Geni Swing Guitars

Tremolo Guitar

Few parts of a guitar, if any, have as many different names and terms used to describe it as the tremolo arm. The tremolo arm is an adjustable lever which is connected to the bridge of the guitar. By moving this arm or lever, the bridge is raised and lowered, and by raising or lowering the bridge, the strings are themselves raised and lowered. This slightly stretches the strings, resulting in a change of pitch, and adjusting this up and down quite rapidly gives rise to the tremolo effect, or rapid pitch bending.

Some of the names commonly given to the tremolo arm include the tremolo bar, the sissy or wang bar, the slam or whammy handle, and also the whammy bar. Both the whammy handle and whammy bar are slang terms used for a long time, and have since given rise to the idea of a 'whammy', being a slang term itself to describe the action or effect of a rapid change in pitch, and in some cases there are now electronic devices or facilities built in tot eh amplification equipment connected to electric guitars that replicate the effect of a whammy without the physical use of a tremolo bar to achieve it, instead adjusting the note electronically. In fact, the word tremolo, or rather its use within the context of this electric guitar effect, can be traced back to one of the earliest leading designers of electric guitars, Leo Fender.

Although he was responsible for a huge amount of excellent design development where the electric guitar is concerned, it was also Fender who gave rise to the popular misunderstanding of the term tremolo, and in particular the confusion between what tremolo really means, and the word vibrato. Technically, the term vibrato refers to the effect of a change in pitch either up or down the scale, and the word tremolo actually refers to a change in volume. Both of these terms have long historic roots in music notation and its Latin origins, but thanks to Leo Fender, what should be referred to as a vibrato arm is now referred to by almost any other name.

Today, most designers and manufacturers of electric guitar and electric guitar related equipment reverse the meanings of these two words to avoid confusion within the world of the electric guitar, and so vibrato still refers to a change in volume, whilst tremolo still refers to a change in pitch. However, in other musical circles you will find that these words refer to each others' meanings. Although the most common form of a tremolo arm is the traditional lever attached to the bridge, there are two other main types of tremolo mechanism, in particular the Bigsby and the B-Bender. The Bigsby is a mechanical vibrato effect which involves a metal bar being placed some way up the neck of the guitar.

The strings are wrapped around this bar, and the player can adjust the pitch, in other words, creating the tremolo effect, by rotating this bar. The rotation of the bar causes the change in tension and therefore pitch of the strings, resulting in a similar effect. The B-Bender is quite different, and the mechanism usually resides inside the guitar, and this, as the name suggests, is connected solely to the B string, so that this one string alone has the tremolo effect, giving rise to a sound similar to that of a pedal steel guitar.

Of course, not all electric guitars have this physical mechanism, although many do, and in some cases, the tremolo arm can be added later, but in all cases, whether the effect is physically present or not, the result can still be achieved electronically by using the amplification equipment, the only downside being of course that it is less tactile and more distant from the actual playing of the instrument.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for electric guitar, tremolo arm and amplification equipment. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for electric guitar, tremolo, sheet music, guitar.

Rocktron Reaction Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $79 Rocktron Reaction Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

Mxr M159 Stereo Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $169.99 MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

Pigtronix Tremvelope Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $249 Pigtronix Tremvelope Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

Prs Se Singlecut Tremolo Electric Guitar Black $612 PRS SE Singlecut Tremolo Electric Guitar Black

D'addario Ekxl110 Tremolo Electric Guitar Strings $6.49 D'Addario EKXL110 Tremolo Electric Guitar Strings

Lovepedal Babyface Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $139 Lovepedal Babyface Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

Boss Tr-2 Tremolo Pedal $99 Boss TR-2 Tremolo Pedal

Proline Tremolo Spring 3-Pack $7.95 ProLine Tremolo Spring 3-Pack

Voodoo Lab Tremolo Pedal $129.99 Voodoo Lab Tremolo Pedal

Used Greedtone Tremolo $224.99 In Store Used USED GREEDTONE TREMOLO

EBS TremoLo Guitar Effects Pedal $229 EBS TremoLo Guitar Effects Pedal

Rogue Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $49.99 Rogue Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

Used Zvex Tremolo Probe $209.99 In Store Used USED ZVEX TREMOLO PROBE

Used Boss Tremolo Tr2 $58.99 In Store Used USED BOSS TREMOLO TR2

Used Boss Tr2 Tremolo $59.99 In Store Used USED BOSS TR2 TREMOLO

Used Greedtone Tremolo Pedal $224.99 In Store Used USED GREEDTONE TREMOLO PEDAL

Used Tr-2 Tremolo Boss $49.99 In Store Used USED TR-2 TREMOLO BOSS

Used Boss Tr-2 Tremolo $49.99 In Store Used USED BOSS TR-2 TREMOLO

Used Behringer Ut100 Tremolo $29.99 In Store Used USED BEHRINGER UT100 TREMOLO

Used Tr-2 Boss Tremolo $59.99 In Store Used USED TR-2 BOSS TREMOLO

Hipshot Tremsetter 401000 Tremolo Stabilizer $36.99 Hipshot Tremsetter 401000 Tremolo Stabilizer

Squier Bullet Strat With Tremolo Pink $113.09 Squier Bullet Strat with Tremolo Pink

Red Witch Pentavocal Tremolo Pedal $249.99 Red Witch Pentavocal Tremolo Pedal

Fender Tremolo Bar For Vintage Jaguar $16.99 Fender Tremolo Bar for Vintage Jaguar

Bbe Tremor Tremolo Effect Pedal $119.99 BBE Tremor Tremolo Effect Pedal

Proline Strat Tremolo Arm White $6.95 ProLine Strat Tremolo Arm White

Proline Strat Tremolo Arm Black $6.95 ProLine Strat Tremolo Arm Black

Squier Bullet Strat With Tremolo Black $129.99 Squier Bullet Strat with Tremolo Black

Fender American Stratocaster Tremolo Arm $12.99 Fender American Stratocaster Tremolo Arm

Suzuki Su-21H Humming Tremolo Harmonica A $102.99 Suzuki SU-21H Humming Tremolo Harmonica A

Ibanez 2Le21b Tremolo Arm Black $19.99 Ibanez 2LE21B Tremolo Arm Black

Wd Music Ts-1 Tremolo Stabilizer $24.99 WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer

Fender Vintage Strat Tremolo Arm $14.99 Fender Vintage Strat Tremolo Arm

Fulltone Supa-Trem Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal Black $186.15 Fulltone Supa-Trem Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal Black

Prs Signature Ltd Tremolo Electric Guitar Faded Abalone $4050 PRS Signature LTD Tremolo Electric Guitar Faded Abalone

Prs Signature Ltd Tremolo Electric Guitar Fire Red $4050 PRS Signature LTD Tremolo Electric Guitar Fire Red

Electro-Harmonix Xo Stereo Pulsar Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal $88.2 Electro-Harmonix XO Stereo Pulsar Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal