I'm writing this in the forums as there is no email adress on the fender contact info.

I purchased a Fender American Deluxe Strat 2010 late january this year. I absolutely adore the thing and play it a lot, both just practicing and as a profesional musician (3-4 gigs a week).

There was however an issue with the guitar from the beginning. The pop-in whammy always felt a little loose. I got used to it over time but then one night, at a gig, the whammy wouldn't pop in. I like using the whammy for subtle chord vibrato and use it a lot so this got me a bit cranky and kinda ruined the gig for me.

When I got home I took out the string block to have a look at the mechanism. I see there is a piece of bent steel-wire thats out of position and when I try to move it back very gently, the whole thing just falls out of the block and I see that it is broken. This seemed like a very bad design from the beginning.

My question to users of the forum and fender staff is: was this really built to last more than the one-year guarantee? If I use my guarantee will I get the same faulty design in my new block or did fender update it's design to actually last? How can this be considered a Deluxe model when things break so easily?

Whammy bars are on occasional topic of discussion here. I seem to recall this very topic coming up before, with questions/answers on how to fix the problem. I don't think you'll get a satisfactory answer to Fender's quality control here, but you might get a sympathetic ear. Anyway, I recommend you do a little bit of research on the topic & you might be able to fix the problem. Meanwhile, enjoy your guitar.

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'10 Gibson LP Studio Faded
'09 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
'08 Fender Classic Player 60s Stratocaster
'07 Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster
'05 Breedlove AC 25 SR Plus

I have fixed it (at least temporarily).

There are two allen screws on the block that can be tightened. I tightened them enough so the whammy bar slides in with some resisance and thus has enough resistance to keep it in place. It's not 100% satisfactory though but the pop-in whammy never was. Why not have the usual screw-in whammy bars on these deluxe-blocks?

Because the pop in arm is a lot more stable, secure, you can't cross the threads removing or installing the bar. It's a hell of a lot faster to put in/remove too.

You're meant to set the bar up with those two grub screws in the back of the inertia block when you get the guitar. If their working you probably haven't done any damage.

It's all in the owners manual.

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No no and no

Damage is done because it doesnt pop in anymore, but just slides in with lots of resistance. My point is that the pop in mechanism is very under-enginered and breaks way too easily. I'm not even a dive-bomb whammy user... Please read my initial post.

Contact Fender Consumer Relations:

consumerrelations@fender.com.

480 596-7195

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Bill

this post reminds me of one that we just did on a strat with a bad roland unit.

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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 did read your initial post and you're completely incorrect on all counts. The mechanism is exceptionaly stable and durable. Fender are easy to contact, through this site to anyone capable of reading. You would have read the instructions on setting up your trem's arm mechanism if you'd bothered to look at the owners manual.
I see a bit of a pattern occuring here.
As it stands, you, in your ignorance broke the trem arm attatchment. Warranty void in my experience.

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No no and no

agreed on all counts. always read the owners manual first.

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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 just read that post last night in between action at work. That whole situation was like a car wreck....you didn't want to but you just had to keep looking.

I've never had the oportunity to use a pop in whammy and don't really use the whammy too much. I would have to say that no matter what you pay for something, there's always a chance of things going wrong.

My favorite anaology is....you can buy a thermostat for a radiator and it can be bad right out of the box. Just becuase the car part is new doesn't mean that its in 100% working condition.

Same thing goes for computer equipment....I had a new wireless router that bricked itself on me the second day I had it just as you can buy a high end instrument with problems right from the dealer.

This is why I always have beer...or a place that I can go to drink beer.

Guys,

Unless there is an updated manual available that has not been posted to the Fender site, I don't see any reference in the owner's manual to adjustments for the pop-in arm. On the other hand, I don't see any reference either in the manual to the bent steel wire that the OP claims is broken. I'm not sure what is really going on here.

http://support.fender.com/manuals/instruments/Fender_Guitars_and_Basses_(2003)_manual.pdf

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Bill

The thing would have broken, adjusted or not. And I think Bluesky is correct, no reference in the manual(I read manuals). Can u back your claim that the pop-in whammys are very durable, nikininja? How long have they been on the market?

you just HAD to ask that didnt you?
(for those of us that know niki, this should be a treat. )

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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."

Well...I'm still waiting. To make it clear, I didn't mod my pop-in block in any way, shape or form. I just tightened the allen screws so the whammy just barely slides in there. Right now it's either that or give up my favorite guitar for 3 weeks just to have installed the same imho flawed design.

ive used pop in tremello for years and have never had a problem ( modified aftermarket bridge on one of my strats and another that came with my ibanez) i dont know how they compare to the origional fender ones but i prefere them to the screw in tremello arms, had endless problems with one of my strats - which is why i replaced it... i dont think fender would ever consider replacing it for you but there are replacement blocks available...

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blues - its a religion...