NAMM 2016: Floyd Rose promises the best of hardtail and vibrato with the Rail Tail Non-Locking Tremolo system

NAMM 2016: Best known for its industry-standard locking designs, Floyd Rose has revealed a new non-locking vibrato system for Strat-style guitars: the Rail Tail Non-Locking Tremolo.

Designed to retrofit Strat-style six-point vibratos with no modifications, the dive-only Rail Tail claims to pair "the feel and reliability of a hardtail bridge with the flexibility of a tremolo system", while offering easy installation.

The Rail Tail's vibrato plate rotates around a precision rail mounted directly to the guitar body, which promises improved sound quality and increased tuning stability, allowing open strings to maintain pitch while bending another, like a hardtail system.

By adjusting the system's slotted string blocks, the Rail Tail can be set up to dive up to 15 degrees more than traditional vibratos, while its direct-to-plate string saddles promise to enhance sustain and tone.

Availability and price are yet to be announced, but you can bet we'll have more info come January.

Michael Astley-Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.