How many springs to do this Jeff Beck trick?

siraxeman

As demo'd here by Mike Casswell playing Becks Where Were You.

siraxeman

with 3 springs its next to impossible to have that level of control to precisely pitch the notes with the bar...me wondering if Becks using 2 and/or is super strong...

bbill335

Beck's tech in the rig rundown says it's 3 springs 

siraxeman

this is really hard to do...anyone tried and succeeded at doing this with 3 springs?

stickyfiddle

I can vaguely do it, but it's very hard. 

You have to remember Beck is exponentially better at using the trem like this than basically every other human in history.

guitars4you

I can't recall if the trem is set up for a full tone or more - I know there is far more uplift on a JB set up than many other players - I also know from previous tech related articles that he is very aggressive with his use of the arm and set-up with the guitar regularly going on the bench for repair work - try this for starts http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/20738-top-5-blues-rock-rig-rundowns?page=2

I recall a chat with my Fender Custom Shop contact after the famous Ronnie Scott gigs a few years ago and after the show he went back stage to see the tech as he obviously knew him - he was lucky to be able to play the guitar for a few mins and commented that you and I would have put it straight back down as it felt like a 'bitch' to play - I suspect 3 springs and a heavy set-up

guitars4you

found this on another link

The Strat’s vibrato is also customized to suit Beck’s plectrumless technique. “It’s got three of the springs, in a fan arrangement from the center pegs on the claw branching out to the outermost on the back of the trem block itself. It’s a two-point vibrato, floating, and the bar is bent much more than on a store-bought model. Because the block is kicked up, the arm has to be at a much greater angle. There are five things to do with his right hand before you even think about what to do with his left hand. He uses the back of the palm of his hand for a kind of vibrato effect on the back of the block, the little finger is on the Volume control and sometimes hits the selector switch. Then he lifts the bar with his ring finger, presses it down with his middle finger, and uses the index and thumb for picking. He only very occasionally uses a pick. He hates them.”

xSkarloey

Yes I think it's three springs. 

It's a pretty extreme set up though. He has (had?) a roller nut. You need the modern tapered bridge block too to get decent downward movement. 

I experimented with a Beck like setup on a vintage style Strat and it's fun. You're a bit of a hostage to fortune though without the more modern hardware like his Strat. 

You can do similar tricks with a Floyd. 

Rave

Very sad to watch that now. An incredible player gone far too soon.

musteatbrain

Both great players. 2 point trem and 3 springs is fine. You need a taper on the trem block to play his stuff as mentioned.

Winny_Pooh

I read years ago (GP article on Beck SRV tour) that he set his trem for a 1& 1/2 tone upbend on the G. Depending on the particular guitar that will give you around 1 tone up on the B and 1/2 to 1 on the E

impmann

Remember that he started doing all this stuff on vintage Strats - remember the Natural finish one with the cut down pickguard? So he learnt all this stuff with a six screw trem (apparently only operating on the outer two screws iirc) so that's where he got his strength from!!

Kebabkid

I spoke to Mike Casswell earlier in the year about trems, trem blocks and here's the gist of what he said and also some info on the subject from a FB post he put up shortly after:-

• Trem blocks make a big difference (tungsten is bright & brass gives a darker sound) so consider changing them
  

• Replace the trem claw to a good brass one

• I use 2 high tension springs at an angle with the claw screwed nearly all the way into the body (it makes the trem very sensitive and improves both tone and resonance) - Edit: I did see on his vintage sonic blue strat that he was using 3 springs. Perhaps the 2 spring ones are on his Valley Arts.

• Balancing the string tension with the claw  gives an even interval on pull up (tone on a G String and a semi-tone on a B String).

I hope that helps and thanks to Mike (RIP)

citizen68

I can 'nearly' get away with it using 4 springs on my RG & strat plus - should definitely work with 3 springs too - 2 springs is nice,  easy and responsive but then rubbish for double stops & normal bluesy bends 

benmurray85

citizen68 said:

I can 'nearly' get away with it using 4 springs on my RG & strat plus - should definitely work with 3 springs too - 2 springs is nice,  easy and responsive but then rubbish for double stops & normal bluesy bends 

WTF is going on with your wall when you move!!! That was great giving me an aneurysm watching that!

Winny_Pooh

This balancing the claw thing is nonsensical.
The bridge plate moves along two fixed pivot points and does not flex. Orienting the clawsprings makes no difference. 

citizen68

benmurray85 said:

citizen68 said:

I can 'nearly' get away with it using 4 springs on my RG & strat plus - should definitely work with 3 springs too - 2 springs is nice,  easy and responsive but then rubbish for double stops & normal bluesy bends 

WTF is going on with your wall when you move!!! That was great giving me an aneurysm watching that!

Lol - if you think that one's bad check this out - I thought I'd dropped some acid when I watched this back - recorded with iPhone which does weird things with the focus if you move at all while recording