I am looking at getting my first electric. I am not sure which I want: Stratocaster vs Tele. Having little experience with either, I think I would be happy with either after having only played acoustic.

I am curious about stability of tuning between the two because I do hear that discussed in conversations.
--- Does the bridge of the strat have inherent tuning stability problems vs telecasters?
---Do some of the newer strat models or lines have less stability issues?
Is it a non-issue?

Thanks in advance

I wouldn't for one minute bet the ranch on a cantilevered-fulcrum bridge held in equilibrium via string tension and a couple of springs. In the studio (where time = money) I always play a hardtail Strat.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

The intonation on teles are horable if you get a 3 sattle bridge.

_________________
I LIKE PIE!!!!!

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

New to electric guitars, thus my lack of vocabulary.

I know what the bridge is, but not a 3 sattle bridge.

Nor do I actually know what is a hard tail bridge. Like a bike, I assume that there is no spring or suspension involved.? Retroverbial's post seemed to describe the bridge with a tremelo in which springs return the bridge and strings to the default position. (??)

For the bridge, most modern electrics have 6 saddles, 1 per string, the older teles and ones built to replicate them have 3 saddles, 2 strings per saddle. This picture should give you an idea.



A hardtail is a guitar with no tremolo in it, no moving parts down there to ruin your tuning etc..

A hard-tail will pretty much always be more stable than a tremolo, however the tremolo on my American Standard is set up good, and it stays in tune pretty damn well. Throw in some locking tuners and lube the nut and saddles and it'll be pretty darn stable.

Is a hard tail strat an option or a modification?

I have heard of blocking the bridge. What is meant by that?

Yes, blocking the bridge is an easy mod, usually meaning putting a block of wood in the tremolo cavity, preventing the bridge from moving, i.e. turning it into a hard tail. There are various other tricks to stabilizing the bridge. I just keep the bridge flattened down on to the body, which is enough for me for now. There are hard tail strats as well, if you can find one. The fact is, hard tails are more stable. But, if you can't live w/o a tremolo arm, as marty says, you can minimize the problem.

I'm totally amazed that my Am Dlx with the LSR nut stays in tune for as long as it does. I check it every night before practice, usually don't need to make any adjustments and I use the wammy bar. My guitar teacher on the other hand tunes his LP pretty much constantly.

_________________
'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

1) Is the block like other manufactured parts for guitars? Or is it something you have to whittle or cut from scrap lumber? Is blocking the bridge something that most techs in a guitar store can do?.

2) Have there been improvements in the tremolo bridge with newer Fender Strats? Differences with models or lines, for example American Standard vs American Deluxe?

Thanks in advance for addressing my questions. Obviously I am new to this. I'm the type of consumer that does research on technical stuff , but then goes by my gut when pulling the trigger.

There are a number of ways to block a trem... some use a wood block in the trem cavity to prevent the trem from operating (no the wood blocks are not mass produced - to my knowledge) and many on this forum have given the proper dimensions for such a block. Others on this forum use stacked and taped coins (usually 2-3 coin rolls). I have not blocked my trem, but have "decked" it - added springs and tightened them so the trem sits against the body of the guitar. This gives me the tuning stability of a hardtail, the guitar does not lose tuning if a string breaks, and I can still use the trem for dives.

Hope this helps rather than confuses.

It was helpful and it clarified. !