Hey all, I own a 2000 Floyd Rose Classic strat HSS. Recently I decided I wanted to block my tremelo so that it only lowered pitch of notes rather than pivoting both ways. I ended up reading about and then buying a brass sustain block as well as a trem stopper.

The trem stopper bracket is made of brass as well, I am sure you have seen them (FU). I also got a 42mm brass block.
I quickly found that I had to remove just a little wood from my tremelo cavity to make it fit (towards neck side) This may be particular to my make and model Fender. I used a dremel to remove probably 2 mm from that side of the cavity.

This is a review based on adding a brass block AND brass trem stopper to my previously stock, floating setup

So I had heard the sales pitch; Mass = sustain. I also seen the youtube videos and heard sound clips and it did sound better. Just to be sure, I plugged my guitar into my 8-track, balanced everything and recorded the same musical piece a few times:
Position 1 (Bridge DH1 pickup only)
Position 5 (Neck and Bridge) -that` is how it comes wired, in case you're wondering.
Then I went back to position one and recorded through a mild distorion circuit.

After, I installed the block, added and set the tremstop, I put it all back with the same strings, so that nothing had changed except the tremelo parts.


I went back to record the same piece again with the same 3 settings and the first thing I noticed was the levels were coming in higher than before, I had set it to record without clipping, and now I was reaching that threshold. It`s like the strings had always been slightly muted and now they are free to ring. In comparison, the after sound is definitely more full across the board, it just sounds better. I also do notice a small change in the sound of playing while unplugged, and it does sound louder unplugged.

The trem stopper will take some getting used to, It wil slap the block against the stopper if you return from a dive to soon, I am not sure how that would sound at volume. I personally want to be able to do string bends without worrying about other strings being affected by the floating system. I tightened my springs until doing a big bend wouldn't make the trem move.

Anyway, I thought I would share, I was skeptical, but I tested the claims, and love the results. I plan to post my sound clips in a youtube video in the future.

-cheers

Did the strings end up closer to the pickups after you made the changes?

That could explain the volume increase.

I recall the big Brass Phase back in the '70s. "They" were telling us to change everything to brass: nuts, bridges, etc. I didn't take the plunge and pretty soon all that brass stuff just went away. I don't know what happened ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I didn't change string height or pickup height, that would have defeated the purpose of my test recordings, plus doing so would have been kind of dumb after going through the trouble of testing. I wanted to see for myself if it made a difference, which is why I kept everything the same and also retained the same strings.

I did have to re-intonate after reassembling the bridge. I usually check and adjust intonation after each string change so I don't see it being an issue. The saddles go back together the same way they came out, they have not changed in height.

I think the brass idea has always been around, but lately more people seem to be talking about it.

Thanks for the info. Great info. I found flush mounting a synchronized vintage tremolo level gave me similar results. And did it for the same reasons such a unison bends.

If you want to hear a couple of sound clips of before and after the brass trem block install I put some up on myspace.
Pretty sure you don't need to be a member -let me know if it works and whether you hear a difference will ya?

http://www.myspace.com/562364608

So where did you buy this rig? Do you have pictures to post of the installed product?

I am one of the firm believers in brass from the 70's. A brass nut cut to the same dimensions as my original and a six brass saddle bridge for my 52 Tele made it a tone monster.

Thanks

Can't seem to attach a pic here (I thought I`d done it on other posts, strange) but you can see one via the facebook link.

They sell brass blocks at a few places, mine came from Floydupgrades.com

In the 80's they replaced that suggestion with "remove the brass, it kills sustain".

I wonder when that bit will come round again?

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No no and no

It's all circular Ninja!! "I was so much older then,I'm younger than that now!!"

Yeah in the 80`s they were telling me to go to solid state amps; Tube amps were old technology, well now Tube amps are back. Turns out back then amp builders could suddenly build amps at a fraction of the cost -and charge about the same price! No wonder they were touted as being superior!
I don't take much stock in alot of 80`s musical/tone theories. Maybe there was too much cocaine going around?
Does this rant have anything to do with Brass? maybe, maybe not. I think it sounds better, I keep going back to my sound clips, and/or play my guitar to try to convince myself that it might just be wishful thinking, but I think I am a believer. I have a Charvel with a Floyd Rose and I figure that one is getting a block now.

Has anyone listened to the sound clips I mentioned earlier, and if so please let me know what you figure!

-cheers

Hey JR! I checked out the clips. I definitely heard a difference. The brass ones has less of a blanketed sound, and more ringing chime.