I know nothing about these.
The story: I took it to a repair shop to replace those awful locking Schallers with their way superior cousin the Schaller M6 mini. The guys in the shop called to inform me that they'd added a string tree after they'd already drilled the hole. There's slippage whenever I bend and I can hear that metal on metal sound when the string slides around in that trough.
I'm a function over form type of guy, so I can live with it if that's the primo string tree on the market. Aesthetically, I never wanted a string tree in the first place and I think that piece of plastic looks cheap and ugly on that beautiful headstock. Not a custom job but I lucked out in the neck department. They grabbed a piece of wood with some nice straight lines and no knots.
A string trees purpose on a Fender style necks purpose is to keep the string down into the nut. Fender style necks don't have any tilt back in them and they need these to compensate for the longer string length away fron the nut on the higher strings.
If you use your trem a lot or have a Floyd type trem, the roller type shown helps prevent wierd noises from the tree when you use the trem. Strings sometimes get caught on the standard style and go boing when the string slides on them.
I really don't think it is an issue whether it is plastic or metal in it's affect on tone. asthetically, it is up to you. It doesn't look too bad to me.
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming......
like the passengers in his car.
That's are much the standard roller string tree currently being sold by Stew-Mac and Allparts -- should be good stuff. I have an all metal roller tree on my Reverend Slingshot. I think it looks a little better than yours, but I doubt it functions any better.
-=tension & release=-
