If you love the sustain and stability of a hardtail guitar, but also dig the dive-bombs and whammy tricks (when nobody is looking, of course), then you're about ready to get the best of both worlds! Coming soon is the Tremol-No (www.Tremol-No.com). Invented by heavy internet contributor Kevan Geier, the Tremol-No is an unprecedented device, which allows a player to select the bridge on their favorite guitar from blocked, to dive-only, to free-floating, all within mere seconds. MusicGearSource got the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Geier with only a couple weeks left until the Tremol-No's release to the public via www.AllParts.com.
MGS: Mr. Geier, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today. I'm sure excitement is building as the release date for the Tremol-No closes in?
KG: No problem! Yeah, AllParts and I are very excited, and very ready.
BTW- "Mister" is my dad. I'm just Kevan.
MGS: Could you give us some personal background information? How old were you when you started playing music? Was guitar what you first picked up? Was music heavily influenced in your family?
KG: Let's see...I've always been into music. I think the first memory I really have is back in 5th grade calling the local radio station in Gettysburg, PA and requesting the song "about a fire on the mountain and granny's dog that doesn't bite". Hey, cut me some slack; I was 9. I started playing music in the 5th or 6th grade, with my non-chick-digging trombone. I learned to read music, but was never really good at playing trombone. I still listened to lots of music though, every chance I got. I remember saving my allowance to buy all 4 of the KISS 'solo' albums (when they were still together, but did solo records...however that works.). I wore down my Ace vinyl until it was a mirror.
I didn't start playing guitar until very late, about 18 or 19. My first guitar was a red Kramer Model 620. Why? Well, because I was going to be the next Eddie Van Halen of course! As we can see, that didn't happen. That guitar was swiftly stolen by my guitar teacher (odd story for another time), and so I was left to fend for myself and ended up building my own neck-thru Strat-style guitar...with a Wonderbar trem on it! That's pretty much when I started getting into dissecting guitars and tremolo systems.
My parents? Well, let's just say that my dad has probably bought Zamfir (master of the pan flute) a house somewhere. He has ALL of Zamfir's albums, on cassette. My mom actually asked the dealer if they could remove the stereo from her last new car when she bought it. She didn't want to pay for something she will never use. She doesn't hate music; she just never listens to it. The only records I remember around the house growing up were from ABBA, Neil Diamond, and the soundtrack to "A Star Is Born". I wish I were kidding.
MGS: What gear do you play through right now?
KG: My main guitars are Ibanez J-Customs. The RG-ART and the RG-7-CST are my number 1 and 2, respectively. I have a few other types of guitars as well: a MIC Strat, an EB/MM JPM-6, a Belshe Custom Tele.
For amps, I have a Rivera TBR-2SL (320W, all tube, "The Neighbor Hater") paired with a Digitech 2101 Pro running through a Peavey 4x12 . I also run a Line6 Vetta II half-stack, which is a tweakers dream. When I'm feeling 'old school', I plug into my stock '68 Fender Bassman. It's lots of fun to play through. The pickups I use are the ones that sound best to my ears. And lastly, I've strung my guitars with DR strings for the last decade-plus, and my picks are the blue Dunlop Tortex ones. Oh, I almost forgot: up here by the computers, I have a little Line6 Spider 1x12 for those late night and inspirational moments.
MGS: Tell us some technical data on the Tremol-No, if you will. What separates it from the other tremolo stabilizers out there?
KG: It's made from 6061 T-6 aircraft aluminum and 304 stainless steel. In simple terms: it's really, really strong. The thumbscrews used to lock and unlock the Tremol-No are made from 360 brass. The screws are brass for two reasons: 1) to prevent galling between the metals, and 2) to be softer metal than the Tremol-No shaft which allows it to release if too much pressure is applied. Yes- the Tremol-No will slip if you have it locked down and try to use the bar to move your trem. Why? Well, the only thing that sucks more than trying to dig a broken trem arm out of it's socket, is filling in the holes that the claw screws just got yanked out of. It's a safety feature that I designed into the unit.
The other devices out there are fairly decent, though they all require drilling or modification to the guitar body. Some involve a few heavy duty modifications! The Tremol-No is the only one that doesn't require drilling, routing, or any other modifications to the guitar.
MGS: And so give us your "flux capacitor" moment? When did you design the Tremol-No, and what prompted its design?
KG: There wasn't really a single moment. It happened over a long period of time. I was hearing from lots of players and friends about how 'I wish it was a hardtail', or 'my trem sucks; because when I bend a note the rest of the strings go out of tune', 'I wish YYYYYY guitar company would make more hardtails' and the ever-unpopular, 'when I break a string, everything goes out of tune.' There was no shortage of bitching. There was, however, no one actually doing anything about it. So, I did something about it. I researched all the prior designs, and got to work on my own, in my shop (aka the kitchen!). I would take my guitar with the first prototype in it to gigs and open-stage jams. Guys would stare in amazement as my guitar with a floating trem would remain in tune during double-stops and after string breaks. They couldn't figure it out! As much fun as it was to play David Copperfield, I knew this was something that people would like to have, so the (long) process began.
MGS: So how long has this taken? I've never invented anything, so what steps are necessary to obtain patents, licenses and finally distribution?
KG: It's taken years and years. Licensing is a difficult process in itself, but the biggest hurdle has definitely been the US Patent Office. It's not that they're lazy; it's that they're overloaded. I'm simply amazed at how long it takes to get numbers from them.
Licensing was initially difficult, but only because I'd never done anything like that before. My first attempt was going along fine, but then eight months into the process, the whole thing died a grizzly and painful death. A couple of days after deciding against that initial deal, I got an email from a company in Japan interested in licensing. WooHoo! Note: Japanese translations of product licenses are NOT cheap. About a week after the Japanese company got their copy of the licensing agreement, I got the call from AllParts. When the Japanese company found out about AllParts getting a license, they said, "That works out great. We have an account with them, so we'll get units from them." Ugh...so much for that translation I just spent big bucks on. It does make for some cool artwork though.
By the time I was talking with AllParts, I had the whole licensing thing down pat. We whipped through the license in about a week. Done.
MGS: And so you teamed up with AllParts, pretty much the biggest musical instrument parts dealer in the world. How did that come about and how have they been to work with?
KG: I got a phone call from the owner of AllParts about a week after my first attempt at licensing had fallen apart. I've know about AllParts for years, and knew they were at the top of the guitar parts world. The owner and I talked for about an hour, then I emailed him a copy of the license agreement. About a week later, we had a worldwide license agreement signed and ready to go. It sounds easy, but there were hundreds of emails and phone calls during that span of time. We both wanted to make sure our asses were covered.
AllParts has been FANTASTIC to work with. Every aspect has been virtually painless. Even with difficult issues (like who gets paid!), they were willing to work with me and didn't scoff one single bit. From advertising to quality control, we were able to work everything out and make sure everyone and every aspect is covered. They are a really nice group of folks over there and I'm VERY happy to be working with them.
Oh yeah, and they're also #1 in the parts world. :-)
MGS: You're the vice president of Jemfest, the largest annual guitar-based charity event in the world (www.jemfest.com), you're a full-time co-administrator at Project Guitar (www.ProjectGuitar.com), and you "improved" on the Ibanez Double Edge piezo-equipped guitar wiring, which they actually incorporated the following year (http://www.jemfest.com/Misc/kevan/dewiring-full1.jpg).
My question is: DO YOU EVER SLEEP?
KG: My girlfriend, Rachel loves this question! I usually only sleep about 3-4 hours a day. I've been doing this since I got out of high school, so I'm pretty used to it. On occassion, when I'm REALLY tired, I'll get 6 or 7. It's just how I operate.
Jemfest is such a great event. We've been doing it since '99, and have raised thousands of dollars for Steve Vai's "Make A Noise Foundation". Not bad for a bunch of guitar geeks, eh? We have established artists and feature some up-and-coming artists, and do a webcast of the entire event. There are a bunch of uber-rare guitars on display, tons of raffle items, and the hotel room jams have to be seen to be believed. It's a great time and I thoroughly enjoy it.
ProjectGuitar.com started back in '99 or 2000, and the owner asked if it'd like to moderate on his new forum. It looked like fun, and was nice and small, so I agreed. Well, things have changed a little since then. There are now almost 6000 members, and some of the work those guys and gals display is amazing. We have a good time over there.
The DoubleEdge wiring I did for Ibanez was kind of funny. I bought this gorgeous guitar with this incredible tremolo system, but when I got it, I could only select between the two pickup systems- magnetic and piezo. I couldn't run them both at the same time. I was bummed! So, I dove right into the electronics and got to work. After speaking with the tech guys at both Ibanez and L.R. Baggs, I had all the info I needed to wire it up so I could run both systems simultaneously. I drew up a quick diagram and sent it off to the tech guys at Ibanez. They said, "Wow! That's great! We get a lot of calls about doing a setup like that. Mind if we send your drawing out to customers?" I said "No problem.".
Today, when you call Ibanez or L.R. Baggs with questions about the DoubleEdge systems, they usually give you my number. I don't mind at all, and I like that players are trying to get the most out of their guitars. I never expected a check or anything like that. I just thought of it as sort of my 'foot in the door' to the guitar industry. Well, I guess more like a toe nail.
MGS: Now you actually took the Tremol-No design to some players, both big and small, to get hands-on, on-stage feedback. How did that alter the T-No's design, or did it? And how about a small list of people who've had experience with the T-No so far?
KG: Oh yeah- the players added to the design! Nothing major, but they all made great contributions. One player asked for nuclear-powered miniature electromagnetic fields to hold the trem block in position while they used a brain-wave interface to adjust between the modes. I did work on this idea, but permits for unobtanium are hard to get!
Kidding aside, all of my testers have sent back info on what they'd like to see changed or added (or subtracted) from the Tremol-No. Most of the suggestions are in the final production model. When your world is the size of a trem cavity, it helps to have folks that take a step back and look at it differently than you do.
MGS: What hobbies do you have outside of music? Any pets?
KG: Hmmm....hobbies. I like playing guitar. I'm not very good at it, but I do enjoy playing. I like Concorde (incredible engineering). I like computers (a lot). I enjoy working on my vehicles. And of course, Rachel! She's my favorite hobby!
As far as pets go, we have 3 prairie dogs: Maximillian (named after the scary robot from the movie "The Black Hole"), Loki (named after the Norse God of Mischief), and Chamonix (named after my favorite valley in France with some excellent skiing!). They're fun pets. Always busy.
MGS: And you were at NAMM, correct? Last summer you were in somebody's booth with a few prototypes and this year you were in the AllParts booth, if I remember correctly? How was that experience as far as getting feedback and seeing some well known players get their hands on your product?
KG: NAMM is so much fun- when you're not working. I never realized how much actual work goes on there. My first few years, I went and just drooled over all the kickass new gear. Now I'm actually doing real-live business. It's still fun, but it's definitely different than it was before.
My first "working" NAMM was Winter NAMM 2004. I had a meeting set up with one of the big guitar makers who wanted to talk to me about an exclusive licensing deal. They decided against it, but since I was there, I took the opportunity to talk with other guitar makers. They all liked it, but wanted me to let them know when I had 10,000 units. *sigh* For Summer NAMM 2004 in Nashville, I was at the booth with the first company I was working on a licensing deal with. I didn't attend Winter NAMM 2005, because that first deal had fallen through, and AllParts hadn't signed on yet. Summer NAMM 2005, I attended, but did not have a booth. I met with lots of companies and had a great time with friends. Winter NAMM 2006, I was at the AllParts booth. You'd be amazed at who comes by that booth! I had a great time with the AllParts guys and did probably 5000 demos of the Tremol-No.
I'll be back at the AllParts booth at the Summer NAMM 2006 show in Austin. Should be lots of fun!
MGS: Ever get starstruck meeting some people you've been listening to for years?
KG: Heh heh...yeah. I'm such a fan-boy. I'll give you my two favorites.
My most starstruck moment was when I was sitting down to dinner with Rachel after a very long day for both of us, and had literally *just* pulled the first forkful of food toward my mouth when the phone rings. I'm *sure* it's a telemarketer. Man, are they going to get a piece of my mind! I answer the phone...
"HELLO?"
"Hi. Is Kevan Geier there?"
"This is Kevan."
"Hi Kevan. This is Joe Satriani."
(now, at this point, I think it's a friend of mine having some fun with me, so I play along....)
"Mr. Satriani. How are you this evening?"
"I'm doing just fine. I'd like to talk to you about the Tremol-No I just received..."
(after that sentence, I recognized his voice and immediately realized it wasn't my buddy playing a prank. I went from being uber-pissed, to fan-boy, to Mr. Professional in the span of about 3.5 seconds)
"Yes Mr. Satriani. What can I help you with?"
...and our conversation went on for a few minutes. Of course, after I hung up with the Obi-Wan of Legato, I did some sort of crazy dance around the block, chanting "Satch called me! Satch called me!". If my neighbors didn't think I was a freak before, they certainly knew the truth after that little display.
The second moment was when I got a call from Mr. Jol Dantzig. For those that don't know, he's basically Mr. Hamer Guitars. Mr. Dantzig has built some incredible instruments in his day, and continues to do some amazing custom guitars (check out any of Rick Neilsen's stuff).
One of Mr. Dantzig's customers had ordered a custom guitar from him, and included a Tremol-No on the build sheet. The guitar was about to ship out to the customer, but Mr. Dantzig had no idea what a Tremol-No was, or where to get one. He went on the website, checked it out, and then contacted me.
For a guitar geek like me to have one of the premier builders in the world call...man, that was so cool. He even said he liked the product and it's design! That was huge in my book. I don't remember exactly, but I think I told him about 36 times know how honored I was to speak with him. Too much fan-boy?
(The custom guitar did get a Tremol-No prototype installed in it at Winter NAMM 2006 and the owner has informed me he loves it.)
MGS: What are your hopes with bringing the Tremol-No to the public?
KG: I hope that people will realize that after 50+ years, there *is* something they can do about the inherent problems that come with trems....without a ton of tech hours or drilling or modifying. I hope to inform the new players that a tremolo system isn't a curse or a hinderance; it's a wonderful tool.
And I hope all those people that have told me that I'm going to make a million dollars are right.
