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How The Vibrato Bar Works

 

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The vibrato bar gets it's name from it's function. Vibrato means a change of pitch. The vibrato bar is a part of the overall vibrato system. The bar is the control mechanism for using the system. It is screwed into or attached to the bridge of the guitar. The bridge is movable to a degree. On strat style guitars the bridge consists of bridge saddles, a bridge plate and a block of metal. This is all connected to springs that pull the system back to it's original position after being manipulated.

The bridge plate is screwed into the top of the guitar body on one side. The other side is free to move allowing the strings to be made slack. Lessening the tension on the strings, making them slack, results in the strings sounding lower in pitch.