Fender - Make more hardtail Strats....
 

I know, Fender doesn't make more hardtail Strats because those who purchase a Stratocaster expect or want a whammy bar. Then I counter with, since Fender only makes one to my knowledge, the Robert Cray, and you never see these in stores, potential customers don't even know that a hardtail is an option. Watching the Austin City Limits 40th Anniversary Show, I was really struck by the number of musicians playing Strats sans whammy bars. They seem to have about as much usefulness as an appendix. Fender, if you're listening, make a couple more hardtail Strat models....

I'm guessing the reason why they don't make hard tail Stratocasters is because those who don't want a tremolo (vibrato) simply don't attach them.

Not convinced that a hard tail Stratocasters sound any different than one routed with springs.

Personal opinions of course.

Yeah, I've had a hate-love thing with the Strat Trem over the years. I've come to use them on some Strats as my fingers have gotten older and weaker.

But if one wants a Strat and doesn't want any trem setup hassles, then one can to two simple reversible things: tighten the springs and/or add springs to deck the trem bridge until it won't move, or wedge a block of wood in behind the metal trem block (Clapton style). The later even gets you some subtle differences in how the strings interact with the body through the bridge like a hard tail does.

Some also think that you can hear the springs in a Strat with a clean amp add a certain distinctive resonance, even if they don't use the Trem.

In theory I'd always prefer a hardtail because I simply don't use the bar in my playing. But my last two main guitars, PRS Custom 22 and a Music Man Axis SS, came with trem bridges so I had to figure out what to do with them.

With both, I had reservations because I actually do like to pull up on the bridge (no bar) and give it a little jiggle from time to time. With my PRS I cut a block of wood to block the trem and it has been in and out constantly for the past 22 years. My main issue in wanting to block it is that when a string breaks while playing a show the whole guitar doesn't immediately go out of tune. That's what happens with the PRS because the bridge is not decked like my MM is. My PRS is set up to float a little. Bottom is that when I have my block in or out of my PRS I don't notice any sound change either while playing through an amp or sans amp. For the past 2 years my PRS has been unblocked.

But Now with the Music Man it is totally different. I do have that bridge decked so that if I did break a string there's nowhere for the bridge to go and all strings stay in tune. The difference though is that I hear an incredible sonic difference when I have the block in my MM and when I remove it. I can't stand it when it's removed. It has some sort of hollow weird tone to it and not a good hollow tone. But when I drop that block in, the tone is solid and great. It's possible that it's the difference Clapton hears between block and no block but he also claims there's a difference between a blocked trem and a hardtail. Obviously he prefers the blocked trem. I have not had the opportunity to try either styles of my guitars with trems blocked vs hardtails so I can't weigh in on that one but I can say to my ears, my Axis blocked sounds much better, plugged in and not plugged in, than it does with no block.

Bottom line for me too, is yeah more hardtails.

It's a little more complicated than that. First, most people you see playing without a trem, it goes beyond just not attaching the trem bar. If the bridge is still floating, string changes, tuning stability, etc are still just as sketchy and without a trem bar to work with. So most folks who prefer no trem either deck or block the tremolo to make the guitar easier to work with. And lots of strat aficionados DO think a hardtail sounds different from a strat with a trem and some (See Clapton) thinks a strat with a blocked trem sounds different from either an unblocked trem or a hardtail.

I've been blocking my strats for 40 years, never EVER found a musically useful way for ME to use a tremolo (many are brilliant with them). I finally broke down a couple years ago and bought a Robert Cray. And everything about it other than the neck was my favorite strat ever. And the neck was very very good, just not as much to my taste as the rest of the guitar. But I tried a couple of necks and when I put a Road Worn 50s strat neck on it (maple board, soft V, 7.25 radius), it became my dream guitar. I will own this strat for as long as I'm playing any strat and, given my history as a strat guy, probably means as long as I'm alive and can still play any guitar at ALL.

I think the Cray sounds different than any strat I've owned before, to my ears better but to others probably not. I don't know how much, if any, of that is attributable to the hardtail and how much is attributable to the pickups (which are supposedly the same pickups Fender uses in the Cray Custom Shop models) and how much is how I have it wired, which is not the stock wiring.

But, yeah, Fender should offer more hardtails. I suspect they just don't sell well and I also suspect the Cray doesn't sell very well anymore either (he hasn't been nearly as high profile a player as he used to be, sadly - he's still great). But my guess is the reason Fender still makes and sells the Cray is because they feel obligated to offer ONE hardtail at least. Which if the bean counters had their way, they might not. I'm just glad I got one while I'm still young enough to enjoy it and wish I'd gotten a hardtail years ago. They suit me...

http://lblutherie.blogspot.com/2012/...neycaster.html

Laurent Brondel made a hardtail that is the best of two worlds: Strat and Tele. I use it in the blues band and the country band.

I have a Fender Strat and Jazzmaster with Tremelo bars when I’m in that mood.

I don't generally like hybrids of that sort, but this one makes a lot of sense. I'm sure you lose a bit of strattyness in the #2 position, but you still have a pure strat in the 4 and 5, which is where I spend most of my time. And you have that great tele bridge pickup. If I had that guitar, I suspect instead of living in the 2, 4, and 5, I'd live in the 1, 4, and 5, with the 5 mostly overdriven. Looks great!

-Ray

That's a beautiful guitar and I like that set up. After playing my Music Man, What I now question with so many electric guitar out there are the neck heels or the heel pocket on the body like the attached guitar. Those big blocks like that, just like mine on my Tele are simply outdated, cumbersome and not an ergonomic design. Music Man and some other have it right. The feel up there on the neck between my Tele and my MM is so different that it's more than just a night and day difference. I think neck through electrics might eliminate some of this and maybe certain glued in necks might be better but the bolt ons, those are the ones that have em. Even my PRS glued in neck had a fairly ridiculous heel on it.

Simply deck the trem by adjusting the claw screws tighter and/or use shorter springs. Not a true hardtail that way, but almost the same in practical application. It allows string bending, alternate tunings, etc without affecting the setup

There are also several 'trem blocker' products on the market, although to be honest I wasn't impressed with the one I tried, and the old wood block trick is probably just as good.

I tend to agree with those that say part of the unique tone from a strat comes from the resonance of those springs, at least on some subliminal level.

Alright! That's at least two of us.....

Since I was a kid my Holy Grail solidbody has been a transition-era hardtail Strat, candy-apple red with matching headstock...

There's at least one out there - saw a guy playing it at a block party in 1974 (through a 100W plexi Marshall with the rare 8x10" cab - no shortage of treble here :eek:)...

Probably set me back about $35-40K today, cheaper to have it done by the Custom Shop - unless of course there's sufficient demand for an FSR run based on the Robert Cray platform...

I have a hardtail. A 1983.
Some aftermarket suppliers sell hardtail bodies.

I found two more for you although you might have to paint the headstock...

Perfer Hardtails...though have never played a RC fender. Had a Carvin DC135 neckthrough hss hardtail...very nice git but ended up letting it go because was always picking up a heavily modded Peavey Predator that initially did the claw/spring thing, changed the block to gfs steel, tried blocking with nickles and eventually ended up blocking with a diy rock maple. There were subtle differences. Probably should have kept the Carvin and just changed out the pu's.

I used a stack of 4-5 quarters held together with some sort of tape to block my strats, just enough so the bridge was level just a mm or so above the body.. And sometimes wedge a couple of pennies or dimes on the other side of the trem block so it was pretty much permanently not gonna move regardless of springs or string tension. I usually had about a buck fifty in coins in there and it was REALLY easy to retrofit if I decided to sell the guitar... It was cheap, easy, and it worked.

But now with the Cray, no need...

I've read that comment many times over the years, for Fender to build more hardtail Strats. I too would fall into that camp. I never put the bar in my Strats.

I don't know if Fender would sell enough hardtails or whether stores would stock up on them. Perhaps an FSR Professional series and a Players series Hardtail would be a good market test.

No association but forgot that have fondled this hardtail...abit too spendy for moi

http://www.emeraldcityguitars.com/pr...l-blonde-copy/

Thanks Dru. I'm adding your name to the list of supporters. I think that those who contributed ways of turning a Strat w/trem into a functioning hardtail might be missing the point. If amateur and professional Strat players are using different ways to circumvent factory equipment then maybe, just maybe, the factory itself should be producing more Strat options that don't have built-in trem in the first place...

I recently re-purchased a Robert Cray Strat that I'd previously (and foolishly) sold, and it reminded me that the Strat minus trem is an option that deserves to see more daylight in the marketplace. I like Dru's idea about a few select models to test the market...

Out of genuine curiosity, I wonder if someone could explain to me what the difference is and benefits are with a hardtail Stratocaster compared to a Stratocaster without the tremolo (vibrato) arm attached. (Or why you would block the tremolo (vibrato) system). I feel I should know.

Much appreciated.

I find it is quicker to tune a non-tremolo guitar (or a blocked tremolo guitar). I also like unison bends better on a non-tremolo. Those are minor items that should not impact a player from buying a tremolo guitar though.

Also, some people say that there is more sustain on a hardtail or a blocked tremolo (can someone here chime in on this).

The number one benefit to me is if you break a string, the hardtail will not go significantly out of tune. If you don't use the t/v arm, then it's just sitting there waiting for the perfect time to ruin your day. :eek: With Murphy's Law in force, that's going to be during an important showcase...

Most strats with tremolos are set up such that the bridge is floating, balanced between the string tension pulling it in one direction, and the springs in the tremolo cavity pulling in the other. So, if you break a string, the balance is thrown off and the whole thing goes out of tune. Or if you like to change strings by removing all six and replacing them all at once, you lose all string tension and the tremolo is pulled completely back by the springs. Which, if you leave the plastic cover plate over the tremolo cavity on the back, can make getting six new strings in place between difficult and impossible - one reason a whole lot of folks leave the cover plate off.

If you like this state of affairs, great - there are those who believe a floating bridge on a strat allows the strat to maximize the "stratty-ness" of the tone. But it's frankly kind of a pain in the butt, useful to most only if they want to USE the trem, and in both flat and sharp directions. To those who don't want to use the trem, most prefer to stabilize the bridge somehow, either by just cranking down on the springs (and sometimes adding a spring or two) and pulling the bridge all the way down against the body such that the string tension would not begin to make a dent in pulling the bridge off the "deck" - hence the term decking.

Or, you can install a wooden block or a stack of coins or something of the sort between the tremolo block and the wall of the tremolo cavity to essentially "block" the system in place. When I've done this, I usually use coins both behind and in front of the trem block, such that the bridge is in it's floating position, but it's not floating at all - it's held firmly in place. And you really only need the block in the larger space behind the block and then you can use spring tension again to pull in the opposite way, so the bridge is effectively locked in place.

So, if you simply don't use the tremolo arm and let the bridge float, you have an inherently unstable setup that doesn't serve it's intended purpose (to allow you to pull sharp or push flat on the trem bar). Most folks who don't want to use the trem, tend to prefer to stabilize the system one way or another...

Or, you can just get a hardtail and avoid the whole thing...

-Ray

Thanks everyone!

I don't use the tremelo bar on my strat, but I do use one on my Music Man Axis.

Great to see someone else with an Axis on here. I don't see them often. I also have an OLP copy that is just as good, if not better than the MM. Great guitars for a nice gritty tone with a lot of bite.

I like to have the arm available so I can use it lightly over chords if I choose.

Bigsbys are the reason I never bought a Gretsch. I don't need it and too much weight.

I had a weak moment recently where I was considering a Gretsch, and the Bigsby was the thing that kept me safe from buying it.

Its funny, because I think a Gretsch does not look "right" without the Bigsby. I just don't want a guitar that has any of that stuff.

That is one reason I like Telecasters: as basic as an electric guitar gets.

Yea, Leo Fender got that guitar right from day 1, except for the name of the guitar - 'broadcaster'.

It takes 15 minutes to deck a Strat with stronger/more springs. And it’s easily reversible. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Actually it does, and that involves Fender producing more readily accessible hardtail Strats....