Anyone use the ESP Arming Adjuster?

[Lord Toneking]

Will it work as a trem stop so I can drop D but yet still have some pull up on my Floyd.

Also, if I break a string will it keep my guitar in tune?

Edit: skip to 2:00 mark of this vid. Apparently Steve Vai uses what looks to be two of them on his guitars. Interesting
https://youtu.be/WQVcFj7MIJA

 

[mikey]

I used one for a while with the intention of using a d-tuna. I didn't care for the feel of it so I never experimented with drop tunings. It seemed to hold tune during bends etc, so I would think it could handle a drop D with the correct setup.

...the device on Vai's guitar is made by Ibanez but the name escapes me at the moment.

 

[Jeremy]

I used one for a while with the intention of using a d-tuna. I didn't care for the feel of it so I never experimented with drop tunings. It seemed to hold tune during bends etc, so I would think it could handle a drop D with the correct setup.

...the device on Vai's guitar is made by Ibanez but the name escapes me at the moment.

Steve Vai uses the Ibanez Backstop. Long out of production with the only exception that he still gets them installed in his personal builds and in special production models like the EVO replica and the recently released 30th Anniversary Jems. I managed to score one off of eBay and it's a pretty cool device. Definitely a slightly different feel but it adds more stability for bends, etc. Haven't tried a d-tuna so I can't comment of it would work.

The Arming adjusters are a great design IMO. If I hadn't found the backstop I was aiming for putting them into a few of my guitars and my very sell still do that.

 

[cardinal]

I use an Arming Adjuster and have a Backstop I've never installed. They both work the same. The engineering on the Arming Adjuster is better, IMHO. Particularly the ball-bearing tip that prevents the thing from becoming unscrewed over time.

It definitely would work for a D-Tuner and still allow you to pull up the trem if you wanted. And yes, it can keep your guitar in tune if you break a string.

But, the only way for it to do what it does is to also make the trem stiffer. You install it and then put some extra turns on the spring claw, which keeps the trem level when the strings lose tension either from the drop tuning or broken string. And of course the trem will no longer flutter or seemlessly vibrato across the zero point: the device is in the way and pushing back against an attempt to raise the pitch.

So they're great for folks who don't want or need a fluttering trem and who don't mind a stiffer feeling trem. But if you love that flutter and a lighter trem feel, there's no way around needing a second guitar for drop tunings and a backup for broken strings.

 

[Lord Toneking]

So I'm taking that it's only going to feel stiff when you pull up on the bar?

 

[cardinal]

So I'm taking that it's only going to feel stiff when you pull up on the bar?

That will be the biggest difference, but it will feel stiffer even when diving: for it to keep the guitar in-tune when you use the D-tuner or break a string, you're tightening the spring claw more than you otherwise would without the Arming Adjuster. That means the springs are pulling harder on the trem and you have to push harder to dive.

If you don't tighten the spring claw that extra bit, the Arming Adjuster still can help stabilize the trem, but the guitar will still go out of tune if you use a D Tuna or break a string because the trem will still rock forward because of the drop in string tension.

 

[Pushead]

I have one in a few guitars, I didn't tighten the claw much past normal. I just wanted a return to zero point with it.

 

[Markedman]

I love the reaction when Steve see's that one of the adjusters fell off. He call's for "Thomas" his tech! Also, the fact one guitar just sounds better for no reason confirms my belief that two guitars built side-by-side exactly the same will play completely different, or not.

 

[Lord Toneking]

I love the reaction when Steve see's that one of the adjusters fell off. He call's for "Thomas" his tech! Also, the fact one guitar just sounds better for no reason confirms my belief that two guitars built side-by-side exactly the same will play completely different, or not.

And even with a good tech one of his best sounding guitars is a "beast to play" and it "fights too much". More or less confirming to me that the same 'feel' can't be achieved in two identical guitars

 

[peckhart]

I think cardinal nailed the answers to your questions and how you have to set it up in order to support drop D.
I have one in one of my LP Axcess' and have a d-tuna and it all works great. I used it instead of a trem stopper with the idea of having one guitar I could still pull up on, but find I really don't pull up. I think I got used to dive only setups over the years.
But the arming adjusters do work.

 

[sg guy]

-bare with me, haven't had a guitar with a term in over 10 years, I have a Gibson All American with a fender style trem, right now its blocked for dive only, are you guys talking about 2 different units-(ibanez & ESP)-that are pretty much the same thing? Looks interesting, seems like if you put them-(2)-on the outside, with 2 springs on the inside it would be more stable?

 

[PBGas]

I have been using the ESP adjusters for quite some time now and have them in all 4 of my current guitars. They work great and keep things in tune when I break a string or use a drop D setup. No issues. Rarely do I break a string though. The pull ups a stiffer, no question but I tend to flip the bar backwards to do this and it works just fine. It's all in how you tighten that spring for the feel.

 

[cardinal]

-bare with me, haven't had a guitar with a term in over 10 years, I have a Gibson All American with a fender style trem, right now its blocked for dive only, are you guys talking about 2 different units-(ibanez & ESP)-that are pretty much the same thing? Looks interesting, seems like if you put them-(2)-on the outside, with 2 springs on the inside it would be more stable?

They work the same way. The Ibanez unit is like two Arming Adjusters. I'm not sure placement really matters. Two Arming Adjusters would be way overkill IMHO. I'm not sure why the Ibanez unit used two barrels.

 

[sg guy]

-bare with me, haven't had a guitar with a term in over 10 years, I have a Gibson All American with a fender style trem, right now its blocked for dive only, are you guys talking about 2 different units-(ibanez & ESP)-that are pretty much the same thing? Looks interesting, seems like if you put them-(2)-on the outside, with 2 springs on the inside it would be more stable?

They work the same way. The Ibanez unit is like two Arming Adjusters. I'm not sure placement really matters. Two Arming Adjusters would be way overkill IMHO. I'm not sure why the Ibanez unit used two barrels.

-thanx-

 

[cardinal]

And for just overall trem/tuning stability, I'm not sure the bulk of the problem is with the trem not returning to its zero point. I think the problem more likely is with things that a trem stabilizer can't help: strings binding in the nut or shifting on the saddle. In the end, IME if you need a really stable trem, nothing tops a Floyd Rose.

The Arming Adjuster is good if you want to drop tune a Floyd or do double stop bends in tune, while still having the ability to pull up if wanted. Otherwise, I don't really see the point of using one.

 

[peckhart]

The Arming Adjuster is good if you want to drop tune a Floyd or do double stop bends in tune, while still having the ability to pull up if wanted. Otherwise, I don't really see the point of using one.

Totally agree on that point!