What type of trem for my project guitar?

G

guitarplayer

New member
What type of trem should I get for a strat type project guitar. It would just have 1 bridge humbucker. I want a really good tone trem but I dont want it to go out of tune real easily. As for best sounding trems, Ive read that the vintage 1950s trems were really nice but I dont have that kind of money. What are some good vintage style strat trems? How do they compair to the 50s ones. I know the trem block has a lot to do with the sound but does the rest of the trem really affect sound much? The other thing I was thinking of would be a floyd rose because that would definately stay in tune but how would it sound. Some people Ive talked to say they arent bright and others say they are. Do they sound anything like the vintage style trems? What brands of floyd roses are good? Im leaning more towards the vintage style trem but I do a lot of 70s and 80s cover songs so Id be doing diverbombs and stuff. I dont think Ill go crazy on it but I do a lot of van halen songs so I would need something that would stay in tune for those. I would get locking tuners and I think I would use 5 springs but what else would help it stay in tune?
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

the guy who invented fire said:
I would get a Callaham tremolo...with a well cut nut and good tuning keys there is NO need for a Floyd Rose...
Click to expand...

Yep...or the Fender '57/'62 Reissue. Those are about $99 and are identical to those Fender made from '54 to about '65. Lew
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

the guy who invented fire said:
I would get a Callaham tremolo...with a well cut nut and good tuning keys there is NO need for a Floyd Rose...
Click to expand...
Do yourself a favor and get a Callaham assembly. If you want to really splurge you can get some Graphtech Ferraglide saddles...I like them a lot and have never broken a string at the bridge. If you want a perfectly intonated guitar all over the neck get an Earvana nut and some decent tuners (I like locking tuners myself but strictly for ease of string change).
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Lewguitar said:
Yep...or the Fender '57/'62 Reissue. Those are about $99 and are identical to those Fender made from '54 to about '65. Lew
Click to expand...


What strats do the Fender trems fit.
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Lew,

Have you tried the Callaham? I really belive that the Callaham trem is better that the Fender reissue...the Fender is a great trem if you are gonna put 5 springs in it and never use the trem but because the Fender is made from hot rolled steel it is softer than the Callaham (I am having problems with one of my Fender trems right now because the block is already wearing out). The Callaham saddles are also a bit better because the string slot is cut deeper, the windings will get cought no the saddles of the Fender trem and they don't get caught on the Callaham saddles, the Callaham trem also comes with a cold rolled bar which is LOTS stronger than the Fender (I have broken 1 bar and bent 2 Fender bars in the past 6 months). I am not bashing the Fender trem...if you are building a Strat and you are not gonna use the trem the Fender is fine...even if you are gonna use the trem of light stuff it's great but if you are really gonna get on it the Callaham trem by far eges out the Fender trem, plus Callaham has retro kits for MIA, MIJ, and MIM Strats and the Fender reiossue Trem will only fit on reissue Fenders and old Fenders.
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

+1 for the Callaham.

i got one for my strat project and i have a USACG Mahogany strat with a JB trembucker with a Callaham.
it is a beautifull piece of work. that is what i said when i took it out of the box. and they have the best customer service. send the trem right out the next day.

however if you do Van Halen stuff then maybe a Floyd might be better. Just remember that all most of his stuff that we love is done with a fender trem. and yes so is Eruption for people who dont think it is. that is NOT A FLOYD.

i think that Eddie just has amazing equipment and knowledge and support to make his floyd sound so good.
the Vintage style bridge will sound fatter and have more sustain. It is physics so it has too.
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Would the Callaham or Fender reissue trems stay in tune for van halen stuff? Are there any differences in sound between them? How big are the trem blocks in them because isnt that the most important part that concerns tone?
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

O yea, would a Callaham or Fender riessue trem fit on a strat type guitar that I would buy on ebay. What kind of specs should I look for to have them fit?
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

the guy who invented fire said:
Lew,

Have you tried the Callaham? I really belive that the Callaham trem is better that the Fender reissue...the Fender is a great trem if you are gonna put 5 springs in it and never use the trem but because the Fender is made from hot rolled steel it is softer than the Callaham (I am having problems with one of my Fender trems right now because the block is already wearing out). The Callaham saddles are also a bit better because the string slot is cut deeper, the windings will get cought no the saddles of the Fender trem and they don't get caught on the Callaham saddles, the Callaham trem also comes with a cold rolled bar which is LOTS stronger than the Fender (I have broken 1 bar and bent 2 Fender bars in the past 6 months). I am not bashing the Fender trem...if you are building a Strat and you are not gonna use the trem the Fender is fine...even if you are gonna use the trem of light stuff it's great but if you are really gonna get on it the Callaham trem by far eges out the Fender trem, plus Callaham has retro kits for MIA, MIJ, and MIM Strats and the Fender reiossue Trem will only fit on reissue Fenders and old Fenders.
Click to expand...

It might be better. Especially if you say so! :beerchug: But the Fender '62 Reissue is an exact recreation of the original Fender vibrato and sounds GREAT! If the Callaham sounds better than the Fender '62 Reissue, than it also sounds better than an original 40 year old '62 Fender Vibrato... :cool3: ...and it sounds like the Callaham is an improvement over the original rather than being an exact replica of the original.
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Lewguitar said:
It might be better. Especially if you say so! :beerchug: But the Fender '62 Reissue is an exact recreation of the original Fender vibrato and sounds GREAT! If the Callaham sounds better than the Fender '62 Reissue, than it also sounds better than an original 40 year old '62 Fender Vibrato... :cool3: ...and it sounds like the Callaham is an improvement over the original rather than being an exact replica of the original.
Click to expand...


Well...I have been told that in the 50's and early 60's that Fender tremblocks were made from cold rolled steel and that sometime in the late 60's that changed...do you know if that is true?
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

the guy who invented fire said:
Well...I have been told that in the 50's and early 60's that Fender tremblocks were made from cold rolled steel and that sometime in the late 60's that changed...do you know if that is true?
Click to expand...

I don't. I do know that Fender '62 RI Vibrato sounds exactly like the three oldies that I have. I broke the tremolo arm off in the block of my '63 Strat about 25 years ago and ruined the block trying to get it out.

So I put a Dimarzio vibrato that was supposed to be an exact recreation of the original in that guitar and played it for a few years but never thought it sounded as good.

Then I put the '62 Reissue Fender in it and the tone was much much better! Then I found three of the original vibratos from '61 and '62 and bought them all!

I put the best looking one in my old Strat and it sounded exactly the same as when I had the '62 Fender Reissue in there.

So I took the Fender Reissue apart and compared all of the parts to the originals I have. Exactly the same...even the same milling marks.

Then I weighed all of the parts of the originals and all of the parts of the reissue and found that they weighed pretty much exactly the same. I weighed them both assembled and with all of the parts disassembled.

I weighed the blocks of some Gotohs that looked the same and found they were quite a bit lighter...maybe those are made diferantly even though they look the same.

But the block in the '62 Fender reissues weighed the same as the two originals that I weighed. I think they are made the same.

But I think there are some, like the Dimarzio I had and like the Japanese trems I have, that look the same but are not the same. Maybe it's those that Callaham is refering to when he says his are made of cold rolled steel and the others are not.

In the early seventies Fender started casting the block and baseplate from one piece and those sound much inferior to the original version. I've seen those on '74 Strats...awful sounding Strats, IMO.

The baseplate is also thicker so Fender had to make the neck pocket less deep so the neck sits higher on those guitars to match up with the thicker baseplate. If you put a '62 reissue vibrato on a '74 Strat it'll fit, but you can't adjust the strings high enough to get them off of the fingerboard! :smack: Lew
 
Last edited:
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Lew, would the same hold true for a 77 strat?

TGWIF, does Callaham make old style trems for 70's strats?
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

I'd say go for a floyd, just block it so you can't pull up. I have mine floating and its not even barely the slightest bit of trouble to restring or work on. Tho downtuning can get anoying...
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

Benjy_26 said:
Lew, would the same hold true for a 77 strat?

TGWIF, does Callaham make old style trems for 70's strats?
Click to expand...

If the Strat in question is one piece like the ones Lew is talking about you would have the same problems Lew mentioned...the string spacing should line up and the trem screws would be in the correct plac but you wold still have the same problems Lew had if it is a one piece trem.
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

I would go for the Wilkinson trem with locking tuners and a LSR nut!
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

I use a bunch of different trems... I have Gotoh Vintage Fender styles... I have Fender Vintage style, Fender American Standard trems, Floyds and Floyd copies.... first off i enjoy the Original Floyd Rose as it can stay in tune even with me really abusing the bar!!!! I go thru strings really quicky on my Floyd Rose guitars... They sound dull after a short while but when the strings are new i love the sound.... One of my Jackson 94 Performer series super strats has a cheap Floyd trem on it... Love the sound that trem offers! I changed the Floyd posts on that Jackson to the Hardened replacements Stew Mac sells and it now stays in tune just as well as my FRO.. The posts can be awful loose in their thread inserts on those cheaper floyds.

The Gotoh is a good Fender style Vintage trem and the tone is pretty good..... i'm not a huge Vintage trem fan so i love the American Standard... I have 3 American Standard trems on various guitars and i really like that bridge! The string spacing and the saddles are alright by me... I'm thinking of installing the American Standard bridge on one of my favourite Mexican Standard strats i have.. That would be a good upgrade to that cheaper Mexican Standard bridge...

I love the Floyd and if you really want a guitar to really play with the trem hard the Floyd is the way to go! EVH tricks are hard and next to impossible to keep a standard trem in tune even if you have a good nut and locking tuners.. For Van Halen stuff i use my Jacksons.. For my other trems i will use for softer trem use like most Floyd tunes, or maybe Deep Purple tunes...

WhoFan
 
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

the guy who invented fire said:
I would get a Callaham tremolo...with a well cut nut and good tuning keys there is NO need for a Floyd Rose...
Click to expand...

Except for the significantly greater range and more sensitive response, tone is debatable as well because not everyone wants their guitar to sound like a ´54 strat :rolleyes:

The reasons for using Floyds and Kahlers go FAR beyond mere setup issues on V-trems. ;)
 
Last edited:
Re: What type of trem for my project guitar?

go for a floyd! you can always block and don't have to use it to it's full extent if you don't want to. But try getting a floyd's range out of a vintage trem if you're in need for it;).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top