Does a floating whammy sound different to flat down?

Rocker

My Strat has the whammy (almost) locked flat against the guitar body. I play Country and Singalong songs mostly through a clean sounding amp and am wondering if I set the whammy floating, would this affect the guitar sound. Before trying it for myself, I decided to ask the experts and Strat guys here. Thanks. 

skullfunkerry

Some people will tell you it affects the sustain or the tone, but I've never noticed any difference.

It might feel different: if your springs are tight and preventing the bridge from moving when you do bends, then to get it floating the springs will need to be looser, which will affect the perceived string tension and might also mean that when you bend one string the other 5 go slightly flat (although if you already have your springs and strings balanced then you'll already be experiencing this and it won't affect the feel much, as the only thing changing will be the angle the bridge is sitting at).

One other thing, although I think it affects Floyd Roses more than traditional trems: if you hit a string hard it can make the bridge oscillate backwards and forwards, giving you a "trill" effect. It only lasts for a fraction of a second, but it can be quite noticeable and some people (not me) *really* hate it

guitargeek62

Yes, but primarily so that if you bend one string whilst playing others, you're less-likely/not going to pull the others out of tune too - depending on how tense the trem is decked to the body that is.

In more general terms... I'm not convinced I've ever heard any real difference. That said, the Super-Vee Bladerunner trem had a stark difference to a vintage-style floating trem, and was one of the few things I'd consider a true upgrade as it gave 'more' of everything on the guitars I installed them on.

Loobs

I doubt it makes any different. But a hardtail Strat sounds different IMO. And better.  

darius

If it’s ‘almost flat’ then it’s already floating. 

You’re not changing anything if you set it to floating. 

Stratavarious

Marginal.. more ‘solid and tele like’ but the main difference is on bends, when you will detune other strings if floating, so any fancy bending against another string requires bending the other strings slightly.

I have an old Wilkinson convertible locking floating bridge on my number 1. It locks when the arm is dropped.. best strat bridge ever

Danny1969

You can have the best of both worlds. Set it floating so you can play Shadows / Gilmour type trem vibrato. Then get a magnet that's almost the same size as the gap between the trem block in the rear and the body. Then adjust the springs so the magnet fits in without fouling the body. 
Then you can play country telecaster bends with the magnet in and still use the trem to lower the pitch  and pull it out for normal Strat playing. 

BillDL

I believe that the feel of a guitar affects how you play it and that then translates to how it sounds when played.  With the bridge set to float you can never be as sure how much pressure you will need to execute a wide bend until you start bending it and listen carefully, or until you've played the guitar for a long time and have developed a very good feel for it. When the back of the bridge starts lifting with the increased tension of the string bend it can be a bit annoying, especially with "country" type bends where you are juxtaposing a bend string against static fretted string(s). You can be a lot more confident with a fixed bridge guitar, or a trem flat on the body with enough spring tension to prevent the above, about where the bend is going to land as you begin to execute it.

I have always felt that there is a little bit more "sproing" but a little bit less sustain from a floating trem than a fixed bridge or hard-tailed and blocked trem bridge.  I don't know how how much of that is in my imagination though.  I think I can hear a difference with the trem springs damped with foam, but again it could just be in my head.

ICBM

Yes, it feels and sounds different. There are three stages of adjustment - fully floating; just at the point where it's flat to the body (downbends with the arm require no extra force, but the bridge can't go sharp); and where it's tight onto the body (downbends require extra force). Arguably a fourth stage is with it blocked with wood or something, although personally I don't think this is really different from the third provided the springs are tight enough for the bridge not to move at all unless significant force is put on the arm.

With the first stage - fully floating - the sound is more open and vibrant, because the whole bridge shimmers slightly and the other strings vibrate whenever you play anything on any string. Bending feels easier but you have to push the string physically further to get the same pitch rise, because the bridge moves forward as well. Double-stop bends are more difficult because the bent string pulls the other one flat, so you have to compensate by bending that one slightly as well.

With the second stage, the string bending feel isn't affected - because the bridge still pulls forwards when you do - downbends using the arm feel the same, and the sound is slightly more focused because the sympathetic shimmer is more or less stopped - but not that much. You still get the problem of double-stop bends, but the benefit is that if you break a string, the others don't go sharp.

With the third stage the feel is stiffer and more precise like a Tele, and the sound is sharper and also more Tele-like. You can do double-stop bends easily without the unbent string going flat. The disadvantage is that downbends with the arm are more effort and you lose the subtlety of being able to just detune very slightly.

For me personally, a Strat only really sounds *right* with the bridge floating - it can sound good with the bridge tight down, but it's not quite the same... at least when I'm playing it myself.

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

Yes, it feels and sounds different. There are three stages of adjustment - fully floating; just at the point where it's flat to the body (downbends with the arm require no extra force, but the bridge can't go sharp); and where it's tight onto the body (downbends require extra force). Arguably a fourth stage is with it blocked with wood or something, although personally I don't think this is really different from the third provided the springs are tight enough for the bridge not to move at all unless significant force is put on the arm.

With the first stage - fully floating - the sound is more open and vibrant, because the whole bridge shimmers slightly and the other strings vibrate whenever you play anything on any string. Bending feels easier but you have to push the string physically further to get the same pitch rise, because the bridge moves forward as well. Double-stop bends are more difficult because the bent string pulls the other one flat, so you have to compensate by bending that one slightly as well.

With the second stage, the string bending feel isn't affected - because the bridge still pulls forwards when you do - downbends using the arm feel the same, and the sound is slightly more focused because the sympathetic shimmer is more or less stopped - but not that much. You still get the problem of double-stop bends, but the benefit is that if you break a string, the others don't go sharp.

With the third stage the feel is stiffer and more precise like a Tele, and the sound is sharper and also more Tele-like. You can do double-stop bends easily without the unbent string going flat. The disadvantage is that downbends with the arm are more effort and you lose the subtlety of being able to just detune very slightly.

For me personally, a Strat only really sounds *right* with the bridge floating - it can sound good with the bridge tight down, but it's not quite the same... at least when I'm playing it myself.

Agreed

stickyfiddle

ICBM wrote long-form what I was struggling to write concisely. Completely agree, only I normally keep my strats decked. I need to try floating again 

Alex2678

I agree that it sounds different, which one I preferred depends on the time of day and wind direction, but floating sounds strattier and prettier, decked sounds thicker and more bluesy

p90fool

As the owner of a 10lb ash bodied hardtail Strat, I spit on your floaty-tremmed banjos!

Yes, they do sound different, but the note also has a different dynamic curve, which matters less with gain, obviously. 

Dave_Mc

Alex2678 said:

I agree that it sounds different, which one I preferred depends on the time of day and wind direction, but floating sounds strattier and prettier, decked sounds thicker and more bluesy

"Prettier", that's a good way to put it. I prefer that. "Sweet-sounding" might be another- I think Strats sound very sweet, for want of a better word, and I'm trying to preserve or accentuate that.

p90fool said:

As the owner of a 10lb ash bodied hardtail Strat, I spit on your floaty-tremmed banjos!

Yes, they do sound different, but the note also has a different dynamic curve, which matters less with gain, obviously. 

10lb, lol, I think I'd have more profound things to worry about than the slight difference in tone between floating or decked. Like when I should book my hospital appointment...

BillDL

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