I went into the repair shop saturday to do dress some frets on used PRS i picked up. My friend who owns the shop told me some company that makes replacement tremolo blocks sent him a couple samples of blocks they make. They were made out of brass (which has been done), and machined steel like the Callaham. What they offer though, is you can decide between different weights. A typical block is I belive, and I weighed them Sat but dont remember; about 9.5oz. They sell a 9.5, 10.10.5, and I think they may make one lighter. He told me to grab what I wanted and try them out for him and let him know what I though. I grabbed the 9.5, and 10.5. I stuck them in 2 strats that I have Callaham's in; a MIM that's been modified beyond recognition, and one i built. I got to say, they were the best sounding blocks I've heard. The brass definitely changes the primary tone, and subsequently the amplified tone. I'm a huge proponent of Callaham, and their tremolo's. I think they took care of a couple of design flaws that are in most Fender tremolo's. Namely the openings on the bent steel saddles, that are too short on Fender and causes the strings to come into contact with the openings before it touches the actual saddle top, and the counter sink holes on the bottoms of the vintage style plates. Putting one of their trems into a guitar that had a MIM made a world of difference in the guitars tone, sustain, and resonance. But, i have to say after putting these in, it made the steel blocks sound, well, like steel. I know this is what Fender used forever in the early days, but the brass, and especially the one that was an ounce heavier, really opened up the guitar. It gave it some harmonics that I never heard come out the guitars before. Unfortunately, I dont remember the name of the company. I left a message at the shop for him to call/text me, and I'll throw it up. though Im sure someone out there knows what im talking about. Its not GuitarFetish.

watching topic.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Why? It's been killed here. We even weighed the things. The only conclusion we came to was you either like it, don't, or notice no difference.

Callaham claims mighty improvments. Well you'll get em, if thats what you want. Others claim stock is better. What does the 3rd contender claim? Non have proved anything! I'd like to see the sustain claims measured and weighed.

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No no and no

DiMarzio came out with brass nuts, blocks, bridges and saddles back in the 70s. Sidestepping all the perceived 'improvements', they obviously never caught on. Three of the chief reasons were:
1. Price.
2. Contrary to popular belief, brass is a very soft metal and the strings would prematurely grind and saw whatever brass they came in contact with. This is with just using the tremolo in the way it was intended, mind you.
3. When the brass started to tarnish, all that green gunk clinging to the brass was a huge turn-off where either the brass had to be constantly cleaned and polished or (like we did in the military) it had to be coated with acrylic.

I've said this several times, there is no point in trying to reinvent the wheel. Also, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Fender with all his genius, tested and rejected brass bridge hardware for Strats for his own reasons, some of which I'm sure are above.

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You dig?

+1, this says it all.

With the Placebo Effect clearly still alive and well, I sense yet more, "Infallible Web Dogma" rapidly approaching!

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You dig?

+1 +1 YEP I am guessing Leo got it right from the start!

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Placebo effect? That's rich. Many Strats benefit greatly from a better quality block such as a Callaham or other brand, and some people like the sound of brass better than steel. I was very skeptical when I bought my first Callaham block, so I wasn't expecting an improvement, but I certainly got a very noticeable improvement in tone and harmonics, and sustain, and that's hardly a placebo effect. If anyone doubts that a good quality steel block is better than a cast block, or the pot metal blocks in the lower-end Strats, just ask the guys at the Custom shop why they use the high quality steel for their blocks. There is no doubt that different metals have different tonal characteristics. I suppose that a trumpet would sound the same if it was made from iron instead of brass?

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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.

hum....... here we go again.
i dont see anything wrong with trying to reinvent the wheel. in doing so folks will find that the wheel is perfect at being a wheel already, but nothing wrong with trying to improve on it. thing is, when you improve on it, tell the truth about what you have done and dont try to pull the wool over on people. sure callaham has improved the wheel to some degree, but have they really made an allaround better product? some say yes some say no.
so what do we do here? we are stuck arent we? the reviews are split down the middle.
do i think fender got it right the first time, i dont know?
there is no doubt that leo is/was (God rest) the henry ford of guitars and amps.
he gave us his best while he was here. thank you Leo. do i think his inventions cant be improved on nope, i think its highly possible. i believe he did too thats why he had a R&D department. rare is it that a invention cant or isnt improved upon sooner or later.
i guess its up to each of us to see for ourselves if the tremolo block has been improved upon over the yrs. believe the hype and buy the block. stand to reason and dont buy the block. thats all any of us can really do. there is no comfortable grey area unless you can try one out before you buy or if callaham has a 100% return guarantee.
if either case is an option, i say go for it.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

I am not saying that Callaham doesn't make a good product, but they are just waaaayyy overpriced And I think when people spend a bunch they think they get a better product...not always the case...just go play a couple custom shop les pauls vs a regular standard and you will see what I mean...paying more does not always mean better.

As for the Fender Custom Shop using a high quality steel block, of course they do and they charge you for it. And to be honest I have played quite a few Custom Shop guitars over the years (and owned two, A Homer Haynes and a Bill Carson) and other than being prettier, I don't feel or hear much of a difference, vs what I paid...and both of those where a few years back before the custom shop prices went crazy.

As for replacing the block, do it if you must but like I said earlier, I think Leo got it right the first time...I am thinking he probably tried a whole bunch of different types and found the one that sounded best.

IMHO...

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I agree, Leo got it right to begin with. Too bad that these same blocks aren't used on all Strats. The Am Std for one does not use the same blocks as the Custom Shop, and the same is true for many other Strat models. I would say that if Leo thought that the high quality steel block was the way to go, then a Strat should have one to sound its best. If a Strat does not have a high quality steel block, installing one has got to be an improvement. And, if the OP likes the sound of brass better than steel, who's to argue that?

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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.

I've said it before....I tried a Callaham steel block and bridge and saddles,the whole assembly,vs. the stock Fender steel block and bridge on my RI Strats,and I heard no noticable improvement...so I replaced the Callaham with the original.
Can I tell when tone is improved on my guitars or amps,yes,very much so...I've been chasing tone for over 40 years.
Some stuff works and some is B/S.
As usual,ymmv.

From what I understand, the RIs use the Custom Shop blocks, and the claim is that they are just like the originals. I believe that another forum member heard "little if any difference" with a Callaham on his RI also, and reinstalled his stock block.

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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.

how much are these callaham blocks? i want one for a cheesey strat tremolo i have.
same price as a fender block or cheaper?

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

$63 for the block, up $3 lately. I have purchased and installed at least 7, and not one based on anyone's hype, all based on performance. I even prefer the Callaham to the Fender Custom Shop block myself, especially for the stability of the trem arm, call me a kook. BTW, from the Callaham site: ...We guarantee you will hear the improvement after installing our block in both sustain and clarity.. Can't get much better than a money back guarantee.

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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.

ok $63 bucks. not real bad but pricey.
ok explain the stability of the trem arm since you have experience here with this.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."