Blocking fender standard strat tremolo

It was posted in the Guitar Repair & Maintanence section.

It seams easy enough.

I have a tremelo and never use it but I don't have any tuning problems should I consider doing this?

blocking a tremelo seems like an odd thing to do to me.

If you want to increase sustain, add a bone nut, and get a good tremelo block made without lead from someone like Callaham.

You can improve the sustain even more by doing proper fret dressing (very few production instrumnets in the under $3k range have been properly dressed to keep costs down).

But filling in the tremelo just seems to me be a lot of work (including refinishing the entire guitar) for very little real gain. If the trem bothers you that much, it seems like a good excuse to go get a second (or third, or 10th) guitar . . .

Blocking the vibrato unit does not entail removing anything. You simply put a block of wood in between the body of the vibrato unit and the body of the guitar. It's also quite common to add a spring or two to keep the pressure on the block so that the sound has a good transfer point.

http://users.pandora.be/marnix.ghesquiere/blockingtrem/blockingtrem.html

this is for a Floyd Rose but it shows basically the same type thing used to block the movement with pieces of wood.

Ah. When I think of "blocking the tremelo" I'm thinking of taking the trem out, routing the hole, putting in a block of wood, re-finishing the whole guitar with a hard-tail.

You're just talking about making the trem unusable with a hunk of wood.

Ok . less intense than what I was thinking you were talking about. But I still don't get it.

Why do I want to reduce the funcationality of my instrument while at the same time gaining very little in compared to a hard-tail guitar?

If I want the sustain of a hard tail and I don't want to use a tremelo, why don't I just get a hard tail?

If I want to improve the sustain on a tremelo, there's ways to do that without reducing the functionality of the bar.

"Why do I want to reduce the funcationality of my instrument while at the same time gaining very little in compared to a hard-tail guitar?"

good question i guess but i know of one guy inparticular who likes the tone it creates...

http://www.ericclaptonfaq.com/questions/What_is_the_Eric_Clapton_Signature_Stratocaster.htm

"TBX circuits and a blocked original vintage tremolo bridge. According to Lee Dickson, Clapton's guitar technician, "The springs are tight and there is a little piece of wood in there between the block and the guitar body. But there is something about the tremolo block being there that he likes, even though he doesn't use it, per se."

Well, bully for Eric. I still don't get it.

*shrug*

i don't get it either, but i thought it was interesting :wink:

well I really dont like the fender strat tremolo, i think its more trouble than its worth. So, blocking the tremolo would be the cheapest and easiest solution. I really dont want to do full body construction, drilling holes and everything else. Ive also heard that it will increase ytour sustain, and less tuning problems, becuase it is more like a hard tail bridge. The best part is its reverseable whenever you want it

well I really dont like the fender strat tremolo, i think its more trouble than its worth. So, blocking the tremolo would be the cheapest and easiest solution. I really dont want to do full body construction, drilling holes and everything else. Ive also heard that it will increase ytour sustain, and less tuning problems, becuase it is more like a hard tail bridge. The best part is its reverseable whenever you want it

Agreed - the stock Strat trem is junk. The whammy bar has never even been screwed into mine, but I haven't gone so far as to actually block it yet. It is an upcoming project though.

As far as folks not 'getting it'...I don't get why people buy Telecasters, because I personally dislike them. Seems like a big waste of money.

Totally not a true statement, but whether it makes sense to you or not, it's a popular thing that lots of people do - both buying Tele's and blocking Strat trems. 8)

well im going tomorrow tro a music store whos going to do it for me, total cost will be about $20, and add $3.50 for two extra springs in the back panel. It's not much and I say why not, ive been itching to send money on my guitar anyway

well im going tomorrow tro a music store whos going to do it for me, total cost will be about $20, and add $3.50 for two extra springs in the back panel. It's not much and I say why not, ive been itching to send money on my guitar anyway

Be sure to let us know what difference it makes.