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  #16  
Old 01-03-2018, 07:58 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Originally Posted by eatswodo View Post
I do know, however, that using a in a post that is intended to be jocular apparently doesn't work for some folks.
I didn’t see it and took your post the wrong way — my apologies.
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  #17  
Old 01-03-2018, 08:04 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Originally Posted by LouieAtienza View Post
Clapton played a hardtail (Blackie), he did not like the sound of a trem guitar...
For the record, Clapton never played hardtail Stratocasters. Both Blackie and Brownie are wooden-blocked standard tremolo routed 1950’s Strats. Look at photos (there are plenty of them) and you can see the empty hole for the bar. Every interview I’ve ever read about him confirms this, and his signature model is most definitely not a hardtail.
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  #18  
Old 01-03-2018, 08:17 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Originally Posted by LouieAtienza View Post
I think using 5 springs and adjusting the screws that the trem plate completely touches the top is a good idea, and one I've done in the past.
There is always the issue of string bends pulling the other strings flat. With a block, that can’t happen.

If you remove the back plate from your Strat, play some chords and feel the block and listen to the springs — the whole system is vibrating and resonating. It’s almost like an acoustic guitar with the soundhole in the back. I feel you would lose the least string energy by blocking the block tightly with the same wood as the body, with all five springs on and the claw cranked in so the whole bridge lays flat on the guitar top.

I guess I’m going to have to make my own, or hire EC’s guitar tech to come up to Boise and make me one.
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  #19  
Old 01-03-2018, 09:06 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Originally Posted by David MacNeill View Post
There is always the issue of string bends pulling the other strings flat. With a block, that can’t happen.

If you remove the back plate from your Strat, play some chords and feel the block and listen to the springs — the whole system is vibrating and resonating. It’s almost like an acoustic guitar with the soundhole in the back. I feel you would lose the least string energy by blocking the block tightly with the same wood as the body, with all five springs on and the claw cranked in so the whole bridge lays flat on the guitar top.

I guess I’m going to have to make my own, or hire EC’s guitar tech to come up to Boise and make me one.
If you have vibrations on the springs and trem block, then they're not using that energy vibrating the wood. That's fine because part of the Strat sound is that "reverb" chamber of the trem springs. But if you block the trem and tighten the springs, then they'll resonate differently.

There is a bit of difference in the sound and feel of a non-trem Strat simply because it's string through like a Tele. Also it's almost a half-pound lighter than a similar trem Strat.

If you ever knocked o a board of alder, it's reminiscent of knocking on a 2 X 4 that's wet. Many woods with a higher "Q" factor that transfer vibrations better such as Brazilian (or any other) rosewood, padauk, wenge, ziricote... Not that alder is a bad wood. It's a great pair for strings mounted onto a heavy steel ballast that's floated with springs, amplified with bright single-coil pickups with 250K pots, with an equally bright maple neck. See, the whole thing is a system and there is a "balance" to it - that Leo guy was a genius.

My current trem setup is 2 springs with the trem plate flat on the body, down trem only. No problems with bends with the right springs.
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  #20  
Old 01-03-2018, 09:31 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Originally Posted by Otterhound View Post
I love my hardtail Strat .
Was the Brownie a hardtail ? You know , the guitar that supplied the neck for the Blind Faith Tele .
Don't know, but I'm sure the Tele was!
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  #21  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:23 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LouieAtienza View Post
If you have vibrations on the springs and trem block, then they're not using that energy vibrating the wood. That's fine because part of the Strat sound is that "reverb" chamber of the trem springs. But if you block the trem and tighten the springs, then they'll resonate differently.
Good points all around. There must be a sweet spot, say, a block of softer wood that minimally absorbs the blocks vibration (hence the springs resonance) yet prohibits the block from backward motion. Maybe balsa? Certainly would be easy to hand cut to shape. I think I’ll try that. I can buy chunks at any hobby craft shop.
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  #22  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:26 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Originally Posted by LouieAtienza View Post
Don't know, but I'm sure the Tele was!
Neither Brownie nor Blackie was/is a hardtail. QED.
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  #23  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:35 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Originally Posted by David MacNeill View Post
Maybe balsa?
On second thought, you suggested a hardwood that would transfer block energy better than softer woods — less of a “damping factor”. I should try a block of ebony and an identical block of balsa and perhaps one of poplar as an in-between option.
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  #24  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:42 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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I had the story reversed... He had two or three guitars. He loved one neck, but couldn't bond with the body which had a hard-tail. He had another body which he loved the sound of, so he swapped the necks. Sorry for that, I apologize...

That said, if I put a pine shim to block your guitar, and told you it was alder, you wouldn't hear a difference, guaranteed. Some pine can be harder than some alder.
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  #25  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:45 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David MacNeill View Post
On second thought, you suggested a hardwood that would transfer block energy better than softer woods — less of a “damping factor”. I should try a block of ebony and an identical block of balsa and perhaps one of poplar as an in-between option.
Ebony, believe it or not, has about the same "damping" quality as maple, despite its hardness. African blackwood would be one of the most resonant of dense hardwoods. Brazilian rosewood is actually less dense and more porous.
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  #26  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:48 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Originally Posted by David MacNeill View Post
Good points all around. There must be a sweet spot, say, a block of softer wood that minimally absorbs the blocks vibration (hence the springs resonance) yet prohibits the block from backward motion. Maybe balsa? Certainly would be easy to hand cut to shape. I think I’ll try that. I can buy chunks at any hobby craft shop.
Sounds like a fun experiment actually...
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  #27  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:52 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LouieAtienza View Post
Sounds like a fun experiment actually...
Now I just need to find a source for small blocks of African Blackwood...
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  #28  
Old 01-03-2018, 10:55 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David MacNeill View Post
Now I just need to find a source for small blocks of African Blackwood...
Yeah it should only set you back the cost of a trem or so LOLOL... Should be some small pieces on eBay
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  #29  
Old 01-04-2018, 09:45 AM
Scotso Scotso is offline
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Yikes...I will upset the woodrows. I block Strat trems with a stack of pennies glued together or taped with blue painters tape. I have been playing strats forever and have never noticed a difference in how my guitars sound blocked or unblocked.

Waiting for the grenades.
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  #30  
Old 01-04-2018, 03:43 PM
David MacNeill David MacNeill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotso View Post
I have been playing strats forever and have never noticed a difference in how my guitars sound blocked or unblocked.
I’m eager to find out, as soon as I get over this bloody head cold.
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