Yep Straycat, you're right about the indestructability factor. But I have to say the Callaham bridge was not a small difference in tone for me, I thought it would be, but actually it was a BIG and very noticeable difference. Yeah my Fender metal parts weren't gonna break, but wow my Strat sounded so much better when I replaced them. It's enough of a difference that non-musicians can hear it. You don't have to have Eric Johnson golden fine-tuned ears.

_________________
"...Compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees, I am an Apeman."

You really dont need to mate. Its another mod that you pay a fortune for then consequently have to justify to themselves. Just like all them other mods. How many other mods are there that people swore by in the past, that have now fallen from favour. Remember the classic statements that heavier tuners improve sustain? Brass nuts improve sustain? Bone nuts sound brighter? Nitrocellulose lets the wood breathe?

Don't you think someone picky enough to keep his tremcavity wood bare and make statements that have me thinking he's a acid casualty. Would use such a tremblock if it sounded so good?

Fact is, he doesnt and he can have whatever he wants. The guy seems to be a anything for the sake of 'tone' person. Infact I cant think of any signature artist or other selling player that uses em.

Note that the majority of fender artists use vintage trems. All except JB to my mind. Thats certainly says something about Callahams claim


If its so good why dont the people that can have anything for free and repeatedly use their name to sell us other stuff we dont need, make some money from using and selling it to us?

Even the claim of zinc killing the clarity of your sound is a stupid one. Zinc's problem is that its overly zingy and trebley.

You'll get a far better improvement by grounding the top of your existing steel tremblock and underside of the tremplate flat. All for the cost of a oilstone.

_________________
No no and no

Gee nikininja, so much bile, so little time.

But you're right, it's good to be sceptical, it saves you money! I know nothing about zinc etc all I know is my Strat sounded a bit dead and I wanted a solution... now it sounds 3D and alive. It's no surprise that artists with highly developed taste and sensitivity to tone seem to prefer vintage bridges, and in fact often prefer vintage guitars... these are the bridges that Callaham is basing his on, slightly better engineered but essentially a return to Leo's originals. Let's face it, the reason we're all here is that Leo got it right. Who isn't grateful for the fact that in the post-CBS Fender years they returned many of the instruments and amps we love much closer to the original designs? Isn't that one of the best things they've done?

I don't follow EJ or EC or anyone else, but I am aware that almost all pro guitarists tinker, mod, customize and set up their instruments to differing extents, in a search for the sound and playability that suits them... and they change their minds, and swap guitars, pickups, amps, pedals, bass players, hairstyles... as much as anyone, until they get comfortable. It's interesting that you pour such scorn on "all them mods" and on EJ for having no paint in his trem cavity - and then recommend "grounding the top of your existing steel tremblock and underside of the tremplate flat", something that Callaham does by the way. If some mods were misguided fashions that fell short of the claims made for them does that mean they're all nonsense? (except getting a nice flush join on the tremplate and block of course)

What do you think makes the tone of a guitar? If it's not the wood, paint, pickups, wiring, caps, pots, neck joint, bridge and trem assembly, tuners, the nut, frets... etc etc then what is it? If changing them makes no difference then where does the tone come from, just the amp?

I know what it's like to have a guitar you're so content with you wouldn't change anything, except for setting it up... and I know what it's like to swap out the bridge on your Strat and get closer to the sound you hear in your head. It's just music mate, whatever sounds good to you is good.

_________________
"...Compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees, I am an Apeman."

What bile?

I have nothing against callaham except that their a utter rip off and make a few exaggerrated claims about what goes on in fender guitars. You can buy better for a lot less whose makers dont seek to put down the builder they make replacement parts for. It's just not good conduct or marketing sense, that any business that makes money off the back of another business makes derogatory remarks about the product they make parts for.
Also how can there be a return to 'Leo's originals' when vintage reissue guitars still use the same tooling. Take a look at one, their a very different shape to the standard or deluxe tremblocks. The material is the same as the deluxe, though the deluxes block is powdercoated.

As far as useless mod's go, there have been plenty over the years. Back in the 70's they claimed brass bridge and nut improved sustain. Its actually the other way if anything. That a bone nut improves treble, its nonsense on all but the open strings. It doesnt impart anything to a fretted note. If anyone can prove to me that their tuners have increased the sustain of their guitar or that a certain paint imparts anything on a amplified guitars tone, I'll donate £50 to cancer research. Let me tell you I want exact science and before after comparisons filmed in realtime with the mod done in video.

Truth be told i'm quite the modder, I reshaped the back of a guitar neck yesterday just to make it more comfortable. Its now V shaped on the treble side and D on the bass side. Thats nothing on some of the stuff I've done to guitars in the past. 25db midboosted emg's in a jackson dinky anyone. After installing my wilkinson trem I took the callaham block and clamped it to my headstock, using a fatfingers headstock clamp (another useless contraption that makes no difference to the guitars sound). The block at that end in conjunction with the block on the trem made a slight difference to the guitars sound. Not enough to warrant having a ugly lump of metal clamped onto your headstock. As you know the callaham block is a bit heavier that a set of locking tuners (which the guitar had on it anyway). After reading some Dan Erlewine nonsense I tried his advice and set my neck (wood not frets) perfectly straight. Not liking the fretbuzz I put the relief into my fret tops so I could acheive what he said ( to quote "theres no tone like a perfectly straight neck under tension".) It not one iota of difference once the fret tops had the .010" relief in them. The only difference it made before hand was to make my frets buzz horribly. After that I decided he couldnt be trusted and just wanted to sell me overpriced stuff. I'm not one to sit on the side and wonder what somethings like. I'm usually the other way plunge in headfirst and ask whats happened after the dust has settled. I've found a lot of these mod's are junk with a false marketing scam, just to take your money off you. I dont include the callaham block in that because as I previously said the arm fitting is great. I know a lot of mods are rubbish for one simple fact, I've done them.

As far as knocking Eric Johnsons unpainted trem cavity, I didnt. As far as calling him a acid casualty, look at some of the nonsense he comes out with (hear the difference with the backplate removed. hear the difference between batteries made by different companies in his pedals). He's asking for it. I dont think even Sid Barrett came out with such nonsense.

Now onto the bile comment. I can absolutely assure you 100% theres no malice in my intent writing this or my previous posts on this subject. If you think there is perhaps your being overly defensive.

What do I think makes a good guitar? A well thought out assemblage of parts. As far as the sound all being from the amp comment. I'm on the thread "which matters more? Amp or guitar?" as saying "its all guitar. take the guitar away and your amps a coffee table".

_________________
No no and no

Thank you niki.

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Well spoken niki. You've obviously done more than your fair share of tinkering - respect. And really I don't wanna become the Callaham cheer squad here, it just made my Strat sound better to me, that's all. I have a friend with a straight '54 Strat and a '61, and I know the sound of a vintage Fender... I also play with a guy whose strat is the same as mine, except for the Callaham trem, and there is now a clear and ringing diff between the two guitars - when they sounded identical before.

As for the vintage reissue guitars - that's the point I was trying to make, obviously not very well, about returning to Leo's original design. As far as I see it that's what Callaham is doing. I doubt a Callaham trem setup would make much difference on a fender with a vintage bridge, except for those couple of obvious improvements like the flush fit between tremplate and block (which you like) and the tighter trem arm grip. As for claims about original tooling and whose steel has the better recipe - who really cares, and how can we test those claims? I don't defend Callaham's hype, I'm just saying his stuff sounds good.

On the other hand, I have an AVRI '62 Jazzmaster, made with the whole original tooling, nitro, cloth wire etc vintage thing and it sounds sooooo close to the actual '61 JM my band has been sharing for the last dozen years that I figure they got it right and all those factors DO contribute to the sound. The only mod I've done to my JM is to cut the end off a matchstick and wedge it in the switch for the rhythm circuit so I don't accidently switch to the 'all mud' tone during a gig. Not as ugly as gaffa!

_________________
"...Compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees, I am an Apeman."

I concur with the Ninja. So many mods so little time, wait, reverse that.

_________________
10-4 good buddy, over and out!

The absolute reality of any mod is that if it doesnt fit the criteria above, its of no use to you.

_________________
No no and no

Wow, I didn't know I would open a snakepit of things. Admittedly, I have the callaham kit, and on my mahogany GC American Special Strat, it did bring out a bit more clarity than the stock block. I was sort of forced into changing the block because my original block split in half while I was adding springs to it. (I like a decked and clamepd feel, hardtail with springs if you will.) I went through a period of time where I decided I wanted to minimize the amount of places that tone and sustain could escape / lose power, so I went with a lot of modifications including solderless kits, machine screws with stainless steel inserts in the neck, upgraded pots and caps, etc., What I ended up with was a guitar that has so much resonance that hitting the E or A strings open will register enough movement you can feel wind on your hand.

As for other strats, I am by no means saying that Callaham, a stock fender block, a 50s block, free-flyte, whatever you may will, is the arbitrary answer to all strats, or any at all. Tone is a very subjective thing, and I admit to being a tinkering sort. I like to make projects / experiments, and in this case I was shooting for a bolt on neck strat that wouldn't strip its neck screws, was quick at assembly / disassembly for the pickguard, and was very nuanced in the pots. (The original pots I had were great for volume swells, loose and whatnot, but would move about if you looked at them the wrong way; the S-1 switch didn't help matters either. ) I've played strats my friends own where the sound is so incredibly bright, it wouldn't hurt to dump in a few of the 100k gibson pots from the early 80s to mush up the sound a bit, and would do well completely stock. I've also played strats that are so mushy in sound that the only way to make them bright at all is to put in a callaham block, brighter pups, 500k pots, etc., it comes down to each individual guitar for me.

One day when I get out of college and earn a nice living, I would love to have that magical vintage strat, or a masterbuilt strat that is 100% mine. But until then, it's nice to have aftermarket suppliers who can take what starts out as a great instrument, and make into something truly individual.

Jason