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--- In , "red_thundr" <red_thundr@y...>
wrote:
>
> --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@g...>
> wrote:
> >
> > I've got three Strats with vintage trems, and they all work
equally
> > well, without special strings and special setups,
>
> That's not what you said, you said:
>
> >>> I had a good tech, who knew how to cut the nut
> >>> (ouch!) properly,
>
> By your own admission, even you can't get the stock Fender to work
> without additional special mods.
???? It's pretty sad that a well-cut nut is considered a special
mod!! C'mon, that's just silly. It's true that most nuts can be
cut better, but that is certainly NOT an 'additional mod.'
> Maybe you are not very aggressive with the trem. I have my
Wilkinson
> trem setup to be floating, I do trem effects by pulling it sharp
as
> well as occasional divebombs and feedback wiggles. While it's not
> Van Halen or Vai-type abuse, the stock Fender trem can't handle
it.
??? I'm sure I'm gonna come off as quite a closed-minded jerk, but,
my friend, whatever you may consider the music you're playing, if
these are the kind of things you're doing (divebombs, feedback
wiggles) you're not playing surf music. Not that there is anything
wrong with that. The Mermem's Jim Thomas does things like that, and
I think he's awesome, and I do like a fair amount of their music,
but I don't think they are playing surf music. They may have at one
point, but I don't think they themselves want to be associated with
it anymore, either.
> Try this: put your fave strings on, tune it up, then grab the
trem
> and push it to the body until the strings are almost flopping,
then
> agitate the slack strings with your fret hand. Then pop it back
and
> tell me if your stock Fender is still in tune.
Ummm, no. I used to do things like that when I was a teenager in
the eighties, but I have no interest in it anymore. In addition,
there's no way that even with the trem pushed all the way down that
strings will slacken enough to be 'flopping' - and that's just fine
by me.
> I do this to get a
> cool rumble/crash effect with distortion on, and yes, my Strat
> comes back to tune.
Good for you. Again, another technique that has nothing to do with
surf music.
> I never said the stock Fender unit didn't _sound_ good. To my
ears,
> it sounds okay. Just don't ever count on it to stay in tune
> reliably. The stock Fender unit is junk, and that's just a well-
> known fact: it needs supporting mods and a weak touch in order to
> behave. If you baby it, you likely won't have big problems, but
if
> you're aggressive with it, you'll be disappointed. I'm not gonna
> baby my trem, it needs to handle whatever I'm going to throw at it.
OK.
Ivan
