Which trem for American Standard Strat?

[Crunchtime]

I recently bought a Strat body so I could make my first Strat. It is routed for an American Standard trem.]

 

If you were making a partscaster with such a body what trem would you get. Just a stock trem? Some aftermarket trem? Which one and why?

[Crunchtime]

Anyone?

[Doctor Morbius]

Does the guitar have the mounting posts or at least the body inserts?

 

Do you like block saddles or stamped?

[Crunchtime]

 

Does the guitar have the mounting posts or at least the body inserts? Do you like block saddles or stamped?

 

 

The body has the inserts but no posts.

 

As far as saddles go, I'm not really sure. This is my first Strat. I've always had TOM's or Floyds. I never had a Strat because they tend not to have certain features I like. I finally decided to build a partscaster that had some of those features.

 

I suppose looks-wise I like the Hipshot. They look beefy yet sleek.

[leftyDaveZ]

Try a wilkinson. Good trems.

[bsman]

I am partial to traditional six-screw trems. I have no reason other than looks for this, but I just don't really like the way two-screw trems look. I know it's silly, but there you go!

[Lex.Luthier]

Hipshot Contour Trem. Im after upgrading all my Strats from Wilkinson VS100s to them.

 

I like them because:

 

(1) Pop in trem arm. You adjust the tension of the trem arm to your liking with a set screw and thats it, you dont need to screw in the trem arm in and it wont get tighter or looser as it swings around. Its not a huge deal but it is a cool feature.

 

(2) Its nice looking (you can see one of mine here)

 

 

(3) Ball bearing pivot joints. This mean the trem will last a very long time without any maintanance and it has a remarkable return to pitch if setup right.

 

(4) Its very comfortable on the hand.

[mrbrown49]

^Interesting. Those look really nice. Are those a drop in for MIA standard strats?

[Lex.Luthier]

 

^Interesting. Those look really nice. Are those a drop in for MIA standard strats?

 

 

Yes, but since the ball bearing pivot joints are larger than the standard Fender knife edge joints you will need to pull out the standard Fender trem anchors and install the Hipshot ones. They are the same size so they just push in.

[mrbrown49]

Yes, but since the ball bearing pivot joints are larger than the standard Fender knife edge joints you will need to pull out the standard Fender trem anchors and install the Hipshot ones. They are the same size so they just push in.

 

good to know. Thanks for all the info.

[sinnerx96]

The Fender American 2-point trems are nice and can be found easily on ebay, new or used, for good prices. I personally like the block saddles. The bent saddles bother my right palm with how I play. The bent saddles will also give you a bit more "plink" and "air" to the tone, which many people consider more "stratty" qualities.

 

There's the American Standard 2-point, and the American Deluxe 2-point. The new standard has bent saddles, but the older ones have the blocks. Just watch out for that, either way, if you get one of those.

I like the American Deluxe for the pop-in arm, and I think the polished ss saddles (unpolished ss on the standard) look cool.

 

Another two trems that I've noticed are mentioned quite a bit for being really good quality, are the Gotoh 510TS-FE1 and the Gotoh/Wilkinson VS401. Suhr uses the 510TS-FE1, if that means anything to you. It looks like a traditional 2-point strat trem, and it's supposed to be really nice.

http://www.allparts.com/Fulcrum-Tremolo-Steel-Block-p/sb-5330-s10.htm

 

I ordered a VS401, and I should have it next week. If you're interested, I could give you a direct comparison between that and the Fender American Deluxe that I have on my two strats. I had to order mine from some dealer in Japan(close to Gotoh's factory), because I wanted it in black and no one around here carries it in that color. It looks more modern, which I like. It's an upgraded VS100 that lots of people loved, and it has a steel block.

http://www.allparts.com/VG401-Tremolo-Chrome-p/sb-5321-010.htm

[kit_strong]

I'd try a TremKing

[Beckman]

 

I'd try a TremKing

 

 

That is pretty cool. I don't mind the floating bridges, but this seems to be a great design:

 

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[paulskirocks]

I'm putting a Trem-King in my Strat very soon... I'll give an update when I do...

[bengerm77]

I would say floyd rose.

 

But I always say floyd rose.

 

I think the general consensus is wilkinson.