a razor’s edge and the body has been finished with a hand airbrushed rusted metal finish. To top it off the headstock is decorated with a tribute Dimebag Darrell crest.

Although Dime used Dean and Bill Lawrence pickups in his personal guitars, the Razorback has a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker Signature pickup in the bridge position and a MiMarzio rhythm pickup at the neck. Don’t worry though; the Seymour’s were still approved by the man himself. Dimebag is a pioneer when it comes to metal and the use of a tremolo bridge. Only a Floyd Rose Tremolo was good enough for the Razorback.

Mahogany was used to build both the body and the set neck which has a rosewood fingerboard. The fingerboard is inlayed with pearl wings and a razorblade on 10th fret. Dimebag choose Grover tuners and black hardware to finish the look of this guitar. If you ask me the guitar is a little over the top price wise at $3699 from Musicians Friend. But there may be a big enough market in Dean and Dimebag fans to sell the guitar. Musicians Friend will get their next shipment on June 2nd 2006, so place your orders now.

Feature Summary

Mahogany body/Set Mahogany Neck/Rosewood Fingerboard
Seymour Duncan Dimebucker bridge pickup
DiMarzio neck pickup
Floyd Rose tremolo bridge
Grover tuners/Black hardware/Dimebag Tribute crest on the headstock
Comes with certificate of authenticity and Dimebag tribute photo

The guitar is definitely too expensive for my taste, but if you ask me it screams Dean and Dimebag. It would be a great performance guitar.

Read the other posts in this series:

Jackson RR1 Randy Rhoads Signature Guitar

Matt — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:12:08 +0000

Randy Rhoads designed this guitar and approved its prototype before he passed. It’s a shame he didn’t live to see this wonderful guitar come to production. Randy will forever be known as one of metal’s most talented and influential guitarists. So many of today’s guitar players were influenced by the man who made Ozzy and the Jackson RR1 Rhoads Signature screams just like Randy would have wanted.

The RR1 is Jackson’s most popular signature guitar, and not only for its name. The alder body and maple neck are built together in a neck-thru design. Neck-thru gives the guitar much more sustain than the cheaper bolt-on neck option.

The ebony fingerboard is decorated with the classic Jackson shark fin mother-of-pearl inlays. The headstock mounts die-cast tuners and Jackson logo inlay. In the bridge position there is a Seymour Duncan JB TB4 Humbucking pickup and in the neck there is a Seymour Duncan Jazz SH2N. For switching the RR1 Rhoads has a 3-way toggle switch. Since Randy incorporates tremolo into so much of his music the guitar has an original Floyd Rose Double Locking 2-Point Tremolo.

The unique body shape of this guitar is very popular among metal guitarists. This was Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom’s guitar of choice before he signed with ESP to create a signature of his own. The guitar is available in over 25 different finishes.

Feature Summary

Alder body with maple top/Maple neck/Ebony Fingerboard
22 jumbo frets with shark fin inlays
Seymour Duncan JB TB4 in the bridge/Jazz SH2N in the neck
3-way pickup switch
2 tone/1 volume control
Floyd Rose Original double locking 2-point tremolo
25+ different finish styles

I have been eyeing up the RR1 Rhoads Signature guitar for a few months now. My current electric guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul standard. While it does get the job done, I would really like something with a neck-thru design and a tremolo bridge. Maybe once I pay my car loan off I will be able to afford it.

Read the other posts in this series:

ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Signature Guitar

Matt — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 13:10:46 +0000

ESP number 3 on the list of signature metal guitars is Kirk Hammett’s KH-2. The KH-2 comes in three different models, the Vintage, the Neck-Thru, and the Standard, all at different price points. There was a time when I thought there were none greater than Kirk Hammett. I have since discovered otherwise, however there is no denying his guitar talent.

The three versions of the KH-2 are very similar. They are 24 XJ fret guitars with a 25.5″ scale. Each guitar has an alder body with a rosewood fingerboard. There is an EMG 81 pickup in both the bridge and neck position and they are controlled with 2 volume knobs, 1 tone knob, and a three way switch. Everything is finished in black hardware and the fingerboard is inlayed with skull and crossbones markers. On the pick end the bridge is an original Floyd Rose tremolo.

As for differences, the Vintage sports a worn looking paint job that has a “Caution Hot” sticker behind the bridge and a label above the pickups. The Neck-Thru is the same as the Vintage but has a straight black paint job. The standard KH-2 is built with a bolt-on neck instead of a neck-through design like other two versions which makes it a bit cheaper.

To sum up the main features:

24 XJ frets
25.5” scale
Alder body/rosewood fingerboard/3-piece maple neck
Skull & bones inlays
EMG 81 active pickups
Original Floyd Rose bridge
2 volume & 1 tone control with 3-way switch
Black hardware
Neck-thru-body construction (Vintage/Neck-thru models)
Bolt-on neck (standard KH-2 model)

Read the other posts in this series:

Kahler 2300 Tremolo Bridge Review

Matt — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:37:22 +0000

All of the guitars I have ever owned have been fixed bridge guitars. I have always associated tremolo’s (wammy bars) with people like Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci. Since that is really not my style of playing, I have never really had much of an interest in using one.

However, lately I have been learning a lot of metal and there are more and more riffs which are hard to play a fixed bridge. Players like Alexi Laiho and the late Dimebag Darrel use them regularly in their leads. As a result I have been thinking about purchasing a guitar that can free me from the shackles of my fixed bridge.

The reintroduction of the Kahler 2300 tremolo was announced in March 2006’s Guitar World Magazine. The 2300 was popular in the 80’s, but as the hair metal music of the 90’s faded and the grunge movement took over, the bridges were in less of a demand. Kahler discontinued the bridge in the 90’s but interest lately has prompted them to reissue it.

The thing that sets the Kahler 2300 apart from other tremolo bridges is its bearing cam system. The result of using bearings as opposed to a fulcrum system is a much smoother feel. Some great things that stand out about this bridge are its solid construction providing great harmonics, and its consistent tension throughout the full range of the pull of the bar.

Kahler USA says: “The Kahler 2300 PROFESSIONAL flat mount series tremolo system is designed to drop into any flat top guitar. All 2300 series models include onboard fine tuners and 6 way adjustable saddles: side to side for perfect string spacing; front to back for accurate intonation and up or down for ultimate action and radius matching. Both, left handed and right handed configurations are available. Only top routing is required.”

Kahler 2300 Tremolo Bridge Features

Smooth bearing/cam system
Mount to any flat top guitar
Onboard fine tuners
6 way adjustable saddles
Left handed and right handed available
Comes in Bright Chrome, Black Krome, or Gold
Four models (2300, 2310, 2315, 2320) for different desired tone and harmonics
Backed by Kerry King of Slayer

If I ever buy a guitar that supports a tremolo bridge, I’ll definitely have to test out one of these suckers.