Big trem blocks. Any difference?

[Chad]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

No, I haven't seen others' comparisons, but I used ring-mounted pickups and decided to go the direct-mounted route. Two drawbacks that can be blessings... EVERY vibration, spring noise, whammy bar squeak, etc can be heard clearly in the pickup if you're not playing notes and, as a result I noticed microphonics can be bad under really loud situations. Pickups don't just pickup string vibration. ANY vibration traveling within the guitar will be heard by the pickup, ring-mounted or not but it's amplified by the legs being screwed into the wood and, in the case of Trembuckers, the pole screws touching the wood. Vibrations entering the coils, translates into some kind of sound, for good or bad.... sometimes bad. You just have to tame the beast. I noticed, regardless of the pickups I've tried, the spanky "Strat" tone still comes through better than when I mounted pickups on a ring. It's not for everybody though.

Cool. I've had a few guitars with hard-mounted pickups. And I've had a range of pickguard and ring-mounted guitars too. Just have never experienced both setups on the same instrument. Not popular these days, but I remember J. Yuenger used to have the rings removed on his Icemans in favor of hard-mounted. He was one of my heroes in my younger days. Sidenote: he has a website with his email address listed. We emailed a few months back and that was pretty cool.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

His may simply benefit from the cheaper compund that Guirarfetish sells

Myself and others have complained that the GFS block sometimes (often?) is too big for the cavity. I needed to take it to a tech and have him route out a bit in there to get it to stop rubbing on the side.

The block itself was nice and heavy, and made a noticeable contribution to sustain.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Myself and others have complained that the GFS block sometimes (often?) is too big for the cavity. I needed to take it to a tech and have him route out a bit in there to get it to stop rubbing on the side.

The block itself was nice and heavy, and made a noticeable contribution to sustain.

Funny story... I still use my 1 1/2" thick Alder Affinity body because it resonates and sounds so good, but when I replaced the trem to the Wilkinson, which has a US-Fender spec spacing and block, the block LITERALLY is even with the back of the guitar, which means the spring ends stick up higher than the body. So even if I wanted to use the back plate, I couldn't. But I'm super happy with my Strat right now, regardless. The slightly thinner body, in my view, is a blessing for what I want out of this thing. I didn't have to do any routing though.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I am one of those who feels that hard-mounting pickups makes a big difference in tone.. whether good or bad is subjective, but there definitely IS a difference to me. Like I said, take the whole vibration path from tuners to claw, get the best components you can afford and it will make THE difference most people are looking for. As far as woods, I feel that makes the biggest difference when the pickup is actually mounted on the wood or indirectly using a wood spacer like I've done. But everything counts in the big picture. Take the exact chain of hardware from tuners to claw, pickups, pots and neck and use them on a mahogany body, then stick them in an ash body. There WILL be a pretty significant change because of the way the wood itself vibrates the components screwed into it.

That would also depend on how strong the springs are and in the case of a Strat on whether the pickguard is convex or concave.

In general I agree. A Strat is full of wobble with the trem block in the trem screws, the long neck in it's pocket and the plastic-sheet mounted pickups. That's forming a lot of sound.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

$70 for a block is just dumb.

For a strat, I would suggest a steel block. The difference will vary depending on wither or not you float the trem as well.

Steel

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Solid-Steel-Upgrade-tremolo-Blocks_c_221.html

Brass

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Solid-Brass-Upgrade-Tremolo-Blocks-_c_220.html

I've been wanting to test these in my 99 Mexican Standard strat... i have a love hate thing with that axe... oneday i love it and think about modding it, and the next i feel like i'd be better off just buying a new axe instead of sinking money into this one... But $20 for a Block is not bad at all... maybe worth trying...

 

[babies]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I have 2 mid 90's strats still. They both had full size zinc blocks & vintage string spacing. went the whole steel block, Calhman block route. not that big of differance for what you pay. maybe on one of those little blocks yes but on fullsized, not in my guitars. I never gave a thought about it untill quite a few years ago this was a HOT debate on the Fender forum. I have it saved on a hardrive somewhere. another point? shallow sting holes? full depth ? compensated --

 

[Varg]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I didn't upgrade the trem, it's the bog standard one that's in there.
I may get a Wilkinson one - they come with steel blocks, and I could use that spare Squier trem for another build.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I didn't upgrade the trem, it's the bog standard one that's in there.
I may get a Wilkinson one - they come with steel blocks, and I could use that spare Squier trem for another build.

You will have to re-drill the holes, though. Just wood glue/toothpick the old holes, sand flat and mark the new trem holes as accurately as possible in relation to the old holes. The two outer holes will be slightly outside the old ones.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I personally believe strat trem material, saddle material and block material all make a difference in tone. Whether it is subtle or drastic depends on so many factors, including how sensitive your hearing is.

I can personally hear the difference between a ceramic mag and an alnico, and in my experience I can hear the difference between standard Fender saddles and graphtec saddles and then again a callaham saddle, and the difference between pot metal blocks and a callaham cold rolled steel block. Maybe some people can't hear the difference, don't want to hear the difference, don't hear those frequencies very well....whatever.

On the half dozen strats I have owned I upgraded at least the saddles and blocks on every one. I can really hear the difference between a pot metal (zinc) block and a brass block. I've only used a brass block once and it really warmed the tone up too much for me. I prefer the clarity and shimmer in the tone when using a callaham steel block.

Perhaps spending $70 on a block or $300 on the full callaham setup isn't for everyone, but upgrading at least the saddles and block to something more than the cheap import stuff will make a difference in tone and can have an effect on string breakage....depending on how the string travels through the slot after it passes over the saddle. Some of those slots are cut so the string presses directly against the edge of the slot, which is not very good.

After being very unsatisfied with strat tones for nearly a decade, I finally realized that the best sounding tones for me come from Callaham bridges, saddles and trem blocks. I put a callaham setup on an Am Standard, a Hwy 1 and my custom built strat. The only one that I couldn't compare a before and after tone on was my custom build, as it had callaham from the beginning. All of my other strats improved in tone when I added the callaham hardware. Better clarity, better note sustain, bloom....whatever. The tone was crisper but fuller, if that makes any sense. More 3D sounding. Even changing just the saddles from stock crap to Graphtec produced a noticeably warmer and smoother tone, if that's what you're looking for.

I just believe in using the best material you can afford, whatever it is. I believe that everything in the tone chain from the strings to the pick material to the neck joint to the pickup mounts to the bridge.....all of it makes a difference.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

As I said earlier, it depends if the Op's guitar is worthy of the upgrade.

His may simply benefit from the cheaper compund that Guirarfetish sells, my guitars however totally benefited from the Killer brass blocks.

There are always cheap copies of quality products, then there's the quality stuff.

aint dumb if its worth it to you bro! Nothing too good for our babies!
Only thing I cant personally justify is a titanium block.. Too much $ and seems the goal is to add mass/weight. Ti reduces the weight.. Maybe it benefits by still adding the mass, but.... again, go back to item 1.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I understand there is a difference in metals, but I would have to see some real data from these companies, and compare with my own ears before I will assume one company is better than another.

The only person mentioned here that I would trust blind is Bill Callaham.

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I've used several "Hoockey" Blocks from Keith on eBay...

http://shop.ebay.com/hoockey/m.html

Great guy, excellent service, quality product at a fair price and they are definitely an improvement over the thin stock OFR Blocks...plus he makes them for a number of other Licensed Floyds as well.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

IMO, Floyd style bridges see the biggest improvement from a heavier block. They are one of the lightest bridges used, so the extra mass is a definite improvement. I don't know about all this other crap like titanium saddle inserts and stainless screws, etc...But adding one of the big honking brass blocks in there will be a huge benefit to any Floyd users tone.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

... upgrading at least the saddles and block to something more than the cheap import stuff will make a difference in tone and can have an effect on string breakage...

Yeah, he could probably just do that and it would make a big difference. At least the baseplates of the Squiers are steel.

 

[malymal86]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

i changed the whole bridge to a fender mexican strat bridge and block my squier plays like a fender easy 30$ upgrade

 

[Varg]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

You will have to re-drill the holes, though. Just wood glue/toothpick the old holes, sand flat and mark the new trem holes as accurately as possible in relation to the old holes. The two outer holes will be slightly outside the old ones.

I ordered the Wilkinson one - it comes with slots rather than round mounting holes, so there's a possibility I might not need to redrill any holes. No problem if I do, but I'd rather not.

 

[eviltobz]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Do you guys who find that the trem block has a notable effect have the trem springs set up with a light tension so that you can dive the trem easily, or have any of you got it really tightened up to try and make it more of a fixed bridge vibe but still find a significant difference? I'm doing a bit of renovation on my strat and have never really liked the tone a whole lot, but i love the feel of the guitar. i'm not a fan of fender trems though (floyds or fixed bridge for me) so I whack the spring tension up quite a bit. would a bigger block be so likely to help then? My current block is super tiny.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Do you guys who find that the trem block has a notable effect have the trem springs set up with a light tension so that you can dive the trem easily, or have any of you got it really tightened up to try and make it more of a fixed bridge vibe but still find a significant difference? I'm doing a bit of renovation on my strat and have never really liked the tone a whole lot, but i love the feel of the guitar. i'm not a fan of fender trems though (floyds or fixed bridge for me) so I whack the spring tension up quite a bit. would a bigger block be so likely to help then? My current block is super tiny.

Are you talking about resting the block at the wood, aka blocking it?

 

[eviltobz]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

nope, just cranking the springs back. the lazy man's blocking fender trems are dive only so a heap of spring tension keeps them pretty stable against the top of the body like a fixed bridge.

 

[killerguitar]

Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Look here.
I have their blocks on all my guitars.
The only thing I'm not impressed with is their trem claw.. it's too big.

http://www.killerguitarcomponents.com/

Wolf, contact me about the claw. We have changed the design so that it is not quite so bulky. I would be happy to exchange your claw for one of the newly designed ones. rick@killerguitarcomponents.com