Kahler Tremolo System
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The Kahler Tremolo System is bridge with a cam operated tremolo arm system for electric guitar. It was invented in 1979 by Gary Kahler and Dave Story. They went out of business for a while in the 1990s (mostly due to legal fees fending off counterfeiters, but there is another reason that nobody at Kahler will reveal beyond its existence)[citation needed], but are now back in business, as of April 2005.
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[edit] Models and varieties
Cams and saddles are available in several different types, including brass and stainless steel. Stainless steel models were introduced in 1985. Brass cams and saddles have a warmer, more full tone, whereas steel produces a brighter tone with enhanced harmonics. Aluminum cams, announced in 2004 and released in 2005, have what is described as a "bright, growling midrange with super clean harmonics." The 2310, their current OEM model, is the only tremolo to offer the aluminum cam - though parts are interchangeable - and offers brass rollers. Steel rollers can also be used, but, due to increased sustain and harmonics, they are primarily for metal and not preferred for other purposes.
Kahler also produces one of the only bass tremolo systems currently available (Hipshot produces a fulcrum-based unit not unlike the two-point system used on Fender Stratocasters currently built in the United States), and it is perhaps the most well-known of all of them. Famous users, such as Les Claypool and Victor Wooten, have made them a popular (albeit rare) commodity on eBay. The first two bridges Kahler sold after their return in April, 2005 were 2410 bass tremolos, and they remain among the more popular bridges Kahler offers.
Guitars that have carved tops (as opposed to flat, like the Fender Stratocaster), such as the Gibson Les Paul, cannot properly mount the 2300 series of Kahler tremolo, and instead have to use a stud-mounted 2200 series. All cams, rollers and other parts, save the mounting plate, are completely interchangeable with the flat-mounted 2300 series.
For a period spanning from the mid-1980s to the time when Kahler went out of business in the early 1990s, Kahler also produced fulcrum-based systems similar to the Floyd Rose brand of tremolos. In fact, the 2600 "Steeler" tremolo was licensed by Floyd Rose during the late-1980s. The 2500 and 2520 (the former having steel rollers; the latter brass), were designed as an alternative to the stock Fender trem, and were offered on several Fenders during the 1980s. Today, Kahler no longer produces fulcrum-based tremolos, opting instead to focus solely on the cam-based models for which they became famous.
That said, it must be pointed out that Kahler produces fixed bridges for both guitar and bass as well as cam-based tremolos. The 3300 and 3310 (guitar) and the 2440, 2450, and 2460 (bass) bridges are built to the same standards as the tremolo bridges.
Kahler bridges are machined from very high quality metals in Oceanside, California. As a result, they are considerably more expensive than others.
Neal Moser offers Kahler bridges on many models, and the ESP Custom Shop currently offers Kahlers as a custom option.
Do note that the Kahler tremolo system does not use a conventional "cam" as shown in the "cam" link given on this page. There is no true "cam" in the Kahler tremolo system, although it is called "cam-operated" in the patent application.
[edit] Historic usage
Kahlers were most popular in the 1980s, with users such as Steve Vai, Earl Slick, Jeff Loven, Adrian Belew and Jerry Peek and bands such as Judas Priest, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe. Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of Slayer still use Kahlers today, and they swear by them. They won't use any other bridge type unless they are forced to: for example, Kerry King's 7-string guitar work on the album 'God Hates Us All', in which his 7-string guitar has a 7-string low profile Floyd Rose, as there were no 7-string Kahlers at that time. In the summer of 2005, Kahler announced it would hand-build custom bridges, though at an increased cost.
Guitarist Jerry Cantrell, formerly of the 1990s band Alice In Chains, was oft to be seen with the G&L Rampage model, a guitar that had the Kahler tremolo unit fitted as standard.
[edit] Comparison with Floyd Rose
Kahler has become one of the most popular tremolo systems in today's market, following Floyd Rose, and there is often a difficult choice to be made between the two companies for guitarists wanting a high-quality tremolo system.
Floyd Rose tremolos have the advantage of being cheaper and easier to find (separate or pre-installed), and also have more support available for them. License-made Floyd Roses are usually of lower quality and subject to problems, although original Floyd Roses do not suffer such a drawback.
Kahler tremolos are more expensive and are less readily available. However, Kahler tremolo systems require much less routing in the guitar body. Kahler USA does not license the tremolo system to other manufacturers, and hence all Kahler tremolo systems found will be reliable and of a high quality.
