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WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

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  • WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

    Does the TS-1 require drilling / modifiying your guitar? I've not been able to find anything about its installation process on the internet and most sites just have the same 4 sentences. I searched on the forum here and someone said that they ordered one and they'd post a review but they never did... A friend of mine wants to buy one but he doesn't want to drill or modify the guitar to get the benefits of the system (which is why he doesn't want to add a block)

  • #2
    Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

    That might've been me. I did buy one, and have been meaning to install it, but haven't decided which guitar to install it in yet. It requires no drilling at all. It's just a little adjustable metal & plastic stick that goes inside one of your existing trem springs and butts up against the claw on one end and the trem block on the other. The kit comes with the stick, a replacement claw screw, and a little piece of felt with adhesive backing that you put on your trem block.

    The only modifications are replacing one claw screw and sticking a piece of felt on your trem block.

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    • #3
      Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

      Okay.. Thanks Quiksilver!

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      • #4
        Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

        <font color="red"> quik</font>silver..... you haven't installed it yet, nor made a review here. Where did you earn that handle? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] i'm kidding!
        Henrik
        AUDIOZONE.DK - a guitar site for the Jackson and Charvel fan

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        • #5
          Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

          Ha ha. That's the advantage of getting to name yourself. I also chose a VH stripes avatar and "[email protected]" as my email address. I think the psychologists call it "delusions of grandeur." [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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          • #6
            Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

            hehehehe (:


            how does it compare to the tremsetter?
            "It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat. [ ... ]
            The truth will seem utterly preposterous, and its speaker, a raving lunatic."

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            • #7
              Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabilizer - Question

              I've had one of those WD Stabilizers for many, many years. It worked well, from what I remember, but I haven't had it on a guitar in a very long time. It was a simple installation with no mods needed.
              I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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              • #8
                Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                I performed this mod on my Soloist, taking pics all along the way. I was planning to post a detailed description of the entire install, like the nice one Jackson1 put up about the TremSetter.

                Unfortunately, while the install was easy and required no permanent mods, no drilling, etc., the WD Tremolo Stabiliser didn't work! [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

                After installing it, I thought, "how the hell is thing gonna work?" It just looks like an adjustable length rod that goes inside one of your trem springs. I can see how it would prevent the trem from pulling up, lending some stability (while removing some functionality), but how is that any different from blocking your trem with a chunk of wood to prevent pull-up? And how is that going to help with instability arising from the bridge moving forward/down (which causes problems with tuning up a new set of strings, open strings detuning when you bend one string, etc.) The answer, for me, anyway, is that it didn't!

                After installing, tuning up and locking down, I hit an open string, bent the adjacent string, and my bridge moved just like it had before, temporarily detuning the strings in the process. I compared it with my other guitars, and they all behaved the same.

                I'm sending mine back and getting another TremSetter, like I have on another one of my guitars. That does require drilling, but it works.

                Since my WD Tremolo Stabiliser install didn't work, I'm not posting the pics, but if anyone wants 'em out of morbid curiosity, let me know, and I'll email 'em to ya. I did take pics of the instruction sheets, etc., so you can see exactly how to install this puppy from the pics.

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                • #9
                  Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                  Damn, that was strange quiksiler.... [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] Thanks for posting this - i really did look forward to your test results, because you are one of the few with both Tremsetter and WD stabiliser equipped guitars. Yeah, sounds like it does the same thing as when you are blocking your floyd.

                  You know if you dont' mind, then post a couple of pics here of that thing. We might as well see how it looks installed.
                  Henrik
                  AUDIOZONE.DK - a guitar site for the Jackson and Charvel fan

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                  • #10
                    Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                    OK. Here goes. For the bandwidth-impaired, this post includes 8 pics, but none are more than 800x600 resolution. Go get a Fresca, and it should be ready to view.

                    First, here’s the product, a WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser (yeah, that's how they spell it - I think it's from Australia. I got it from Musician's Friend, 'cause at $25 it was cheaper than a TremSetter ($37), and it looked easy to self-install with no permanent mods required, unlike a TremSetter, which requires a hole drilled parallel with your springs in your trem cavity (my drill does not fit in my trem cavity, so I don't know how I could drill a horizontal hole there).

                    And here’s the Jackson Soloist Archtop Professional it went into (temporarily):

                    One sheet of simple instructions, printed on both sides. Side 1:

                    . . . and Side 2:

                    OK. Let’s get started. Here’s your classic Schaller Floyd pre-install trem setup. Standard stuff. Let's move on, folks. Nothing to see here.


                    Here, as instructed, I have removed one of my trem claw screws. I set it next to the TS kit's replacement screw (with nylon washer) for comparison purposes:

                    See that black spot on the trem block? That's a felt, adhesive-backed pad, like you would see on a kitchen cabinet door to keep it from banging shut when you come home drunk at 3 in the morning and can't find the cashews.

                    Oops, gettin' off track there. Anyway, it looks unimportant, but the instructions say the pad is important and should not be disturbed. As near as I can tell, the small amount of cushion this pad provides is what allows a TS-equipped trem to retain any amount of pull-up capability.


                    P.S. Get your last look at that unchipped trem cavity edge. It won't last long.

                    Here’s a shot of the TS module inserted in the spring, as per instructions. This was actually kinda hard to accomplish, requiring a needle-nosed pliers, a flat screwdriver, a little brute strength, and a great deal of profanity.



                    Here is the completed installation, complete with a new chip in my trem cavity. Little tip for ya, stuff a rag in the trem cavity BEFORE you slip and hit it with a needle-nose pliers while trying to stretch and mount the spring. Your kids won't have to learn new curse words like mine did, and your guitar finish might escape unscathed.

                    So, there you have it, folks. No permanent mods necessary, but from what I can tell, this is just a $25 adjustable stick that works exactly like a trem block.

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                    • #11
                      Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                      The Stabiliser is not the bomb, then. Weird. Thanks for the review, i've never actually seen that thing installed before. I wonder why that trem claw replacement screw is necessary - and the nylon washer - what's with that?

                      PS. I enjoyed your humour and i really like your archtop pro! [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]
                      Henrik
                      AUDIOZONE.DK - a guitar site for the Jackson and Charvel fan

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                      • #12
                        Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                        I wish someone would come up with a mod that you can do without having to drill or add anything to the friggen guitar. I have been trying to think up a design that you could somehow attach to the trem block thing that you attach the springs to but I'm no good with making stuff from scratch...

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                        • #13
                          Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                          Heh heh. Thanks, jackson1. I wondered about the purpose of the replacement screw and nylon washer, too. I just put EMGs in the Archtop Pro last night, which really improved its looks, IMO (haven't plugged it in yet since the swap, so I can't talk about the sound yet, but I'm a big fan of EMGs, so I'm optimistic).

                          I know what you mean, Inearthed. Drilling a hole just so the Tremsetter's rod can go into it does seem unnecessarily invasive. It's tempting to just cut the rod shorter so it'll fit!

                          Seems like someone could come up with a simple dampener/shock absorber, like the steering dampeners sportbikes have. In fact, I thought that was what the Trem Stabiliser would be.

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                          • #14
                            Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                            wtf was that thing designed by complete morons?? as you mentioned it just blocks the trem and does nothing else, and maybe i'm missing something but replacing one of the claw screws with their "special" one (and a washer) to me seems completely pointless. not to mention it won't be as solid since that screw is shorter.

                            oh and about cutting the rod on a tremsetter, i think the thing will fly to pieces as soon as you mount it ..... !! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
                            "It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat. [ ... ]
                            The truth will seem utterly preposterous, and its speaker, a raving lunatic."

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                            • #15
                              Re: WD Music TS-1 Tremolo Stabiliser didn\'t work

                              I have a WD tremsetter in a Fender Strat and it works great for me. I can bend up about one full step without the adjacent strings going flat. The trem action does have a slightly stiffer feel now, but I have no problems dive bombing and pulling sharp. I also had a hipshot tremsetter in a Carvin I used to have and it too worked well. The WD is much easier to install than the Hipshot, but the Hipshot does provide more counter tension, I could bend up 1.5 to 2 steps with the Hipshot, but WD now offers a package that allows you to double up two tremsetters to provide more counter tension than the standard tremsetter.

                              Having used both Hipshot and WD, I am going to go with a standard WD in my 1990 USA Fusion. I don't need the extra tension provided buy the double pack, since I never do unison or oblique bends of over one step

                              Ricey

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