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I just performed the THUMB DESTROYING chore of adding 2 more springs to the Marauder's strat trem. But while I was in there, I was struck by how wimpy looking the metal slab thing in there for retaining the strings is. The guitar is WILD bright, and I'm looking to eek out a coupletones in the bass frequencies. Is one of those gigantic brass blocks that fill the entire route the way to go or is that some old bullshit?

i think its fake but im not a wealthy white man so my guitar opinions carry little weight

Get the steel one. I did for my strat and it was a major improvement.

GFS

oh i thouhgt he meant a block to eliminate trem springs entirely

i would recommend a steel block, not brass. brass really dulled my strat out and gave it less sustain - contrary to what people tell you, it barely resonates at all. i took it out pretty quickly. steel on the other hand will add more bass than the standard zinc block and more resonance/sustain/volume AND highs. it's just better all round. so yeah, it does make a difference in my experience but get steel.

vintage strats have had steel blocks from the start, none of this brass mojo bullshit

also, you can use a screwdriver to help put the springs on. attach it to the block first then stick the screwdriver through the other end and use that to work it over the spring mount plate thing using the plate as a pivot for leverage

theshadowofseattle wrote:But while I was in there, I was struck by how wimpy looking the metal slab thing in there for retaining the strings is.

do u mean strings or springs?

Fakir Mustache wrote:

theshadowofseattle wrote:But while I was in there, I was struck by how wimpy looking the metal slab thing in there for retaining the strings is.

do u mean strings or springs?

One side retains both the springs and the strings.

Yes, I know, but someone could argue that the bit that holds just the springs can have an effect, and it can also be made of brass and other metals.

JordanD wrote:

Fakir Mustache wrote:

theshadowofseattle wrote:But while I was in there, I was struck by how wimpy looking the metal slab thing in there for retaining the strings is.

do u mean strings or springs?

One side retains both the springs and the strings.

Yeah. The block that retains the str/prings

theshadowofseattle wrote:Is one of those gigantic brass blocks that fill the entire route the way to go or is that some old bullshit?

Steel blocks are good, and preferable to the pot metal things that come as standard on cheaper strats. Brass mondo-blocks are daft 70s/80s ALL THE SUSTAINTOANZ WHATEVER IT TAKES silliness to be filed alongside the motherbucker , clip on headstock sustain blocks and brass nuts.

brass nuts

More mass != MORE TOANZ necessarily, I mean, it's proven that aluminum is great for sustain and clarity. Ibanez has been using that on their nicer trems for decades IIRC. But I agree that the crap that the blocks are made of on cheap Strat trems is, well, cheap, no matter the material. GFS steel block is probably a worthy investment given the price. Never used one, so idunno. But first I'd sooner do something even cheaper, like mess with pickup height, string gauge / material, etc.

benecol wrote:

theshadowofseattle wrote:Is one of those gigantic brass blocks that fill the entire route the way to go or is that some old bullshit?

Steel blocks are good, and preferable to the pot metal things that come as standard on cheaper strats. Brass mondo-blocks are daft 70s/80s ALL THE SUSTAINTOANZ WHATEVER IT TAKES silliness to be filed alongside the motherbucker , clip on headstock sustain blocks and brass nuts.

But you sold me a guitar with a brass nut, was it all mojo arrows and blues lawyer tears?

Got to agree though, a steel block is the way to go. Apart from anything else, the standard blocks are way too soft.

I installed an Wilkinson trem on my Squier Strat with a much larger (steel) block and there was a big improvement.
Concerning sustain and maybe some low end.
Quite like brass though, Fenders are generally too bright for me, so the dullness rounds things off IMO.

NickD wrote:But you sold me a guitar with a brass nut, was it all mojo arrows and blues lawyer tears?

I was going to do one of my beloved footnotes exempting Gordon Smiths (they stick them on everything, donchaknow...) but was phonescaling so couldn't do the formatting.

Being a blues-lawyer-in-training, I highly recommend 5 springs and a block made from a surplus Vietnam-era helicopter to really get them vintage tonz.

Fuck almighty, I'd heard of brass and even titanium, but hadn't realised that people had started making them from tungsten and even granite.

Granite?

http://www.floydrose.com/catalog/upgrad ... tain-block

Makes sense. My kitchen got sustain for dayz.

My Marauder is MIC, what kind of trem block do I need? GFS has 3 size/style options.

probably the " Fits Most IMPORT Tremolos!!"

but you could email them to be sure.