I've been playing about a year. Got a 2010 MIM Lake Placid Blue Strat while I was in Afghanistan with the Navy and have been loving it ever since.

My question in reading a lot of forums is that a lot of people say that the MIM Strats have pig iron in them and that replacing them with steel or brass ones drastically improves the sound and sustain. I've also heard that the quality of the MIM Strats have gotten way better over the years.

Now, my own Strat sounds great to me so I'm wondering if maybe Fender started using better metal in the tremolo blocks over the years with the MIM or do I just not know the difference?

The improvement to tone is subjective. Some people can barely hear a difference while for others, it's night and day. If you are happy with the way it sounds leave it alone. However it is a simple and cheap mod that's easily reversible. I changed the block in all 3of of my MIM strats and only notice a real improvement in 2.

I replaced the thin zinc block in mine with a GFS high mass brass block. I got some more sustain out of it, and added more of the lower undertones. I did however have to route out the cavity a bit, but I think that's because I have a squier body. I agree with FENDER0426, it is subjective.

in my opinion tone improvement or not, the Callaham block is worth getting just for the feel of the trem after the change. there is zero slack on the arm so the trem is much more responsive.

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+1

I'm not much of a trem guy myself as I seldom use it. But the Delrin bushing that Callaham inserts into their trem block makes all the difference in the world in terms of the usability, durability, and feel of the arm. And the grade of cold-rolled steel they use for the block itself is second to none.

JMOOC

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

So replacing the block seems to be a consensus.

Any metallurgists out there able to me though if I look at it how to tell if it's "pig iron" vs. steel?

Sweet, thanks Stratofied.

Hi Highline,

I am not a metallurgist, just know a little about the different blocks. The newer MIM models, like yours, have the full size block, which was upgraded from the previous smaller versions. Even though full size, the block is likely a cast block of softer metal (might call it "pig iron"), instead of a cold-rolled steel (CRS) like a Callaham or other steel blocks. Using a magnet can indicate just how much iron is actually in there, and even the best cast blocks have weak magnetic attraction, whereas the "zinc" or whatever it actually is (looks like pressed powdered metal), has no magnetic attraction. The steel block will have a much stronger magnetic attraction. The best grade of steel for a block is the "1018 CRS", that both Callaham and FCS claim to use. Magnetic attraction doesn't mean tone, just one indicator of which type of block that you have. If you examine the block closely, it is easy to spot the cast blocks vs the pressed metal blocks vs a machined piece of steel.

If you have a stock MIM block, even the best one which it seems that you have, a quality steel block can improve the tone of your guitar. The improvements that I noted when upgrading to a Callaham block, were in the sustain, harmonics and overtones, both were richer and fuller with the steel block. I have changed many blocks to Callaham, and the improvement was well worth the cost. The tone differences will be much greater when going from the Zinc block to steel, than it will be going from your cast block to steel. The latter being more subtle and sometimes difficult for some to detect. I highly recommend the Callaham for reasons mentioned.

FCS recently (finally) started making their blocks more like the originals, recent correction is the string hole depth for the string ball. The CS blocks, also found on RIs, are Fender's best blocks, so if you come across one, it would be an improvement over your current stock block. Although, the trem arm has a much better feel in the Callaham as compared to the FCS (reasons mentioned in prev post), and I prefer the Callaham partly for that reason.

Forgot to mention, the saddles could also be improved with a change to Fender US version, or Callaham. The harder/better saddles add to the tone a little, and won't get the string grooves in them like the MIM saddles can. Every little improvement adds to the whole.

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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.

Thanks Shimmi, you also anticipated my next question about going with the whole Callahan package that includes the bridge saddles along with the steel block. I really appreciate the time you took to explain it all in detail.

Good call on the whole package. The Callaham mounting screws, claw, springs, plate, saddles and block would all be improvement over what you have. They have nice looking "relic" parts also. I put one on my RW 60s, it matched and looked great, and the tone improvements mentioned were just as good as the non relic.

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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.