ShortScale.org

As featured in Bobnagy's post:
http://www.evertune.com/shop/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evertune
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussi ... dge-review

It's a very interesting design isn't it, thanks for the links. The chap at Shuker who fits these things, and is mentioned on that fretboard forum, is the chap who has refinished my Jag. He seems like an outstanding luthier, although his custom builds aren't to my taste. He swears by the evertune.

Having played one, they're a very interesting idea, but they don't fit my personal playing style at all. I'm a wanker who uses vibrato on every note, sometimes full chords get the wobbly finger treatment, and the evertune just doesn't allow for this. You can set it up to allow for vibrato and bending, but there is a limit for which it needs to be setup, and then there is what can only be described as a "vibrato-gate" in which you have to vibrato enough to open the gate to allow you to then vibrato the note. It makes the guitar a bit less responsive to your touch, which is a big no from me.

GreenKnee wrote:Having played one, they're a very interesting idea, but they don't fit my personal playing style at all. I'm a wanker who uses vibrato on every note, sometimes full chords get the wobbly finger treatment, and the evertune just doesn't allow for this. You can set it up to allow for vibrato and bending, but there is a limit for which it needs to be setup, and then there is what can only be described as a "vibrato-gate" in which you have to vibrato enough to open the gate to allow you to then vibrato the note. It makes the guitar a bit less responsive to your touch, which is a big no from me.

That sounds like my style as well. From the review it sounded like it wouldn't suit me.

I'm glad someone's making something like this, but I don't think I'd get on with it.

Is it basically like a separate, balanced, "mini-bridge" for each string? I think I would probably notice the downsides more than the upsides: The sponginess of a trem without the fun of divebombing.

A tremolo version could be very interesting. Perhaps it could make use of cams to apply a different amount of whammy to each string. That could be interesting, as it would mean that you might be able to tune it so that it bends each string the same (so that you could possibly apply vibrato to chords similar to the pitch bend wheel on a keyboard).

Seems over-engineered given the scale of the problem. But I'm very happy that someone is chucking research and money at this rabbit hole.

>>>
You can set it up to allow for vibrato and bending, but there is a limit for which it needs to be setup, and then there is what can only be described as a "vibrato-gate" in which you have to vibrato enough to open the gate to allow you to then vibrato the note. It makes the guitar a bit less responsive to your touch, which is a big no from me.
<<<

I've been playing the Evertune for some years now.
I am a lefty who plays guitar righty (learned that life changing tidbit at the beginning of my very first guitar lesson at age 9).
To say that touch responsiveness is important to me is a vast understatement.
I am all about left hand embellishment. So this issue is among the most important to me.
It is why I drove 4 hours just to play an Evertune for the first time.
I had to see if this bridge would wreck my style, or force me to play differently.
Obviously it didn't, and I fell in love (with a bunch of springs and levers).

The Evertune mechanism has a tuning range - below this range, and above this range, there is no tuning effect - within this range the Evertune maintains the string at the set pitch.
The trick mentioned here - the limit - is to set the mechanism position within the range such that you're very near to the top end of the range.
This is done via use of the headstock tuners, so it's very easy to do.

You tighten the tuners, and as you do so, the pitch is maintained as stable by the mechanism, until you hit the end of range, at which point the pitch increases.
You then back off the tuner slightly. You are now within the pitch range, but at the very end of it.

If you back it off too far, then yes, there is a lag or "gate" effect, which causes the bend or finger vibrato to not be immediate.
But this is easily avoidable. All you need to do is to set it closer to the end of the range.
If you have this vibrato gate effect, it simply means that you have not set the position within the range close enough to the end stop.
It's not an inherent design defect, it's basically user error.

All of this may sound more complicated than it is, it's actually very easy.
In fact, I was easily able to do this well the very first time I ever played an Evertune.

And in practice, I never even notice any lag or gate effect.
I have not had to change my playing at all because of this.

If you do want to be able to use string bending and finger vibrato, set the tuning range carefully.
It's really no worse (actually easier) than setting tuning, intonation, string height, etc. in a careful manner.

Don't let this discourage you.
Try an Evertune, and see if you like it.

Is the technology perfect ? No, but what is ? Even so, I agree with many who say it's the most important advance in guitar tech in a really long time.

Count me among those who swear by it, and frankly I won't play anything else.