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"I like the way he puts Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his album covers. You know,....so you don't confuse him with all the other Yngwie Malmsteens in the business"


2008 Fender MIM Stratocaster
2010 Epiphone Masterbilt
2009 Fender Super Champ XD

I can only speak to one scenario.

I am a skeptic, but I replaced a zinc (non-ferrous) block in a Gotoh trem with a cold-rolled steel block (specifically the Callaham). and the difference in the guitar's tone, response and sustain were absolutely incredible. not only that, but the tuning became rock stable, even to the point of allowing double-stop bends without making the unbent note go flat. No kidding.... it's quite unbelievable.

I don't know about the difference between, say, a Callaham and what Fender uses for a steel block. But if a magnet won't stick to your current trem block, I can assure you that replacing it with a real chunk of machined slab steel will do everything you hope for an more.

Callaham is great and if you want to stick with original Fender you can buy the block from the '62 Reissue which is very nice.

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Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner

_________________
"I like the way he puts Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his album covers. You know,....so you don't confuse him with all the other Yngwie Malmsteens in the business"


2008 Fender MIM Stratocaster
2010 Epiphone Masterbilt
2009 Fender Super Champ XD

You definitely want to swap out the block and you will definitely notiice the difference. I put a GFS trem unit with steel block in my 1996 MIA and the change was substantial to the point where I felt sorry for anyone that doesn't have a steel block. The GFS, however, was made in such a way that I was breaking my high E string about every other day! I replaced the saddles with String Saver saddles and all the benefits of the steel block disappeared. The String Saver saddles KILLED the Strat tone.

Then I put in the Gotoh bridge which has nice big solid stainless steel saddles, but has a zinc bridge. I haven't broken a string since, but the tone and sustain are slightly inferior to the GFS with the solid steel block. Yes, it's really THAT noticeable....I'm not just being a geek. There was a discussion in this forum with regard to whether a zinc or steel bridge of equal weight would give the same tone and sustain. I weighed the entire GFS trem unit and weighed the entire Gotoh trem and the Gotoh weighed the most. That tells me that steel has better qualities. Think about it...you could make a trem with a big rubber sustain block that weighed the same a zinc block. I think we know which one will have the desired sustain and tone. If the composition of the material didn't matter, I guess we wouldn't care if our guitars were made of Alder or particle board of the same weight.

Thank you to the poster who said he replaced the Gotoh block with the Callaham. That'll be my next move...I had wondered if the holes line up.

The Fender blocks were crap for years. Some epoxy garbage mixed with powdered metal. Major tone destruction. What were they thinking???
Their new bridge claims to be infused with copper or some other such nonsense. I haven't heard one yet, but the bottom line is: STEEL.
There really is no substitute for it. Ditto for steel saddles, be they stamped steel or cast stainless like the Gotoh saddles.

Research: As you search the web and read the manufacturer's info about their trem units, you'll find they are very cagey when talking about their materials. They'll talk about their steel saddles and their steel plate, and make no mention at all as to what their blocks are made from. And it ALL matters. Every piece has to be steel. Unless of course you want to de-Strat you guitar, and there are those who swear by the wamer sound of their String Saver saddles. To duplicate that true 50's Strat tone, you gotta use the 50' material.

Last thought: the only mods I made on my guitar were replacing the pickups and replacing the trem unit. I would say that the trem unit switch was almost as significant in tone improvement/change as the pickups.

I also have a 2008 Standard MIM Strat and swapped it out with a Callaham block and arm kit. You can not use the Mexican arm with their block. They advertise you can use an threaded American arm, or just order them as a set.
The difference in tone, resonance, and sustain is night and day. I haven't had any problems with strings breaking with mine. As far as intonation goes, it's pretty simple to set. I went ahead and measured the saddles before taking them off. That got them almost dead on right off the bat.