Why choose a stop tail??

[6stringsucka]

I'm not being a wise guy, but I really don't know why people choose stop tails and I would like to know.

An assumption would be people like stop tails for tuning stability. I have always played strats. All my strats have a trem with locking tuners. With the locking tuners and tight trem springs, my strats never go out of tune. So if you have a choice (strats, PRSi, Wolfgangs, etc), why would you want a stop tail??

[Dan Desy]

You can't argue that Stop tails are the ultimate in tuning stability. Also, a lot of people simply don't use a trem. Finally, stop tails allow easy retuning/detuning on the spot. A trem does not.

That being said, my first choice will always be a trem bridge - especially a PRS. I like to have one stop tail guitar for on the fly detuning however.

[Erik]

One reason is that a broken string won't throw your guitar so far out of tune. (If your trem floats, that is an issue.) One thing that bugs me about all trems is that if I'm doing any type of aggressive string bends, the trem gets pulled and other strings go out of tune momentarily. (Until I bought the Hipshot Tremsetter ;) )

[aleclee]

Tuning stability is a much bigger issue/problem on a guitar with a floating trem (e.g., PRS) than on a Strat where the trem rests against the body.

There's also a different feel to a stoptail guitar since the strings tend to ride a bit higher above the body.

[Jim Collins]

I've always set my Strats up so that the bridge floats. These were mostly Strats with vintage style bridges.

[Phil Macino]

Like others, the fact that the trem floats is an issue for me...

I always seem to have issues when a string breaks, or doing double stop bends...I realize you can compensate by putting pressure on the trem while doing the bend, but since I'm not a dive bomber to begin with, I just assume not have them.

[merkenball]

I use stoptails simply because I don't use a trem that often.

[Andrew Chen]

I find that trem guitars have a more open tone than stoptails.

[Ripcom]

I use a stop tail 'cos of the floating trem tuning thing and the fact that when I play with a guitar with a trem I can't leave the bloody thing alone.

So if I ain't got one I can't fiddle with it.:D

[tmoore]

I use a stop tail 'cos of the floating trem tuning thing and the fact that when I play with a guitar with a trem I can't leave the bloody thing alone.
That's seriously funny. :)

I personally 'go both ways'. I like the sonic quality of a trem PRS, a sort of built in reverb thing. Yet, I virtually never use the trem and really appreciate the benifits of a stop tail when restringing, bending strings, finishing a song with a broken string...
Bottom line, it's a wash to me.

[Michael Nolan]

I never use a trem - even on my Strat.

All my axes have stoptails except for it.

[Doug Lewis]

I don't "gig". I play in the basement with CD's. My floyd equipped Jem was a nightmare if I wanted to go from standard tuning to drop D to Vanhalenesqe drop 1/4 to Disturbed drop whole step. I've been shown the light with the PRS trem, and really don't have much difficulty doing any of that. I'm sure my setup isn't perfect dropped a wholestep, but for a song or two it's just fine. Some people have difficulty palm muting a trem. There's plenty of incredible legendary guitarists that play only stoptails.

[Big Mike]

Never made much diff to me. I ordered the Trem on my standard cause I really wanted a 24 fret guitar. I ordered the trem on my CU22, cause it was so sexy I didn;t care. I do like the airyness a trem rout can give a guitar. Most trems ( on my strats) are set flat on the body. Haven't done that with the PRSi as it is such a good system, it never bothered me. I also like the lower profile on the trems. I do a lot of double stops and country esque bends, and I've learned to compensate on the PRS already.

[Aldwyn]

Me no use no tremy... so when I oredered my latest PRS, I ordered a stop tail (and already have a Tone Pros bridge and studs sitting here waiting for it).

I also have an issue with tuning with a trem. I blocked the trem on both my Strats when I had them. And with the CU22 I play now, when I break a string... forget it. I can't finish the song with that guitar.

With a stop tail, I could. :)

I have heard they give better sustain, and more soulful tone as well, but only head... I'll tell you when I get my new CU22, and compare the two. :)

Peace,
Aldwyn

[jbird]

I've had both a Cust.22 w/trem. and one w/out. I prefer the comfort of the stoptail piece, it also provides a sort of confidence with string bending, but most important, I prefer the tone of the stoptail better! I would say a little more mid pronounced.

[wsaraceni]

I too used to "Not getting" Stoptails. It was a going joke on the old PRS Forum. But after some time I realized a stop-tailed guitar sounds way different than a trem equipped one...more solid tone, more fundamental, more sustain. I even bought me a Singlecut, and later a McCarty Soapbar.
Great guitars, but something was missing.
Now, all my guitars have trems.http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif
if i could use a trem like you i would never take the damn bar out.

[Brian D]

A trem isn't really part of my style, so for me a stoptail is just less to mess with as far as tuning goes.

[kikujiro0208]

Cray Strat: tuning stability and sustain ...
Regards,

[Tom Gross]

Cray Strat: tuning stability and sustain ...
Regards,
Exactly.

[MCG]

I prefure the tone of a stop tail guitar over one with a trem cavitey cut out.

To me, it just sounds a little better.

MCG

[dwes]

I like both. There are characteristics of each which best capture the mood of the moment in tone, feel and playability.
Dave

[Rusmurf]

I like trems, but never use it much. I guess I prefer the stoptail a bit more, but either way doesn't make to much of a difference. I guess they both create slightly different sounds, but no two guitars sound the same anyways.


Reu

[Sherpa]

Comfort - I like to rest the outer edge of my hand on it. It's smooth and I get to see progress as the gold plating gets worn through.

Seriously, it justs feels more comfortable to me, and I cannot play a trem proficiently enough to justify the relative discomfort, though I do try with my Stratocaster. Sigh.

[CrazyChester]

I prefer a stoptail especially when playing straight into an amp with no pedels except maybe a tube screamer. For heavily processed or multi pedel sounds I like a trem guitar. Since I tend to play more jazz and blues styles I use the stoptail more often.

[workrelease]

I never put the bar in my SAS or CU22, but I use the trem considerably. I like to use the heel of my right hand on the trem for vibrato in big bends. It's also kinda cool to do with chords occasionally. I've never had any problems with going back and forth from drop-D tuning, or any tuning problems for that matter.
Different strokes...

-work

[Peter]

Trem bridges often have sharp, pointy edges on them that cut up my wrist when I play in a wild, flailing style. Stoptails tend to be rounder and less surgical.
That, and they sound different. I'm used to stoptails, but now that I have three trem-equipped guitars I am appreciating the differences in tone.

[bluesdoc]

I have little proficiency with a whammy bar, but do like to use it about 3% of the time and when playing my stoptails, often grab for the bar that isn't there and then miss that little added touch to my playing (I need all the added touch I can get!!). As I learn some Johnny A stuff, it doesn't sound right without a bit of trem. But I also hate the way the bar gets in the way of the controls so I often use the trem by just grabbing the br with my fingertips and moving it that way. Can't divebomb with that technique, but I can add a little shimmer. Also, I alway mod a trem bridge that has sharp edges. I use my palm heel on the bridge a lot and despise discomfort there. Mostly pulling set screws and shortening them so nothing is sticking up.

jon

[Marty Horne]

Guitars with stop tails just feel more solid to me. The bridge isn't floating or moving and the guitar just seems to resonate and sustain better. Also, being lazy there's less maintenance.

[FrankiePRS]

I love the PRS trem, but now I have the Tune-O-Matic-equipped CU24 for those sets where I have to de-tune... makes life easier. Also, when recording rythym tracks, I prefer a stop-tail so that when I stop, there's not that little "ring" I get from my trem-guitars. Oh, and my trem guitars get a new set of strings every show - reinforced GHS boomers - so breaking them isn't a problem.

[Yossi]

But after some time I realized a stop-tailed guitar sounds way different than a trem equipped one...more solid tone, more fundamental, more sustain.
Which has the more solid tone,..sustain? The Trem or the Stop tail?:confused:

Yossi

[Marty Gilman]

I couldn't decide so I got one of each. My "go to" has a stoptail. I rarely use the trem bar on the model so equipped.

I could be a politician :)


-Marty

[Anders Destium]

In my perception my cu24 with trem has more sustain than my cu22 with stoptail (and that's an AP which should sound better :eek: :D ). I know that floyd rose tremolos are tonesuckers (I own a few), but with string thru body style tremolo's that problem is pretty much solved.

[darial]

I always find I miss the trem on guitars without one. That's stopped a couple of nearly complete LP-buying attempts. As far as the tonal thing, I've never noticed ALL that much difference, even on my floyd equiped Anderson (to really compound the sins, it's got a basswood body too). Certainly the difference is an order of magnitude below the chages you get from a pickup swap etc, and may even be a benificial difference.

[Marty McFly]

I never use a trem, so for me it's the simplicity of a stoptail, plus the ease of stringing.

[Dan Desy]

As far as restringing goes, I much prefer trem models with the locking tuners. Easier for me.

As much as I can appreciate a nice stop tail guitar, I need my trem! I own 5 guitars; only one has a stop tail. I love it, but I still prefer my Trem machines.

[kikujiro0208]

Although I never use the trem itself, still all my axes have the trem option.
With a trem, you can finetune the strings individually...
Regards,

[mick I]

I'm not a fan of the trem not in the least. (maladjusted since the 80's)

I am also disapointed that with the wraparounds you cannot set adjust intonenation with the exception of the HB's which keeps me holding out....

[Jim Collins]

I prefer stoptails for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I never even owned a trem-equipped guitar untill I'd already been playing for over 20 years. Another reason is that when you stretch a string on a trem-equipped guitar, everthing else goes out of tune. This makes double-stop bends more of a problem, and I use a lot of double-stop bends.