New trem blocks for import Strats

[Dauntless]

The trem arm hole!
They've updated thier page to reflect that 50% sometimes are off.
Jay also offered me an upgrade kit, with proper bridge plate or send it back.
I'll decide tomorrow.

[ZMAN]

The trem arm hole!
They've updated thier page to reflect that 50% sometimes are off.
Jay also offered me an upgrade kit, with proper bridge plate or send it back.
I'll decide tomorrow.

Thanks for clarifying that. It is great to get a heads up so you can order the correct parts BEFORE you take it apart. Did he say anything about the mounting screws size?

[Dauntless]

It looks to me that this is the best bet
http://store.guitarfetish.com/minmeimstupt.html

Then you know you got everything.

[ZMAN]

Yes for 16 bucks more you get everything. Including the fours springs!
Sounds like a plan.

[ZMAN]

Boy I am totally fed up with that FDP. I just hope this forum doesn't get like them over there. There was a thread on there about the new blocks from GF and it was deleted. Nobody can understand why. That is the second one in a couple of weeks that they have "summarily executed" for no apparent reason.
From what I gleaned from the postings over there, the trem bar hole on the block will not line up with the hole in the bridge plate for the two point trems on most asian guitars. It will work for the 6 point though. Also you need an american threaded arm but they are only 4 bucks from GFS.

[Dauntless]

Go for the kit! :

Pretty much what I'm gonna do and when I have my compadre's mexican apart, I'll check this block out. If it fits, he can buy me a box of strings, for my effort.

[Bloozcat]

Boy I am totally fed up with that FDP. I just hope this forum doesn't get like them over there. There was a thread on there about the new blocks from GF and it was deleted. Nobody can understand why. That is the second one in a couple of weeks that they have "summarily executed" for no apparent reason.
From what I gleaned from the postings over there, the trem bar hole on the block will not line up with the hole in the bridge plate for the two point trems on most asian guitars. It will work for the 6 point though. Also you need an american threaded arm but they are only 4 bucks from GFS.

There's a little history on this subject at FDP...

About 2-years ago, there was a very heated debate about steel trem blocks on FDP. It was so heated that Jim Callaham and a rep from Fender (Mike somebody, I can't remember), got into the fray. Acusations about the quality of the Callaham block and the Fender block flew back and forth, with each side claiming the superior product, with the best steel. Callaham, without saying that Fender's steel was inferior, claimed that his steel block was made the way that the old "vintage" blocks from the 50's and early 60's were. Same steel, same construction. His claim suggested that Fender no longer used the same quality of steel or construction. Mike from Fender defended the Fender block vehemently, saying that the quality of the steel was the same as it had always been. Callaham and others countered with the arguement that the string holes were counter-sunk deeper on the newer Fender blocks, thus affecting the tone adversely. All the while this was going on, posters by the dozens were adding their opinions in defense of their preferred product. It was quite entertaining, to say the least. It was probably one of the most interesting debates I've seen on FDP.

There is also one additional possibility for the deletion of the thread mentioned: From what I've observed, FDP will sometimes delete threads with links to dealers who aren't sponsers of FDP. I'm not quite sure what criteria Chris Greene uses in making those calls (or if there actually is a set standard for doing so).

[Robert****]

Wow, that would have been interesting to read, Blooz! Who got the most support in the debate - Callaham or Fender?

By the way, I don't think anyone has a clue as to what criteria Greene uses for such actions. The word totalitarism comes to mind...

[Bloozcat]

I don't mean to highjack the thread but I know there are a number of Squier '51 lovers here and the new rage for that is this bridge. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...245191696&rd=1

I have no affiliation with the seller but over on The Squier '51 Modders Forum this bridge is really catchin on.
Maybe Jay could be persuaded to get some of these closer to home. :

I know of one Squier Strat that will get the new steel trem block and I am already spreading the word.

Again Thanks Spud.

M29

You just had to post this, didn't you M29....:

Just when I thought I had everything I could possibly want or need for my Squire 51, you come up with this. :

It just goes to prove the adage: Addicts don't like to be alone in their addictions....
I know, you're just returning the favor, right...?

[Bloozcat]

Wow, that would have been interesting to read, Blooz! Who got the most support in the debate - Callaham or Fender?

By the way, I don't think anyone has a clue as to what criteria Greene uses for such actions. The word totalitarism comes to mind...

I'd have to say that the results were inconclusive. Those who favored the Callaham, were unmoved by the Fender arguements, and vice-versa. It's hard to say how those on the fence were swayed, but they may have been more confused when the debate ended than when it started.

On a personal level, I really can't be too critical of Chris Greene. He is known to be more than a bit dictatorial, but he's always been ok with me...even complimentary on a couple of occasions. Still, the atmosphere at FDP in general is not as friendly, open, and easy going as it is here...:

[sunvalleylaw]

That seems fair enough. But, although I am not a member there (well a think maybe I am, I just never log in), what is the point of discussing and sharing guitar if it is not friendly, open and easy going.

I suppose it is "serious business" for some, but that would risk ruining it for me. I saw an article in Time last night (nerd talk was the name of the piece in the mag with Mandela on the cover) that indicates harsh talk is somewhat of a norm with some commenters on the net. I have no real reason to spend my time subjecting myself to that sort of thing though. Thanks Robert, for creating a place that is friendly, open and easy going! :

[ZMAN]

I'd have to say that the results were inconclusive. Those who favored the Callaham, were unmoved by the Fender arguements, and vice-versa. It's hard to say how those on the fence were swayed, but they may have been more confused when the debate ended than when it started.

On a personal level, I really can't be too critical of Chris Greene. He is known to be more than a bit dictatorial, but he's always been ok with me...even complimentary on a couple of occasions. Still, the atmosphere at FDP in general is not as friendly, open, and easy going as it is here...:

Thanks for the info Bloozcat. I was over there for many years and I had no issues. Then for some reason after I got into the Squier guitars, and that portion of the FDP I found a lot of deletions and censorship. Also I read Chris's manifesto and it basically says I own it I run it for profit and if you don't like it here is the hole the carpenter made. (An old Newfie saying).
All I was trying to do was help out a fellow FDPr and answer questions that were asked. When I had three or four threads that I had answered deleted, I felt that this is not what the internet is about. I had spoken to Spudman over there and he mentioned this site so I gave it a try. I agree with you 100 per cent that this is a much more easy going forum and it does seem to try to help a fellow player/collector. As I get older I now realize what valuable experience is gained by a lifetime in a certain hobby. I learned this first hand in the collector car hobby before I got back in guitars. The other thing I like is that most of the information is presented in a fashion that lets a beginner feel less intimiidated and can ask even a very basic question.
Cudos to you guys and lets really make an effort to keep it that way.
Brian

[sunvalleylaw]

Your experiences are interesting, Blooz and Zman. I came into this place an abject beginner a year and several months ago. I am glad I landed in this place almost out of the box (I found it through Dolphinstreet looking at Vox amphs) and am glad I did. Ok, I am way off topic now, but what the hey.

[M29]

M29

[Big_Rob]

I was going to post asking about the GFS trem block but I found the thread I was looking for. The more I think about it, im just going to buy the whole trem with the block.

[Bloozcat]

Jay at GFS is certainly a smart, opportunistic businessman. He gives you what you need, at a good price, and he stands behind his products. He must spend a bit of time monitoring music web sites, because he seems to have a knack for bringing to market the things people are asking for. Inexpensive, steel block replacement tremolos are just the latest no brainer product he's done this with. You gotta admire a guy like that.

[Spudman***]

He must spend a bit of time monitoring music web sites, because he seems to have a knack for bringing to market the things people are asking for. Inexpensive, steel block replacement tremolos are just the latest no brainer product he's done this with. You gotta admire a guy like that.

He must do that.
After I got disillusioned with Callaham as far as getting blocks made for my Squiers I stared a petition on a popular forum for Squiers. Maybe he watched those threads?

[Duff]

First I'd like to say that this is a great site. The atmosphere is not like a bunch of overly pompous engineers that only want to talk about "data" and have no room for "feelings", and "vibes", or gut feeling opinions: just data. Almost no one argues and the arguments are brief and handled like people who care about each other.

Another thing I'd like to mention is a conclusion I reached at the FDP several years ago when I first bought my tweed special edition Hot Rod Deluxe.

You wouldn't believe how down on HRDs they were. They criticized your posts, for the most part, and degraded your HRD like it was total junk and focused on point to point antique amps and twin reverbs, various expensive reissues, and bassman's. Stuff like that. When you asked about a HRD they dismissed you like you were second or third class and degraded the amps. As a result of their complaining about HRDs I took mine in to an authorized repair shop and had all the cold welds resoldered under the warranty. Evidently they were not impressed with the pcb's and considered the HRDs throw away amps; a sentiment not shared by the authorized tech that worked on mine and told me that he has seen many of them and that they are well liked amps. Also probably the most sold amp in the world.

Curiously, after not frequenting the FDP for some time I recently noticed that they are all excited about the HRDs and there is a club and all sorts of praise of the amp going on over there. That atmosphere certainly changed as far as accepting HRDs went. I couldn't believe what I was reading after having received such a cold reception years ago. There are some great experts over there though, for sure. Like Bill M. They also really accepted the Super Champ XD immediately when it came out, curiously. I guess they like the clean channel. There was much, much criticism of the clean channel of the HRDx when it first came out.

Anyone else remember their dismissal of the HRDx as a serious Fender?

Also, I had read that the trem hole on the new GFS block didn't match up with something and I'm glad to hear that there is a solution.

I wonder now, however, if the new more massive block and the replacement bridge produce the claimed improvement of tone. I would like to pick one of these up if they make a big difference. It wouldn't surprise me if it makes a highly noticeable difference in tone. Neil Young evidently puts a lot of metal on his electric guitar to improve its sound, amongst other secret things.

My personal, uneducated, opinion is that the more mass your guitar has, in the right places of course, the better it will sound. Or should I say, the more different the sound will be. Kind of like how really heavy amps sound different than thin light ones of the same power rating. The added mass must get into absorbing and transforming and re-radiating the energy. Like the difference between a speaker pushing 25 watts inside a cardboard box as opposed to the same speaker resonating inside a solid, ported and well designed heavy mahogany speaker cabinet.

Therefore, some people use brass nuts on their guitars and put in heavy metal blocks and special alloy bridges and saddles and such. Some people even put in heavy metal pickguards. All of this adds mass and must affect the tone of a really well made guitar, mahogany or otherwise. Not necessarilly making it better, but different.

Like a solid light weight acoustic guitar made out of delicate tone woods and built with inherent strength but very light would probably sound incredible and I'm sure there are delicate items like this out there.

Nevertheless, I'm interested in getting a heavy steel tremolo block that fits the hole on my guitar and trying it out. I bet it would sound significantly different just like Jay says.

Duffy

[Bloozcat]

I've replaced enough cast trem blocks with steel ones where I can most definitely confirm that there is a beneficial change in the tone.

Words like "chime", "ring", and "sustain", are all accurate descriptions of what you get from a steel trem block. Now, of course, I'm speaking of guitars that were properly set up, with no additional problems that might contribute to poor tone, like a bad nut, un-level frets, poor intonation, bad bridge saddles, etc. Just comparing the cast block to a lead free, cold rolled steel block, the steel produces better tone. And I've found this to be just as true with the heavier cast trem blocks as well. The steel block is significantly better than those also.

As I've done with all other guitars I've owned that came with cast metal trem blocks, I've just ordered one of the new GFS steel block tremolo's as a replacement for the cast block unit that came in the SX SST P-90 guitar I recently purchased. It's a cheap fix for a tone sucking problem, IMHO.