Looking for opinions and impressions...


http://www.stratcat.biz/4027.shtml

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

hi mike i made / cut one down for my mij 50's strat that i put a SD ssl5 in , and for doing floyd stuff it works as it should , but for doing other stuff sau hendrix not so good , but it's nice for the shimmers and lead use on a load of floyd tunes , it looks like this mounted


cheers
Alan

_________________

I picked them up from the same company awhile back and they work fine, and quick service.

_________________

my FSR came with the short bar. It took me about a week to totally get use to the length of it. kept missing it on the grab. Now it feels more natural then the normal length bars.

_________________
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

I put a Callaham bridge with the short (4 1/8) Gilmour style trem arm in one of the Strats I had. It was very nice and I liked it. I wonder why I haven't gone with the shorter arm on my current Strats?

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

I'm the same way. I think the reason I haven't is the fact I only had the long bars in the house, and hardly use the bar so it doesn't make me want to buy three other arms.

_________________
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

I just pulled out the old hacksaw and shortened my tremolo arm to around 4.5 inches. Then I cleaned up the cut end on my disk sander. I don't use the trem very much but I like having the shorter arm.

Looks very strange without the normal size bar unusual.

_________________
Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

gary , wait till you try it , if you like playing some floyd tunes , it works like a long bar can't , if that makes sence , cheers
Alan

_________________

Hi Alan, yeah i can imagine it woold work well for doing a lot of stuff it's just in the pic where the guy has the bar without the end tip on it it looks kind of strange! maybe because i'm so used to seeing a trem bar with the white tip on it

Any tips for keeping yours in tune Alan?

My EC strat stays in tune mostly but every now and then it go's out a bit and i have to yank it back in Still it's worth it for having the use of the bar.

I never understood how players don't utilise it on their strats the tuning issue perhaps mostly? or maybe just not their style.

I like to have the option of adding some nice vibrato to chords and stuff

Do you like the stuff Beck does with the bar?

_________________
Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

hi gary , tips for tuning would be , a wee touch of petro jelly on the saddles , in the nut slots and on the string trees ,and making sure the string winds are neat , it usually works well for me oh and if it a vintage brirge you have make sure the 4 inside screws are loosened a bit , i think thats it now cheers
Alan

_________________

Gary, I don't have a tip on my shortened bar, because I didn't have a black one. The original tip that I sawed off was white and it didn't match the pickups and switches. Anyway, I got used to not having the tip and probably won't be adding it. For the past two years I had the trem decked with 5 springs. I started playing some surf tunes and thought what the heck, why not float it again. The short arm is great for putting some dive into chords. However, the short arm with 5 springs really doesn't provide the leverage to change a note or chord more than half a tone. But that's enough for what I play. Besides, I'm only a newbie bedroom hacker. FWIW...I have not experienced any tuning issues with this setup. By the way, the saddles, nut and trees are GraphTech, which may contribute to the tuning stability.

+1, I really like the short arm, looks cool too, plus the Callaham bridge has tremendous sustain.

Thanks Alan i appreciate it, i've started using the bar again lately and it adds another little twist to your playing


Thanks ras, it's totally down to the fact that that's the first time i've ever seen a strat with that done to the arm! i've never seen one that has been shortened before, but i can definitely see where it would come in handy.

I was kinda the same as you, i had my EC strat with bridge tightened right up with 5 springs and that's the way i always used it. But every time i saw SRV playing "Lenny" or when i saw Jeff Beck doing wonderful stuff with the bar, i always wanted to have that option, so i removed 2 springs, floated the bridge like you and adjusted it so that i can pull up a major third on the G string. It does go out a bit now and then but i can live with that for the abilities it gives. It's great to be able to get a nice vibrato on chords as well

PS. what's the little mini switch ras on your strat? next to your position selector, looks interesting.

_________________
Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Thanks for the info and pics. I had a machinist friend make a few
different shapes and bends, but haven't tried the 4.25" size yet.

Are most of you guys using the 6 or 2 point bridge with them?

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!