The Ibanez ZR (Zero Resistance) Tremolo is a double locking tremolo system developed by Ibanez. The ball-bearing and global tuner features of the ZR tremolos are manufactured under license to American Inventor and recording artist, Geoffrey Lee McCabe—see U.S. Patent Nos. 6,175,066 5,965,831, 6,891,094, 5,986,191, 6,563,034 and 7,470,841.
The system was derived from Ibanez Edge and Floyd Rose, but it functions closer to that of a Kahler Tremolo System. The ZR tremolo offers a number of improvements from the Original Floyd Rose; it contains a heavy sustain block, a pop-in arm and most importantly, a ball bearing-based pivot point and a removable stop-bar. This is also known as the Zero Point System.
In a traditional Floyd Rose (and vintage tremolo), the pivot is a knife edge against the pivot post; when sharpened, the pivot provides zero rotational friction. However, like any knife edge it can become dulled over time and the result is the tremolo cannot return to the zero position. In the ZR tremolo, the pivot is a ball-bearing based joint, which provides greater stability over time.
The Zero Point System acts like the Hipshot Tremsetter, in that it provides additional string tension that is needed to return the string to the zero position. Normally both the spring tension and opposing string tension is equal, when a tremolo bar is used for a very long duration (such as excessive dive bombs), the spring tension may be compressed to the point that no tension is provided for the string. Thus, the ZPS, which equips with two additional springs, provide the needed tension and the fact that it is a stop-bar allows extreme tuning stability at the cost of having very limited scope for up-bends. Another important innovation of the ZR tremolo is that, unlike other locking tremolos, even with a string break, the other strings can still stay in tune to an acceptable level. The ball-bearing and global tuner features of the ZR tremolos are manufactured under license to American Inventor and recording artist, Geoffrey Lee McCabe—see U.S. Patent Nos. 6,175,066 5,965,831, 6,891,094, 5,986,191, 6,563,034 and 7,470,841.
First installed on Ibanez S and replacing the Floyd Rose licensed Edge Lo-TRS, its ZPS system is also being used on the Ibanez Edge Zero.
In 2008 models, Ibanez introduced derivatives of ZR Tremolo:
ZR-II, the successor to ZR tremolo; This system is the same as the original ZR tremolo, with the only differences being the use of a different alloy in the spring assembly, and a new design of arm holder. These changes were made to address the problems that the original ZR removed too much wood for its back route, and that the arm holders on original ZR tremolo systems are prone to breaking. first introduced on S Prestige series 2008
sychroniZR, a single locking tremolo with ZPS-FX springs (only react when tremolo is pulled), first introduced on the SV Prestige series
Edge Zero, a knife-edge based tremolo with ZPS3 springs, first introduced on the RG Prestige 2008 line and Ibanez E-Gen
Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass-produce the seven-string guitar and eight-string guitar. Ibanez manufactures effects, accessories, amps, and instruments in Japan, China, Indonesia, and the United States. As of 2017 they marketed nearly 165 models of bass guitar, 130 acoustic guitars, and more than 300 electric guitars. After Gibson and Fender, Ibanez is considered the third biggest guitar brand.
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Floyd Rose SpeedLoader is a floating guitar bridge based on the Floyd Rose Original. In development since 1991, it was introduced to the public in 2003. This tremolo was developed in San Diego CA at AJ manufacturing by tool makers Jerry Morhman, Richard J Price, Steve Lamms, and Kerry L Stottlemyer under the direct guidance of Floyd Rose himself. With Richard J Price doing the majority of the design work and machining of the prototypes. Over 3000 hours and $150,000 were spent in developing this new ground breaking tremolo system and the first working unit on a guitar body. It inherited the locking floating bridge principle from the original version, but improved usability and diminished most of disadvantages that the Floyd Rose Original was criticized for, while adding the inconvenience of needing special-purpose strings. The Floyd Rose SpeedLoader is available in Tremolo, Fixed Bridge, and Convergent Tuning forms. However, the issues with strings became more apparent, as the specially made strings for the Speedloader were discontinued due to quality control issues. With no strings currently being manufactured, there is no way to properly string and set up any guitar with the Floyd Rose Speedloader. Customers have voiced their discontent with Floyd Rose for a lack of development of any parts that could remedy the situation.
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