>>>> DECLASSIFIED <<<<
TREM WARS
tremolo arm is in use, the strings glide a
through the rollers. To counterbalance the
string tension, there are two return springs
underneath the housing that bring the cam
back to its proper zero position. Because
the cam is the moving mechanism, the
arm is screwed into it, giving direct movement from the hand. There is an adjustment hex screw beside the arm that
can tighten or loosen the swing
action of the arm.
The thing looks like a Sherman tank
in comparison to any other tremolo
made. It is bolted to the surface
of a guitar, and if it is original to
the manufacturing of the guitar, it
requires less wood routing than a
Strat. A simple, small hole is routed
to accommodate the return springs.
This is a plus for guitar players who
want the most mass they can get from
a guitar body. For guitars that already
have Strat-like routs, the Kahler
requires only a small adjustment as a
retrofit. Altogether, no matter how a
guitar is pre-routed, the Kahler assembly covers it up completely. Kahler
also made a version of this tremolo
for Gibson-type guitars, stud-mounted
to the body. Because it was intended
to fit any kind of electric guitar, each
individual saddle of the Kahler tremolo could be adjusted in six directions:
up or down, for proper string height
to follow the radius of the neck;
a front-to-back saddle adjustment, to intonate the strings; and
A Kahler 2215K comes standard on Gibson’s Shred V (pictured) and Shred X 2008 Guitars of the Month
Photo courtesy Gibson
side-to-side adjustment for spacing each
string properly.
times, like when changing strings, because
of the variable tension that occurs while
tuning new strings.
Kahler 2300 tremolo
The Kahler is fully adjustable in other aspects
as well. Designed to be a full-floating tremolo, the Kahler features an adjustment to limit
just how much upward pull can be achieved.
The user could even adjust it for downward
travel only. Like the Floyd Rose, the Kahler
also has a locking mechanism that clamps the
strings. Located at the headstock, this string
lock was placed behind an existing traditional
nut, locking the strings at the front of the
tuning machine posts. Also like the Floyd
Rose, there are six fine-tuning knobs at the
bridge assembly, located on the cam stop.
The fine-tuning feature works
much like the Floyd Rose:
the strings can be clamped
after initial tuning, and
small tuning adjustments
can be performed after
locking the strings.
Another problematic aspect of the Kahler is
the string tension on the cam, which causes
the winding on the string balls to unravel.
As the strings are tuned, they twist. Since
there isn’t any “give” on the blocks holding the ball ends of the string, the winding
of the string that holds the ball end comes
undone. The ball pops out, and that’s the
end of that. Preventative maintenance can
be performed by soldering those windings,
which is a quick fix only if you have pre-soldered entire sets of strings beforehand.
String manufacturers like Ernie Ball and
D’Addario have offered reinforced ball end
strings, but when those aren’t available you
are left soldering your own strings.
For some players, the
Kahler arm is too sensi-
tive to the touch. The
spring tension adjust-
ment can either stiffen or
loosen the feel of the arm,
but adjusting this can raise
or lower the pitch of the arm.
Adjustments to the spring tension have to be done at various
Again, others have come along and entered
the game. The Maestro Lyre was an original-design tremolo that enjoyed some success
with Gibson, adorning the SG and Firebird
models. The Wilkinson, the Bowen Handle,
the Rockinger and the Wonderbar (to name
a few) all had some share in the limelight
and many other brands are preferred by different players today. But they are all derivative of the Bigsby, Fender, Floyd Rose and
Kahler tremolos that are still in production
today. These rival forces remain at the forefront of wang-bar technology.
Photo courtesy Kahler International
