Great article, but I think you are leaving out something rather important when you don't mention the tremelo bar. I think the first ones may have been built by the Bigsby company, as used by people like Duane Eddy and Les Paul in the fifties. The Fender Stratocatster had a completely different system, but without it, Jimi Hendrix would have had a very different sound. Check out "Star Spangled Banner," and "Machine Gun." The whammy even makes a rather important appearance on "Little Wing." Later on Floydd Rose came out with an even more efficient and flexible model as used by people like Eddy Van Halen, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

As a guitarist myself, I have always been fond of the whammy, or tremelo unit... or twang bar (as it is sometimes called) on a guitar. I personally use it a lot and I love other guitarists who use it well - not always an easy task. A couple of my favorites who are still out there using it to great effect, are Jeff Beck and Adrian Belew... check out Adrians album "Twang Bar King," and you will surely be converted.