Hey what's the pros and cons of blocking your tremelo unit? Besides tuning stability? Other that that i've got that the other strings will stay in tune better when you bend. So say you playin a double stop bend where one note holds the same pitch, sorta like a country thing. But I've heard that your sustain goes away. I don't understand that because if I lower the bridge down on the body of the guitar it is contacting more wood. Wood sustains. Wouldn't the fact that there is more direct contact with the wood of the guitar mean more sustain? Maybe someone can shed some light my way cuz it's mighty dark over here...

_________________
"coretta" '71 tele thinline
"domino" '97 lonestar strat
"marie" squire strat
"lexy" jag-stang
"owa" martin 000

tone=fingers; fingers=tone

I've blocked my tremolo, because I like that whole stays-in-tune thing. I haven't tested it in any way to check for sustain. I would love,as well, to hear what some of the experts who post here have to say.

_________________
"Go wash an elephant, if you wanna do something big."

65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue
2006 American Deluxe Strat
2009 National Steel Body Tricone Cutaway
2009 Highway One Texas Telecaster
Mustang III amp
Fulltone Gold Standard Cables

blocking the tremolo is favored by Eric Clapton because it's a touch softer than a full on hard tail. just adjusting the spring tension so that the bridge is flush to the body may brighten the tone of your guitar depending on the wood and composition. but with this alone, the pitch may still drop when bending and double stops. it's not really as simple as jamming a piece of wood in there. the cut should precise and evenly fitted. different types of woods also add some flavor to it. really hard wood like maple, oak or hickory brightens the tone. if your guitar seems too bright you could try a softer pine.

as for sustain, a lot of things factor into what increases or diminishes sustain. in my experience, the metallurgy behind the tremolo assembly, especially a thick baseplate, tremolo block and saddle like those found in the American Standard and Deluxe tremolos or an aftermarket rig from Callaham and technique counts more towards sustain than blocking. Needless to say, the trem is useless while blocked.

_________________
"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

Quote ME: "snake oil".

It'll just keep the bridge from moving forward.

If the species of wood could somehow cause the sound or sustain to be any different, then why buy a callahan block?

If a callahan block can cause a different sound or more sustain, then why not a maple spacer block (which would cost a whole $.00)?

It's a circular non issue to sound.

_________________

HaleAmano- House Of Sharks (Now On iTunes)
http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
http://www.haleamano.com

I have a Clapton that comes with a block of wood and my Beck is blocked because that bridge was the most sensitive I ever played and the slightest bit of pressure would be as if I hit the bar so I have it blocked by the springs and I can sustain all day on a note without cutting out. I dont know where people come up with these things like Eric Johnson taking the back plate off for better tone. Unless some of these guys have the same hearing as a dog most of these things are nonsense

Like when Vanhalen used to say all these crazy things and everyone was copying what ever he said to get the brown sound, meanwhile most of them were lies,lol Something real is like playing on your neck pup and cutting back on the tone knob to get close to Claptons woman tone.Yes that works.

a relatively new member has asked an intelligent question and I'm just relaying the reason why Clapton blocks his tremolo with what. you can tell Clapton it's "snake oil" if you want but he's the guy with tons of gold records.

I have setup techniques that I have learned and refined in the past 30 years. I can setup a vintage synchronized tremolo to float and maintain pitch after crazy dive bombs and warbling. I love the trem and use it as much as Hendrix or Steve Vai and stay in tune pretty much through a whole set. it's not hard and I teach it to all of my students that like the tremolo.

now our friend asked for the pros and cons. this statement above really doesn't count as a pro or con. it's just an opinion. I was responding to the query with the history that I know from researching this very subject. as for me, I like a floating trem so none of this has anything to do with me other than the fact that I have studied the tips and the techniques that the pro use and have evaluated them for my use or not. blocking is not one I like. still, if snake oil works for Clapton or EJ then more power to them. millions of people love their music.

_________________
"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix