Fantastic explanation as per! (As this is up there with conversations about jazzmaster and firebird pickups where misconceptions are prevalent! But it’s great for people to have a simple and well explained answer to it 😊)
I believe people often confuse semantics and nomenclature. Leo Fender named vibrato mechanisms on his instruments “tremolo”, so on a Fender instrument it is a vibrato named “tremolo”. It is semantically still a vibrato, however on a Fender instrument it is named “tremolo”. Similar like if you would name your dog for example “Dragon”, it would still be a dog, but its name would be “Dragon”.
it's not about semantics, it's blatantly not a tremolo as they are different effects. I get what you are saying but it doesn't change the reality they are separate effects and should absolutely be referred to as their respective ones, if you were to conflate them in sheet music for any other instrument the musician would laugh at whoever wrote the music for getting them wrong.
I don’t think at this point that calling them trems or tremolos will change. But Mustangs got it right. And I own one, get weird looks when I call it a vibrato, but it does say that right on the guitar. Also, at least originally, Fender labelled tremolo on their amps as vibrato, just to confuse things.
Technically correct, however, Leo Fender called it a Tremelo because it's a nicer sounding word. Leo invented it, he got to call it whatever he wanted to. SO Tremelo arm it is! (Even though it is indeed a vibrato device)
March 22, 1966 c. L. FENDER 3,241,418 GUITAR INCORPORATING INERTIAL VIBRATO DEVICE Filed June 5, 1964 Pretty sad the people who took over from CBS at least understood the difference and filed the patents to correctly name the vibrato the vibrato, because it’s a vibrato not a tremolo.
@@AudiomoMusic Leo Fender KNEW it was a vibrato, but didn't like the word "vibrato" so he called it a Tremelo as it's a much nicer word. Paul Bigsby invented the Vibrato arm, but didn't patent it. He was very good friends with Leo and helped Leo develop his version for the Fender Stratocaster. Leo patented his new device and called it a "Tremelo," Leo Fender therefore is correct, all Fenders have a Tremelo, all other guitars have a vibrato. Here endeth the lesson!
Fenders do not have a tremolo, they have a vibrato that is incorrectly referred to as a tremolo that was started for whatever marketing reasons they had at the time in the 1950's. That does not magically make them tremolos, it makes them you guessed it - vibratos. I could call my tube amp an ipad until I'm blue in the face but it wouldn't make it an ipad.
@@AudiomoMusic If you invented the tube amp, patented it and called it "the ipad" then it would be an Ipad. If then people started calling it a tube amp (which obviously it is) they would be wrong! You seem to be very slow at understanding this! LEO FENDER INVENTED IT HE CALLED IT A TREMELO. HE IS CORRECT. You sir, are an idiot.
I'm an idiot for explaining the difference and showing examples of how they are objectively different effects meanwhile you are throwing insults in a comment section because you can't handle the fact Leo got something wrong? I'm prayin for ya man.
Yep. I will not call a vibrato a tremolo or a tremolo a vibrato. That’s worse than calling a chorus a flanger and a flanger a chorus as these, at least, have similarities from using BBDs. Fender Guitars have a vibrato and Fender amps have tremolo. My 1965 Mustang says “Dynamic Fender Vibrato PAT. PEND.” People just don’t want to correct themselves by using proper words. Words mean things and when we go changing the meaning of words we end up in a horrible place…as people can see simply by observing the modern world. 😂
I like to call it the Shoegaze lever to avoid confusion
it's a much better term than tremolo tbh
Fantastic explanation as per! (As this is up there with conversations about jazzmaster and firebird pickups where misconceptions are prevalent! But it’s great for people to have a simple and well explained answer to it 😊)
I believe people often confuse semantics and nomenclature. Leo Fender named vibrato mechanisms on his instruments “tremolo”, so on a Fender instrument it is a vibrato named “tremolo”. It is semantically still a vibrato, however on a Fender instrument it is named “tremolo”. Similar like if you would name your dog for example “Dragon”, it would still be a dog, but its name would be “Dragon”.
it's not about semantics, it's blatantly not a tremolo as they are different effects. I get what you are saying but it doesn't change the reality they are separate effects and should absolutely be referred to as their respective ones, if you were to conflate them in sheet music for any other instrument the musician would laugh at whoever wrote the music for getting them wrong.
Fantastic ❤😊
Thank you for this!
No worries!
Thanks Jim. I'm hoping that use of the term "tremolo bar" gets moved down a notch or two on my pet peeve list.
it's wild the little things that drive me nuts but people that call the jazzmaster vibrato a tremolo are a certain sort of evil hahahaha
Whammy
The Fender trems are patented under the term "tremolo system," so calling them that isn't wrong.
It’s absolutely wrong, it is literally a vibrato effect, not a tremolo effect. Just because Fender are incompetent doesn’t change that fact.
I don’t think at this point that calling them trems or tremolos will change.
But Mustangs got it right. And I own one, get weird looks when I call it a vibrato, but it does say that right on the guitar.
Also, at least originally, Fender labelled tremolo on their amps as vibrato, just to confuse things.
Yep, they are truly a special company.
Fender didn't help it out either because on a Strat, there is the "trem claw" part. 😁
Technically correct, however, Leo Fender called it a Tremelo because it's a nicer sounding word. Leo invented it, he got to call it whatever he wanted to. SO Tremelo arm it is! (Even though it is indeed a vibrato device)
March 22, 1966 c. L. FENDER 3,241,418
GUITAR INCORPORATING INERTIAL VIBRATO DEVICE Filed June 5, 1964
Pretty sad the people who took over from CBS at least understood the difference and filed the patents to correctly name the vibrato the vibrato, because it’s a vibrato not a tremolo.
@@AudiomoMusic Leo Fender KNEW it was a vibrato, but didn't like the word "vibrato" so he called it a Tremelo as it's a much nicer word. Paul Bigsby invented the Vibrato arm, but didn't patent it. He was very good friends with Leo and helped Leo develop his version for the Fender Stratocaster. Leo patented his new device and called it a "Tremelo," Leo Fender therefore is correct, all Fenders have a Tremelo, all other guitars have a vibrato. Here endeth the lesson!
Fenders do not have a tremolo, they have a vibrato that is incorrectly referred to as a tremolo that was started for whatever marketing reasons they had at the time in the 1950's. That does not magically make them tremolos, it makes them you guessed it - vibratos. I could call my tube amp an ipad until I'm blue in the face but it wouldn't make it an ipad.
@@AudiomoMusic If you invented the tube amp, patented it and called it "the ipad" then it would be an Ipad. If then people started calling it a tube amp (which obviously it is) they would be wrong! You seem to be very slow at understanding this! LEO FENDER INVENTED IT HE CALLED IT A TREMELO. HE IS CORRECT. You sir, are an idiot.
I'm an idiot for explaining the difference and showing examples of how they are objectively different effects meanwhile you are throwing insults in a comment section because you can't handle the fact Leo got something wrong? I'm prayin for ya man.
If Leo could have just called it a whammy bar, or wiggle stick...
I don't think '50s modesty would have allowed him to call it a wang bar 😬😁
Yep. I will not call a vibrato a tremolo or a tremolo a vibrato. That’s worse than calling a chorus a flanger and a flanger a chorus as these, at least, have similarities from using BBDs.
Fender Guitars have a vibrato and Fender amps have tremolo.
My 1965 Mustang says “Dynamic Fender Vibrato PAT. PEND.”
People just don’t want to correct themselves by using proper words. Words mean things and when we go changing the meaning of words we end up in a horrible place…as people can see simply by observing the modern world. 😂
Mea culpa
It’s hard to fault people when the brand itself doesn’t even know what they are talking about