To trem or to tremel-no

[DHW]

As I stated in other posts, my daughter has her heart set on a s2 cu24. I am not a big trem guy and neither is her guitar teacher(he plays a strat with a blocked trem). She hates pick guards and we currently have 3 stop tail guitars in the house so I don't think I can sway her to the s2 singlecut. She's 10 and she's like a damn sponge learning how to play. Would you let her have at it with the trem set to float and let her just soak up everything she can and experiment, deck it but leave it unblocked, deck it and block it, or float it and pick up a tremel-no so she can basically use all 3? I figure everything has a downside, any experience with a tremel-no and its downside? This would be a first time experience for me, never used one.

 

[garrett]

The Tremol-no is awesome. The only downside, if you want to call it that, is that you have to remove the back cover to adjust it. I always leave the back cover off trem guitars anyway.

But let that baby float! It opens a world of different techniques.

 

[Brad737]

Please allow me to play the Devil's Advocate for a moment...

You have to like guitars I like! And you must set them up like I like! And oh yeah, my guitar teacher only plays 7-strings with scalloped necks and Floyd Rose trems, so you have to like them too!

 

[Brad737]

Sorry. Please allow me to try that again...

I think she should be allowed to pick the guitar she wants. She's already proven she's serious. And someday, you may surprise yourself and enjoy playing her Custom from time to time as well. As for her guitar teacher, screw that guy. His job is to teach, NOT brainwash students into liking only what he likes. I'd search for a teacher that "gets it" ASAP.

Good luck!

 

[gball]

I say let it alone and consider it a different texture. You already have stoptails so it would be nice to have a floater (and IMHO guitars with trems sound better when they are left as designed)

 

[rugerpc]

Just because her current instructor doesn't like trems, that doesn't mean that she of her next instructor won't want her to have access to one.

This should be about you daughter's preferences and options, not the instructor's.

I'm not a trem guy either, but a trem guitar with a blocked (and reversible) trem gives her more options.

I'd get a trem guitar and a tremol-no in whatever her favorite color is...

 

[DHW]

Oh man, don't get me wrong at all. He, in know way was trying to influence her. I asked him on the side his opinion and he really didn't care other than getting a solid foundation under her. His concern is playing in tune, learning to bend properly, and so on. I fully intend on playing this purchase too, whatever it is and she is settled on the cu24 so it's a matter of making it work as she learns and settles into her own style. The temelo-no is a cool concept but wasn't sure if it lived up to the hype. Sounds like it just might.

My comments above were to say I need some honest advice. The only trem guitar in the house is the strat and the trem is tightened down and has never had the bar on it. When we get it I'll need to tell my setup guy how to set it up. I don't want it to fight her when she's playing.

Actually there's another question. Does the s2 have a USA nut or a se nut?

 

[gball]

Does the s2 have a USA nut or a se nut?

US Nut

 

[DHW]

US Nut

Excellent. One less thing to worry about.

 

[jbird]

I don't believe it's recommended to "deck" a PRS trem...And I'm not sure what's gonna fight her about a trem? I prefer them for tone and comfort, and only occasionally use the trem bar...

 

[DHW]

I don't believe it's recommended to "deck" a PRS trem...And I'm not sure what's gonna fight her about a trem? I prefer them for tone and comfort, and only occasionally use the trem bar...

I'm worried about tuning stability and things like double stops and such being in tune. then there's drop d or half step down and such being difficult to achieve easily. It looks like a tremel-no may solve those issues though.

 

[Dancing Frog]

I have one on my Private Stock 513. I am getting rid of it. Not only did it make it a pain in the ass to change strings, it made the guitar sound nasal when locked, because it's made out of steel and aluminum. And, it's never really locked no matter how hard you twist those screws. The tuning slips noticeably if you break a string. On top of that, it's hard to keep it from rattling when it's in dive bomb only mode. If you absolutely have to have something that prevents the guitar from slipping out of tune when a string breaks, I would suggest a trem-stopper. It's a simple brass angle that's easy to remove and much easier to adjust than the Tremol-no.

 

[Rider1260]

I have tried a Trem -No and am not a fan.
IMHO the PRS - Mann trem is one of the best made to be honest you really can't tell it is there but its so fun to give it a bend or wiggle.
Let her have the trem and let it be ( fully floating ) and once you try it and love it you can thank me later

 

[Chiliphil1]

Man, I wish I could have had an s2 when I was 10! I am 28 and finally got one. Anyway, the tremol-no is excellent I just installed one in my Jackson with a floyd and I love it. It's easy to set up and it works. I have it locked down and I don't even have to put the locking caps on the nuts, it just stays in tune, highly recommended. I will also say that I don't have an issue with tuning stability or drop tuning on my s2 it holds where I put it and if I want to go down I just have to run through all the strings a couple of times and it holds fine. I do not use the trem though so I don't know how well it holds tune if you do use the bar, I know the SE guitars would not hold tune if you used the trem arm this one I am not sure about and I have no block of any sort in the PRS.

 

[Jvstrat]

The Tremel no is a great solution.

 

[tabl10s]

Sorry. Please allow me to try that again...

I think she should be allowed to pick the guitar she wants. She's already proven she's serious. And someday, you may surprise yourself and enjoy playing her Custom from time to time as well. As for her guitar teacher, screw that guy. His job is to teach, NOT brainwash students into liking only what he likes. I'd search for a teacher that "gets it" ASAP.

Good luck!

She doesn't need a trem, she needs proper instruction. Imagine teaching someone to tune a guitar while they insist on using a Phase Shifter at all times. When she learns how to play, she can experiment.

 

[László]

It's nice to have a guitar with a working trem.

Gives the player additional options, and in truth, doesn't hinder any other techniques a person can learn. Plus a ten year old child isn't usually heavy handed enough to have the tuning change by picking or fretting strings.

 

[John Beef]

Man, I wish I could have had an s2 when I was 10!

That's what I was thinking!

I installed a tremol-no on my CU22 in early 2007 and it has been great. It blocked the trem and I've left it alone ever since, except for the occasional tightening of the screws.

 

[DHW]

It's nice to have a guitar with a working trem.

Gives the player additional options, and in truth, doesn't hinder any other techniques a person can learn. Plus a ten year old child isn't usually heavy handed enough to have the tuning change by picking or fretting strings.

Well, she's doing full step bends already... Not sure how the PRS trem handles double stops and double stop bends?

That's what I was thinking!

I installed a tremol-no on my CU22 in early 2007 and it has been great. It blocked the trem and I've left it alone ever since, except for the occasional tightening of the screws.

I consider an investment in her future. I work for "the man" and if she has a chance to follow her dreams and do what she loves I will certainly help her out every way I can.

 

[alantig]

I'd leave the trem as is. It's your daughter's journey. It may turn out she loves the trem. It may turn out she hates it. But she should determine that.