Glendale "Chimemaster" ... OUTSTANDING!

[Bill Hullett]

Hi Guys....

I debated as to where to put this post ....The chimemaster is a Strat replacement bridge that Glendale is now offering , but at the same time it has Tele qualities about it so I just decided to post here!!!

Anyhoo.....I got one of these a few weeks ago and put it my guitar, I gotta say that Dale has done it once again in spades.....The block (one of the options is Brass.....thats the one I'm using) is nice and heavy and the ball end of the strings sit closer to the bottom of the block (ala a '54 Strat) and it uses three of his tele style bridges instead of the usual 6 piece strat kind....This is a huge improvement over the original bridge....for one it gives you better tone than I've ever heard out of a strat ...period......and it solves the age old problem of the little E string bridge piece wanting to slide away from the other 5 as on an original bridge....I traditionally can't take the sound of the back pup of a strat by itself as compared to a Tele ....But this new bridge makes every position of the selector switch as sweet as can be! The Guitar really took on a new life with this thing!!!!! All 5 positions are smooth, clear and although it sounds stupid...."CHIMEY" ....You gotta give this bridge a listen to....Now I can hardly wait for someone to fit one of these tailpieces onto a tele.....That would rock!!!!!

Bill Hullett

[boris bubbanov]

Bill, I am so glad that someone else has finally stepped forward to talk about how remarkable this bridge assembly is.

Please remember I put my Chimemaster on what was just about my least favorite Strat, a Highway One upgrade, and this created, even with those overwound alnico 3s that barely used to get a passing grade, a great guitar. This bridge basically propelled the H1 past all my Am Se Strats, all of my MIM Strats (I still prefer certain things about my Jimmie Vaughan) into my first choice of which Strat to play.

I understand they are now $ 199. I've got other fish to fry, but what I might do is try this Chimemaster on a couple of my other Strats, see which guitar it sounds the best on and maybe get rid of the Strat that lags behind regardless of bridge choice. This is a game breaker, and in some ways kinda makes regular Strats seem empty.

No way I'd ever do a Trem Tele without this Chimemaster; it'd be just the thing.

[Bill Hullett]

It sure does seem like the killer way to keep a Tele vibe with a Strat part! It's stupid how much sonic improvement that it gives the guitar VS. the standard trem block, ain't it!!!
Bill Hullett

[Telegazer]

It's amazing how much simple innovation could be attained on an age-old design, shame it's not any more affordable than we're likely to see.

[stephent2]

I'm in the process of building myself a strat, looks like I need to sell the (other guy's) bridge and go w/ Dale's stuff.

Only seems right, I love Dale's Tele saddles and bridges. Thanks for the heads up.

[Scotland]

Some of the very best sounds I've ever heard from a Strat comes from Bill Hullett, if this Chimemaster makes it sound even better then I'm definitely in the market for one.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Bill Hullett

Hi Guys....

I debated as to where to put this post ....The chimemaster is a Strat replacement bridge that Glendale is now offering , but at the same time it has Tele qualities about it so I just decided to post here!!!

Anyhoo.....I got one of these a few weeks ago and put it my guitar, I gotta say that Dale has done it once again in spades.....The block (one of the options is Brass.....thats the one I'm using) is nice and heavy and the ball end of the strings sit closer to the bottom of the block (ala a '54 Strat) and it uses three of his tele style bridges instead of the usual 6 piece strat kind....This is a huge improvement over the original bridge....for one it gives you better tone than I've ever heard out of a strat ...period......and it solves the age old problem of the little E string bridge piece wanting to slide away from the other 5 as on an original bridge....I traditionally can't take the sound of the back pup of a strat by itself as compared to a Tele ....But this new bridge makes every position of the selector switch as sweet as can be! The Guitar really took on a new life with this thing!!!!! All 5 positions are smooth, clear and although it sounds stupid...."CHIMEY" ....You gotta give this bridge a listen to....Now I can hardly wait for someone to fit one of these tailpieces onto a tele.....That would rock!!!!!

Bill Hullett

I am in the process of having Ron Kirn build me a double bound Pine Telecaster with a Chimemaster bridge! This guitar is really exciting because it has some special appointments that any "Single Malt Scotch" lover could appreciate. Heck any Tele lover could appreciate it for that matter.

I had no intention of previewing this too early but considering the Chimemaster is being installed and that this thread will have a safe place in the Tele forum now. Let me introduce you to.........

The "Dalmore"



Keep in mind these are preliminary shots and the body and neck are being clear coated today. But it looks so nice I had to share.



I will be posting an entire thread about the Dalmore soon. For the record the name is derived from this Highland nectar.



I had Dale send me two bridges cause I have another Ron Kirn finished Pine Tele in the works as well that will utilize the Chimemaster.

On the RK "Dalmore" I had Dale config the Chimemaster with a Steel E/A and Brass D/G B/E sort of a Tele "Twang" combination.

Thank you for posting this Bill it really is GOOD NEWS about the Chimemaster!

Arlo

[OaklandA]

WOW...love the Dalmore. That is hot, man. When the clouds clear financially I may have to explore that concept. That's really awesome.

Congrats, Arlo & Ron on a fine Tele.

[tuuur]

WOW Arlo, that is a super guitar in the making!!! Love the deer head inlay, or is it painted?

[Arlo]

I don't want to hijack Bill's thread so I will keep this brief. Thanks for the compliments gents, the stag head is a decal that is clear coated.

One interesting thing about the Dalmore is the Glendale Chimemaster installation on a Tele. I am hopeful that it will retain the Telecaster tone and feel.



I will post a dedicated and detailed thread on the "Dalmore" very soon.

[e-merlin]

Thanks for the review, Bill. And your confirmation, Boris. I've been wondering about that thing. Good to know it does what they say it does. I'm out of Strats, but I may build a Tele with one of those things.

Looking forward to your full report, Arlo.

[telemomo]

Dang:

I bought a Chimemaster when it was on sale. I have been chomping at the bit to put it in a Partsocaster I am assembling. USPS must be shipping stuff by mule these days because I have been waiting 5 days for my Allparts SMO-FAT neck to get to SoCal from Florida!

Bill's post has not made me any less anxious!!!

Mike

[boris bubbanov]

I'm very excited about Arlo's concept, and here's why:

The Chimemaster installation makes for the best Strat you may ever have heard, some may say it is Tele like but a Chimemaster Strat is still not exactly a substitute for a Tele, just a bigger, more acoustic sounding Strat.

Up until now, the few Strat trem bridged Teles I heard did not set me on fire, and this was because IMO of the inadequacy of the Strat bridges available then. The Chimemaster I suspect will solve all these inadequacies and in turn create a whole new trend in Tele design.

Three cheers to Dale for 1) Actually tooling up and taking on this concept and;
2) Executing it well enough right out of the gate that folks will recognize the tremendous potential here.

I just ask that would be buyers remember this block is brass, brass is soft. Don't go doing heavy whammies on this block; if you wanna wreck it, I'll bet you could. I'll bet Dale will have a steel block insert for you eventually. In the meanwhile, I ask the slammers to please buy the steel block version of this product.

This will be fun.

[ajgus]

Question...I still have 6 steel saddles left over from my Nashville. Could those potentially be mounted on a Strat bridge? Similar to the Chimemaster concept, but different...or is this not do-able?

[Bill Hullett]

Your new Tele is sooooooo outstanding.....And you are gonna flip when you finally string that bad boy up!!!!


Dale is quickly becoming the go to guy for unique twists on Fender hot rod projects!!!!

Bill Hullett

[Arlo]

Bill,

Thanks on the new Tele we are pretty excited about installing the Chimemaster. Ron does a fantastic job! Only wish I had 1/10 his skills.

Dale is a great guy and his products are outstanding. I have been using his bridges and saddles for some time now.

I also see he has a hard tail Strat bridge out now!! Another build

I will certainly be posting some sound clips once we get the guitar completed.

Arlo

[telemania]

hmmmmmm, i have a Melancon strat that i absolutely love. tons of resonence. it has a wilkinson trem on it which feels pretty average. if it doesn't involve too many more holes drilled in the body the Chimemaster seems like it would make the Mel just sing.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by ajgus

Question...I still have 6 steel saddles left over from my Nashville. Could those potentially be mounted on a Strat bridge? Similar to the Chimemaster concept, but different...or is this not do-able?

If you're thinking about the offset Strat bridge plate:

1) The offset is wrong, but worse

2) The Nashville saddles are meant for the 2 + 7/32nds string array. To use the narrower array, everything will be jammed one atop the other.

On a vintage plate they simply don't align close enough.

Besides, there's a million miles between Dale's new saddles and those 6'ers. MIM 6 hammer Nashville saddles, yeah I got a bunch left over, too. I'll try and grind a set down so they don't clash with one another and use them on another Squier plate, that's all they're good for, I've tried.


Yeah, Arlo is right, Dale has launched still another item, and this is a hardtail Strat plate, which means '72 Deluxe and '72 Thinline compatible I believe. $ 99 is for the plate only, guys, the saddles are extry.

[boris bubbanov]

Was my lowly Highway One upgrade Strat, with a Fatback 1 + 11/16ths birdseye / rosewood board neck and Gotoh "klusons", and this great Chimemaster.

Just having a ball playing this through my Custom Vibrolux Reverb. Four springs, tightened up trem claw, 6 hardened Callaham plate mount screws. D'Addario 10-46s that aren't even that new.

Maybe I chose the wrong Teles to comparo against, but this week, this one wins, amigo.

[Groovey Records]

Woof

Arlo - That is a Stag Party !

Thanks for the heads up Bill.

Big Brass Balls

EnJoY ThE MuSiC
GrooVey Records

[Flat357]

So I can slot one of these straight into my strat , and keep the Strat qualities , as opposed to it sounding like a Tele with a trem ?

Any plans for a 2 pivot version or is it strictly vintage trem type ?

Would be interesting to see how it performs with string bending tuning stabilities verses a normal trem .

Not cheap though , so obviously as there are options with the material , can anyone do some before / after sound clips with a Strat ?

To buy both to test , plus shipping , plus duty , might be an expensive experiment for us UK'ers .

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by Flat357

So I can slot one of these straight into my strat , and keep the Strat qualities , as opposed to it sounding like a Tele with a trem ?

357, I have 4 trem springs, and a float of maybe 1.5 mm. Even with the brass saddles, this guitar is still a Strat, not a doubt about it. The trem balances wonderfully, a little shimmer with the palm. And it doesn't sound like a Floyd Strat, despite the common trait of the brass block. It is like, the most substantial Strat you've heard in a while; big acoustic sound. If you want a Tele sound, put it on a Dalmore, I'd say.

I just had a mental hiccup: I know I've always disliked the Highway One upgrade Tele pickups, and I know therefore I was suspicious of the pickups in my Highway One Upgrade Strat. However, once I put the brass block on there in place of the stock steel one, I was suddenly very impressed. The pups aren't my favorites, but I don't mind them now. Has the elimination of this much steel altered the field around the pickups, especially the much improved bridge pickup? If so, why don't folks rave more about zinc blocks, or is zinc really that inferior to brass? I'll have see if I can sneak a good steel block onto this Chimemaster plate assembly. Better yet, somebody go buy the steel version from Glen.

[boris bubbanov]

Here's what it looks like:




I believe the brass version is sold out at the moment.