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--- In , "red_thundr" <red_thundr@y...>
wrote:
>
> I'd only have to add that you need to try a Wilkinson first.
I will, if I get a chance.
> The
> general consensus is that the "vintage" Strat trem needs special
> supporting setup mods and inordinate care applied in order for it to
> be somewhat stable and usable; it doesn't just "work" out of the
box.
> Tuning problems are a well-documented and universally accepted
> idiosyncrasy of the stock Fender unit. All that friction on the 6
> pivot screws doesn't bode well for tuning stability, and the
> side-to-side shifting of the spring-loaded saddles doesn't give the
> strings a consistent zero return point.
Cause people use thin strings and don't set it up right. Oh, and
they dive-bomb with it and pretend they're EVH or Brad Gillis, which
is not what it was designed to do. Again, I said that it works really
well for SURF MUSIC, meaning adding true vibrato, whether gentle or
heavy-handed, rather than making airplane and Ferrari noises with.
Incidentally, Hendrix, Van Halen, and Jeff Beck did much if not all
of their whammy abuse on vintage style units... I even read an
interview with EVH where he said he prefers the tone of the vintage
Strat unit, but obviously a Floyd Rose stays in tune better for what
he does.
> If the vintage Fender trem was half as good as you say,
I'm telling you what my experience with it is - why would I
exaggerate?
> Floyd Rose would have been out of business > 25 years ago.
Well, Kahler is. And how many new guitars do you see with real Floyd
Rose units? Maybe Jackson and ESP, but not many more. I don't think
that Fender has one standard model with a real Floyd Rose on it
anymore (they have a Mexican or Korean model with a Floyd Rose copy),
while the vintage unit is still found on the great majority of their
(and many other manufacturers') guitars. Floyd Rose trems are a pain
in the ass. They're hard to adjust for intonation, changing strings
is a pain in the ass, and locking and unlocking the nut and having
the right wrench is just really inconvenient.
> Most elements of the original Strat design are timeless;
> unfortunately, the trem isn't one of them.
I couldn't disagree more. I believe it's one of Leo Fender's major
claims to fame.
> I've played a gazillion Strats, from Mexis all the way to Custom
Shop
> beauties, and 95% of them with the stock trem have gone out of tune
> with mild use. And frankly, I've yet to pick up a Strat right off
the
> dealer's wall that didn't have a major problem with the tuning after
> testing the trem.
Cause most of them leave the factory with 9-gauge strings and poor
setups.
> Bang for the buck, I believe the Wilkinson upgrade mod wins hands
> down. It's an inexpensive drop-in mod that a competent luthier can
> setup with ease. It's not finicky, it's rugged, nice-looking, and
> actually benefits the sustain. My recommendation is for people to
> simply try it.
No problem. All Strat players should go ahead and try it. If I
lived close any kind of a guitar store (the nearest - crappy - one is
45 miles away, a good one is some 70 miles away, and I rarely get to
go there), I would. But my opinion is that the vintage Strat tremolo
rules.
Ivan
