If you were able to, it would be possible to carve the whole area on an angle so there was less bulk. This would most likely enable the plate to be reused, though you'd have to shorten 1 screw at the very least.
You can off the corner, like elite strats I think. This too would allow the use of the plate and all of the screws at full length. Of course you'd need to go at the plate with a grinder to match the curve and possibly redrill 1 hole. This might be also a case for some dwelling action too.
Strats, tales and Les Paul's suffer from the 'vintage' issue. Most purchasers are wanting a fully vintage like guitar irrespective of budget. So from the cheapest lines if you were to replace the old style interface there would be outrage. I think the Gibson access joint models have been slightly extended in range of late.
But anyways your input the other week helped me to choose the strat, so thank you.
