No more Tom bridges

[Shask]

And I'm here wondering if I should get rid of all the guitars that don't have a TOM

There are two things I absolutely love about the classic TOM bridge. The extra distance between the strings and the body allows me to really dig into the strings and the small part between the bridge and the stop bar where I usually rest my palm. Also, I do have to agree that I get the best chug/palm mute on a TOM.

I'm yet to try a proper FR bridge but I really can't see myself playing anything else that I've lied my hands on so far.

One of the things that got me thinking about this was I started noticing how comforable my non-recessed Floyds felt as compared to my recessed Floyds. My non-recessed Floyds, such as my Wolfgang guitars sit a little higher like a TOM.

 

[Hoss632]

Sounds more like a feel thing. You have to place your hand different for palm mutes and what not on a TOM style vs a trem/hipshot style bridge. But it seems like you prefer the ladder bridge styles, nothing wrong with that at all.

 

[ZXIIIT]

I always replace the tuneomatic bridge on any guitar I aquire with this. No sharp edges or string breakage while being extra comfortable.

 

[mpexus]

My chugs sound the exact same on:

- Tom's
- FR's (top or recessed)
- Strat style
- Hipshot style

 

[CanserDYI]

I always replace the tuneomatic bridge on any guitar I aquire with this. No sharp edges or string breakage while being extra comfortable.

Link?

 

[odibrom]

My chugs sound the exact same on:

- Tom's
- FR's (top or recessed)
- Strat style
- Hipshot style

I can't say that because I have no ToM loaded guitars... My hardtails do sound a bit different but that's mainly because of the saddles material (Graphtech's Ghost/Teflon saddles). These Teflon covered saddles do have a different kind of tone to them. The chug technique, however, flows as naturally in those as in floyds...

 

[ZXIIIT]

Link?

Sorry, I spaced on mentioning the brand, it's a Wilkinson B31 locking roller bridge.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I have found TOM bridges to take a little more finesse to get it just right, which is to say the only issues I've ever had have been with my technique, not the bridge itself.

That's a bit like saying a guitar with really high action isn't a problem - you just need to adjust your technique.

I prioritise playability and comfort, which for me means there is no room for ToMs in my collection. I struggle to see how anyone would prefer ToMs over everything else, but we're all different.

 

[budda]

That's a bit like saying a guitar with really high action isn't a problem - you just need to adjust your technique.

I prioritise playability and comfort, which for me means there is no room for ToMs in my collection. I struggle to see how anyone would prefer ToMs over everything else, but we're all different.

Ever seen a slide player lay into it?

I played a strat for 4 years as my first guitar before going HH tom/stoptail in a hamer sfx2. Been loving that type of bridge since. I also loved playing my prs with trems and MH1000 string-thru too. But wraptail or tom/stoptail are my preferred bridges.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Ever seen a slide player lay into it?

I played a strat for 4 years as my first guitar before going HH tom/stoptail in a hamer sfx2. Been loving that type of bridge since. I also loved playing my prs with trems and MH1000 string-thru too. But wraptail or tom/stoptail are my preferred bridges.

Edge trem or a low profile stoptail (e.g. Gibraltar II) is my preference.

Also, without looking into it, I've always assumed that most standard ToMs must have fairly limited range for intonation.

 

[budda]

Edge trem or a low profile stoptail (e.g. Gibraltar II) is my preference.

Also, without looking into it, I've always assumed that most standard ToMs must have fairly limited range for intonation.

Yet they have been successfully tracked from E standard to A standard, no?

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Yet they have been successfully tracked from E standard to A standard, no?

Like I said, I've assumed without looking into it...which almost certainly means I'm wrong haha! I've heard that exact complaint about the fixed bridges on old RGA Prestiges, but clearly they've been successfully used in pretty low tunings too (I own one but haven't tested it's limits in this regard).

 

[Chris Bowsman]

There is myriad evidence against any bullshit you've read online about any particular piece of gear not working well for whatever application. People like Bill Steer aren't on here arguing that his LP Junior with a wraparound bridge, 24.75" scale, and single P90 work pretty well for tuning to B.

 

[John]

Toms are most uncomfortable, yes.

 

[Winspear]

Edge trem or a low profile stoptail (e.g. Gibraltar II) is my preference.

Also, without looking into it, I've always assumed that most standard ToMs must have fairly limited range for intonation.

They have a bad rep for this but it is guitar builders fault.
Yes, lots of them are narrow bridges.
But builders seem to LOVE placing them with the high E stud on the scale length line. Google TOM bridge and you'll see many (presumably) intonated guitars with the high E sat halfway back on the travel, immediately wasting half the width of an already narrow bridge.
They should be positioned by finding the forwardmost possible position for the high E, and placing that on the scale length - resulting in the treble stud being half the bridges travel width behind the scale length.
With this and the fact they can be/often are angled slightly, and wider ones do exist too, there is no reason to ever have intonation problems due to the design.
But I understand the customer can do nothing about this and sadly ends up blaming the bridge - now we are at a point where downtuned metal players sadly think this lovely bridge design isn't suitable for their strings
Even modern metal builders like Solar are guilty of this sadly , I remember seeing a customer who couldn't intonate a mid 60 on his

 

[prlgmnr]

No more Tom Kitten

 

[RevDrucifer]

I did notice some additional things this week when recording with the Edwards; the way I have to angle my hand differently at the bridge causes my pick to hit the strings from the edge rather than the side. When getting up there in tempos (I was recording a trash song at 210bpm) I was getting way more pick scratching noise with fast palm mutes than I was the actual palm mutes. Switched to my Solar (Evertune) and it wasn’t an issue.

At slower tempos I have more control, it’s just something I need to adapt to a bit. I don’t spend a lot of time at higher tempos, so I’m not overly concerned about it.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

That's a bit like saying a guitar with really high action isn't a problem - you just need to adjust your technique.

I prioritise playability and comfort, which for me means there is no room for ToMs in my collection. I struggle to see how anyone would prefer ToMs over everything else, but we're all different.

I mean I've never done an in depth scientific comparison, but the conclusion I was drawing based on my anecdotal experiences is that they're not harder to play, just different. I have never been one to do it the hard way when there's an equally workable easy way.

 

[gclef]

After spending about 2 decades playing strat type guitars and bridges, I got my first TOM style.......and didn't die!

I like them in conjunction with an angled neck pocket, alà les paul.

I hate the stop tail though. Give me a string thru, or better yet, a wraptail.

My current fave is the gotoh 510 wraptail. It's got all the adjustment you could ever need.

 

[Edika]

My first hard tail had a TOM and I noticed that it was quite louder than my Floyd equipped guitars acoustically. And they felt more stable sonically through an amp, when they were in tune, if that makes sense. Like there was a bit more clarity and volume. I saw the same response with Hipshot style bridge, so it seems its a hard tail vs Floating bridge effect. Mind you, it's no a night and day difference but it's there. But because I liked the sound so much, I played the TOM equipped guitars quite a bit and found the sweet spot for playing chunky palm mutes and not having too much noise. It just takes a bit more time for your muscle memory to get acquainted with the new position.
But truth be told, going back to a Floyd equipped guitar after a TOM one, does feels like coming home, as I did learn on a Floyed and was playing several years before getting my first TOM guitar.