Kahler Guitar Trems

Anyone know if one of these would accommodate bass strings? I love the Fender Bass VI, but the new ones are expensive and way overpriced, and the originals are rare and even more expensive. So I've thought about making my own for a while now. Both Musicman and Schecter make a Bass VI-esque intrument, but neither have a trem, something I'd really like on mine. I know Strat trems work (I've tried), but there are no 30" or 30.25" conversion necks (at least that I've found), so that rules out converting.

What I want to do, assuming the kahler works, would be to get a Schecter Hellcat VI and put a Kahler hybrid guitar trem in it. I'd probably swap out the pickups at some point, too.

Unless you used really thin strings, I don't believe that the rollers would be large enough. Then you have the ball ends of the bass strings which are larger than guitar strings are, and I don't think they would fit into the claws of a guitar Kahler. And then there is the spring tension issue. The springs on the guitar trems are lower in tension than the bass springs are, so you might not be able to adjust it properly. That's just my two-cents, but there it is for what it's worth.

How thin is "thin?" The strings on a Fender Bass VI set are 25-35-45-55-75-95.

Probably in the 95-75-55-45 range would be my guess, but again, I'm not completely sure. You have to remember that the Fender VI was designed for larger strings, but the guitar Kahler was not. And even if you did use smaller strings, you still have the issue of the size of the ball ends, plus the tension of the springs.

Let me stress again that this is just my opinion, since I have never tried it myself.

Can anyone else offer some insight to help KS?

In comparison, the guitar trems seem SO tiny compared to the bass trems. I'd be worried about the ball ends fitting into the claws as well. Could you replace the springs with higher tension ones?

I'd find out what the ball end size is on a set of Bass VI strings--if they're more bass or guitar sized. Maybe you could use those strings on it, if they are the size of guitar ball ends...

Just throwing it out there, but I've heard that the guitar trems are nowhere near as good as the bass ones.

No personal experience, but seems to be trhe general consensus.

OK, never mind then. It doesn't seem like this will work.

A Bigsby would work.

I was talking to my guitarist mate, and he reckons they'd fit on his Floyd Rose, but wouldn't be sure.

I've played a couple guitars with Kahler trems--my favorite being a Carvin V220. SO much fun to play. Excellent tuning stability superior range. Very different feel from a Floyd, however. Silky smooth--no resistance hardly at all. This is, however, with a bar that reaches past the end of the fingerboard. Needless to say, it's SICK to play on.

You could easily replace the springs with the heavier bass versions, but this still would not address the issues of the ball ends fitting into the claws.

The thing I remember about guitar Kahlers is how easy they are to manipulate. In fact, they're almost too easy to manipulate. They definitely have a looser feel than a Floyd does, and the tension on the arm is much lower than that of a Floyd or Strat tremolo. Given the tension of bass strings, even lighter ones, I'd say that it would be better to stick with a bass trem, or build one from the ground up using a fulcrum-style guitar unit.

That's a good point, man. They are very smooth and very easy to manipulate. I think that it wouldn't be worth the time/money. I'd rather just guild a guitar with a Kahler trem at that point!