Wasn't the Fender/Floyd 'sort of locking' trem a pop in arm. (From 98-00)

If so theres the answer, 1998 making it thirteen years old at the outside. If not it appeared in 1999/2000 on the Deluxes.

Then again look into member Xhefri's page and you see the pop in arm dates right back to the Strat Plus's. Making it's earliest possible FMIC appearance 1987.
http://xhefriguitars.com/page2.html

Whether it appeared on the CBS 'The Strat' guitars or not. I don't know and can't be bothered to look up. It doesn't change the fact that you broke the mechanism.

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No no and no

The thing broke during a gig and under very normal use. I don't see how that should happen to a 4 months old Deluxe Strat. The fact that my hand was on the Whammy when it broke doesn't really change things. Let's face it: Fender is cutting costs like everybody else, I for one can't accept that.

I think I finally figured out what the "piece of bent steel-wire" is that you broke. It is the spring clip that locks around the groove in the trem arm to hold it in place while the trem is in use. Similar to a hairpin clip I would guess. These are used in all sorts of mechanisims that require locking a rod into place in another component while still allowing easy insertion and removal. That is why they are made out of spring steel. They have been around forever, and are extremely reliable.

Now the question is, how did you break it? My guess: When you inserted the arm you probably pushed the arm in past the groove that is machined in the arm. This may have stressed the spring clip and caused a weak spot. Subsequent removals/insertions may have further weakened the spring. Tightening the grub screws only exacerbated things as now the arm was made even harder to insert and remove. Eventually the spring broke.

If this is what happened (and it is only my theory, I'm not saying it did), then this would seem to me to be a clear case of operator error. In any case, it seems to me that you only need to obtain a replacement spring clip and adjust the trem properly. Good luck.

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Bill

My new strat has a non screw arm and there is no wire it vjust slides in and slides out.AND MINE IS USED NOT EVEN NEW...

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I LIKE PIE!!!!!

IF I DO SOMETHING STUPID,DON'T SAY A WORD...

If you look at the photo here, you will see what I am talking about.

http://xhefriguitars.com/page2.html

See "Bridge and Tremolo Arms" about halfway down the page.

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Bill

More details:

It came loose during a gig, while playing. I don't even use it heavily as I've stated earlier. I always popped it gently in place, but had to remove it when I put the guitar in the case it came in. I play quite a lot of gigs so the whammy bar has been popped in and out quite often. I only tightened the screws after the spring broke.

Soooo, how did you break it? This design is not that complex and the basic concept has been around forever. Spring steel clips like that don't break unless they are rusty or previously damaged.

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Bill

Had a 2010 AmDeluxe since Nov and absolutely NO issues w/ the trem. Very stable, predictable, great for the harmonics on Heart's Barracuda for example...

Well guys, I might have had bad luck with the spesific block installed in my Deluxe. It broke during normal use but I understand that under mass-production some duds happen. Some people have replied to this thread thinking I have somehow operated the whammy wrong or inserted it with too much force. They are wrong, my whammy must have been flawed before I started using it. Been playing now for almost 18 years so I do know a thing or two about guitars.

Take the broken spring clip to an Ace Hardware store that has those hundreds of slide out trays from Hillman. Or ask for help from an employee. It'll cost less than $1.00. Maybe you should buy a few to be safe.

Update: 68 cents at Lowes for a bag of 4.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

"Some people" have been trying to understand and figure out how this "failure" occurred so that we could help you avoid it happening again in the future. If that is not what you wanted, and instead you just came here to gripe and complain, than "some people" are sorry we wasted our time. Good luck fixing your little (and it really is a little) problem.

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Bill

I don't really know what I did to deserve the sarcastic tone, bluesky. I've contacted customer relations and it's been 4 days, no reply. I don't really care if it's a small problem. Fender is a BIG company, when they deliver something that is half-broken out-of-the-box, they should fix it, no?

Really? Let me refresh your memory:

"Some people have replied to this thread thinking I have somehow operated the whammy wrong or inserted it with too much force. They are wrong,"

Good luck. Good riddance. I tried my best to help you resolve this but I really don't give a flip anymore.

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Bill