anyone use them?

I'm thinking of getting one for my strat..

I personally don't like them, I like to palm mute the bass strings allot and it makes that difficult. but you know what, i still am not sure why the heck those were ever made

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You're aware that the ashtray only fits American Vintage Reissue Bridges and Mexican Classic/Deluxe bridges, not the American Standard bridge nor the Mexican Standard bridge?


An ashtray came with my first Strat back in '76. When I wasn't playing it I used to lean my guitar against the amp or a chair so I could gaze at it and bask in its beauty. I often popped the ashtray on when the guitar was in repose. The cover has a really cool "hotrod hood scoop"/"space age" look.

But after a few tries I started taking the cover off whenever I picked up the guitar and actually played it instead of looking at it. It just gets in the way when you palm mute near the bridge. And after a while I started putting the cover on less and less frequently, and then pretty much gave up on it entirely. I haven't had an ashtray for any Strat since.

I can't think of any pros who play with the ahstray cover on. If there are any, they're a tiny minority. They've been so unused that back in the '80s when Fender designed the modern American Standard bridge, they made it so the ashtray can't fit -- and buyers were fine with that.

But there's certainly nothing wrong with getting an ashtray for a Strat (that has a vintage-spec bridge). It's inexpensive and it does look really cool. You might find that it doesn't get in your way when you play, and even if it does you can use it to dress up your Strat when it's just sitting around looking sexy.

Personally, they were only used for a aesthetic reason. The cover prevents palm muting, which for many is very important unless you're a finger picker or strummer.

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


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Some things serve no other purpose than to look cool





Goodonya ...Mark.

As mentioned by another, I palm mute a lot as well. Does not work for my playing style.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Yes, the palm muting issue always arises. I do palm muting myself, but nowhere near the bridge. That's just me I guess. I still take the thing off when playing simply because it's not very securely attached.

As mentioned my playing style does not allow for the ashtray trem cover. I do palm mute right in the bridge.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head