• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Topic: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

Ok so here it is as promised my new block that I had my friend machine out.  I do not use tremolos so that is why you will see that it does not move its pretty close to being flush to the body.  one corner hits the body and I'm thinking of shimming the body with balsa wood or something to transfer more to the body.

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn38 … 250107.jpg

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn38 … 250106.jpg

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn38 … 240818.jpg

The last pic is the original block its far away but you can see its very thin.  My friend Eric screwed up and milled one side wrong which is why you see the milled section behind the strings.  On the other side its milled because it wouldn't fit through the body unless I milled back 7mm. 

Tone?  I haven't got to plug into an amp but what I have noticed is that the block produces very smooth, crisp, clear notes.  The entire body used to vibrate when I would hit notes, now the notes feel isolated and it doesn't feel like the whole guitar moves at all.  Its very different but in a good way.  Its a little louder acoustically I think.  I'm taking it to a Jam tomorrow so I'll let you know more later.  It feels as heavy on the body as a Les Paul, its almost double the size of the standard block and feel a heck of a lot heavier then that old pot metal block.  I even fooled around with the idea of using a traditional sized block before we decided to go wide open.  Even the traditional size block with 1080 steel feels almost like double the weight of a cast block.  I'm Stoked!

AD3THREE's Website

  • Registered: 2008-08-24
  • Posts: 181

Re: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

Nice work!
  Now, you've DONE IT!!  I've got 3 color sunburst Stratocaster GAS!!  DANGIT!  We are getting ready to gig again this spring/summer and I'm putting together 3 Strats.  I might have to make it 4, thanks alot! tongue  cool

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

Do you like th natural relic?  That was by my wife about year ago during an ugly fight.  Little did she know I like reliced guitars!  tongue

AD3THREE's Website

  • Registered: 2008-08-24
  • Posts: 181

Re: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

I have an old relicced feista red strat body here that will get a new neck some day, too.

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

Is therer an improved but similar design yet? Are you taking orders? I don't use trem on my strat either, wouldn't mind something more solid than pot metal!

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: My Home Made high Mass Tremolo Block

Well I jammed out with it yesterday and my buddies all said I was crazy and hearing things...  But they have heard this guitar for 2 years now and we are still playing the same old tunes so they should be able to tell a difference.  Not even before one song was over they were telling me "Wow that thing sound fat!"  "Its like it took some of the twang out of it" "It has a bell like ring to it" 

All I can tell you is I think I hear a difference in it and my ash body stratocaster weights more then my Alder body strat with this bridge.  That wasn't the case with the case before the bridge.  As far as selling these things I'm not sure my friend is ready to go into mass production of these things while he's at work.  It wasn't like he was spending all day on it he was using his lunch breaks, and it wasn't like this piece of metal we used was going to be used either.  But I'm sure it wouldn't be cool if his boss caught him using the company mill and end mills, drill bits and other things that could break on something for personal use.  The other thing is we had to take a TON of measurments on that thing to get it where it is right now.  I would have rather had the back of it resting on the body but we were in a hurry.

AD3THREE's Website