This may be a tired subject. But I will ask the brain trust here any way! What are the pros and cons of blocking your trem?? Has anyone done it? Is it something I need my guitar guy to do? is it reversible??

Hi markdavid,

You might check out these threads. There may be more, do a search for "trem blocking".

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?p=384055&sid=5212c0872d5d6f72a06ad3197305a0c2

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?p=554055&sid=218ab4cb2c5e68525eaa536aa755bbe9

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

i expect you'll recieve plenty of input, from sources much more knowledgeable than myself, but the advantages would be sustain, warmth, and perhaps a bit of tuning stability if you float your bridge currently(?). the disadvantage would obviously be the opposites of what i said above, and the lack of trem capability, which i suspect you wouldn't mind or you wouldn't be considering it.

i blocked mine, but definitely in an unconventional way. i've got a mim strat, so the block isn't angled at all, so i just took a board my dad had layin' around (no idea what kind of wood, it was literally just layin' in the garage) and cut pieces and test fitted them until i got it right. in other words, i guessed, and eye-balled the whole thing. works great so far. the depth wasn't right because of the boards dimensions, so once i got one right, i just cut another one the same, so that the two of them together would fill the cavity completely, and just glued the two together. not a pro job at all, but effective, and i did notice a difference in sustain right away.

I installed a GFS steel trem block and then blocked it using a machined aluminum block (instead of the usual wood). Then I adjusted the trem claw (With 5 springs. Looks cooler with 5.) so that more tension was applied by the strings then by the springs. This allows the two metal blocks to apply maximum pressure to the wood body. I have found that when blocking a Strat with a wood or metal block, tightening the claw too much will reduce the pressure on the block/body junction. Eric Johnson I'm not, but the change in sustain while adjusting the claw is very noticable.

_________________
Bill

i sanded and carved my trem block out of a jenga piece sanded it to fit just right and it seemed too give a little more bite as well as sustain

_________________
I like my tone like my women. Full round bottom, sweet and clean but can get as dirty as I desire.

That's a great idea, Bill.

You might sell a few of those aluminum blocks, should you choose to make some extras.

BTW, a lot of folks don't know this but Leo by his own words, quoted in Smith's "Fender - The Sound Heard Round The World" intended (perhaps theorizing more than anything else) that the five springs used in the tremelo cavity would actually provide some measure of shielding for the pickups, thus minimizing the 60Hz hum. I'm not sure that I buy it but that's what Sir Fender had to say.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I didn't make it.

I had ordered a wood blck off E-Bay, only to find when it arrived, that it did not fit. I tried to trim it down, and ruined it. I cranked the spring claw tight but really wanted a solid block.

I then was digging around in one of my several junk drawers and found the cutting head for an old matt cutter that I used to cut matts for my photographs. I noticed that the razor blade was mounted to a machined aluminum block which then was attached to the head. I disassembled the head, removed the aluminum block, and found it was a close fit. A little sanding and voila! Perfect fit. Here is a photo:



Click on the photo for a larger view.

_________________
Bill

A pretty fair job of hand-machining, Bill.

Hand salute!

(bonus points for ingenuity too)

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I excel at finding uses for useless objects.

_________________
Bill