I want to block off my whammy bar. Were can I buy a block?

Welcome to the Forum.

I have not seen any for sale. I think most people make their own.

OR

Put in 5 springs, and tighten the screws for the claw until the back of the bridge sits firmly on the body.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

+1 -- Yes. This is ideal if you know you will never trem again. However, you can also go to 4 springs and leave the claw screws alone. This firmly puts the bridge on the body, while still leaving the trem available for use. Either way, check your intonation afterward as string length was slightly changed.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Right.

The spring method described by 01GT eibach is good. But if you do want to make your own block I just happen to know that Fender employee and setup specialist Albert Garcia uses blocks to these dimensions:

2" long x 1" wide, and tapering in thickness from 1/2" on one side to 1/4" on the other.

That'll get you in the ballpark, though you may then want to trim it slightly to suit your exact requirements.

Howzat?

Cheers - C

Thanks for the tips. Not sure how those dimensions lay out..
What I ended up doing was, tightening up the 3 screws real tight. Seems to work. The guitar definitely "feels" different. I still want to block it.

Oh. OK, well then for the sake of anyone who's interested let me draw you a quick diagram...

[A minute later...] By the miracle of Photoshop, here you are:


Measurements in inches. You may want to tailor them to the precise needs of your trem unit - though it should work as is.

The narrow end goes in first, like a wedge. Simple. Very handy for setups, too.

Cheers - C

You can make a perfect trem block from a standard carpenter's shim, which are sold in packs of 40 or so... for 2 bucks, you can gave enough shims to block every Strat you'll ever own.

I don't advocate trem blocking, but I use a block made from a carpenter's shim when I'm setting up my guitar, and the taper is dead on.

Thank you for that drawing, beauty.

What are the downsides to trem blocking, besides the obvious?

Hi again x2mars.

Downside: you can't use your vibrato (which was the obvious). And I suppose if you gave the bridge a hard wack there is the slight possibility of that wood block shifting, maybe coming loose, perhaps even falling out. Consequent failure of the guitar, mid performance. Can't recall ever hearing of that happening, though.

Upside, you can fingerbend without the other strings going flat. And Clapton believes his tone/sustain is better with a blocked trem style bridge rather than a hardtail. Conceivably extra sound transmission from the trem block through that wooden wedge into the timber of the body?

You'd have to ask people here that have a Clapton Sig guitar, but I believe that with Eric's setup the springs are in place and holding everything tight as well?

Although another potential plus is that if you wanted you could remove the springs with the block in place doing the job. Some people positively like the sound they think the springs contribute to their strings' tone; others believe the springs can cause a slight kind of reverb effect, perhaps unwanted sympathetic vibrational overtones. So the option to remove the springs would allow control of that.

Very nit-picky issues, though!

Good luck - C

I have put extra springs in the trem of all my strats with great success. Blocking just seems a little to much of a commitment. Plus if you ever want to sell, it will be much more difficult with a blocked trem. When I first did this, that was the advice I seemed to receive from everyone.

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

Er, though it's the work of a second to take the block out again, no?

Cheers - C

I suppose...six of one, half dozen of another.

(shhh...I'm not really that handy and springs seem easier)

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

Hahaha - s'all right, man: we're all on a learning curve!

- C

I think my learning curve at this point in life kinda looks like:

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

Mmm. Here's my learning curve...



- C