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The exact date of its first availability is uncertain, as Bigsby kept few records, but it was on Bigsby-built guitars photographed in 1952, in what became its standard form. The first commercially successful tremolo arm was the "Bigsby vibrato tailpiece", most often just called a "Bigsby", and invented by Paul Bigsby. Thankfully, it was replaced by the Ac'cent Vibrola, which used no coiled springs to change tension, giving it less chance to throw the guitar out of tune.
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It was a side-to-side action vibrato unit (rather than the up-down action of later units) that was notorious for throwing the guitar out of tune, hence John's replacing it with a Bigsby B5. A hand operated unit was later created and used on Rickenbacker's Capri line of guitars in the '50's, such as John Lennon's '58 325. It was developed by Doc Kauffman to simulate the pitch manipulation available with steel guitars. They were not operated by hand, but rather moved with an electrical mechanism. One of the first mechanical tremolo/vibrato units (although not hand-operated) was the Kauffman Vibrato as used on Rickenbacker Vibrola Spanish guitars. In this article, the words are used interchangeably.Īlmost all tremolo arms are based on one or more of five basic designs: See " vibrato unit" for details of the history of these terms in relation to electric guitar, and related issues.
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This reversal of terminology is generally attributed to Leo Fender and the naming of the Fender 'Vibroverb' amplifier, which actually used tremolo (rapid volume changes) in an attempt to create a vibrato-like (rapid changes in pitch) sound. "Tremolo", on the other hand, is exactly the effect produced by the " vibrato units" built in to many classic guitar amplifiers.The other form of the name is Whammy Bar which is also commonly accepted and used by a wide range of guitar players and fans. While the "tremolo arm" can produce variations of pitch including what is normally termed " vibrato", it can never produce the effect normally known as " tremolo" (modulation of volume). Traditionally, electric guitarists have reversed the normal meanings of the terms "vibrato" and "tremolo" when referring to hardware devices and the effects they produce. The pitch-bending effects, whether subtle inflections or exaggerated effects, have become an important part of many styles of electric guitar. In the 1980s, shred guitar virtuosi such as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and metal guitarists ranging from Brian May to thrashers like Kirk Hammett used the wang bar in a range of metal-influenced styles. In the 1960s, whammy bars were used for more pronounced effects by the psychedelic guitar wizard Jimi Hendrix and classic rock guitarist Jimmy Page. Since the regular appearance of mechanical tremolo arms in the 1950s, guitarists ranging from the gentle inflections of Chet Atkins to the buoyant effects of surf music aficionados like Duane Eddy to art rock innovator Frank Zappa.
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However, it has also made many sounds possible that could not be produced by the old technique, such as the 1980s-era shred guitar "dive bombing" effect. The tremolo arm began as a mechanical device for more easily producing the vibrato effects that blues and jazz guitarists had long produced on arch top guitars by manipulating the tailpiece with their picking hand. The term vibrola is also used by some guitar makers to describe their particular tremolo arm designs. Instruments without this device are called hard-tail. A tremolo arm or tremolo bar (also called a "whammy bar" or "wang bar") is a lever attached to the bridge and/or the tailpiece of an electric guitar or archtop guitar to enable the player to quickly vary the tension and sometimes the length of the strings temporarily, changing the pitch to create a vibrato, portamento or pitch bend effect.