Big trem blocks. Any difference?

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Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Anyone else have any thoughts on our trem blocks? Here at KGC, we do a number of things that really set us apart from any others out there...

  • We use a different, musical alloy of brass
  • We have designed the block so the angles of each hole is slightly different than any other manufacturer - this provides maximum sustain, resonance and tonal changes
  • All our blocks with a threaded trem hole incorporate our proprietary flop stop system - no stripping out, no chasing the bar around, NO FLOP!
  • Our blocks include Extra Long 5/8" Stainless Steel Screws (others charge for this)
  • Each block is HAND made and polished to a mirror shine on the outer (bottom) face

See www.killerguitarcomponents.com for more unique, tone products! Please feel free to email or call us any time with any questions you may have.
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Reminds me of the 70's....
Brass everywhere......
Most of those things where brittle and thin... :)
And rather heavy!
Oh well....another niche industry for the home tweakers and hotrodders....
Same with motorbikes and cars...
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Brass blocks make a big difference. Most people in the know don't want brass saddles though..they are a littel too oft right off the note.
Theres a bif difference in quality of brass. The older Charvel / Dimarzio stuff is a quality Brass Alloy compared to weak stuff like Guitar Fetish.
As far as the "musical Alloy", I don't buy it. Just my personal opinion.
I can direct you to a guy who uses great quality brass Alloy block and can make a brass block for you ( he's also on ebay) for way less than this dude with his 'musical' alloy line...about half cost..and yes..he's "just" a professional machinest ( smacks forehead)
The polishing and stuff is nice, but irrelevant to the quality of the block. My guy uses good qiuaity screws into the block.
The 'Musical 'alloy is good, Im not saying it isnt, but you don't NECASSARALY need it. Sorry.
 
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Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Everything makes a difference. The real questions are:

1. Is the improvement noticeable enough to justify the expense?

2. Are you actually trying to solve a problem, or do you simply need an excuse to spend money on your guitar?

3. Keeping the above two questions in mind, is it worthwhile to modify the guitar in question, or are you, to put it bluntly, polishing a turd?

These are personal questions, and the answers change depending who you ask. There are no hard and fast rules along the lines of "OMG put in a big cold rolled steel/brass/unobtainium block or you may as well BURN YOUR STRAT!!!"

Recently I've been of the mind that my money is better served saving up for a really, really nice guitar that needs no modifications, rather than spending a bit here and there on incremental mods on something I already have. It's a philosophy that served me well recently: my Gretsch Duo Jet is an amazing instrument that I am very happy to have saved up for. Putting the same amount of money into my existing fleet would not have gotten me anywhere.

I'm not saying everyone has to put down the screwdrivers and soldering irons though. What you do with your own money is your business.
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Vasshu the humanoid typhoon said:
Reminds me of the 70's....
Brass everywhere......
Most of those things where brittle and thin... :)
And rather heavy!
Oh well....another niche industry for the home tweakers and hotrodders....
Same with motorbikes and cars...
Click to expand...

What? Thin?? ..The Brass of the 70's was one of the best things about those old guitars..IMO. It was top grade al;loy, and really added susatin and girth to the sound, and part of the reason I made my 70's tribute Start assmebly with a vintage Charvekl Brass block and a brass nut.
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Yeah strats form the 70's...real premium POS!!!!! Same with most LP's...
Thin as in thin....
What is next???
Rods of lead in the guitars??
For more sooostain....awesome!
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I have a brass block on my SSS strat (home built) and a call. steel bloc on my HH strat (MIM). As I have had no other block the SSS strat I can't say. There was a big shift in sustain and clarify when I went from the small cases MIM block to the Call. block. It is not thinner really but much more articulate and it really sustains.
 
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Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Hehe!!
Well mostly steel, some have zinc, they make a humongeous amount of different bridges for their oem and build to specs stuff.(Gotoh who makes the Wilkinsons)
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

I suspect any difference is to a great extent dependent on the bridge block you have now. My experience is that the small die cast versions benefit the most.
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Hehe yeah...going from those small POS ones always makes some difference, but if you already have a uppermiddle or better guitar.....
Then it becomes more voodoo than reality, and good guitars sound good with or without a luxury vib...
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

MetalManiac said:
Brass blocks make a big difference. Most people in the know don't want brass saddles though..they are a littel too oft right off the note.
Theres a bif difference in quality of brass. The older Charvel / Dimarzio stuff is a quality Brass Alloy compared to weak stuff like Guitar Fetish.
As far as the "musical Alloy", I don't buy it. Just my personal opinion.
I can direct you to a guy who uses great quality brass Alloy block and can make a brass block for you ( he's also on ebay) for way less than this dude with his 'musical' alloy line...about half cost..and yes..he's "just" a professional machinest ( smacks forehead)
The polishing and stuff is nice, but irrelevant to the quality of the block. My guy uses good qiuaity screws into the block.
The 'Musical 'alloy is good, Im not saying it isnt, but you don't NECASSARALY need it. Sorry.
Click to expand...

MM,

You don't have to "buy" it if you don't want to, but... what we are calling our musical alloy is a certain alloy of brass that we found to be of the highest quality for manufacturing guitar components. Our research of many different compositions of brass lead us to this particular one that seemed to give the best tone, most sustain and best durability of any of the alloys we tried. It is not "our" alloy, it is just something we found and thought to be the best when compared to other alloys.

The proportions of copper, zinc and other metals in brass can make a significant difference in its effects on your guitars tone and amount of sustain. We (and many others) feel that we have found the perfect balance with the brass we are using. Try one - I bet you would agree.
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

killerguitar, Forgive me if this comes off as a little out of line here, but.....

There's 5 pages of a lot of talk about various adjectives. Both for and against the qualities of a brass vs. whatever other material, but other than that, there's nothing really here to substantiate anything.

Lets think realistically here for a second. You're a fairly new company and very new to this forum with, IMO, a self proclaimed superior product to a lot of other well established products. On top of that, again IMO, you're also charging top shelf prices on this stuff. Sorry bro, this place isn't exactly Ebay and most of the long timers here don't easily buy into hype.

So I guess I'm kind of issuing Killer Guitar Components a challenge. Put your product where your posts are. Why not put 10 or 20 of your blocks into the hands of some of the players here for free? There's nothing ventured on their part and with this being one of the busiest gear forums on the net, you have a lot to gain from some of the guys here giving your products real world reviews. What better to way to prove naysayers wrong?
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

9finger has a great idea! We have done this with picks and even amps.

I would gladly offer to be a test mule. I have several Floyd equipped guitar and have big blocks from other companies and can offer direct comparison.

There was an amp co that did this: Offered us free trial and if we liked, we could purchase at a great discount and asked us to spread the word..
 
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Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

Got a few crappy guitars....installed tone metal in them all now...
Much better suuuuuuuu......ssssssuuuuuuu.....sssssss....taaaa...in now!


















Yeah rings like a doorbell!
:D
 
Re: Big trem blocks. Any difference?

9finger said:
killerguitar, Forgive me if this comes off as a little out of line here, but.....

There's 5 pages of a lot of talk about various adjectives. Both for and against the qualities of a brass vs. whatever other material, but other than that, there's nothing really here to substantiate anything.

Lets think realistically here for a second. You're a fairly new company and very new to this forum with, IMO, a self proclaimed superior product to a lot of other well established products. On top of that, again IMO, you're also charging top shelf prices on this stuff. Sorry bro, this place isn't exactly Ebay and most of the long timers here don't easily buy into hype.

So I guess I'm kind of issuing Killer Guitar Components a challenge. Put your product where your posts are. Why not put 10 or 20 of your blocks into the hands of some of the players here for free? There's nothing ventured on their part and with this being one of the busiest gear forums on the net, you have a lot to gain from some of the guys here giving your products real world reviews. What better to way to prove naysayers wrong?
Click to expand...

Great idea.
 
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