Hi guys, new to the forum and my first question.
Ive just bought a USA 57 RI Strat and was wondering is it an easy job to change from a trem bridge to a hardtail? Is it just a case of swapping parts or is there more to it than that?
Thanks, Wayne

u could fit a hard tail brigde like the ones off a tele but to fit a hard tail like a gibson requires a lot more work...

_________________
blues - its a religion...

I would be easier (from a mechanical standpoint) to block the tremolo. The Eric Clapton Stratocaster comes blocked with a piece of wood; I used a stack of quarters to block the trem on mine.

If you want the look of a hard tail, it would require a bit of woodworking or wood filler to fill in the tremolo cavity from behind and in the front, as well as some paint matching.

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Screamin" Armadillo is pointing you down the right path.To do a trem-hardtail conversion would be time consuming and pretty difficult.Blocking your vibrato in the Clapton style will give you the same results without the expense or bother and heartache.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I would agree with Screamin' Armadillo and guitslinger - it would be far easier to block the trem. To truly convert to a hardtail you would have to fill in the entire trem cavity, then drill 6 holes in the wood for the strings. You can get close enough to hardtail tone by decking the trem, tightening the 6 screws down so it won't move, and putting some wood blocks in the trem cavity.

Buy yourself a Robert Cray body off of Ebay and find a vintage-spec hardtail bridge. All the parts from your AVRI will drop right on then you're off to the races.

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

+1 Blocking a trem is so easy, and if you ever decide you want the trem working, just pull the block out and wank away...

Retroverbial has a point too though especially if you just got to have a hardtail.

T2

_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------
What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Thanks for the advice guys Has anyone fitted a Tremol-no and if so are they better than a diy block?

Yo Wayne...what's in your world?? First...welcome to the Forums. Here's my take on things....

Fender used to offer a hardtail [aka fixed bridge]Stratocaster both RH and LH, and could be ordered in custom colors. Vibrato tailpieces [correct term, btw] and the popularity thereof, likely doomed the guitar due to lack of interest.

Today they produce two Artist Series guitars which are fixed bridge equipped...the Corgan and the Cray. If you want a hardtail from the ground up, this is your option, prior to going to the Custom Shop and ordering any Strat the company offers, and specifying a hardtail version.

The tone of a true hardtail must differ from a blocked vibrato ala Clapton. In addition, the Clapton guitar is set up with the trem claw flush to the body wall, five springs in the system, and the block wedged between the mass block and the rear of the trem rout. This is going to give you a different tone quality:wood>metal>metal>metal>wood>wood, then a single wood blank guitar body which might be of one,two or three pieces depending on whether done Custom Shop, or production might generate.

This backfitting project you are toying with is something I would personally never consider. Leave it be, enjoy it as is, and start out fresh. Get an MIM Cray and, if you like the neck, muck around with the electronics 'til you find your Shangri-La.

Let us know how you end up.

Doc

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

I would just Block the trem with pieces of wood on each side of the trem Block.. The sustain is amazing afterwards and you don't get those awful ghost notes from the springs. ( I took out the springs also) And tuning is rock solid also. I have never come across a tremolo that held a tuning as well as a fixed bridge. Add a little graphite grease for good measures on the nut and bridge saddles... talk about rock solid tuning.. and sustain that goes forever...

A.R.Duchossior writes in his book on the Stratocaster that Clapton did not want a hardtail for his new signature guitar. He felt that all the hardware of the bridge/trem assembly lent something to the tone that a Tele- type body did not. I have blocked the trem in some of my Strats and I may do the same with my '57VHR. I will leave the Gilmour and VG out of that mix.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

If you are into woodworking you could cut a plug to fill in the trem cavity (front and back) and drill the holes for the Hard tail bridge. You could buy a Hard tail body and switch everything onto it. You could just block the existing bridge. It really ydepends on what you want to do. Unfortunately you will not be able to take one bridge off and replace it with a Hard Tail one without major work.

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

....I hope that's not a new guitar he's talking about. It's like the Gilmour project. Pulling out the mods, patching everything up, and going back to vintage.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

I know a few people here on the Forum that could pull it off. It would be a lot of work. It can be done. However, it would be easier to either buy a new Hard Tail body, or guitar rather than attempt a true conversion from tremolo to a hard tail bridge.

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Roger that....Ceri's project...the prime example of retro-recovery.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"