I don't know why, but I really hate the 2 screw bridges on my Am Std and Deluxe Strats. ?I really like the 6 ion my MIMs. Is it just me? I feel like my 6 screw bridges are much easier to set up and stay in tune compared to the 2 screw bridges.
ABS

As far as tuning stability, the two-screw is better as it has an actual pivot point, the 6 screw does not, so by design, the 6 screw can not be as accurate as the two. If both are properly setup and lubed the same, the two-screw will stay in tune better every time.

It is kind of different and hard to accept the change, as we're used to the 6-screw bridges, but progress is important too, hence the two-screw bridge. If not for the better tuning stability, the two-screw would be useless and weird.

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Those six screws and the knife-edge machined at the bottom of the traditional bridge plate never wear out like the twin pivot points of the "new/improved" trem are prone to after years of use.

Progress???

PFFFFFFFFFFT!

Arjay

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"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

I thought the secret on the vintage bridge was to leave 4 screws loose, thus making it a 2-point trem. Dah, just get a hard tail. Good luck with that if you don't like Robert Cray by the way.

Hi candycoke09: the real reason people sometimes raise the middle four screws a few turns on a traditional bridge is not so much to convert it to a de facto two-point unit but because unless all six screw holes are drilled absolutely perfectly in position one or more of them will be a fraction out of true and so a screw may bind a bit on its hole in the bridge plate, thus inhibiting return-to-pitch. By raising the middle four screws you effectively take them out of the equation (because of the slight taper on the screw shank) so the issue is removed. The two end screws are more than strong enough to support the bridge - usually. (Though I bet Forum user Martian has seen exceptions.)

The holes for the six bridge screws were always drilled using a small hand-held drill and surprisingly in the most recent photo I've seen of the process in the factory it is still done that way, at least as of a couple of years ago. That's where a potential inaccuracy in screw hole placement can creep in.

By the way, the five elongated screw holes in the bridge plate on Wilkinson bridges is not so that they will fit different spec screw spacings (a popular misconception) but to remove this screw-binding issue. I was told that by none other than Trevor Wilkinson himself, so you can rely on that snippet of information!

Cheers - C

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Weirdly, I find it absolutely no problem at all to set up a 6 screw bridge (and more importantly, the rest of the guitar, as that has far more to do with the tuning stability than the bridge!) to stay in tune and be absolutely rock solid despite any amount of divebombing antics. Took me years to be able to do it though, and I'm still not quite sure exactly how, it's more through feel than anything concrete.

Takes me a lot longer to dial in the two post bridge, and even when everything is perfect, I still don't like the feel quite as much.

Having said that, what bridge is on my main Strat which gets used 90% of the time? Two post. I love the rest of the guitar enough to put up with the bridge.

Wow! That is incredible, as normally any two pieces of metal, when rubbed against each other over time will wear. Either the six bridge screws or the knife edge, or both, will certainly wear with use. You wouldn't really notice the wear on the six-screw, as there is no pivot point anyway, and the plate just slides up and down on the screw shaft, so the knife edge is really pointless, and it would get smoother operation with wear. Since the six-screw doesn't stay in tune as well as the two-screw, you won't notice anything different as the six-screw wears.

On a related note, ME says that the two-screw bridge plate knife edge is hardened steel and does not wear.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=62241

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---> "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.

Wow, a hand-held drill? You'd think they could have invested in a drill press with long arm and depth setting by now. Of course, it's sure led to some great sounding guitars for longer than I've been alive. I doubt some guy is going 200mph with a handheld drill to do those holes though, and you can do some pretty good work with a handheld if you've got a good eye and steady hands. As far as the two-point, were the screws hardened on the older models (before Am. Standard became Am. Series)? I remember that the screws looked cheap and rusted. No plating is probably to blame for that (same for the bridge saddles), but I don't know either way if they were hardened. I like to use my fingers for most of my effects, so I just go with the setup recommendations from the owner's manual and the "Book on the Strat" I bought. Just in case I ever stumble on a guitar I must have sans owners manual.

Hee-hee - yeah, I know; it's a bit surprising!

Last time I saw someone's photo tour of the factory there was a nice row of big drill presses - and yet there was a lady drilling all the screw holes by hand with a smallish hand drill (a Foredom I seem to remember, or something similar).

In these days of CNC machines you'd think the screw holes would be done by a robot, no? It's fascinating how much of guitar building is still done by hand. Mostly I think that's cool, but...

Cheers - C

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I readily agree with all the aforementioned.

The only times I've seen the two screw system malfunction is from neglect, maladjustment and/or outright abuse.

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I agree with Retro on this one. If your bridge is sliding up and down the screws, it's either not set up correctly, or the bridge is not machined properly. The 6 screw bridge has more contact with the body of the guitar. The 2 point has the brass inserts. That's why a lot of Les Paul players prefer the ABR bridge.

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The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair.
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Hi ABS,you're not alone on the bridge issue.The only 2 point trem I have is on my 50th Ann. all the rest have 6 point and I just prefer the way the 6 point feels and performs , I also find it easier to set up and stay in tune.

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'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'm a bit miffed concerning the " Wearing Out " of the Two point Bridge System....
Just how much use does that require...
Other than constant and incessant Wham-mil-ly Action....

May I suggest an amp with a Vibrato Feature.......

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

If one is concerned about the plate constantly grinding against, deforming and deteriorating the rocker bolts, one can go to a local machine shop and have a set of replacement bolts duplicated out of titanium or some such 'over-kill' metal. In turn, the paranoia will then shift to the bolts constantly grinding against and deforming of the bridge plate's mating crescents where the above replacement scenario repeats itself. And then, a brouhaha with I'm sure, "Infallible Web Dogma (IWD)" would ensue about inherent tonality issues where of course, the only 'sensible' remedy is to utilize Callaham's grossly overpriced products for they are not subject to the laws of physics.

My point: Oftentimes, people think too much. All typical guitar hardware, even the best stuff eventually wears down and out. Notwithstanding, with proper care and use, this OEM two bolt system will reliably serve the users for MANY years to come. And regardless of what smacks of still more, "IWD", I'm sure the engineers at Fender are MOST competent. Surely, they have put this two bolt system through many a trial before it became the new standard in spite of the fact that objections to replacing the "Vintage" system on general principle would be and still are rampant. As is human nature, people get used to one thing and are resistant to change, regardless of the positive merits of the change.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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Martian....How dare you repute or is that dispute the I.I.W.D.D. .....
That is " The Indefatigable Infallible Web Dogma Disciple's "

Silence in the Halls......Hoooommmmm....

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