6 point vs 2 point trem

[fender7]

Hi all,time for a cat fight on this one i reckon.Could anyone shed any light on the advantages/disadvantages of using a two point tremelo over a six point one.
spoke to a member here recently using a two on a sound file, and just thought id get some tips.
Ive heard some people mention loss of sustain etc with the two point due to less contact.The way im looking at it,surely even the six point is effectively a two,as the remaining screws in the middle are less tensioned than the two holding ones.
All the best....steve

(ps..Gary swsc..will def be up to the club soon, when im not playing on a sun ok)

[brightcaster]

If you have a 6point-trem, you can easily remove the four screws in the middle and listen for the difference! But I would recomend not doing it with heavy string gauge and all 5 springs fitted to the trem-block..

[fender7]

Is that the case with a two point tremelo then. Avoid if you use heavy gauge strings ,and more than three springs?
Cheers,,,,steve

[rogerbayliss]

I have guitars with 6 screw vintage and 2 point floating type trem. No problems with sustain and sound. They say the saddles make more difference when seeking the vintage tone on the 2 point and I guess this is why Fender opted to change back to vintage saddles on their current trems. I have a G&L strat and to be honest It produces the strat sounds with a 2 point trem and modern style saddles blocks.

So in my experience there is not a great deal in it. A good steel trem block helps with sustain they say rather than alloy types.

Also the 2 point trem seems smoother in operation overall with a dive bomb and return to pitch achievable.

[martyn]

I have both types and can detect no difference in sustain. The two point units are more sensitive so, as Roger says - improved return to pitch and I also sense a much lighter touch is required to bend notes. I have to depress the trem arm on the six screw unit with a little more vigour to achieve the same amount of note bend or gentle vibrato.
The down side of this lightness (or extra sensitivity, if you prefer) is when palm muting it's possible to accidentally press a bit too hard on or just behind the bridge area so the base unit itself can be pressed down at the rear end much more easily and notes will thus sharpen slightly. That doesn't happen on the six point type because it requires more effort to move the unit up or down in the first place and the base unit is stiffer. If using the two point type all the time one quickly adapts to this added sensitivity and soon learns to be more gentle with it but if switching back and forth between guitars, I need to remember which type I'm using and adjust technique accordingly.

Incidentally, this same palm muting issue occurs using my Burns despite its trem arm being probably the least sensitive of all three. But being a quite different design to the strat bridges, I also have to be careful to prevent the much larger tail end of the unit depressing slightly and accidentally sharpening the notes.

If I had to decide which type of bridge system I preferred to play, I think the two point system wins because it requires less effort in use and allows a little more finesse as a result.

[roadworn]

The Strings are closer together on the two point trem guitars and not quite over the vintage pickup poles, have a look at the modern American standard. But who cares I here the cry!

[fender7]

Roger,martyn,roadworn...Many thanks for your interesting comments.When i get to the swsc meeting,im hoping a few guitarists will let me.... dare i say,play they,re axes.... to a/b a couple of things to decide which way to go. many thanks...Steve