Hi surfers!

Long time lurker first time poster and registerer(?) Been really listening to surf music the last few years and learning surf guitar the last year. I have an Ibanez Jet King, which I got just over a year ago after wanting one since they came out, and I love it. However it's very tough to play most surf music without a vibrato/tremolo, so I'm seeking your help to help me decide what to get.

The vibratos I have been considering are:
- Bigsby B5
- Stetsbar ( I don't mind the look)
- Schaller 4201 (no longer available and apparently doesn't work well with heavy strings)
- Shade/Hallmark Vibrato (would require the bridge to be raised and neck shimmed a lot to get a good break angle)
- Duesenberg Diamond Deluxe Tremola

I am leaning towards a Stetsbar or the Duesenberg (people say its better than a Bigsby and has a more familiar Jazzmaster/Jaguar arm). I know I could get a Jag or Jazz guitar, but I just love my Jet King.

What do you guys think?

Last edited: Jan 24, 2023 22:06:28

InkEye wrote:

For looks, I'd go with the Shade/Hallmark vibrato on this. If you go this route, will you also replace the bridge with a TOM roller bridge?

I've heard good things about the Dusenberg stuff as well.

I agree that the Hallmark vibrato looks best but requires the most work to make it work properly. This guy over at Gretsch Talk put a knock off one on his Ibanez RC320 and ended up replacing the bridge with an archtop bridge to get right height, plus a massive neck shim
MosLike vibrato on Ibanez RC320

If I did get the Hallmark I'd definitely get a roller bridge. If I got a Bigsby or Duesenberg I'd see how my tuning stability is first with the regular tunomatic before getting a roller.

Last edited: Jan 25, 2023 13:05:12

Cranium wrote:

I think one of these would look rad on there. No clue how stable they are.

Those are pretty sweet, but they have the same issue that the Hallmark ones have, it requires a steep break angle for it to work properly.

ldk wrote:

It wasn't a choice, but one of these.

Those are nice, and I plan on getting a Jag in the future, but I just don't have the heart to route such a big hole in my guitar to fit that tremolo.

Last edited: Jan 27, 2023 11:59:19

Les Trem II would like nice too. Seems simpler than the Bigsby style.

I‘d make a custom plate like the one it already has and put a Les Trem on it. Maybe the Squid Design.

oh, and a roller bridge.

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Trimshaw wrote:

MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote:

I‘d make a custom plate like the one it already has and put a Les Trem on it. Maybe the Squid Design.

oh, and a roller bridge.

Hmmm that's not a bad idea. I wonder how thick the plate would have to be for the Les Trem to mount to?

I‘d say at least as thick as an offset vibrato plate…
Or if you prefer mount it to the body and drill holes accordingly in the future plate and see the plate as a cover up (as you already got the screw- and body-through holes).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYn3jMptvQs/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote:

The instagram link above shows a Mustang of an OSG member who installed a Les Trem on the Mustang plate.

Thats pretty cool! I wonder if it's mounted to the plate or if they just drilled it through the plate and into the body, I'm leaning towards the second option.

I measured the plate and the Les Trem would sit off the plate so the plate wouldn't cover the holes. I could make a plate and mount the Les Trem to it, looks like Vibramates use 3/16" aircraft grade aluminum. I just wonder if the 4 plate screws would hold Les Trem under string tension. The "tailpiece" on the Jet King is mostly just decorative since its a string through body.

Well after a long process it's finally finished! I ended up making my own "vibramate" plate to fit a Les Trem on the guitar. Turned out pretty well I think, I used 3/16 aluminum as that's what vibramates are made of and polished it as best as I could; one day I might get it chromed to better match the hardware. I pressed in two studs for the Les Trem to secure to and luckily found chrome acorn nuts which fit! I also added two more screws to the plate but more centered to help keep the plate secure, but I placed them so that if I put the original plate back they will be covered.

The two issues I had were shimming the neck up to raise the bridge height to increase the break angle of the strings from the Les Trem, which in turn I had to jack up the pickup height. Second issue was the stock Duesenberg spring, I don't know if I had to raise the bridge even higher or if it was because I use 12-52 flatwounds, but the string tension was overcoming the spring tension and was causing the trem to sit too far forward and not allowing for a lot of travel and wouldn't return to pitch that great. After purchasing a few different springs, I ended up using a 1 1/8" Bigsby spring. The Bigsby spring is wider than the Duesenberg spring, but it seems to sit well and functions great!

If anyone wants to see more photos just let me know!

Looks like you came up with a great solution. Hope you enjoy playing it!