The terms vibrato and tremolo are often used interchangeably by both guitarists and manufacturers, which might make you a little confused about their meanings.
In this short article, let's find out what the two terms actually mean and their history.
Vibrato
Vibrato refers to rapid changes in the pitch (frequency) of a note. It involves either moving a string slightly up and down from its normal position on a particular fret or shaking your hand while holding a particular note. It has been used by players of fretted instruments for centuries to add expression to music.
Tremolo
Tremolo refers to a trembling effect produced by changes in the volume (amplitude) of a note, as you would hear if you added tremolo to your signal using an amp with a built-in tremolo, such as a number of Fender amps, or a tremolo effects pedal.
To summarize, vibrato deals with a change in pitch while tremolo deals with a change in volume. Therefore, all the ‘tremolo’ systems installed on guitars that are used to change the pitch of the notes the guitar market should actually be called vibrato systems.
An Historical Mistake
When Leo Fender invented the synchronized tremolo system, which, as we now know, is actually a vibrato system, the company named and marketed it as a tremolo system. And they never corrected their mistake. This led to other manufacturers also incorrectly calling their vibrato systems a tremolo.
