Members misle Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 I've had a love/hate relationship with strats. I used to have one and loved it. Then I sold it, bought a Tele and LP. I my Tele and LP. Ever since then, strats haven't interested me....until lately. I'm not a big fan of anything except hard-tails. Which made me think, can I get a strat with a gibson style bridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cyber_Chyld Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 I've had a love/hate relationship with strats. I used to have one and loved it. Then I sold it, bought a Tele and LP. I my Tele and LP. Ever since then, strats haven't interested me....until lately. I'm not a big fan of anything except hard-tails. Which made me think, can I get a strat with a gibson style bridge? There's always the hard tail strat, made by Fender themselves, or you could try a fixed bridge conversion from these people: http://www.customshopparts.com/bridges/drop-top-bridge.html FWIW as a Les Paul player, and an imminent Tele player, I'm largely put off strats by the feel of the vibrato sytem. Makes everything feel really springy and indirect to me. Also seems to rob the guitar of tone. I played a 70's hard-tail strat some years ago that was really nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tweedledee Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 http://www.rondomusic.com/sst57stop3ts.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misle Posted December 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 Just getting a hard tail is definitely an option, but I really prefer tune-o-matics. Plus, I think it might add some unique character to a run of the mill strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misle Posted December 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 http://www.rondomusic.com/sst57stop3ts.html Yes, like that. I would prefer a better guitar though. Has anyone modded a Squier '51 with a TOM or wrap around bridge? I would be tempted to try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Armchair Bronco Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 Hey, whenever Kurt Cobain picked up a *new* Fender Mustang, the first thing he did was rip off the tremolo, fill the cavity, and plunk in a Tune-O-Matic bridge and stoptail. Find the Strat you want to mod, find a guitar tech to do the mod, hand over some green, and get your Strat "Kurtified"! I've thought about doing something similar with my Squier Jagmaster. Right now, I've just got the trem blocked off with a piece of hardwood. But ideally, I'd get that monstrous cavity filled in with some wood to make the guitar more resonant and to give the TOM and stoptail something to dig in to. I'm not sure that I'd want to make this kind of mod myself -- I think there are too many things that could go wrong if done improperly. Installing a Bigsby B5 is one thing, but replacing a trem with a TOM is another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members do art Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 www.warmoth.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aragorn Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 Clapton super tightens the trems on all his Strats, making them impossible to use...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 There are hardtail Strats, they use bridges like the one below (it's the vintage version, there are also more modern ones) and have been available since the '50's. Models with TOM's aren't common. The TOM sits higher off the bodies than Fender bridgesTo use a TOM, either the TOM has to be countersunk into the body or the neck angle has to be changed. That's no big deal when gearing up to manufacturer, but builders seem to prefer to go with the stock Strat neck angle and Fender hardtail bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArKay Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 Yes, like that. I would prefer a better guitar though. Has anyone modded a Squier '51 with a TOM or wrap around bridge? I would be tempted to try that. I wouldn't call '51s better than SX strat clones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misle Posted December 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 I wouldn't call '51s better than SX strat clones Nor would I, mainly because I haven't tried an SX Strat. But I already own a Squier '51, hence why I asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 2, 2007 Members Share Posted December 2, 2007 As has been stated, the TOM is designed to set up off of the guitar body while the Fender designs are designed to be flush or nearly flush mounted. Is it just the look of the TOM that you are after? Or just wanting something that 'looks different'? If you have a '51, it seems like it would be an awful lot of work to convert it to a TOM and other than palm muting, there wouldn't be any difference other than the looks. And if you really hate the way the screws on the '51 bridge feel, you could always set the guitar up, mark how far out of the bridge they are, and grind off the bottoms so that when they are adjusted again, they won't be digging into your hands. I'm just grasping at why someone would want to go from one fixed bridge/tailpiece to a different one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Liamberry Posted March 25, 2021 Members Share Posted March 25, 2021 Hi man, I know I’m 14 years late, I’m looking to do something similar did you ever find a way to put a TOM on a strat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 2, 2021 Moderators Share Posted April 2, 2021 I know it was posted here, but to put a TOM on a Fender requires routing out the body to get the bridge co-planar to the neck, or extensive neck shimming. I did put a TOM on a Mustang for a client, maybe thirty years or so ago. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he insisted, I relented, and he was willing to pay for all the work and parts, including a new paint job, and, actually, the guitar played fine and looked strangely attractive...all the hardware was gold, and the body was painted 'pretty pink'; it was a gift for his wife. But, it is a lot of work, and I don't really see the value in doing it....and I wouldn't bother ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Grumpy Posted April 2, 2021 Members Share Posted April 2, 2021 What Daddymack said..." I wouldn't bother." Re-angling the neck even by a couple of degrees is going to change the feel of playing the guitar, and will create other weirdness like the neck pickup being too close to the strings and the bridge pickup being too far away, or at least will require other steps to put the pickups in their proper position. If you have a hankerin' for a Strat style body with tune-o-matic bridge, both Schecter and ESP make Fender-style guitars with TOM style bridges. They seem to be oriented to metal players, they always seem to be equipped with humbucking pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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