Hello fellow stratateers!
First off, thanks for all the great posts, they've been very helpfull in setting up my recently aquired 95 mim Strat. I've had the guitar a few weeks and already started mods. So far I've added Fender locking tuners, earvana compensated nut, new pickguard, dunlop strap locks, strings and set-up. My question is what would be the best trem block? I'm aware of Callaham steel blocks, but recently found a brass block that is tauted as a better sounding alternative. Any comments/ideas?
Rock on!

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2003 Tom Delounge/Robert Cray MIM
1966 Natural Tele
1995 Artic White MIM
1975 Martin D28
Line Six Spider Vaulve 212
1983 Musicman 112RD65

Ok Stratgm. first you need to determine if its a regular mim or a squire series. Black logo'd are squire series. If its a regular MIM then a regular callaham MIM replacement block will fit. If its a squire series then you need to order a replacement squire block.

Hows the earvana? did you think you'd gotten new ears when you 1st played it?

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No no and no

H Lemmy,
It has the solid black logo, so its a true mim. Callaham it is. I'm in a band, we're working on some Al Green tunes, the earvana makes all the difference, I'm actually in tune with our saxaphones and keyboards... Sweet!!! but damn what a bunch of chords!!!! (Lets Stay Together)
My Tom Delounge has major differences with the 95', jumbo frets, large headstock, overall quality is better. I stole it, paid 125 at a pawnshop, put robert cray pu, guard and wiring on it. It has a silver Fender logo, outlined in black.
Thanks!

Oops,
I reread your response, must be a Squire, that explains the cheepo stock tuners! lol my bad!!!

If you have a 95 MIM standard strat, you got yourself a nice guitar. I have owned a half dozen mexi-strats over the last 10 or so years, and my 95 was by far my fav. The pups sound great, and the tremlo system is more solid than any other MIM strat that I have owned. I traded it a few months ago for some gear after I purchased my USA strat, but I miss those high output pups. If your swaping out the pick-ups, I would make sure that you have some KILLER pups before you start tearing into your strat. Good purchase, enjoy!

Silver outline is a mim standard.
solid black is like this-

As you can see fender squire series. fender usa body and neck squire parts assembled in mexico. Cheap hardware easily upgraded.

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No no and no

Hmmmm,
mine is identical to yours, but no squier series sticker...

Its a squire series then. There has always been a grey area over their manufacture. Some had the squire series decal, some didnt. Alot of people removed the decal. Great guitars you wont find another neck like it.
Could you do me a favour and measure the width of the fingerboard at the nut. Mine measures 37/38mm way smaller than regular fender or squire necks.

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No no and no

Sure, mine measures 41mm in width at the nut. At practice last night i got a chance to really streach her out, through a compression pedal and ts808 tube screamer, WOW!!! wild harmonics and sustain, man i think i'm falling in love!!!! the pups sound awesome!!!

I won't address the MIM vs. Squire issue specifically but I did want to mention that I have a Callaham trem block in my '96 MIM and it made a -HUGE- difference! Next to the replacing the pickups, it was the best upgrade I've done on that instrument. To address the question of brass vs. the Callaham rolled steel, there could be a bit of merit to the brass being a bit better, but honestly I wouldn't suspect the difference between the two would be all that significant. Either way the point is simply to give the trem some mass with a solid material as apposed to the low mass zinc alloy blocks these instruments typically come with that tend to deaden the sustain.

The one thing I will say in regards to the MIM vs. Squire issue is that if you measure everything precisely and provide these measurements to Callaham, they should be able to provide you with the exact block that you need. When I dealt with Callham, I thought the folks there were very professional and quite knowledgeable...they should be able to walk you thru it.

Anyways, I just wanted to toss that out there. I'm a big Callaham fan and I whole-heartedly recommend them.

Peace,
Jim