I am searching for a Custom Shop 54/55/56/57/58 hardtail Strat but without success. I did see 56 Time machine in 2T sunburst once but nothing since. Any help would be nice.....
Perhaps the Marketing Director could explain the reasons for Fenders chice in this matter...... (Cheers Mr Eldred......)

Call me a blasphemer, but I screwed a Kahler fixed bridge onto my MIA strat... and don't regret it one bit. I too, am not a fan of the trem... and I'm thrilled with the new bridge.

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Well, yes, I am a pirate
A few hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder
There's nothing to plunder
I'm an under 40 victim of fate
Arriving too late...
Arriving too late...

I have an '05 Am. Stamdard hardtail and love the thing. Don't through stones but I'm more a Tele guy. But this guitar is one of the toniest(word?). My other strat has a two point trem but I can't remember the last time I used it and it does get played regularly. Peace. J.J.B.

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A big rejiggering of the herd this winter
08' Am Standard Ash R/W Tele
02' American Deluxe Toronado Special
07' Gibson Les Paul Standard.
'09 Gibson Firebird WooHoo!!!!

I blocked my strat for slide using the exact "shaped wooden block" method described here...

http://www.guitarrepairshop.com/repairtremeloblock.html

I used a piece of maple but it was hard as hell to shape it with hand tools. But it looks and sounds great.

I actually removed a factory-installed hipshot tremsetter before blocking. The block works better for me as a hardtail. I think it does add a bit of resonance also.

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"If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' til you do succeed." -Curly Howard

I think that's a great question about the hardtail. Becuase there are so many players that don't use them...Clapton, Townsend, Gallagher, etc., I've always wondered why there aren't more hardtails.

One of your replies mentioned that Clapton prefers the tone of a blocked trem over a hard tail. Eric knows what tone he's looking for, for sure. It makes sense that the trem would be part of the signature strat sound.

You'd certainly expect a difference in tone between to two, with neither being a "wrong" tone.

I'd say whatever block is used, it should be a wood with about the same density as the alder (or ash) in the guitar, although denser or softer is probably not a big deal. The vibration of the strings needs to be transmitted to the body, the body must resonate, and the body's resonance must get transferred back to the strings. The two contact points where the tremelo pivots are basically enough to allow the transfer. If a wooden trem block is used there will be a change in how the transfer is made, and most users say additional sustain is achieved.

One of your replies said a rubber block can be used. In theory, a bad idea as the rubber sill dampen (absorb the energy) of the string vibrations and lessen the amount the body can resonate. The battery idea is iffy for the same reason as it has voids.

I'd like to listen to a hardtail vs. a trem just for fun, but I'm a fan of having the trem flush with the body. When I run out of good ideas, I can just wiggle the bar!

back in the day I would use wood and even laquered cardboard. I think that pic of rubber is cool,weird but cool.I use Tremol-no now.

Yep this is how I did it back in the day.

Playing cards are a great idea Niki!! i actually cut and shaped a block of wood for each, my Floyd Rose, and my Strat to block the bridge in place during set ups. I use the exact same block of wood method , only the dimensions of the blocks are different, when setting up my trem equipped guitars. it really makes it easy to adjust intonation. then when the rest of the set up is done, you slowly tighten the screws for the trem claw, taking care to do so evenly between both of them just until the block falls out (have the guitar facing up, and flat,) and then you have the exact spring tension for your string gauge, and bridge angle.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.