Quote:
Originally Posted by David MacNeill
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.