I just was wondering if there is a way to make my stratocaster bridge flat and not on a pivot. I don't ever the whammy arm and the only the bridge is flat is when the strings are off. So how do I make it flat with the strings on?

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...

I have one Strat I have mad a hard tail. I have 5 springs on the block and the claw is screwed all the way down. Hope this helps.
ABS

yeaaa i have no idea what you just said lol can you put that in terms of someone who doesn't know that much about the hardware?

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...

MUCH has been written about what you want to do. You can do a search on this forum for "blocking" the bridge. It's a method that totally disables the tremelo.

Or you can search this forum and learn how to tighten the trem springs to allow the trem to dive only (no pitch raising). This is the easier of the two methods.

Open the hatch and block it with a piece of wood

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Thomas Jefferson

is there a link you can show me on how to make it dive only?

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...

How good are you with an arc welder?

Plenty of discussion here about this.

Here's what I did and it's working just fine. I picked it up from this forum.

take the back cover off (where you insert the strigns when changing them.
you will see 3 (usually) springs attached to the tremilo block (where the strings go)
The other end of the springs will be attached to a plate with hooks for the springs.
There will be 2 screws securing that plate to the main body (there should also be a black wire soldered onto the plate).
Take the springs off
tighten the 2 screws down two or three full turns (not necessary to go all the way to the wood with the plate).
reattach the springs
you shold see the bridge flat against the body.
You may need to pick up one or two extra springs.
you may need to tighten the screws that attach the bridge to the body in the front although I didn't have to.

You may need to set up your guitar (adjust saddle height and intonation). I needed to do that.

If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, you can take it to a guitar tech and they can do it quick for you.

There are methods using a block of wood but I didn't do that. Essentially, I've disabled the trem arm for tuning stability. I reckon I could still use it but I haven't really seen a need for what I'm playing.

As with most things, there's more than one way to skin this cat but this is what I picked up here and i worked for me.

Jeff

thanks jeff! just one question, will i need to adjust the truss rod in anyway?

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...

Shouldn't cause a truss rod adjustment. Truss rod is for adjusting relief in the neck. Changing the bridge alignment shouldn't cause any issues there. If so, it's less than 1/4 turn.

I did have to adjust the saddle height a little. Intonation was pretty much unchanged. I did tweak the D and G strings a little but they may have been just a bit out before I started.

It's a pretty minor change and one that is very easy to undo if you don't like where it goes after. Just reverse the process and go back to your starting point.

I like these kind of changes because there's nothing here that you cannot reverse should you change your mind. It's just a couple turns of a screw and you're back to where you started.

Jeff

alrighty, thanks for your help jeff. Really appreciate it

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...