To trem or not to trem?

[almondx]

Someone help me out with this! Just can't make up my mind whether to get a trem equipped guitar or not.. I love doing subtle trem work but love the punchy sound of a stop-tail.

Does adding a trem to a guitar affect the tone that much?

[Schroeder]

Hey Almondx!
If you are just playing chords and not using the whammy, the tone will not be affected significantly although there will be an added reverb to notes. You may also notice that the notes don't jump out as much in the attach as much as a hardtail or stoptail guitar. When you are using the trem, it will affect the overtones that you get! To me if you have a clean tone and use a trem sometimes just a subtle use of the trem will open notes into a spectrum of sound. It WILL change the feel of the guitar for sure. Especially when bending notes.
Jason

[almondx]

Thanks Jason! I'm not that concerned about the feel of the guitar cause I tend to adapt to anything I play.

Am I right to summarise what you said that a trem adds a certain depth due to the reverb effect and has a wider frequency range while a hardtail sounds more ballsy and focused?

Hence by installing say some sort of a trem-converter device to a trem guitar I will be able to get the best of both worlds due to the reverb of the trem cavity and the focus from the rigidity of the locked bridge?

[t_hamill]

Although not a tonal factor I'd have to say variety is the spice of life. If you have a lot of very similar guitars why not try something a little different. I know myself I tend to go in circles, one thing is cool for a while and maybe 6 months later might switch to something else. I have a few hardtails, one which is being built is a hardtail, not a million miles away from my potential schroeder. I don't see the point in a lot of virtually identical guitars (I know lots of guys have half a dozen different les pauls or strats, and whilst they are all maybe 5% different, but why not try something a little out of your comfort zone to make you think in a different way). Part of my reason for a custom guitar is as much to do with picking something different for myself that isnt just a slight tweak on my usual guitar (not that I'm suggesting anyone is wrong for doing so).

[DrPCR]

what no trem? pssshhhh :)