Hi guys, just picked up my 4th Strat yesterday (9th I've owned over the years). This is the first that came with a Gig Bag and not an HSC. With most of the HSC's (except the fitted plastic one), I can leave the trem arm in place and rotate it to the bottom corner of the case.

Just wondering what experiences others have had with the gig bags, do you find you can leave the arm in place without messing up tuning etc. etc., or do you remove it?

Here's a couple cell snaps of the MIM Classic 60 Player in Sonic Blue. Really nice guitar from what I've been able to tell so far, really digging it!






It's North of the border Cousins...

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"If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music".
Keith Richards

Great looking guitar! I'd say take the arm out so there is no chance of it getting accidentally bashed, and put a small piece of tape over the hole so the tiny spring in there doesn't go AWOL.

I always take the arm out (only takes 30 seconds or so) as far as springs....out of 5 strats I have right now......I only have one that still has it (well to be fair two of the strats are deluxe so they dont have them anyhow)....as far as gig bags I never use them...but it would still fall in my way of thinking......keeping pressure on the arm just dont sound right to me.

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2008 Am. Std. Strat
2008 Am. Deluxe Strat
2010 Am. Deluxe Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
Hot Rod Deluxe
Hot Rod Deville 410

If you like your guitar take it off before you put it in any case.

Gig bag: you can leave it on as long as there's no pressure by a very tight fitting of the bag.

Case: trem arm removed!! Never experienced any damage but a steady "dive bomb pressure" on the trem CANNOT be good! I prefer to be careful!

Gig bags are usually no problem!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

I love that Sonic Blue Classic Player 60s Strat. At least 3 times I've gone out to buy one and come back with something else. Affordable cool.. Great player, great sound, looks incredible..

I keep my trem arms on in good quality gig bags. But if the guitar is in a case then the arms come off. (There's another current thread about this floating around somewhere). Done no damage so far, touch wood.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

Actually guys, with a hard shell case (the larger rectangular ones that are covered in tweed or tolex), there is no problem at all with leaving the arm in place. I've done it for a couple of years with the '62 Reissue in the pic above. Rotate it so it points to the corner of the case (roughly over the jack plate).

And that one was (until yesterday when I changed the set up) set tight against the body (I usually have kept the trems set similar to the factory suggested spec of 1/8 inch floating at the rear). I did this for years with an American '57 reissue back in the 90's (wish I hadn't sold it!), an SRV Signature series (ditto!) and an original 1962 Stratocaster (ditto x 1000!). Never any issues there.

The ones I don't keep it on in are the form fitted black plastic cases I have for an American Standard (and have had on two other American Standards also back in the 90's). Those are simply too close fitting, but the others, no issue at all, there is no pressure applied that I've ever been able to discern.

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"If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music".
Keith Richards