A few years ago I built a partscaster Strat, using a Fender MIM Classic 50s Lacquer neck, an MJT body finished in Mary Kaye blonde, Callaham hardware kit, and a set of Fender CS 54 pickups. When I had it all screwed together, I took it to a local shop to have the nut cut and a setup.
When I picked the guitar up, the low E was almost falling off the side of the neck. Now, I can be a meek beta sometimes, and I don't like to complain. Rather than complain, I'll just never go back. So after a while I took the guitar to another shop in a nearby town, pointed out the flaws in the setup and asked for a new nut. When I picked up the guitar, the strings were still way off-center.
So after another while I drove to Memphis and took the Strat to a "guitar spa". The guy there said I had the wrong bridge on the guitar, it had a 2 7/32" bridge and he claimed I needed a 2 1/16" one. Fortunately Callaham makes a bridge with 2 1/16" string spacing that fits on a guitar drilled for 2 7/32" spacing on the pivot screws, so we got one of those and swapped it in, plus another new nut and setup.
When I picked it up, all the strings were perfectly evenly spaced across the fingerboard, with nothing falling off either edge. The guitar played well enough for them to bum-rush me out of the store as quickly as possible. When I got it home I realized the float on the bridge was all messed up, he had screwed down the pivot screws too far and the trem would barely move. When I adjusted the pivot screws properly, the float and action were way out of whack and I had to go through the whole balancing act of trying to get string tension and spring tension just right, and then adjust all the saddle heights.
I finally got it somewhat playable, and it sat on a guitar stand for a couple of years where I proceeded to ignore it and always pick up something else. One day I picked it up and decided it was unplayable to me because the strings were too close together. After a few cursory measurements, I determined that there was no reason why this guitar should require the narrow string spacing, and I ordered a Fender American Vintage trem rig.
When the new bridge arrived, first thing I noticed was that the trem arm wouldn't screw into the block. Neither would my Callaham arm. Comparing the two arms, it was clear they were different diameters, with different thread pitches, and both were the wrong one for the threads in the block. After a deep internet dive into Strat trem minutiae, I learned that there are three possible threads on a Fender Strat - 10/32, M5, or M6, depending on whether it was made in the US, Mexico, or Japan. My box had a "Made in China" sticker... I went to the hardware store and bought one nut and one bolt in each of the three sizes. I could easily thread a 10/32 nut onto the Callaham bar, and the 10/32 bolt would go right into the Callaham block. Neither the M5 nor M6 nut would thread onto the Fender bar; the M5 would go on a turn or two before it seemed like it would crossthread. And neither an M5 nor M6 bolt would screw into the trem block. I went to a local shop to see if they had a Strat trem bar that would fit the block, we went through a large box of old bars and finally found ONE that was a perfect fit. But it was short and black, very "80s Metal". Not really the right look for a '50s type Strat. I could thread the M5 nut onto the black bar just fine, even though an M5 bolt wouldn't go into the block.
So I ordered a US-style block from Fender's online store. When it arrived, it was indeed a proper 10/32 one. So I installed the new bridge on the guitar. After much fiddling I got the float where I wanted it, and got the action and intonation roughed in pretty well. The guitar is now playable! But the Callaham trem bar is all wrong, it fits the block but the bend angles put it in an uncomfortably obtrusive place, so it's a trip to GC for an American Vintage style Strat trem bar. The only one in the store was behind the counter in the guitar maintenance kiosk, and the maintenance guy was gone for the day. It took a lot of wheedling and trying to reason with GC sales droids before someone would finally get on the phone to the store manager and get permission to sell it to me. But it fits. And I finally have a working Stratocaster, although it needs a little fine-tuning on the saddle heights and probably needs yet another new nut. I could have a garage sale with all the spare Strat parts...
When I picked the guitar up, the low E was almost falling off the side of the neck. Now, I can be a meek beta sometimes, and I don't like to complain. Rather than complain, I'll just never go back. So after a while I took the guitar to another shop in a nearby town, pointed out the flaws in the setup and asked for a new nut. When I picked up the guitar, the strings were still way off-center.
So after another while I drove to Memphis and took the Strat to a "guitar spa". The guy there said I had the wrong bridge on the guitar, it had a 2 7/32" bridge and he claimed I needed a 2 1/16" one. Fortunately Callaham makes a bridge with 2 1/16" string spacing that fits on a guitar drilled for 2 7/32" spacing on the pivot screws, so we got one of those and swapped it in, plus another new nut and setup.
When I picked it up, all the strings were perfectly evenly spaced across the fingerboard, with nothing falling off either edge. The guitar played well enough for them to bum-rush me out of the store as quickly as possible. When I got it home I realized the float on the bridge was all messed up, he had screwed down the pivot screws too far and the trem would barely move. When I adjusted the pivot screws properly, the float and action were way out of whack and I had to go through the whole balancing act of trying to get string tension and spring tension just right, and then adjust all the saddle heights.
I finally got it somewhat playable, and it sat on a guitar stand for a couple of years where I proceeded to ignore it and always pick up something else. One day I picked it up and decided it was unplayable to me because the strings were too close together. After a few cursory measurements, I determined that there was no reason why this guitar should require the narrow string spacing, and I ordered a Fender American Vintage trem rig.
When the new bridge arrived, first thing I noticed was that the trem arm wouldn't screw into the block. Neither would my Callaham arm. Comparing the two arms, it was clear they were different diameters, with different thread pitches, and both were the wrong one for the threads in the block. After a deep internet dive into Strat trem minutiae, I learned that there are three possible threads on a Fender Strat - 10/32, M5, or M6, depending on whether it was made in the US, Mexico, or Japan. My box had a "Made in China" sticker... I went to the hardware store and bought one nut and one bolt in each of the three sizes. I could easily thread a 10/32 nut onto the Callaham bar, and the 10/32 bolt would go right into the Callaham block. Neither the M5 nor M6 nut would thread onto the Fender bar; the M5 would go on a turn or two before it seemed like it would crossthread. And neither an M5 nor M6 bolt would screw into the trem block. I went to a local shop to see if they had a Strat trem bar that would fit the block, we went through a large box of old bars and finally found ONE that was a perfect fit. But it was short and black, very "80s Metal". Not really the right look for a '50s type Strat. I could thread the M5 nut onto the black bar just fine, even though an M5 bolt wouldn't go into the block.
So I ordered a US-style block from Fender's online store. When it arrived, it was indeed a proper 10/32 one. So I installed the new bridge on the guitar. After much fiddling I got the float where I wanted it, and got the action and intonation roughed in pretty well. The guitar is now playable! But the Callaham trem bar is all wrong, it fits the block but the bend angles put it in an uncomfortably obtrusive place, so it's a trip to GC for an American Vintage style Strat trem bar. The only one in the store was behind the counter in the guitar maintenance kiosk, and the maintenance guy was gone for the day. It took a lot of wheedling and trying to reason with GC sales droids before someone would finally get on the phone to the store manager and get permission to sell it to me. But it fits. And I finally have a working Stratocaster, although it needs a little fine-tuning on the saddle heights and probably needs yet another new nut. I could have a garage sale with all the spare Strat parts...
