The Aristides Multiscale Tremolo System
The Beginning
Since 2020, we’ve offered our multiscale tremolo across a wide range of our guitars, starting with our headless models. And it was actually back during the global pandemic that we underwent the process of creating our Headless series of guitars alongside the multiscale tremolo system.
It all began as we were starting development: We realized very early on that we had to have a tremolo.
Our master builder, Ferdinand, had already been thinking of an idea for a new kind of tremolo that harmonized the benefits of a traditional vibrato tremolo as well as a modern locking unit, and thus our Multiscale Tremolo was born!
We went through several iterative processes which involved looking for the right supplier of parts that could do the job. We settled on Hantug, a Turkish manufacturer of high-quality guitar parts.
From there, we concurrently developed the tremolo along with the Headless series so that both would be released simultaneously, and so that customers would immediately have the tremolo as a build option when placing an order.
The Design
Ferdinand’s idea was to create a tremolo that utilized a pivot system that was not aligned perfectly parallel to where the bass and treble saddles would be, like on a traditional tremolo system.
Instead, the design was to make it so that on the bass side of the tremolo, the saddle would sit 15mm away from the pivot line on the horizontal axis, where as on the treble side of the bridge, the saddle would sit directly on the pivot line.
This makes it so that when you dive on the trem, the highest strings do not move away from the body of the guitar and instead stay parallel and flush to the body.
Inversely, for the bass side of the tremolo, the strings fall away from the body, just like a modern floating tremolo system.
And importantly, yes, you can flutter on it!
We also made the pivot points for our multiscale tremolo in different locations than one might expect. The treble side pivot point is farther away from the saddle on the vertical plane, and is located on the bottom of the bridge, whereas on the bass side it’s located on the top and is closer to the saddle.
This marriage of both methods of tremolo systems makes it so that when you use the tremolo, the treble side of the bridge moves in near-unison pitch with the bass side (to a certain point), therefore allowing the tremolo to keep far better pitch stability when using it with chords. Thus creating an arcing through-line through the inside of the bridge.
The final result? A super-satisfying, modern tremolo that takes from the best of both styles of tremolo systems, that stays in tune well, and is a dream to play!
From flutters, to gentle vibrato, all the way to screaming dive bombs, this tremolo is the culmination of a lot of hard work and passion from our design team.
Though we first developed the tremolo system for the H/0 series, in 2022 it was additionally developed for our headstocked Multiscale S-Series.
As well, because we used the same scale lengths for the S-Series and the STX-S models, that meant we could easily transfer over the multiscale tremolo for our brand new multiscale STX-S series.
And as for future multiscale models? We’ll be able to transfer the tremolo over to any new multiscale designs as well! (Scale length depending)
Hardware Options & Body Choices
We offer our multiscale tremolo in three colours: Black, Chrome and Gold. In addition to those three colours, we’re able to make any combination of those three colours in hybrid hardware style looks. From the baseplate, to the saddles, to the tuning pegs.
Finally, we offer the multiscale tremolo across our S-Series, Headless Series, as well as the STX-S Series.
Interested in hearing it? Click on the video below to hear Aristides Artist Paul Ouzounov put the multiscale tremolo through its paces!