Blocking a tremolo

[teletail]

I wasn't sure where to post this. I have an opportunity to buy a Johnny Hiland Kiesel SH6, but it has the tremolo bridge. I have no use for a tremolo and have found it more distracting than useful. I've never blocked a tremolo before. Does anyone know if it affects the tone? Any reason I should not buy the guitar and then block the tremolo?

Thanks for any input you'd care to offer.

 

[esseff]

I've hard-tailed most of my tremolo'ed guitars and not noticed any difference. Some say that blocking improves the sustain. I can't see it having any negative effect.

 

[teletail]

I've hard-tailed most of my tremolo'ed guitars and not noticed any difference. Some say that blocking improves the sustain. I can't see it having any negative effect.

Thanks. I appreciate your time and input!

 

[Paulie_Boy]

I wasn't sure where to post this. I have an opportunity to buy a Johnny Hiland Kiesel SH6, but it has the tremolo bridge. I have no use for a tremolo and have found it more distracting than useful. I've never blocked a tremolo before. Does anyone know if it affects the tone? Any reason I should not buy the guitar and then block the tremolo?

Thanks for any input you'd care to offer.

Block the silly de-tuner with a dowel or whatever fits in the cavity to keep it from moving. Use the tone controls on your guitar and amp as desired. I have several guitars blocked. I even block Bigsby de-tuners by replacing the spring with a metal tele knob. I hate those stupid things.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

I blocked my Fender Stratocaster with a hard piece of cabinetry trim right off the rack at Home Depot...it was a few dollars. I brought the guitar into the store with me and cut the trim to the proper length right there with the little jig that they have set out for customers to use. It was super easy. I don't recall the thickness of the piece of trim, but it was one of the standard thicknesses...probably 1/4 inch. The guitar sounds great to me, but to be honest I did not do any sort of before-after sound comparison.

 

[scrapyardblue]

About the only way to keep the old Strat (#4 guitar)

in tune. No difference in tone.

 

[Jakedog]

Every Strat I’ve ever owned has gotten blocked immediately upon getting it home. I just put five springs on it and screw the claw in. Works for me.

As far as affecting tone- if it does, it’s positive. Kinda like screwing down the front end of a Tele bridge.

The Clapton sig Strat comes blocked from the factory. Clapton swears, and I totally agree, that a Strat with a blocked trem sounds very different from a hardtail Strat.

 

[bgmacaw]

Every Strat I’ve ever owned has gotten blocked immediately upon getting it home. I just put five springs on it and screw the claw in. Works for me.

Same here, 5 springs and decked.

I did add a hardwood block on my Squier Standard Strat but I don't think it makes much difference vs a regular unblocked Strat. There is a difference between a true hardtail and a trem equipped Strat though.

 

[Frodebro]

I only deck the trems that will not stay in tune, and I only block the bridge if it's a floating bridge that cannot simply be decked. For a typical Strat style bridge, cranking down the claw until the bridge plate sits solidly on the top of the guitar is usually more than sufficient.

 

[beninma]

I blocked my Fender Stratocaster with a hard piece of cabinetry trim right off the rack at Home Depot...it was a few dollars. I brought the guitar into the store with me and cut the trim to the proper length right there with the little jig that they have set out for customers to use. It was super easy. I don't recall the thickness of the piece of trim, but it was one of the standard thicknesses...probably 1/4 inch. The guitar sounds great to me, but to be honest I did not do any sort of before-after sound comparison.

I need to make a shim like this for my G&L Doheny for use in adjusting the trem for different string gauges.. great idea.

I could see blocking a Trem if it was driving me nuts but I'd never buy a guitar with a Trem that was that bad???? I'd just select a different guitar with no Trem or a working Trem?

Guess I'm lucky.. the Dual Fulcrum bridge on my G&L is rock solid. It holds the tuning incredibly well even with severe use of the Tremolo. Leo Fender clearly came up with the DF bridge to make up for the Strat bridge going out of tune.

 

[Gardo]

Same here, 5 springs and decked.

I did add a hardwood block on my Squier Standard Strat but I don't think it makes much difference vs a regular unblocked Strat. There is a difference between a true hardtail and a trem equipped Strat though.

4 springs and decked on mine.

 

[Obsessed]

After leaving years of surf guitar behind me, I saved my strat by blocking the trem. Now I can bend a string like the rest of my guitars.

 

[jhundt]

I don't want to say that everyone is wrong, but....

I played a 1968 Strat for many years. It was my #1 and almost-only guitar. I blocked the trem block with a piece of balsa wood from the model-train shop. It worked well like this. I played it live for a hundred-or-so punk-rock shows.

Many years later, I decided to return the guitar to its original state. I removed the block, and... MAN! I could not believe how full and rich the sound of that Strat became. A blocked Strat is great if you want to play Eric Clapton. An unblocked Strat is a whole different thing.

 

[Danb541]

I've decked every strat I've ever had. I wood blocked one just to try it and it didn't seem any better than just screwing the the spring claw way down. Both methods are simple, reversible and work fine. I suppose some would argue using a wood block makes for better tone or sustain. That's something you could easily experiment with. I can say, there was no noticeable difference on the tone of the guitar I tried it on.

 

[teletail]

I don't want to say that everyone is wrong, but....

I played a 1968 Strat for many years. It was my #1 and almost-only guitar. I blocked the trem block with a piece of balsa wood from the model-train shop. It worked well like this. I played it live for a hundred-or-so punk-rock shows.

Many years later, I decided to return the guitar to its original state. I removed the block, and... MAN! I could not believe how full and rich the sound of that Strat became. A blocked Strat is great if you want to play Eric Clapton. An unblocked Strat is a whole different thing.

We hear what we hear. I appreciate your opinion.

 

[That Cal Webway]

I deck and block
bend alot!!

The repairman cut a shaped piece of wood to fit in the trem cavity.
I had him do that since it was in for another repair,
but about anything will work as people hv posted

 

[61fury]

I used the coin method, like a dollar fifty, a mod that actually increases the value of the guitar dollar for dollar. Seemed more convenient than trimming a piece of wood just right. It was my first set up on a Strat type and I didn't want to screw with the trem.
Turns out I'm not much of a player and have no use for a tremolo anyway. I like how they look though. You know what happens to unstable bridges don't you?

 

[Peegoo]

Every Strat I’ve ever owned has gotten blocked immediately upon getting it home. I just put five springs on it and screw the claw in. Works for me.

That's really all you need to do.

 

[schmee]

It's even possible the tremelo adds to the resonance.... Blocked or not. there's a heavy suspended block hanging on to the bridge and springs in there... I would be surprised if they don't add something. Think of it this way: "Is a large bell , like the Liberty Bell, going to ring better if it's dangling in air or attached to the ground?"
I have to say, the hardtail Strat I had just didnt seem to have the resonance my Trem Strats do. Mine are decked. Of course that's just a sample of one!

 

[Ian T]

With a strat there is that reverb chamber thing that happens with the springs, which may be why Clapton preferred a blocked trem to hardtail.

I have a Kramer Baretta that was my first good guitar at 15 years old. I later found a piece of hardened steel, it was a gear from a transmission, that fit perfectly to block the Floyd Rose. Best block ever, seemed to transfer all of the energy into the body.

I've also tried having a machinist cut aluminum perfectly to block a strat trem, as well as wood blocks, didn't notice any improvement with those ones as I had hoped. Now I just deck a strat trem with 5 springs. I have also tried letting a strat trem float as some recommend for best tone. I can't deal with floating trems, I play too many doublestop bends and break too many strings and didn't notice any tonal improvement, either.

I'd have to recommend you find piece of hardened steel that fits just right, though that would be a fishing expedition.