Hi everyone, ive got two strats at the moment and i never use the tremolo's and i just generally don't like them (the tremolo, not the guitar) and was wondering is there any way to easily change the bridge for a hardtail one?

Any help or advice is appreciated

_________________
"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed" - Bruce Springsteen

Hi Sam_G,

If you want easy, buy a body made for a hard-tail. Otherwise you would have to fill the trem hole and spring cavity with wood fitted precisely, then fill the bridge mounting screw holes, then drill new mounting screw holes for the new bridge.

Even easier, deck the trem bridge flush with the body, by adding trem claw springs for a total of five, then tighten the two trem-claw screws down tight enough that the bridge doesn't move, and is held tightly to the body even when bending strings. I like mine setup this way, as do many others, and we all possibly got the idea from Clapton, who sets his this way also.

_________________
---> "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.

Thanks shimmilou, i think go with the last option as it sounds easiest. I'm guessing that after doing that you have to adjust the action and intonation?

_________________
"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed" - Bruce Springsteen

Shimmy's right, decking it is the best option. I changed a 2 point tremo for a vintage style, and it was a major pain in the $@!, and took a while, and a lot of worry. If you cant do it yourself, it will be expensive due to how many bench hours you'll be charged.

Might I make a suggestion? Before you go decking/blocking the tremolo; just deck it at first, it'll sound really close to how it will flush with heavy spring tension and a block. There's a chance you may not like the tone, unless its not currently floating. When you deck it, it gets much brighter, with a much more cutting attack. though i dont necessarily use the trem all the time, i could have just made one blocked if i chose to. But i personally dont like the tone it gets. You'll notice it before you even plug it in.

You may love the new tone it makes, but make sure first.

What exactly do you mean by just decking it?

sorry, i'm new to all this stuff

_________________
"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed" - Bruce Springsteen

It means when you add/and or tighen the springs so much that the bridge plate lays flush with the body, as opposed to being up at an angle. Basically, when its decked, you can only push down on the tremolo arm, you cant pull up to raise the pitch. This is how most people make their tremolos useless, like you want it to be. It WILL change the tone. If you have it floating now (able to pull up on the arm, btw, if its a 6 screw, there should only be about a 1/8"gap from the back of the plate to the body). A 2 point tremolo, like on an american deluxe or american standard, you can raise the posts, because they use a knige edge to hold the plate to it. I see some come in with it set to float with the back raised the 1/8", but on a 2 point, this is unnecessary. You should raise the two posts, then set the springs so that the tremolo looks straight, not angled like on a 6 screw vintage style,like what you find on Mexican strats.

OK thanks for your help, i'm pretty sure i understand now

_________________
"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed" - Bruce Springsteen

I rarely use mine either, solution is simple. Add another tremolo spring and you can pull the tremolo down flush with the body. That works best for me and I never have a problem with tuning or anything else related to the tremolo

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

+1

Trem with 5 springs, decked, and have no problem with tuning, and when a string breaks, it doesn't throw the rest of the axe out of tune.

+1. That's how i have one of my strats, and a PRS with a trem i put a high mass brass block in. It is easier, and will still give you the tonal difference. Though I am going to block the PRS. My friend put one of the Brass blocks in their strat, and had it decked. He eventually put a block in, and it did increase resonanace, which in conjunction with the brass block, which produces harmonic overtones that steel doesnt, makes an amazing sounding guitar.

I decked mine & it's fairly easy to do. I actually enjoy using a trem, but NOT on a Strat. IMO, when it comes to getting rowdy with a trem, NOTHING beats a Floyd Rose. I keep my 1990 (made in Japan) Ibanez RG550 handy to satisfy such cravings. Love that guitar.

Decking your Strat trem is a good move. Tuning stability is a beautiful thing.
Like others have said on here, just make sure you have 5 springs in the back, that way you might not have to tighten the screws (in the back cavity) all the way in to hold the bridge flush to the body.

Also, an important note, depending on how high your bridge is floating above the body when you start, your strat might buzz like crazy if you don't adjust the bridge (saddles) after changing bridge (spring) tension. This is because when you deck the trem the strings will rest closer to the fretboard than before.

To adjust the individual saddles for each string after decking your trem check your manual. Fender has a how to section on the website (I think) & in the owner's manual that comes with the Strat.

In the manual that came with my American Standard there is a detailed section on setting Bridge Height on page 14. Use it as a guide & then adjust to personal taste.

Cheers

Shimmilou is right

I'm sorry if this is redundant/not applicable.

What about blocking the trem? I think that's a fairly simple process, which can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkj8p4Z3Rjg

Clapton's signature strat comes factory blocked, and if its good enough for him, its good enough for me.

It seems to me that decking and blocking are not the same thing. Blocking, from what I've been told, offers the sustain and stability of a regular hardtail.

They are different, both will add sustain, but if one is better than the other for sustain is debatable. You're going to get different tones from dong them different. Blocking it allow you to keep the back of the trem up off the top of the body, while still being stable. This means it will sound more like a strat with a floating tremolo. Decking it will increase the attack, and make it sound brighter, more steely. I'll leave the physics of it to the egg heads., i just go by observations.
I'll tell you; I use a tremolo, vintage, with it floating 1/8", locking tuners and a regualr bone nut, and it does not go out of tune.