Fender Strat Setup

Quick question....
I have a fender mexican strat that I was having a hard time keeping in tune. the guitar tech at the local music store suggested that I put a small block of wood in between where the trem unit sits in the back and the body of the guitar to keep the trem unit flush with the body and prevent ANY movement back there. Has anyone ever heard of this or tried it? I've "sort of" got it setup like that but I want to be sure this is a good way to do it before I try to make it permanant. I never use the trem and don't want to.

lastly, I had a question before about staying in tune and wanted to let those who contributed ideas (lordofthestrings and a few others) that the ideas worked great!

There is such thing as an "actual block" that fits into the back behind the tremolo unit. No idea how much it costs. I've seen it in a fwe guitars, and they seem to work good. The fact that you don't want to use the tremolo, brings me to the conclusion of just buying a "hard-tail" strat.

I had a '62 Re-issue Jap-Strat that sounded as thin as a twenty-year-old T-shirt until I replaced the tremolo with a solid slug of brass. I milled the piece myself. I've never seen such a thing in the stores.

There's a block of metal screwed to the underside of the bridge plate. To lock the trem, you need to stuff a piece of hardwood or brass between this block and the guitar body. To keep it in place during string changes, it helps to remove the tremolo springs, and have some dense foam stuffed into the gap on that side of the tremolo block.

Thanks for the info.. I'll give that a shot this week. I just didn't want to make anything permanant until I was sure that it was the right thing to do. I'd have been really pissed at myself for ruining it while "trying" to help the situation. As for the hard tail, I haven't seen one of those... all the Strats I see that people aren't using the trem on, the unit sits flush with the body the way I want mine to.

About the foam comment - 2 things really.
1. Do you think that the space for where the springs go affects the sound/tone of the guitar? (which leads into question 2)
2, does the foam help the sound? and should it be packed in tightly?

thanks again for the replys... I'd rather spend hours figuring this out than never learn it, ya know?

I don't mean to pack the whole spring cavity... just the hole that goes right through the body. The idea is to provide something to push the tremolo block in the same direction as the string tension. That way, if you remove the strings, your bridge won't flop around. Another block, or wedge, on that side of the tremolo block would be even better than foam. The more solid the bridge mount becomes, the better.

You can always tighten the springs under the plate to make the bridge sit straight with the body.

ok... have the block in place - restrung it and tuned up...
bent the hell out of the strings and I DIDN'T HAVE TO RETUNE!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's shaped like a 1/2in block of wood!!!
thanks to all - now I just have to work on that nasty twang in the G (I hear it's common with the G on strats... time to pay someone for a setup!=) )

I like stories with happy endings! :)

I just have to say that I too have a fender (Fat)Strat made in Mexico. I have no problem with keeping it in tune. Do you keep it in a cool or hot place? That stuff that that tech said is kinda weird. Where do you live?

I live in Middletown NY.... the store that told me about the wood block was Alto music. I've been trying to learn as much as I can about setting up guitars and this seems to be a common practice for some people. Unfortunately the guitar gets cold and hot throught the day. I need to get a good case and keep it in the warm parts of the house. I do think that it is a contributing factor and when I play I usually just mess around on the strings for a good 15-20 min before I tune up and practice... seems to help too....

Hi. I've got a Fender Squier Strat 20th Anniversary Edition. Lovely to play. But it's developed a vibration (certain notes etc). The bridge base plate is vibrating against the body. If I simply press the bridge against the body it stops. I need a method to fix the bridge against the body more tightly. I'm not a tremolo/whammy user and can live without it. I looked at hardtail bridges but I don't really want to resetup a bridge (intonation setting is a pain). I was thinking maybe extra tremolo springs to pull the bridge tighter against the body?

try this: place a small strip of cloth or sponge between the bridge and the guitar (only a little so it doesnt show) then turn the screws that hold the spring claw 1/2 turn clockwise. that should stop the rattle. Putting blocks in stops all tremolo activity and can be a bit dangerous. you could also loosen the strings, get a pencil and rub the under side of the strings where they would slot into the nut. this lubricates them and stops them sticking when you bend the strings or use the trem (not that you should really use the bar for more than simple vibrato on a strat) :)

Originally Posted by: pogoheadtry this: place a small strip of cloth or sponge between the bridge and the guitar (only a little so it doesnt show) then turn the screws that hold the spring claw 1/2 turn clockwise. that should stop the rattle.

Thanks for the suggestion, Pogohead. A follow up though ... isn't placing a dampner between the bridge and body also going to dampen sustain?

L

it's a tremolo! what sustain? :p just kidding

here's how you get it so it doesn't vibrate against the body, don't tighten the springs so much that the bridge is touching the body! the idea is to have the screws in just far enough to be equal with the tension of the strings. so that the strings are pulling the bridge one way, while the springs bring it back the other way, you want to set it up so that the springs provide an equal tension to the strings, so that the bridge is "floating" level with the body.

the block of wood idea is just wedging in a block of wood between the trem and the body so that the bridge cannot move from it's "floating" position, even if you took the springs off. because then the strings are tugging on the bridge, which is held in place by the block of wood.. therefore, it's goin nowhere!

hope this helps you to better understand

I found this, maybe it will help

I'm a little late coming in on this one... but oh well. Blocking the trem is one way to go about it... and if you already have done so... then that should work. But I would have suggested screwing the trem claws in so that they pull the bridge tight to the body of the guitar. This does basically the same thing... except you still have some use of your trem if you really want to use it. Adjusting the bridge angle may throw the intonation off slightly depending on how high it was set before the change...

The G string buzz can also be caused due to a lack of tension on the string at the string tree... Sometimes string trees get pulled out slightly as a guitar ages...and the result is a lack of tension on the nut. This lack of tension causes a string to rattle or buzz really bad in the nut. Check your string retainers to see if they're tightened down... if not tighten them down.

Originally Posted by: spanky10940ok... have the block in place - restrung it and tuned up...
bent the hell out of the strings and I DIDN'T HAVE TO RETUNE!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's shaped like a 1/2in block of wood!!!
thanks to all - now I just have to work on that nasty twang in the G (I hear it's common with the G on strats... time to pay someone for a setup!=) )

A tremlo is a wonderful thing made to be used and appreciated. Do some research, and set it up rite, and get your strings tuned up and rock dude. Mine rarely goes out of tune, and its teedering right there between spring tention, and string tention. Rock out man!