SawDust_Junkie Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 (edited) Has anyone here purchsed or used the Allparts economy vintage style Strat tremolos ? I spoke to them and they told me that these tremolos were a direct replacement for the made in Mexico Strats. I asked a few more questions though and I am not sure that they are made to the same specifications. For example, my MIM Fat Strat has the vintage style tremolo, and the cut-out at the bottom of the bridge where the tremolo arm plugs in is recessed 3/4" from the front of the bridge plate. I have an aftermarket tremolo from an old chepo Strat copy laying around that I was going to use in my project build. I discovered that the aftermarket bridge has recess on of only 1/2". This is not going to work on my project as I am using my MIM Strat as my template. The chepo Tremolo will not set forward enough (without modifying the pickguard) to attain the proper scale length. I have been looking at various sites on the web and several of them offer vintage style trems, but Allparts is the only site that specifically states one model has a string spacing of 2 1/16", which is the same as the MIM Strats. I was wondering anyone has used one and could tell me what the diminsions on it are so I can be sure it will work before I order one. Edited September 22, 2004 by Fender4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 If there's one thing I've learned after living in a trem cavity the last 2.5 years, it's that there is no such thing as a "standard Strat tremolo". There's not even a guideline. The best thing to do would be to measure your current 6-screw or stud spacing (outside edge to outside edge) that's in the body. Take the rest of the cavity measurements as well. Then call AllParts or WD or StewMac and be very specific regarding the specs. I wish I could say, "Oh yeah, XXXXXX trem (part number YYYYYY from ZZZZZ Parts) is what you need".......... .....but I can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted September 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Thanks for taking a sec to answer my quesion Kevan. I am thinking the same thing as you. I called up Allparts and asked them about the diminsions of their 2 1/16" vintage trem, but the guy I spoke to told me the diminsions were about the same as my cheapo trem ( but I may not have explained myself well enouh and he may have been measuring the width of the trem arm recess instead of the depth). If that's the case, then it won't work any better than the one I have. I also called the local Guitar Center and they carry ProLine parts and have a Strat replacement vinatge trem, but they did not know the diminsions, so I am going to go up there this weekend and take my ruler and check it for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I'm still trying to figure out why using your MIM Strat as a template for a new body is going to cause problems with the bridge. I know the bridges are narrower than the older "vintage" style bridges, but why don't you just pick whatever bridge you want and change the design of the body accordingly? It may take a little time and you may have to practice on some scrap first, but if you're building a guitar from scratch, at least build it the way you want it. You can even get routing templates from Stew-Mac at a reasonable price. Settling for an el-cheapo bridge on an otherwise quality guitar is like putting 13-inch steel wheels on a Corvette. Try to find one with a brass baseplate and a steel block--probably the best combination of metals for a trem bridge. Like the Hipshot dual-point, which has the same string spacing as a MIM Standard at 2-1/16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted September 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Hey crafty ! Well really I'm just using the MIM Strat as my template to make things easier for myself as this is my first build ever. I figured that way I would have a ready made template to compare to and be less likely to run into these kind of problems. ( I guess that's what I get for assuming too many things huh ?) Also, I was going to re-use this old trem just to try and keep costs down for this "learning project of mine. As I am using other parts I already have to reduce costs. Like an old Fat Strat pickguard I have and the original MIM pickups and pots and knobs from my MIM Strat. Anyway, I made my template for routing the pickup cavities and the tremolo through body routing based on my MIM and never even considered that the trem I had was made differently. Well lo and behold after routing everything out, I start placing the pickguard and the trem in place on the body just to see how everything lines up and that is when I discovered my mistake. But, hey that is what this first run is all about for me. I am in it to learn the ups and downs and pit falls and make mistakes. My goal is to one day be able to design and build a quality custom guitar of my own design. And, so far, between my mistakes and all of the knowledge I have gathered here, I am learning tons and tons of valuable lessons ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Oh, I see. BTW, I didn't mean to sound like I was coming down on you or anything. Every time I look at something I post it seems to sound rude or something. I need to work on that. Anyway, yeah, I see your point now. It sucks once you've already routed some wood only to find out that you routed for the wrong size component. Everything is usually pretty standard amongst Strats, but the bridges, no matter if you have a Floyd, Wilk, Schaller, or Hipshot, are always going to be a little different. Note how almost nobody advertises a "replacement" tremolo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I also called the local Guitar Center and they carry ProLine parts and have a Strat replacement vinatge trem, but they did not know the diminsions, so I am going to go up there this weekend and take my ruler and check it for myself. I'm sorry you have to resort to this. I'm so, so sorry. If you can, take your old trem up there for direct comparision, and a set of calipers. Don't worry about the shocked look in the employees eyes when he sees a bridge out of a body. It happens all the time. I've had good luck over the phone with the guys at WD. They've been willing to crack open a box or two for me and take actual measurements. Good luck with your project, and be sure to toss us all some pics along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Strange, I had a MIM Standard Strat and I was able to drop in a Callaham Vintage Strat repro trem. Any Vintage Style trem (even the more traditional wider spaced Fender Vintage trem) should drop right in. You would have to change the screw holes (hopefully you haven't drilled those yet?), but the trem should drop right in (again, if you stick to a vintage type trem). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Strange, I had a MIM Standard Strat and I was able to drop in a Callaham Vintage Strat repro trem. Any Vintage Style trem (even the more traditional wider spaced Fender Vintage trem) should drop right in. You would have to change the screw holes (hopefully you haven't drilled those yet?), but the trem should drop right in (again, if you stick to a vintage type trem). Just like I said....there is no standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted September 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 The thing is javacody, when I was laying the guitar out I took the sustain block off of the trem before I had the through body route done and centered the bridge plate and positioned it for the proper scale length. When I got all the routing done and wanted to see how the trem and pickguard and neck were all going to match up, I discovered the problem with the trem not being able to be moved forward enough to meet my marks for it due to it hitting the back of the pickguard. Well, I thought, no big deal I could use my Dremel tool to grind the pick guard down a little and, viola, problem solved. That is when I discovered that since the chepo trem I was using did not have the same recess depth as the Fender one, the distance from the front of the bridge plate to the sustain block was shorter also. This meant that if I moved the trem forward enough to meet my scale length, the sustain block hits the front of the through body cavity. I really think though that the problem is this chepo trem from this early '80s Strat knock-off guitar I am trying to use. I am optimistic that when I go to Guitar Center this weekend I will find that the newer after market vintage trems are made to the same diminsions as the Fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Well, you could always route out the top of the trem cavity a bit more, I'm wondering if the trem would still cover the hole in that case? You'd also probably have to route the back out further towards the neck to get the full length for the springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.