Has anyonr ever thought of, or tried the possibility of using Mallory Alloy for a trem block. Mallory is 1 1/2 times heavier than lead and over twice that of steel or cast iron. Used to balance crank shafts and also used in tooling. Im sure there would be a cost factor in having a machine shop custom make one but it sure would be "high mass"

Hi mapleneck redneck: I don't know anything about that metal, so please educate me further.

But I don't think it can be only about mass. Otherwise we'd all be using lead blocks instead of steel, wouldn't we? I guess hardness comes into it as well as heaviness...

Cheers - C

All I know about it is there are different grades with different hardness for aplications. It is a high tungsten steel alloy, machines well, and is very dense and heavy. It is used for its high mass in balancing in confined spaces as well as boring and cutting. It is not as soft metal like lead which is why I am curious if any one could tell me more on this also.

Ah, tungsten huh? Well I've seen tungsten bridge blocks, though never tried one.

First I came across on Google were these for Floyd Rose:

http://www.prorockgear.com/sustainblock-1.aspx

But I bet there's ones for Strat out there too. And tungsten bridge saddles are to be had too - man, they're expensive!

Cheers - C

Yeah, when having racing crankshafts balanced, they always charge me for the amount of mallory they use. Mallory has a little more to it than just being tungsten steel I believe, I imagine a custom machined mallory block would cost a few good pennies but I bet it would be pretty wicked!

Man, I'd say give it a shot! At worst case it wouldnt do much, which means you would be out some coin. But then again, you may end up with a high end marketable mod. Either way nothing ventured nothing gained. Keep us posted on what you learn.

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Wow, that link says their block is a half pound increase over the stock floyd rose block. Now the wheels are really turning in my head!

These are, as always just my opinions so please take them as such.

First and foremost, no...I haven't actually tried one of these things. That said, if it were me the first thing I would ask myself if -why- I want to change what I already have? For example when I put the steel Callaham block on my '96 MIM Standard, I was very reasonably sure that it would make a difference...a full sized steel block vs. half sized zinc alloy...not too much of a gamble there. In such a case, if your guitar has one of those older half sized zinc blocks, then certainly this high mass trem block is going to make a world of difference. If on the other hand your guitar already has a full size steel block of some kind (Fender, FR or other)....ehhhh...then the difference may not be so substantial. In other words, are you considering upgrading for a specific reason or is it just curiosity or even upgrading something just for the sake of upgrading something?

That said, there was something of a discussion about this not terribly long ago in another thread. The general consensus was that you're always going to have your "fads"...if someone started making trem blocks (or nuts even) out of granite or "space titanium", you'd have people who would buy them and people who would really swear by them. Once steel was all the rage, then it was brass, then it was "whatever" and now things are moving back towards steel again. The obvious answer to "What is best?" however is simple; whatever sounds best to your own ears.

So with that I would say that if you have $100 - $120 to drop just for the sake of curiosity, then certainly go for it...I'm sure a lot of folks would love to know how it turns out. Personally though, there's a lot of other things I could get for the same amount of bread. If you're really having that much of a problem with sustain for example, a good compressor pedal certainly comes to mind .

Again, just my own personal opinions.
Peace,
Jim

I have to agree. I went through a pretty lengthy (and expensive) experiment with trem blocks and found that the zinc blocks actually worked better for me. I will admit that I ended up with full sized blocks, but whether they are better than the thin ones - well, we'll see. The problem I had with steel blocks? On a stock Strat, or one with "vintage" type pickups (e.g. Fender Hot Noiseless, Dimarzio virtual anything) the tone was brighter. I don't know about anyone else but I figure that's about the last thing a Strat needs to be! The one place I continue to use steel blocks is in the two Strats I have that I put in Dimarzio SDS-1s which are a bit warmer. I have yet to find a pickup I like better. One thing I haven't tried is brass. I've got a feeling they would be pretty cool. The Strat I put a brass nut on sounds noticeably better and I can't think of when I've seen a steel nut. Maybe Graphtech should make a trem block???? Well, this was supposed to be a response and ended up being an oratory (sorry) BTW Glad to be part of the group! I've got a bazillion questions about all of your experiences with our beloved Strats.

Doug

Hi Doug, welcome to the Forum.

Guess that means you'll be the first user to a bazillion posts! Can't wait to see how many picks you get under your name for that. Surely a bazillion get's us that sixth pick?

BTW: Jim's idea of a granite trem block has me thinking...

Cheers - C