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Tremolo blocking


Chris

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Thinking of blocking off the trem on my back up guitar, anyone else done this? Easy enough is it?

Far as I can gather I just need to measure the distance between the back of the trem and guitar and get 2 bits of wood to fit snugly either side. Is that all there is to it?

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all i did on my squire strat of doooooom was inserted a block of wood that was just about the right size then packed it out with folder paper, before winding off and removing the springs, tuning is now solid and the bridge has given me no bother! :up:

i remember reading a web page where someone actually filled in the hole left by the springs and properly converted it to a strings through body solid bridge but thats a load of work!!!

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Ijust put in 5 springs and tightened it right up on my strat

Yeah, that works, but it's not the same feel because you'll still get some play in the block when you bend strings.

If you do it right it'll feel like a hard tail, and won't go as radically out of tune when you break a string. All I did with mine was get a single block of wood that fits between the trem and the body and keeps the bridge plate against the top of the guitar. I've got the springs still in the back, but only so I don't loose them. They're not needed, I just misplace things all the time.

Any wood will do, avoid paper because what you want is to transfer as much of the vibrating string energy to the wood as possible. Paper or cardboard isn't good for that.

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Any wood will do, avoid paper because what you want is to transfer as much of the vibrating string energy to the wood as possible. Paper or cardboard isn't good for that.

never thought of that, havent noticed any dramatic effects on the tone since removing the springs and fixing it but then it is a squire strat so cant expect much!! :up:

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Buy a Tremol-no. About 40, and you can switch between having it hard tail, trem or double trem with the turn of a knob. Radical.

Or I could save that 40 and just stick an offcut of wood in the back of my guitar for free.

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I'd recommend the 5 spring idea. I did this on a guitar I had with no problems at all. The trem never budged a bit when bending strings, and it stayed in tune if strings broke. I actually broke 2 stings live during one song and the remainder stayed in tune. Takes literally 5 mins to do and there's no pfaffing around with wood!

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I'd recommend the 5 spring idea. I did this on a guitar I had with no problems at all. The trem never budged a bit when bending strings, and it stayed in tune if strings broke. I actually broke 2 stings live during one song and the remainder stayed in tune. Takes literally 5 mins to do and there's no pfaffing around with wood!

Yeah, easier. Tone is different. Hardtails rule.... 8-)

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Or I could save that 40 and just stick an offcut of wood in the back of my guitar for free.

The blocks of wood and the additional springs aren't good for the balance of tension between the trem unit and the strings/springs, and can really strain the guitar. A good set up with a DIY blocked Trem won't play as nice as a set up on a guitar fitted with a tremol-no.

It also means you can turn it on and off, for whenever you want to use the trem or have the sturdy tuning of a hard tail, with the turn of a knob on the back of your guitar.

They are a swell piece of kit.

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The blocks of wood and the additional springs aren't good for the balance of tension between the trem unit and the strings/springs, and can really strain the guitar. A good set up with a DIY blocked Trem won't play as nice as a set up on a guitar fitted with a tremol-no.

It also means you can turn it on and off, for whenever you want to use the trem or have the sturdy tuning of a hard tail, with the turn of a knob on the back of your guitar.

They are a swell piece of kit.

If it was an expensive guitar I'd probably consider it. But it's a 300 Ibanez that I only use as a backup guitar. I never use the tremolo anyway, and I mean never, so why would I care about being able to quickly change it back?

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Ive done two or three strats in the past and have always used a bit of hard wood that i cut with a very slight taper to ensure a tight fit, always leave the springs in place as removing them = loosing them, and its possibly my imagination, but to me, removing them effects the tone. That method has achieved 100% stability every time I have done it...oh and its a ten minute job to revert to wammy status if required.

G...

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The blocks of wood and the additional springs aren't good for the balance of tension between the trem unit and the strings/springs, and can really strain the guitar. A good set up with a DIY blocked Trem won't play as nice as a set up on a guitar fitted with a tremol-no.

Im sorry but thats a lot of pish.....o_O

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It most definitely isn't.

Go and back it up with references please. If it's true you'd expect it to be written down somewhere. Preferably somewhere other than tremol-no.com

People have been sticking bits of wood in the back of their floating bridges for years, don't recally anyone saying it's bad for the guitar. Might not have the structural strength of a true solid body but as long as the wood is the right fit so the bridge doesn't move then I can't see how it would be an issue. The springs shouldn't even come into it as there's no need to keep them on afterwards.

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I'm not going to scour the internet for other people who agree, but I've been told by a number of guitar tech's I've used. One of which is who I took my guitar to, and asked if he could block the trem (because I'm a bellend when it comes to woodwork) and he strongly recommended I didn't, despite the fact he was going to make a bit of cash on it.

I've got 2 trem-fitted guitars, one which is blocked off (only because I've lost the arm for it, and can't seem to get another one that fits, so might aswell have it hard tail) and another which is fitted a tremol-no, so I can get the benefits of the trem unit and hard-tail whenever I please. Versatility! Both have the same bridge PU and both bodies are Alder. Both same gauge strings and were both set up at the same time. I can tell distinctively which one plays and sounds better.

I'm not arsed enough to defend it to the death though. Folk can do whatever they like to their own guitars. Depends how anal you are about tone and action as to how you want to block the trem. But why buy a guitar with a trem just to block it off anyway? Unless, like me you're a tit and lose the trem arm.

Can't we all just get along?

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But why buy a guitar with a trem just to block it off anyway?

Bought it years ago when I still thought I might use it. Aside from the floating bridge I still like the guitar and don't have money to replace it anyway.

Can't we all just get along?

Didn't think anyone wasn't getting along.

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Oh, man. Floating bridges are just a whole new kettle of fish. I cannot stand the things. I bought a Pacifica with a Floyd Rose in it with the good ol' "aaaah it'll be fine!" attitude. Nightmare. I just can't get my head around it one bit. I remember changing strings for the first time, and it took what felt like a week to get it in tune. Never again.

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Oh, man. Floating bridges are just a whole new kettle of fish. I cannot stand the things. I bought a Pacifica with a Floyd Rose in it with the good ol' "aaaah it'll be fine!" attitude. Nightmare. I just can't get my head around it one bit. I remember changing strings for the first time, and it took what felt like a week to get it in tune. Never again.

Why don't you just add some more springs to it so it doesn't float then?

I hate floyd roses but that's for entirely different reasons.

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any guitar discusion that starts heading into the "guitar tone" territory is never going to end with everyone agreeing!! i mean some people swear that "good" tone is more to do with the hardness of your finger tips than the instrument! ?(

i find with the amount of fuzz-wah-delay-backwards flange and more distortion i use i havent been able to pick up the subtle differences in unblocked and blocked trems...... :up:

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because I'm a bellend

Ive been a guitar tech for 35yrs, I cant for the life of me understand what strains blocking the trem would put on the guitar or in what way it would be more playable...

If you could explain why/how I would be indebted to you for increasing my knowledge.

G...

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