Re: Is the Electric Guitar 'dead'?
Posted: 12 May 2018, 21:27
Stuart makes a very valid point.
The original steel block allowed the Stratocaster's tremolo arm to be screwed up fairly tightly in order to obviate the mechanical backlash which is commonly found in copies and even in non-USA Fenders with alloy blocks. But it doesn't last forever because of the stresses imparted to the thread inside the block, with alloy threads wearing out in short order. I have two USA vintage reissues (steel block) whose arms sit fairly snugly with no "slop" or noise. But I've tried quite a few which do, and this has been a problem for many decades now, hence the PTFE partial solution which Dave mentions above.
Really, Fender should have fixed this years ago. The main rival, Bigsby, doesn't suffer from it, and perhaps Fender should have redesigned the Strat arm with a fixed upright and a backlash-free interference-fit between it and a separate arm. It sounds as though that exactly what Staytrem has done. I have the Staytrem mod on a Made In Japan Jazzmaster and can testify that it is excellent - doing exactly what it says on the tin.
The original steel block allowed the Stratocaster's tremolo arm to be screwed up fairly tightly in order to obviate the mechanical backlash which is commonly found in copies and even in non-USA Fenders with alloy blocks. But it doesn't last forever because of the stresses imparted to the thread inside the block, with alloy threads wearing out in short order. I have two USA vintage reissues (steel block) whose arms sit fairly snugly with no "slop" or noise. But I've tried quite a few which do, and this has been a problem for many decades now, hence the PTFE partial solution which Dave mentions above.
Really, Fender should have fixed this years ago. The main rival, Bigsby, doesn't suffer from it, and perhaps Fender should have redesigned the Strat arm with a fixed upright and a backlash-free interference-fit between it and a separate arm. It sounds as though that exactly what Staytrem has done. I have the Staytrem mod on a Made In Japan Jazzmaster and can testify that it is excellent - doing exactly what it says on the tin.