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A variety of mechanical vibrato systems for guitar have been developed since the 1930s. They are used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece of an electric guitar using a controlling lever (often referred to as a whammy bar, vibrato arm/bar, or tremolo arm/bar). The lever enables the player to quickly vary the tension and sometimes the length of the strings temporarily, changing the pitch to create a vibrato, portamento or pitch bend effect. Instruments without this device have other bridge and tailpiece systems. The mechanical vibrato systems began as a device for more easily producing the vibrato effects that blues and jazz guitarists had long produced on arch top guitars by manipulating the tailpiece with their picking hand. However, it has also made many sounds possible that could not be produced by the old technique, such as the 1980s-era shred guitar "dive bombing" effect. Since the regular appearance of mechanical vibrato systems in the 1950s, they have been used by many guitarists, ranging from the gentle inflections of Chet Atkins to the exaggerated twang effects of early rocker Duane Eddy to the buoyant effects of surf music aficionados like The Ventures, The Shadows and Dick Dale to art rock innovator Frank Zappa. In the 1960s and 1970s, vibrato arms were used for more pronounced effects by Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page,〔http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/jimmy-page-1216/〕 and Jeff Beck. In the 1980s, shred guitar virtuosos such as Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and metal guitarists ranging from Ritchie Blackmore to thrashers like Kirk Hammett used the "whammy bar" in a range of metal-influenced styles. The pitch-bending effects, whether subtle inflections or exaggerated effects, have become an important part of many styles of electric guitar. Terje Rypdal extended the art of tremolo bar playing with his unique style. Guitarists such as David Torn & David Duhig have considerably added to the language of tremolo bar usage by taking the concept to whole new levels. Despite the common misnomer ''tremolo arm'', these devices cannot produce tremolo in the normal sense of the word, but can produce vibrato; while some electronic "vibrato units" used by electric guitarists generally produce a tremolo effect, rather than vibrato. See "Vibrato or Tremolo". Guitars equipped with any vibrato system can be harder to re-string, tune, and keep in tune than stop-tail guitars. ==Origin of names== Historically, some electric guitarists have reversed the normal meanings of the terms ''vibrato'' and ''tremolo'' when referring to hardware devices and the effects they produce. This reversal of terminology is generally attributed to Leo Fender and the naming of the Fender "Vibroverb" amplifier, which actually used tremolo (rapid volume changes) in an attempt to create a vibrato-like (rapid changes in pitch) sound. See vibrato unit for details of the history of these terms in relation to electric guitar, and related issues. Ironically, Fender had previously introduced the "Tremolux" amplifier in 1953, which used the correct terminology. While the (so-called) "tremolo arm" can produce variations of pitch including what is normally termed ''vibrato'', it can ''never'' produce the effect normally known as ''tremolo'' (modulation of volume). ''Tremolo'', on the other hand, is exactly the effect produced by the electronic ''vibrato units'' built into many classic guitar amplifiers. Other widely used names for the device include "vibrato bar" and "whammy bar", the latter named in reference to guitarist Lonnie Mack's aggressive, rapid manipulation of the pitch-bending device in his 1963 song "Wham!".〔McDevitt, "Unsung Guitar Hero Lonnie Mack", Gibson Lifestyle, 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vibrato systems for guitar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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