Stratozen, vol. ii: The Reactive Principle of the Whammy
Those brave pioneers of the sonic soul we call Stratocaster players hold in the palm of their right hands the awesome power of the Whammy. The Whammy gives he who wields it the power of direct control on the entire Stringy Sprangy Stratoverse.
Those who wield the Whammy must keep one important Stratozen principle in mind when practicing the sacred fret-hand art of bending: For every String action, there is an equal and opposite Sprang reaction, and also reversewise.
This is the very nature of the powerful Whammy, but the Mark of the Whammy is with the Strat player at all times, even when he is not using the Whammy. When he bends a String upward, the Sprang will follow it. This flow of the Sprang in the direction of the bend results in a buildup of Anti-Sprang in the non-bent Strings, which translates in this Earthly sonic realm to a decrease in pitch.
Thus is the nature of the awesome force of the Whammy. Take this knowledge, my friends, and use it wisely on your journey, and may all thy Whammying be enlightened by it.
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I used to practice with a floating trem Ibanez. Bending a note and holding another was a bitch, but I got around it by applying pressure on the bridge with my pick hand. It took my pick away from the strings momentarily and was tricky to control, but it worked when I needed it to. Never heard of anyone else doing that. I found a more permanent solution by ditching the whammy altogether.