I’m considering a second guitar and thinking of going for a hardtail. I have a squire with a tremolo currently, but never use it because it goes out of tune, and honestly in a few years of playing haven’t come across anything I’ve tried to play that requires it. I haven’t seen one used in a single tutorial video.
If you aren’t playing Van Halen, do they ever really get much use?
I would buy a decent Floyd Rose, but don’t know if the tuning would be a hassle. Or if I went hardtail would I regret it later?
Other than some rock, where are these really used?
If you already have a guitar with a vibrato system, then you wouldn’t be missing out if your second guitar is hardtailed especially when you said you don’t find yourself using such techniques. If you ever find yourself needing it, suprise, there’s still your first guitar with a whammy bar.
In regards to what styles uses it, you need to stop thinking that whammy bar = Van Halen. It’s in the name—vibrato (tremolo is a misnomer). It’s originally for doing vibrato with your plucking hand so it is pretty much very applicable to all kinds of rhythm and blues in addition to rock and metal. Most songs don’t require it because it’s mostly added to taste by the player.