Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

[nuntius]

Ok this will be going on a Mahogany/Maple Strat, maple neck rosewood board. I dropped the tele idea because i already feel at home with strats and the extra cutaway suits me because i ocasioanally do solo high up the board.


Im wondering how much the bridge design affects tone.

When I was trying out all the different guitars in stores I noticed that though i didnt like les pauls on the whole, the tune o matic bridge felt very comforable to me.

how much would it change a strats tone vs a string through hardtail?

also feel free to suggest any other designs

 

[nuntius]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

The pup config will be H/S/S or H/S/H but i've not decided 100% either way.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

If you want to take the opinion of some die hard strat players to heart, one of the things that gives a strat it's unique tone is the trem bridge and the springs. For example, on the Eric Clapton Signature Strat, it come with the trem bridge, but blocked from the factory, just like Eric does on all of his strats? Fender asked Eric (if my memory is correct) if he wanted to just make his sig strat a hardtail, and he said no because it alters the sound. I've read a few posts at the Fender Forum that echo the same sentiment. Take that for what it's worth.

I think the tone on a hardtail strat would fall somewhere between a strat and a tele. With the mahogany body you're going to have a richer, meatier sound anyhow. It will be a cool guitar, just not sure how strat like in the traditional sense. Perhaps some others with actual experience with hardtail strats can chime in.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

I had no idea Clapton did that....interesting!

I like Robert Cray's tone & his sig strat is a hardtail.

Is yours gonna be a string-thru-body??? I think the sustain will be the thing you notice most. I was thinking of building a Carvin fixed bridge kit & those HIPSHOTs appear to be pretty sweet.......never used one though.

 

[nuntius]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

Well I want the tone to be somewhere between a les paul and strat/tele i suppose (hence the bridge hum)

The string through bridge im debating.

I have one of these - http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...dges/Schaller_Non-tremolo_Roller_Bridges.html

going on to my gordon smith since the bridge didnt have a route for string through.

Apparently (according to guitar world) this type of bridge design offers the most sustain

as it has a screw which locks all the parts together so they sustain as one and the large baseplate offers a lot of energy transfer to the body.

I'm getting it put on on wednesday. If i like it i may even get another for the new strat

 

[Artie]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

I can tell you about my own small experience. I have a cheap-ish Johnson Strat that wouldn't stay in tune. I was all ready to convert the tremolo to a hardtail. Had the block of wood all carved and everything.

Then something came up where I needed to put it back together to play before I had done it. I simply added two springs, (for a total of 5), and tightened down the claw, and bridge screws.

The improvement in sound was significant. So much so, that I've abandoned the idea of permanently transforming it into a hardtail. The sound is richer, fuller, smoother. All "them" kinda words.

 

[rspst14]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

Just remember that a Tuneomatic bridge requires an angled neck pocket, so if you go that route, whoever installs it will need to route the neck pocket for the proper angle.

Ryan

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

I think you should only get a hard tail bridge on a guitar where you're SURE you won't a trem bar. But unless you buy a hardtail strat, don't screw with the bridge!

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

I find a TOM more comfertable than a normal hardtail, because it's angled and is higher up from the body. I can dig in a little more without worrying about hitting the guitar itself (I like digging into my PM's HARD). It also just feels better to me. Why don't you get the best of both worlds, and have a string thru TOM?

 

[pureoldsound]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

How about this one?
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...Hipshot_Hardtail_Bridge/Pictures.html#details

 

[nuntius]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

Pureold sound - i looked at that one, but a lot of people said that brass seems to make your sound more mellow (gets rid of some of your highs)

Just remember that a Tuneomatic bridge requires an angled neck pocket, so if you go that route, whoever installs it will need to route the neck pocket for the proper angle.

dont worry im sure they know what they're doing

I think you should only get a hard tail bridge on a guitar where you're SURE you won't a trem bar. But unless you buy a hardtail strat, don't screw with the bridge!

never use them anyway!

 

[some_dude]

Re: Hardtail bridges - Pro's and Con's

I screwed the claw down and blocked mine. I prefer the sound of a Strat with a trem in it.

I also installed a set of Graphtech saddles, which were a big improvement over the vintage S saddles, and made it much easier to palm mute on since my hand wasn't catching on the intonation screws anymore.