I am gonna call HORSE POOP
on this one I had 2007 AM deluxe
and " upgraded with Callaham " the difference
was slim to none at best and in my opinion
the 2008 block in my other strat sounded better
Bottom line On new American Standards there is
no reason tone wise to change to a callaham
maybe squire or old MIM . but even the new MIM
blocks look really well made to the person
who asked about the roadworn just some the
advise save the money from the callaham
for the other upgrades the tone difference
will be negligble. I feel like i wasted my money when
I got mine (no offense to firm believers in the callaham
just how I feel personally)

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1956 Gibson CS Lemon Les Paul
1957 Fender CS Aged Cherry Strat
1958 Gibson CS Pg 85 Les Paul
1960 Fender CS 3tsb Strat
1961 Gibson SG Wildwood Pelham blue
1966 Fender CS Firemist Metallic Silver Strat

I sort of agree with this, except I say, Save the Money and Buy a Great Amp!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

"the new AM Std block is not quality steel, it is cast, mixed with copper (copper infused)."

Very close but not exactly right. The AmStd blocks aren't "cast" (molten metal poured into a mold), they're made of sintered metal. Powdered steel is mixed with various binders, packed into a mold, and then heat and pressure are applied to fuse the powders together. The binders can be ceramic, plastic, other metals, organics -- usually a mix of multiple binders. It doesn't melt into a homogenous liquid during the process -- ceramics harden around the steel like a clay pot in a kiln, other binders either harden like that or melt and then reharden on cooling. (There may be some pressure welding of the steel particles where they touch each other so it turns into a tangled mass of steel fibers with the spaces filled by binders, gluing the fibers together.) Sintered steel can be formulated to be hard and strong and tough enough to use for engine parts like connecting rods (just like "real steel").

The sintered steel blocks have always been more like steel than cast zinc. Fender probably didn't take away any steel with the new copper infused blocks -- the copper most likely replaced some of the non-metallic binders.

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"If more mass helps the tone" It's not just the mass. Otherwise we'd all be clamoring for lead blocks or depleted uranium blocks, and nobody would buy $200 titanium blocks. Hardness, stiffness, the crystal grain structure of the metal affect the resonant properties. You can hear the differences if you knock on different metals. Zinc's not as heavy as steel but it sounds more like lead.

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But a guitar is a system of interactive components. The neck, body, pickups, tuners, saddles, block all contribute. A block might sound great in a guitar with a warm neck and a bright body but sound mediocre in a guitar with a bright neck and warm body. On some guitars, the bridge may have less influence on tone than on other guitars.

And then there's the amp you play the guitar through. A whole new set of variables.

Robin Trower's tone on "Bridge of Sighs" was awesome, legendary, perfect. But everything was "wrong" with the Strat he used -- 1-piece cast zinc bridge with cast zinc saddles, thick-skin poly finish, 3-bolt neck, heavy Northern Ash body, heavy Fender/Schaller "F" tuners, "soulless CBS pickups". He still sounds awesome with his vintage Strats and Custom Shop Masterbuilts and boutique pedals, but his "crappy CBS Strat" tone will always be a classic.

Sometimes the parts all just come together and sing. Other times they don't. Swapping parts can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, or turn a silk purse into a sow's ear. Or make no significant difference at all. You can build a Strat out of the best parts you can find and have it sound worse than a $99 Squier.

This makes sense to me. Both of my guitars have bright necks. Both are Maple. Could be why I didn't notice much of a difference. I don't know for sure but it seems to be a good explanation. I always try to keep an open mind with things If I'm not sure about 'em. It's how I learn. Well I know exactly why I got the results I got with my AVRI. But I'm puzzled as to why the Am Standard wasn't really noticeable.
When shimmilou says the Callaham parts make a big difference on his guitars, I believe him. What would he have to gain from making stuff up? He's not. So yes the above quote makes sense to me. Some guitars it will make a difference on and some it won't. Depends on the neck and body wood and alot of other stuff too.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Just for the hell of it I tried a Callaham bridge/block assembly in my '62 RI HR.....had the same results..nothing much at all,I also tried some Callaham bridge saddles on an American Standard,maybe a little brighter,not worth the money...but I tried it....'cause I'm a tone junkie.
Now,I just put some Lollar pickups in the '62 RI.....oh yeah!,they sound great.

Yep, me too Rebelsoul. I'm a tone junkie too. And I'm sure I'll try some more stuff before I expire. I just have to try things and see for myself when it comes to tone and sustain. I love it.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Hi strayedstrater,

You might be right, but I am confident that the Am Std block is cast, the signs are easy to see if you examine one, whether it is poured in or heated powder, it is still heated metal or molten metal in a mold. We've had this debate here before, ME of the Custom Shop also said that they are cast, as does Fender in their description. Maybe the heated powder is what they mean by cast? But, the pressed metal doesn't have the surface flaws the same as the cast metal, the pressed metal is much more uniform on the surface. Maybe you have some more info that you could share?

What you're describing does seem to be what some of the Squiers and some other models have, they almost look machined and not cast, they looked like pressed powdered metal to me. I can believe that some of the blocks are made this way. I have seen the powdered metals put into molds in a press, but the pressure was enough to form the part, no heat was added. Even an Arbor press was enough to fuse the metal without additional heat.

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---> "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.

The first time I came across replacement blocks I was highly sceptical, but tried an aftermarket steel block anyway, more out of curiosity than anything else. To be honest I really couldn't hear any difference. But that was some time ago and I wasn't much of a player then. As the years passed and I became more accomplished, my tone got better and better. Maybe the steel in the block was maturing

Fast forward to about 6 months ago when I was going through a 'tweaking' phase and decided to fit a brass block. Well, what a difference that made - sustain, tone, the works. I had to change all my amp settings!

Not sure if there is a point here but this was my experience with replacement blocks (noting the second was brass which has a markedly different effect than steel).