Fender Strats - Who Needs Tremelo???

[BarryR]

I block mine with 5 taped fifty-cent pieces in the cavity..Eric Clapton uses a block of wood claiming it helps keep the sustain...In my book, he is the real authority...If ya wanna block it, block it....

[blue]

Originally Posted by BarryR

I block mine with 5 taped fifty-cent pieces in the cavity..Eric Clapton uses a block of wood claiming it helps keep the sustain...In my book, he is the real authority...If ya wanna block it, block it....

I don't think blocking it is an issue as long as you max out the number of springs. The trem strat character still comes through.

[maxtheaxe]

They also have these things...

http://www.tremol-no.com/

I like that it's something that can be engaged or disengaged at will, or that you can either completely block the trem or use this to set it 'dive-only'. I've never used it, but it appears to be a nicely engineered little device.

[Otterhound]

While the Strat was created as a platform form the trem , the first prototype is and was a hardtail .

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by RP

I'm just a dabbler on electrics so I opted to get a Robert Cray Strat, one of Fender's very few hardtails (no tremolo). You're unlikely to see one of these hanging on the wall of a store, and whenever I suggest that Fender should produce more hardtails, I tend to get shouted down with choruses of "They don't sell" and "People prefer Strats with tremolo." But guitar trends change, and I have to wonder how many buyers would purchase a hardtail Strat if they had a viable choice. For that matter, how many Strat owners actually use the trem bar vs playing Eric Clapton style???

Clapton never liked the sound of a hardtail, so he had the trem blocked. I own a '76-'78 Boogie Bodies that's a hard tail, and love the sound. I never pull up on a trem unless it's already down, so I don't mind blocking it. And you only need to make the springs just tight enough so that the trem doesn't move when bending notes. I use two mostly, and had no problems.