Review: Hantug Titanium Guitar Hardware – Fixed Bridge & Vintage Trem Block Insights
- Barış Şahin
- Aug 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 2
It all started many years ago. I think it was 2011. At the time, I was writing for a national wide paper magazine. That’s when Ertu, who worked at a high-tech manufacturing company in Ankara producing aerospace and medical parts, reached out to me. Over the years, with Ertu's support, I had the chance to own one of my all-time favorite guitars and access a number of outstanding guitar parts.
The most important piece in this story is a guitar I named "Titania". Under my direction, we built a one-off instrument that largely borrowed from the Suhr Guthrie Govan Set Neck design. Structurally, though, Hantug delivered something truly exceptional — the result was a magnificent tone machine. A few years later, a local luthier built me a custom guitar for review and feature purposes. For this instrument, i took design inspiration from the Ibanez JS/Radius aesthetic but opted for a hardtail bridge configuration. Thanks to Ertu i had another Hantug bridge in my inventory.
The first topic of this article is the fixed bridges used on those guitars.
Hantug Fixed Bridge
The core design is very similar to the Gotoh GTC-102 — in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re fully interchangeable. I once replaced the fixed bridge on that JS Custom, with a Hipshot, and the screw holes matched up well. So I’d say it should also be a direct fit for Ibanez models that come stock with the GTC-102.
Anyway, the key point I want to highlight here is the combination of titanium alloy saddles and a steel baseplate. These two elements have a noticeable impact in two major areas. The first one is tonal — and that’s where the debate really starts. We’re talking about the never-ending “tonewood” discussion.
As for me, I’m in the “yes, tonewood matters” camp, but I also believe its impact is not as extreme or as dramatic as some have claimed over the years. However, when we talk about overtones, resonances, and upper/lower harmonics, then yes — tonewood can make a difference.
And I think titanium alloys should be evaluated on a similar level. In other words, if you install a titanium tremolo or bridge, crank your compression and drive pedals, and then say, “I don’t hear any difference — tonewood is a myth, titanium is a myth,” — well, sorry, but that’s not how this works. It's actually expected that you wouldn't notice a difference in such a setup, because the tonal richness titanium can offer has already been flattened or buried within your signal chain.
Anyway, for those who can hear it, let’s move on.
Titanium alloys, as many of you might’ve read elsewhere, are often associated with increased treble presence. But here’s the thing — titanium itself isn’t necessarily “bright.” What bridge materials really do is act like filters. Some materials transmit certain frequencies more efficiently, while others tend to dampen or remain neutral to specific ranges. The coloration you hear in the final sound is a result of this filtering behavior.
Listen the soundwaves of Hantug Titanium and stainless steel below.
So in short, the main tonal benefit of titanium alloys is their ability to retain high frequencies that might otherwise be lost. Brass, on the other hand, tends to sound a bit more mid-forward, simply because it transmits midrange better while slightly rolling off the highs.
For this reason, if your guitar is already rich in the high end shrill — or if you're not looking to emphasize the top-end any further — titanium alloys might not be the right choice for you. While they’ll definitely please those who crave clarity and definition, players who prefer darker, rounder tones may want to explore other options, especially brass. Just something to keep in mind.
The second key aspect — and one that’s far less debated — is durability.
I actively use Hantug fixed bridges on two of my guitars, both of which I’ve mentioned before in my pickup reviews, so they might already sound familiar to some of you. One is the Hantug Titania, and the other is the Custom JS. I’ve owned the Titania for about 14 years, and the Custom JS for 11 years now.
Over the years, I’ve strung these guitars with a wide variety of strings — just about every major brand and type you can think of. From Ernie Ball Super Slinkys to Elixirs, from nickel-plated sets to full stainless steel ones. On the Titania, I mostly used .010–.046 sets in standard tuning, whereas the Custom JS typically wore heavier gauges — I’ve even gone as thick as .011 and .012. For a long time I played it in standard tuning too, but over the past year or two, I’ve kept it in half-step down tuning.
In my opinion, these are ideal conditions to evaluate the wear resistance of a bridge and its saddles. Consider this: 14 years of continuous use (and even abuse), string changes, and tuning variations — that's quite a long time in terms of service life, and a serious endurance test for any hardware. And yet, the saddles show minimal wear; they are almost looking as good as new. Moreover there is no sign of corrosion, too. And believe me i’m not thw type of players whose hands don’t get sweat and have their strings never get old :) That’s why Hantug is quite a success.
In summary, Hantug’s fixed bridges — particularly with their titanium alloy saddles — strike an impressive balance between tone and longevity. Tonally, titanium doesn’t necessarily add more treble, but rather helps preserve high-end clarity by allowing upper frequencies to pass through with less loss — acting more as a filter than a booster. It brings out a detailed, articulate top-end without harshness. From a durability standpoint, titanium alloys used by Hantug offer outstanding resistance to wear, corrosion, and even string friction, if the precision of production is really good. After over a decade of use, under a wide range of string gauges and tunings, my Hantug saddles show minimal signs of fatigue — a testament to both material quality and engineering precision which is impossible to find any other rivals in the guitar part industry. Whether you're chasing subtle tonal refinement or simply want gear that lasts, titanium saddles — and Hantug’s craftsmanship — are definitely worth considering.
Hantug Vintage Style Trem Block
I won’t make this section too long, as most of what I’ll say here overlaps with the points I’ve already made above. This particular Hantug Vintage Style Trem Block was sent to me by Hantug back in 2013. I used it to modify the Gotoh GE101TSCS tremolo on my Nash S-57. Specifically, I replaced the stock steel block with this titanium one.
Since the trem block doesn’t come into direct contact with the strings, there’s no reason to expect wear in the same way you would with saddles. The real impact here is on the tonal side.
So, what did I hear or feel when switching from a steel trem block to a titanium one? To be honest, I didn’t notice a dramatic, night-and-day kind of difference. If I had swapped it out for a brass block, I suspect the tonal change would’ve been much more obvious. Still, I can’t say there was no difference at all.
As mentioned earlier, the most noticeable change was a bit more pronounced hi-end presence and increase of general clarity. I also observed a slight improvement in sustain. That said, I’m not going to claim something like, “The B string’s sustain at the 12th fret went from 3.2 seconds with the steel block to 4.8 seconds with the titanium one.” Nothing that drastic.
However, I had already been playing my Nash for about 2–3 years before installing the block, so I was pretty familiar with how the guitar behaved. Could there be a placebo effect involved? Sure — that's always a possibility. But based on my personal experience with my guitar both before and after the upgrade, I can confidently say that there was a difference.
Is it worth the investment? Very subjective. If your guitar is already built with high-end components and your setup (and your tone) allows you to hear subtle tonal nuances, then yes, it can absolutely be worth it. However, if your signal chain compresses and EQs everything heavily — or if you mostly play at low volume through digital gear — then the tonal improvements may be harder to notice. In fact, even under those conditions, I’d still recommend Hantug titanium parts — primarily for its outstanding resistance to wear.
Titanium trem blocks are a great match for players who are obsessed with clarity, harmonic richness, and fine tonal detail. They’re particularly suitable for modern Strat-style guitars, session players, or anyone who values precise articulation — especially in clean or lightly overdriven tones.
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Oh, thanks for interesting topic. Want to know you opinion on couple of things:
1) I agree that nut and saddle material and construction affects tone. Is there any scientific measurements for that? Any FR graphs? Like for pickups you have resonance frequencies, resistance, inductivity, etc.
2) Have you tried tusq/string saver saddles? I’m looking for least friction and least suck of natural tone. Tusq looks like good material for this. Akin to saddles used on acoustic guitars.
3) Trem blocks also called sustain blocks. Probably for a reason of affect on tone and sustain? Only mass, or material affects too? If the only puprose of sustain block is to add mass, does not use of titanium, more light weight…