RichCI Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 The block and arm arrived yesterday and I swapped it into my MIA 57 RI real fast before band rehearsal so I've taken it through it's paces with the band along with playing with it a bit at home tonight. There is definitely a difference, not dramatic, but it did change the sound of the guitar. Overall, the sound is more focused and the high frequencies more refined. However, the feel of the guitar changed a bit too; it seems to be stiffer. The sonic change is good, not so sure about the feel though as I've always loved the way the guitar resonates. Admittedly, the neck needs tweaking pretty badly so I'll have to drop it off to my tech for that (I stop short of truss rod adjustments in general and especially when it comes to vintage style Fenders where you have to unbolt the neck from the body). But, that's going to have to wait until the Suhr noiseless system arrives as I'm not dropping it off twice. There are also new tuners on the way. Granted, testing it out again with a fresh setup and two other sets of parts won't be a very valid test just to see if the setup is an issue, but that's life. At least I tested it without that stuff to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I give. What is a block and arm and what is a MIA 57 RI. Really no sarcasm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I'm permanently curious about the Callaham tremolo block. It's a good thing you are changing parts one by way. Otherwise you would not know exactely wich is doing what. Good luck with the setup. And set the neck straight hahahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I wish I had one of these on my MIJ '50s reissue. I like the idea of the delrin insert - I can't use mine as the arm is too loose in the block (it was that way from day one). If there was just a slight difference in the spring anchor point (distance), could it be that it has affected spring tension ? You might then notice this as a stiffer feel when string bending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 I give. What is a block and arm and what is a MIA 57 RI. Really no sarcasm. The block is the bottom part of a Fender Strat tremolo bridge and the arm is the whammy bar. Callaham makes replacements for them as many other Fender parts. http://www.callahamguitars.com/partsstr.htm MIA 57 RI is Fender Made in America 57 Reissue Stratocaster. http://www.richci.com/images/stratlp.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i hate classical music Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 wtf next time show us what a block looks like maybe a picture might help us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 wtf next time show us what a block looks likemaybe a picture might help us Sorry. I forgot that it was my job to educate you personally whenever I suspect that you might not know about something. But' date=' just to show you that I'm not a bad guy, let me Google it for you. Oops! I just suspected that you might not know something... Canberra is the capital of Australia. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 If there was just a slight difference in the spring anchor point (distance)' date=' could it be that it has affected spring tension ? You might then notice this as a stiffer feel when string bending. [img']http://i523.photobucket.com/albums/w352/marscape1/blkarm_c.jpg[/img] That's exactly what I'm experiencing and thought the same thing. What I tried last night was lessening the spring tension but it made no difference (other than make the bar start to dip when bending notes). My thought was that perhaps the overall resonance of the guitar changed with the different material being used for the block and that maybe I could sort of "tune" it by changing the tension of the springs. No dice. Oh well, I'm going to live with it for a few weeks and see how it goes. I can always put the old block back in if it really bothers me. Maybe I'll get lucky and the other parts I'm waiting on will offset it somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Rich... Good to know. I ordered the top plate, as well as the block & virtual pop in trem arm. How many springs do you use? I use 3 in the triangle pattern. I backed the mounting claw screws off a little till I found the spot that was right for my style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 I use three springs also but set straight on rather than in the shape you have them; I'll give that a try and see how it works out. In retrospect, I kind of wish I ordered the top plate as well; maybe I'll still do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thanks for the definition of terms, Rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 No problemo. After rereading my initial post, I realized it was pretty ambiguous, particularly because I was talking about a Fender guitar on a Gibson forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Rich, there's something else that has occurred to me. I know we can sometimes get bogged down in trying to analyse things too deeply (well that's me), and I know that the callaham block gets good reviews, but here goes my theory : The original factory blocks are usually zinc, which is a relatively cheap material to produce and very easy to machine. It seems ripe for an upgrade.... But in a guitar where the trem has been set up to float above the body to allow a change in pitch either way, it has another benefit. Low inertia. A light material has low inertia - it can be moved easier and quicker than a heavier material. A small car accelerates and stops quicker than a truck (if they both have an engine of the same output). So with a floating setup, the trem assembly vibrates with the strings. And a lighter trem block will allow the strings to vibrate in a natural manner. Now if we fit a heavier steel block, it has higher inertia - it does not move so easy. In fact it will act as a damper on the string vibrations, and will tend to subdue the higher frequencies. It will have progressively less affect on low frequencies. I think this might explain why the treble sounds more refined - it has been muted slightly. Regarding a stiffer feel to bending, it might be that during bending - when obviously the trem tilts forward slightly, we are moving more weight with a steel block, and of course it requires more force to move a heavier object than a lighter one. It's just a theory, it would be interesting what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Where is Magnus Pyke when we need him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Was he a Strat man ? No, don't answer that one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Here are my thoughts; keep in mind that I'm no physics expert... First, I don't set the trem to float; I always have it back against the body for bending the pitch down and not up. So, we can rule that out to a point. Second, there was no reduction in high frequencies just a change and, for that matter; it seems that high frequencies are more prominent but not in a screechy kind of way (I wish I could describe it better). There was also a slight drop in low frequencies or perhaps it's just perceptual because of the change in the high frequencies. Now, we're comparing steel to zinc and steel is a harder material than zinc, to my knowledge. If that is true, then I would think that the harder material would transfer high frequencies better than a softer material which would tend to absorb high frequencies. The steel certainly seems to alter the character of the high frequencies if not more or less or better or worse. Your point about the weight of the heavier material having a higher inertia and thus providing more resistance when bending make sense and I considered that when adjusting the springs last night. But, when I compared the two blocks, they seemed very similar in weight; all I did was hold each in my hand which is hardly scientific so there could still be enough of a variance in weight between the two to make a difference. After adjusting the claw to lessen the tension though, I still didn't feel a difference in resistance, even when taking it to the point where the bridge was just starting to lift off of the body which was less tension than I had with the original block. All I can guess is that the overall resonant frequency of the guitar shifted just enough to have an overall effect on how the guitar responds. That could be because of either the different material the block is made of and/or the spring tension needed to be changed and that shifted things around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I agree that with the trem set flat the body, you have all the advantages of the steel block regarding sound quality. And very importantly, you have a strong threaded block that will far outlast anything made from zinc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm going to try changing the springs as deepblue suggested and see how that works out. My gut feeling is that it will make little to no difference but it can't hurt to give it a try. Who knows? Maybe it will have some sort of effect and maybe even a desirable effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Im expecting my Callaham block in the mail next week. Im going to weigh both the stock Fender & the Callaham and see how much diff there really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Cool, man. What sort of Strat are you putting it into? Mine's a 57 RI so it might be a little different. On a side note, the Suhr noiseless system arrived today but I'm going to leave the installation up to my tech. Plus, I want to have him rewire the 4th switch position (between middle only and neck only) to be bridge + neck as I never use the 4th position as I like the 2nd (bridge + middle) much better. At least it'll still *look* like a regular old Strat when I'm done with all this. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 C I never use the 4th position as I like the 2nd (bridge + middle) much better. Blasphemer! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Heh! The 4th position sounds cool but is similar to the 2nd but it just doesn't cut through the band as well so I never use it. I figure I'll get more use out of being able to use bridge + neck. On another note, I was just playing that Strat a bit with an overdrive pedal and it sounds a LOT better when playing with that sort of tone. The clean tones still sound good, but it just lacks a bit of that looser feel that I was initially describing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Good point. I love position 4, but I love #2 also and it cuts better in a band situation if there is other stuff going on in that range. (Another reason, I prefer 3 piece bands actually). Lately I have become quite enamored of position 5. I never used to use it but lately it just sounds great to me for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I find my Tube Screamer sounds much better with a Strat then with my Gibby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 I was noodling around some more with my Strat and... man, I have to say, it really does sound better. More refined and definitely much nicer sustain. Perhaps saying the guitar feels more "stiff" isn't the right way to put it; I think "solid" is a better adjective. I guess it just took a little more time to get used to the change as it's my main guitar and I'm much more sensitive to changes in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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