Difference in tone between a PRS with a wraparound tailpiece compared to the same guitar with a trem..

[Rod/]

I have my own opinion but I’m more interested in hearing from members here that have had both bridge types on their PRS’s and what your conclusion is on tone, fullness, string bendability ect between the 2 different bridges

 

[Draconomics]

For my experience, have a Paul's SE and a 35th SE. The 35th has a trem and the Paul's has a wraparound. Same pickups on both (BK Abraxas).

Tonally, the 35th is a little thinner and brighter, but not by much. Sustain is roughly similar. I'd say the Paul's plays a bit more like an LP sometimes with a darker tone and similar sustain, and so to me feels like it edges out the 35th in that department by a tiny amount.

I notice no difference in string bending. It's the same scale length for both, though the 35th is a 24 fret and the PG a 22.

The differences are mainly in the neck profile and setup. I think the 35th having a maple neck may contribute a little to the slightly brighter tone, but that's probably it.

 

[Rod/]

For my experience, have a Paul's SE and a 35th SE. The 35th has a trem and the Paul's has a wraparound. Same pickups on both (BK Abraxas).

Tonally, the 35th is a little thinner and brighter, but not by much. Sustain is roughly similar. I'd say the Paul's plays a bit more like an LP sometimes with a darker tone and similar sustain, and so to me feels like it edges out the 35th in that department by a tiny amount.

I notice no difference in string bending. It's the same scale length for both, though the 35th is a 24 fret and the PG a 22.

The differences are mainly in the neck profile and setup. I think the 35th having a maple neck may contribute a little to the slightly brighter tone, but that's probably it.

Thank you @Draconomics !

 

[AP515]

I have a Cu24 stoptail and a Cu24 trem. Hard to say that there is a tone difference because of them because the stoptail has 59/09's and they really are different from the HFS/Vintage set in the trem. For me the biggest differences are in palm muting and bending.

 

[ViperDoc]

For me, the tone on a wraparound bridge wins the contest hands down with any tremolo bridge, but you can get really close with the DGT method of 5 springs and heavier strings (DGT = .011). Higher tension underneath reduces dampening. Heavier strings = more tone and volume, but it's still very playable. The neck angles to the body are also different, and that plays into it as well. Get one of each and keep those bases covered.

 

[Sybo]

My new “Pauls” guitar sports a BEAUTIFUL wrap around…as for tone


Mic drop………………. It’s just that nice……….

 

[Boogie]

If we pick on the DGT, the ‘T’ stands for trem, aka, the tone pocket. The guitar is not the same with a stoptail. Not bad different, just not the OG DGT. Love me my stoptails, but the PRS trem adds something that is conspicuously missing without it. Totally subjective, obviously.

 

[Tony M.]

Let's not forget the elephant in the room.
A trem equipped PRS guitar has a built-in reverb tank.

 

[László]

Tone is in the ear of the beholder, of course.

String bends are indeed a little easier with a trem, because there's 'give' in the bridge. I like the resonances in the trem bridge cavity with the springs and the hollowness. There's a certain 'airy' quality, if it's mated to the right guitar.

On the other hand, I love my Stop Tail and 594 bridge guitars just as much. The low mids feel a little thicker.

Horses for courses.

 

[Rusty Chops]

I remain trem challenged, so it’s sort of academic to a point.
But now I want a DGT.
Thanks a lot, “Boogie!”

 

[Black Plaid]

To me, the trem guitars sounds more focused, with the wraparound tails sound more resonant or 'woody'.

 

[Bogner]

No two guitars are the same.

 

[BrianC]

I love the feel, playability and usefullness of a trem. I ONLY have trem guitars.

With that said the wrap around has great tone.

 

[László]

I love the feel, playability and usefullness of a trem. I ONLY have trem guitars.

With that said the wrap around has great tone.

I never liked guitars with trems until I played my first CU24. Paul's floating trem is still a work of art.

 

[FDHog]

No two guitars are the same.

Bingo! We have a winner. I had 2 LP's exactly the same, but they sounded different. Except for my 2 Frankenstrats, all my guitars are stop tails.

 

[danktat]

What I currently have is a cu22 with trem. I have NEVER had the bar in it. Never used it. All but two of my PRS guitars (electrics) have had stoptails. I LOVED them. I feel like I am "settling" for this trem. But not for tone issues. It is the ability to switch quickly to drop D, or to tune down a half step for certain songs without going through fifteen minutes of trying to get it in tune. I absolutely love Dottie. But that trem does give a few more limitations that the stoptails did.

 

[RickP]

I don’t have any matching guitar models with trem vs stop or wrap tail bridges, so I can only say the feel is different. Like @LSchefman says, the trem has a bit of give and has that fluid type sound trem guitars are known for. I like that. The stop tails are more solid feeling, both in bends and tuning during them. I like that, too.

I don’t prefer one to the other, though each has positives and negatives. It’s a preference choice for each player, if it matters to you at all. Gigging, I almost always used 513s with trems, as they hold tuning well and have the added abilities a trem provides. At home, I use whichever one I pick up. They’re both fun.

 

[JasonE]

I have owned plenty of both stoptial and trem guitars in my life. I played mostly trem guitars when I was young. I like the feel of the trem under my palm more than a tunomatic type of bridge. This is where the PRS wrap around came in handy. My first PRS was a CU22 with the wrap around bridge on it. I still have that guitar. I like the feel of this bridge as much as the trem. I have adjusted well to the tuneomatic type bridge in my older years so I don't really have a preference these days. In my younger years, I would have preferred the trem every time.

 

[László]

No two guitars are the same.

Absolutely true! But that begs the question.

Broadly speaking, there are characteristics that certain types share. There are differences between these types in frequency response, resonant peaks, attack of the note, formants, and dozens of other factors that add up to the ability to categorize different types of instruments in certain ways.

I'm sure you'd agree that a Tele doesn't sound like a Strat, in spite of the similarity in their necks, assembly types, etc. The differences are there to hear due to the differences in hardware, body, pick guard vs body mount of the bridge pickup, the pickups themselves, etc.

Granted that two Teles will sound a bit different. But you won't be confusing any of those Teles for a Strat. or a Les Paul. The differences between types and models is greater than the differences between two of the same model.

A Vela doesn't sound like a CU24 or 594.

Dig a little deeper, and you can get to differences in more detail.

Humbuckers and single coils have characteristic sounds. Maple fretboards sound different from rosewood, which sounds different from ebony. Coil splits sound a little different from true single coils or P-90s. Guitars with a longer scale length are a little twangier in the bass. Trem-equipped guitars have a nice ring due to the springs. A solid body sounds different from a hollow body. A thick solid body sounds different from a thinner one. Potted pickups sound different from unpotted, and they're less microphonic. Ceramic pickup magnets sound different from alnico (and the same is true of ceramic magnets in speakers vs alnico).

After a while of owning or playing lots of guitars, characteristics of certain woods are pretty clear. My maple bodied acoustic doesn't sound quite like a rosewood acoustic, and that doesn't sound quite like a mahogany one.

Put those same woods on an electric guitar body and it's still possible to hear how they're different. My 1965 all mahogany SG Special with P-90s, sounds quite different from my 594 with P-90s and a maple top; the woods are different, the body of one is thicker, etc.

So I think it's fair to answer to the OP, yes, trem-equipped guitars sound a bit different from guitars with wrap tailpieces and explain those differences.

 

[Rusty Chops]

Hardtails are always harder to play.

The name says it.

Just like them henpecker pickups…