Opinion on Bendmaster FT - To Replace or Not To Replace

Howdy All!

Got a quick question for the Westone Clan....

I have two Westones with Bendmaster FT trems and they work fine and look great.

I've been thinking of "preserving" them and replacing them with THIS from GFS.

I don't gig, but I practice with them a lot.

Probably pass them down to my kiddo in the future.

Just hate to lose the Westone Mojo, if you know what i mean.

So what do you all think.....Let them run in the wild or lock em up and try to preserve their value?

Thanks in Advance!

The only reason to replace them is if you use the trem a lot. The GFS will be locking. BUT that won't help you much at all if you don't also have a locking nut! Chances are that your Westones have behind the nut locks, which allow for binding at the nut itself. This causes your strings to go out of tune, and you'd have to bend on them to bring them back into tune again. Example, you depress the whammy bar and return it to pitch. The sting is now flat (or stuck sharp) due to the friction in the nut. You then bend each string to return it to proper tension (this will usually work). Problem is that you can't do that during a gig!

So you decide, but I'd leave the FT's on them. Now for gigging, I'd replace with a locking nut and locking trem. If it was a Westone that was already beat up, that is.

The Chad wrote:The only reason to replace them is if you use the trem a lot. The GFS will be locking. BUT that won't help you much at all if you don't also have a locking nut! Chances are that your Westones have behind the nut locks, which allow for binding at the nut itself. This causes your strings to go out of tune, and you'd have to bend on them to bring them back into tune again. Example, you depress the whammy bar and return it to pitch. The sting is now flat (or stuck sharp) due to the friction in the nut. You then bend each string to return it to proper tension (this will usually work). Problem is that you can't do that during a gig!

So you decide, but I'd leave the FT's on them. Now for gigging, I'd replace with a locking nut and locking trem. If it was a Westone that was already beat up, that is.

Thanks for the response.

The behind the nut locks did confuse me at first, but now I treat them as string trees and don't lock them down tight (please educate me if this is totally wrong).

I don't use the whammy bar much and it's usually to get the slow SRV parts.

Thanks again.

Just use some lubricant in all areas of friction. You can buy it online or at Guitar Center. It should go in your nut grooves and on saddles. Lots of people just take the locks OFF (the triangular pieces and bolts, not the whole assembly). It'll work better this way instead of as a string tree. If you do remove them, place them in a zip-lock bag and in the case for safe keeping!

The Chad wrote:Just use some lubricant in all areas of friction. You can buy it online or at Guitar Center. It should go in your nut grooves and on saddles. Lots of people just take the locks OFF (the triangular pieces and bolts, not the whole assembly). It'll work better this way instead of as a string tree. If you do remove them, place them in a zip-lock bag and in the case for safe keeping!

Appreciate the info!

I'd only consider swapping a bridge out if the OEM one was munted; those FTs are a good bridge; solid as all hell and set up right, stay in tune very well indeed.

I've found with all of my Bendmaster equipped guitars - FT and BMDs - that the stringlock is crucial to keeping in tune - you simply cannot go nuts and swing on the bar and expect it to stay even roughly in tune if you don't use the stringlocks.

A little lubricant on all of the moving faces pays handsome dividends,
as well; in the nut slots and where the bridge makes contact with the posts and even a (very) little on the saddles on a BMD.

What Corsair said.

What Barry said...