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Post subject: American Strat Tremolo
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:48 pm
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Few questions...

1. What's the difference between the Tremolo of the Amer Std and the Amer Dlx??

2. What would be a good upgrade for the Dlx Tremolo?? Is the Gotoh Wilkinson VS100 better than the stock Trem??

3. Which other Trem upgrade for the Dlx strat would be good to look into?

Many thanks!!


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Post subject: Re: American Strat Tremolo
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:18 pm
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Crowking wrote:
Few questions...

1. What's the difference between the Tremolo of the Amer Std and the Amer Dlx??

2. What would be a good upgrade for the Dlx Tremolo?? Is the Gotoh Wilkinson VS100 better than the stock Trem??

3. Which other Trem upgrade for the Dlx strat would be good to look into?

Many thanks!!


1. Standard now has "vintage" saddles and a screw-in arm; Deluxe has block saddles and a pop-in arm. I have a vague idea the springs are a different strength (see old threads on springs) but if correct that is utterly unimportant. Don't know if the block is different.

2. The VS100 is a very nice bridge (I have some) but I wouldn't bother swapping it out. The Fender is good too.

3. A lot of people like Callaham bridges. In the scheme of things it is going to be a small difference though. I'd play that Fender as stock for a good while before worrying about mods.

Cheers - C


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Post subject: Re: American Strat Tremolo
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:27 pm
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Ceri wrote:
Crowking wrote:
Few questions...

2. The VS100 is a very nice bridge (I have some) but I wouldn't bother swapping it out. The Fender is good too.

3. A lot of people like Callaham bridges. In the scheme of things it is going to be a small difference though. I'd play that Fender as stock for a good while before worrying about mods.

Cheers - C


At this point, I do not have any bridge in the guitar (I just purchased the body and neck, and pickups will be Kinmans). As such, it is simply a question of buying the best bridge (ie I will not be doing any swapping). I simply so not know if the stock bridge is in fact better or worse than the Gotoh Wilkinson SV100.

Thanks again for the assistance! It is much appreciated (and needed :shock: )


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:44 pm
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Ah, well in that case give the VS100 a try, by all means. It is a nice bridge, feels very comfy under the hand and I like the locking saddles. Also the trem arm has a little screw that controls exactly how much it swings or stays put. Nice heavy solid block (though hardly unique in that).

But I'm not going to claim that it is significantly better than a Fender in any vital way, certainly not musically better. Just slightly different in detail.

But is your body drilled for a two point trem or are you planning to do that yourself? If so, take care. You only get one shot at positioning those two holes. Get it wrong and you are badly stuffed.

I'd strongly recommend drilling holes into a waste bit of wood and doing a mock setup first, to experiment and make sure you have a very accurate measurement of where the holes are to be placed in relation to the breaking point on the saddles and the nut. The measurements that come with the tiny instruction sheet are deeply inadequate (as of a year ago, anyway).

That goes for any two-point trem.

Good luck - C


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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:02 pm
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Actually, it is a complete Fender American Deluxe Ash body that I've acquired through Ebay (same goes for the Deluxe Rosewood neck). So all the 2 point system is already in there. I will not make (nor would I dare!!) make any modifications to this body.

I decided to assemble this one since I really liked the wood grain and pattern on the body. Hence why I am just looking at the best components since I will not be loosing or swapping anything. I just want to certain that I pick good components which I will not later regret.

Is there a difference in the sustain or tone by using the SV100 instead of the stock bridge?

Many thanks!


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:22 pm
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Phew, that's much better then!

I did a six-screw to two-point conversion on a heavily modded guitar of mine, measured endlessly and still nearly got it wrong. The holes for the post bushings are slightly over a millimetre too close to the neck, which is well within the range of the saddles, so it's OK, but not what I intended.

Then other people liked that VS100 and asked me to do the same conversion for them: having nearly got it wrong once I've done it spot on each time since!

All things considered, I wouldn't bother doing it to one of my own guitars again, though.

Sustain/tonewise, I find it a little hard to say, because I have that bridge on a guitar with Lace Sensors so it already sounds very different than my other Strats. The other guys I did it for claim they hear improved tone - but then that's guitarists for you. I wouldn't swear to it.

To me it is about the comfortable feel of the thing. It is my first choice for a new-build, but not for any reasons big enough to get heavy about.

One little thing about that VS100 I forgot to mention. Annoyingly, a regular Strat trem arm tip doesn't fit straight onto the end of the whammy. If you want one on there you need to wrap a bit of sand paper around a drill bit (say) and just twist it about inside the plastic tip to ream it out a touch to fit. Only a few minutes' work as there's not much in it, but a tiny detail...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:32 pm
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Ceri wrote:
If you want one on there you need to wrap a bit of sand paper around a drill bit (say) and just twist it about inside the plastic tip to ream it out a touch to fit. Only a few minutes' work as there's not much in it, but a tiny detail.


Ahh, I will remember that helpful little hint!

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