Strats either have a fixed bridge ('hardtail") or a tremolo bridge. Most guitar techs (including myself) will refer to how the tremolo is set-up by saying it is "blocked", "decked" or "floating". Fender uses this same terminology. A "blocked" tremolo is flush to the top of the guitar and a piece of wood is inserted into the tremolo cavity to prevent the tremolo block from moving. Typically the claw is screwed in to increase spring tension and the adjustment screws on the bridge are tightened down too. This is how the Clapton comes and Fender says it has a "blocked" tremolo. A "decked" tremolo is when the claw is adjusted to increase the spring tension to "pull" the bridge down to the body. The adjustment screws are left so the bridge can actually move. The balance is finding the claw position to keep the bridge decked to the body during string bends, but still allow use of the tremolo bar without too much force. There is nothing worse than trying to remove part of the arm from the tremolo block with the arm snaps in two. This is what Anthony is describing. The "floating" tremolo is actually the normal set-up for a Strat. It is what Leo Fender designed the tremolo for. The arm can raise the pitch up or lower it. Properly set-up, it holds tune really well. Chords have a shimmer to them from the bridge fluttering slightly during play. Bends will cause other tuning issues, but that's part of the Strat sound - just like the inherent noise of a single coil. The hardtail bridge looks like the tremolo bridge, but the Strat doesn't have the tremolo cavity routed in the back, there are no springs or a claw. The strings feed through the body. The tune-o-matic bridge on a Les Paul is also a fixed bridge.
I had mine decked. & blocked because of tuning issues. Was talkin the fun out of it. I like the whammy sound, but not enough to wind up frustrated & not wanting to pick it up anymore. In the long run, a small sacrifice! I enjoy staying in tune! Glad this works for you tho
Very nice, Anthony. You present a strong case on decking the tremolo, and I may give it a try. One reason I've been told to keep it floating is that unique 'shimmer' from the interaction of the string and spring tension. Not sure if that's a made-up phenomena or not. Another reason I've heard you should float is "that's how Leo designed it." But I'd suspect Mr. Fender would be quite pleased to have people tinker around until you get the results needed. By the way, am working through your '50 Monster SRV Licks' ... jeez, what a workout!
Your trem is not blocked, it is decked. Eric clapton blocked it, with a physical block of wood. Your trem is simply resting against the deck of the guitar body.
Cmon man Just cause someone says that's blocked. Decked and blocked. You don't see the difference. Mine floats. With a Fender Floyd Rose bridge and a Hipshot Tremsetter I set my bridge to float 26 yrs ago and never adjusted since. ALWAYS stays in tune unless I don't change strings often.
I float the bridges on my vintage Strats. Yes, it does cause tuning nuances, but that's part of the charm to me. If you're going to block, you might as well get a hardtail guitar. Decked is a reasonable alternative since you can still use the trem. Ah well..... To each his own. PLAY ON!
Thanks for this tip! Tried it on my SX (Alder body, Maple neck), which has a brass block and solid Stainless Steel saddles now, and had some "old" springs in my drawer. Works great---fattened up the tone and sustain, and it stays in tune. Works just like you said!
I've always known "blocked" as physically putting a wood block in to keep the trem from moving, but then again I've never head the term "decked" either. At any rate, yours is a good explanation on taking some of the fussiness out of a tremolo. Thanks!
Great points and thanks for all the lesson videos! I have two Strats, one with a floating trem and one blocked. I love the floating trem and use it a lot for subtle vibrato (no dive bombing, etc.) and don't have tuning issues. With the blocked trem I can't get that same sweet vibrato. P.S. Can we all stop calling it a "tremolo" bar, since the effect is one of pitch, not volume. :-)
I've got two strats at the moment. Set up completely differently. One I use for srv kinda stuff which has 11 gauge strings and a blocked trem, the other I use for Jeff beck/David gilmour kinda stuff and has a floating trem and 7 gauge strings (yes, 7 gauge. It's like playing horse hair, but bending is so smooth it encourages me to bend more. Plus vibrato is beautifully smooth)
I have been playing on stage for over forty years and I never liked to using the trem bar, so I keep the tremolo bridge a little up off the body and use the palm of my hand for vibrato when I need it (which is often). I could never get use to the whammy bar so I did what was comfortable to me. If I need to dive bomb I just grab the bridge with my finger tips and pull. It hasn't slowed me down yet, so whatever works for you. Just my 2 cents worth. Peace.
Isn't blocked with a physical block behind the tremolo? and decked is pulled to the body with tension? From sound testing alone, the block (piece of wood behind the tremolo) sounds better imo the notes have better sustain. I think both of the terms are valid here. There is no blocked guitar in this video. Good job in any case! Cheers
Dean is right. It's not called "Blocked" Blocked is blocking off the bridge in the spring cavity with wood or some other materials. When you Block a a trem bridge it can't move up or down. I'm not sure what your doing is but "Decked" sounds about right
fusioniskey Based on what I've read, what you described is a common misperception. Blocked is actually with the bridge laying against the body. In either case, it's that one :-)
Texas Blues Alley I mispoke, blocked is when the tremolo is "blocked from floating", meaning it's blocked from going past a certain point. This can be done using the body (as I do), or using a stopper block in the back. What you're describing is a tremolo that's completely fixed in place and can't move at all.
Texas Blues Alley I think the term you're looking for is "Hard-tailing" the bridge. The guitar is either missing the trem system (hard tailed), or it has been modified to not move, thus the term "hard-tailing" it.
Texas Blues Alley , To many, blocked means there is a block in there on each side keeping it in one place, hence "blocked." A Hard Tail is a solid bridge. What you are doing is simply setting it up in a non-standard way against Mr. Fender's recommendation. Not a problem, but it is just a modified set up, not blocked.
O and to answer Jason Wise question I believe the velcro on the back of the guitar is there to mount the guitar to a free stand for camera work on Anthony's lessons.
Just a fact that a floating trem can be stable if the guitar is adjusted correctly. However, a blocked tremolo will make you feel more like a man, and help you play like a man. Also gives you a better, thicker tone. :)
What are you talking about. My floating trem makes me a woman or a animal? TAKE THAT BACK OR ILL COME LOOKING FOR YOU ! J K My trem has been floating for over 26 yrs without problems. So I guess doing my homework in the 90's keeps me on the wrong side. For the ones that don't understand ; HIPSHOT TREMSETTER. Fender put it in certain guitars from the factory. You ,the individual, had to install it but from my experience it works. 26 yrs of "IT WORKS".
A floating tremolo has two advantages (and I never use the whammy bar). The biggest cool advantage of a floating bridge is that when you do deep bends the bridge moves higher which gives you more fret clearance for good notes that ring out better! And the second cool factor of a floating bridge is that when you do a deep string bend the bridge moves higher and the note goes flatter which makes it easier to hit the exact note you want! That's the reason people often feel something is "off" when they go from a tremolo bridge to a hardtail bridge. The floating bridge really is one of the most ingenious devices on a guitar and is what makes the Strat so beloved. If you like doing Gilmour type bends you definitely should float your bridge!
I've had mine set up blocked for ages. I don't remember who convinced me to tighten it enough, but I've never looked back. It seems so obvious once you do it, IMO. A friend of mine told me he plays a floating bridge live and a fixed bridge to record because of intonation. Was flabbergasted that someone as experienced as him didn't realize it was a setup issue, although to be fair he's an acoustic player at heart.
I blocked my Strat tremolo after the first time I did a string bend while playing a second, non-bent string. Bent string rises in pitch as expected. Non-bent string drops in pitch. After years on a Tele this was a big surprise to me. From that point forward it's been five springs for me.
Good video. I have a 2012-2013 Am. Sts srat and the bridge was definitely floating wayyy too high when I bought it from the shop. My tech has it not completely flat against the wood, but barely floating. If you pull up on the whammy, on the Low E-G strings, it brings it up a full step. On the B and high E it will bring it up a half step. I usually don't use it for that, but it has no tuning issues. The sustain could be better but some of my pedals help with that. But I think the 2 screw trem bridge is a major improvement as far as tuning if your guitar is setup correctly. It stays in tune if I wail on the bar. The only issue really is alternate tunings, such as tuning to Eb for your videos :). Its not impossible to make it stay in tune but just easier to tune in and out of different tunings more quickly with a fixed bridge. I may just switch to your setup because I really don't use the whammy to go up very much. Thanks for the info.
These are the best videos, been playing for 5 years and was just trying shit out. Now it makes more sense why bending became harder after I changed the gauge from 9s to 10s, it made the bridge float, and well, action got screwed up too. That being said, my Strat only has 2 springs in the back, is there any way to know if it's stable or not, or should I just tighten the springs until the bridge is flattened? Ahhh much tinkering to be done ^ ^
Thanks for a great video. The biggest problem for me with a setup like that is the bar can only be used to lower the pitch, and the action of the trem arm feels unnatural (to me). Given the pros and cons, I prefer a floating set up. I've played it like that for so long (40 years) I've got used to it....I know how to work it. Biggest problem with floating is if you break a string. But that only happens once in a blue moon.
I wonder how Jeff Beck has his trem set up? Once you have it blocked like you have on here you can only depress the trem right? Not being able to pull it up. How did Stevie have his set-up using such heavy strings? Even tuning down 1/2 to 1 whole step?
Hey Anthony - thanks for the video. I go back and forth (pun intended) on blocking/floating my strats. A big reason to block is string breakage when playing live. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than popping a string with a floating trem....basically, you're going down in flames. I was going to ask what the battery door and velcro are on the back of the guitar. Are those active pickups? Thanks!
Another thing with floating trem is when you bend one note even slightly while holding another. The note that's supposed to stay still actually goes down in pitch.
Hello''' You cetainly make all valid points, but i still set my trems'' so i able to get at least a half step up''' Also'' Not sure if it matters...? but your SRV upside down trem, may be something to consider ? thanks cool vid ,, in tune here.. C.K.
I have an early 90's G&L Legacy that has a floating trem system. I'm not expert but it would appear that it is inherently designed to be a floating bridge and am wondering if it might have the same drawbacks that you discussed in the video. If true, would you recommend blocking it with a piece of wood to the likes of what Clapton has done? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. -Cheers
I would think "Blocked" would mean it wouldn't move in any direction - you 'blocked it' from moving. What you're talking about would better be described as a 'decked' tremelo.
the right tremolo sound is to pull it, make it sound like you r tremolo ur string like u use ur finger so how do you reach that concept if u can only press it down?
Well I use a floating trem with no problems at all, and I'm a heavy user on my Strat (Sorrow by Pink Floyd:) also, you can check John Cruz Video "Master Builder tips" and believe me the trem will stay in tune:)
I just installed 5 springs to pull the bridge tight against the body of my strat after watching this. My strat now sounds a lot more bright and springy than before. Is this normal?
Paul Ell It's a battery compartment for the Creation Audio Labs Redeemer buffer. I have to use it because of how long my cables are (amps are in an adjacent room of the studio)
+Texas Blues Alley does a blocked trem mean there's a peice of metal blocking the trem or does it just mean that the bridge is sitting against the body I'm somewhat confused about this subject, please respond if you can. Love the videos keep me coming man!
it is nothing but another idea! look to the tremelo's of floyd rose or even g&l....they 're floating. here is another disadvantage when u deck it: strings will not go back in balance and get out of tune. the part of the string that is over the "head", the part that is attacched to the tuners, will pull the string that side when u push ur trem and it will not go 100% back. check it on a tuner machine. a good bridge (graphtech f.i.) and a balanced trem is my cup of tea on a strat with trem......otherwise take a solid bridge and use ur neck to trem!......also this is just another idea...;-)
Just wondering why bending with a floating trem would be more likely to put it out of tune than a blocked trem...? My reasoning is that both setups allow the bridge to be pulled in that 'whammy-down direction' (lower pitch), presumably a similar force would be needed to do it, regardless of the default position of the bridge. So if bending causes the bridge to move, it should move for both setups. I guess it doesn't matter, but I'm just struggling to understand why that is. And I haven't got a guitar I can "prove it" to myself on! Intuitively, it looks like doing bends with a floating trem *would* tend to put it out of tune more easily, but when I think about it I just don't really see why that would be the case. Maybe it's to do with the direction of the force...When the bridge is flat on the guitar (blocked trem), increasing the string tension won't tend to rotate it as much as if it is already 'rotated' a little bit by default, as in a floating trem? There'd be less torque due to the angle of the applied force (if that makes ANY sense at all - I'm probably misusing these terms! And possible confusing an already hazy memory of highschool physics...) Regardless though, I agree when you say you have no idea why anyone would setup a guitar that way hehe. That's my reasoning as well; it just looks obviously unstable. Each to their own, of course. Thanks for the video anyway, just started watching a few of yours and they're great, I like your style. Especially liked the "guitar jerks" video. You really nailed that one haha :)
I have a tremol-no. Since installing it i keep it locked. I guess i just prefer a fixed bridge. Before that i decked my strat. The main advantage is i can change tuning faster.
Anthony, I have stock springs that came with my strat + two more from another guitar in the back for the full five set, but I do know that the separate ones are of a different tension, does this make a difference on stress on the guitar or whammy action?
Don't you mean "decked," not "blocked?" I've always heard "blocked" to describe a piece of wood block wedged between the trem and body, and you wouldn't then bend up or down. Think Clapton. Anyway, thanks for the vid. I like a decked Strat also.
Dean Silliman www.trueguitar.com/tremblocking.htm Blocking is the correct term here. It doesn't mean the tremolo is "fixed", it simply means that we "block" it from floating. Some people do this with a block in the back to allow the tremolo to find solid footing before hitting the body.
The thing about having 5 springs... i dunno... I don't think it has any impact to the tone (maybe if the bridge was floating, but with it blocked, all vibrations get transferred to the body, so none of it reaches the springs). Also, having 3 springs vs. 5 vs. 100 springs makes no difference on the force you need to push on the whammy bar for it to move, as long as they're pulling just as hard on the tremolo. I think what happened was that with the new springs you had it set up where it was pulling harder on the bridge than with the 5 vintage springs. If you have 3 modern springs and loosen them, the bridge will behave the same.
Texas Blues Alley Yes, it is. Check out Hooke's law and how springs in parallel behave. It doesn't matter if i have 1 big spring or 2 smaller springs, half as powerful as the big one. They behave the same.
Cristi Neagu I misread your statement to be "having more springs doesn't mean they pull harder" which is a grade school level misunderstanding of physics. I see now that your point was that if the total force balances out then it doesn't matter - which is correct. However balancing spring tensions is more complicated than "one big spring vs 2 little springs". Balancing these two (less "new" springs -vs- 5 "old" springs) will be a combination of number of springs and the distance they have to be pulled because the force of the spring changes as it is stretched. That's just a fancy way of saying that you might have to screw in two new springs WAY farther than is wise to get the same force as 5 vintage springs. Likewise, for 3 new springs, you might have to let those screws out farther than is stable, based on the wear of the holes. In any case, if you don't buy into the tone argument, it doesn't matter because there's no point in having 5 springs.
Texas Blues Alley "you might have to screw in two new springs WAY farther than is wise to get the same force as 5 vintage springs. Likewise, for 3 new springs, you might have to let those screws out farther than is stable, " That is a fair point. But if you have the springs set up in such a way that both the new 3 springs pull just as hard as the 5 vintage ones, then you will need more force to get the whammy bar to the guard with the vintage strings, cause the total deformation on the springs will be larger. In anycase, it's a matter of feel and action.
I know this is contrary to the "generally accepted wisdom" you mentioned here, regarding the more contact area the body has with the bridge should produce greater sustain, I found this to be just the opposite. The case for resting over floating makes sense, but having just switched my guitar set up this evening from resting to floating, I find that I have more sustain and resonance being produced with the bridge floating just above the guitar body than was present with it "resting". All I can figure is that those two single posts on which the bridge rest, penetrate solidly and deeply into the body of the guitar, and when the bridge rested against the rear as well, it seems it must have cancelled it out or muted the body resonance instead of increasing it. Kind of like dropping a stone into calm water, ripples flow perfectly outward from it. But drop two stones in that same calm water, and the waves conflict with each other and do not flow outwards as well ;-) This may not be a proper comparison or even applicable, but all I DO know is that since I made my bridge setup to floating just above the body, there is a noticeable increase in sustain and resonance in my guitar :-)
I tested it, and a decked trem sounds fuller (more lows and low mids) and could be maybe also with more sustain. I say maybe because I did not time the sustain, and the fuller and even louder tone of the decked trem could influence one to think it rings longer too. A blocked trem should behave very similar.
i know its just terminology, but I'm used to think "blocked trem" when the trem is actually blocked by a some wood or the clapton way. I think this is more well known as flat trem, but anyway - this is how I always end up setting up my strats. I try to have them floating and at some point I just loose the battle with the tuning problems and they end up flatted like this.
good discussion though as both methods are equally valid ... they just give very different results. Again , a good post but IMHO a floating tren gives the best tone for vintage an modern tones . If you want to play " some Rory " , lock it down :-)
For a guitar manufacturer that's iconic for blues and lead guitar playing, why Fender still send Strats out of the factory setup with the bridge floating is beyond me, it just causes many problems. The majority of the famous Strat players (with the exception of Jeff Beck and a few others) deck or block their bridge.
where there‘s a whammy, there will be something out of tune. with n-step bends either. lower sustain is inherent of the whole fender family, maybe the prize of the chime when compared to the G-family, where you‘ve got less chime, but no issue with sustain. that everybody fingers out his most liked tone! 👋🏻
@@dirkulbricht9985 There have been tests of whether the bolt on neck of Fender reduced sustain and it was proven false. Fenders sustain as well as neck thru or set neck guitars. And if you don't like the floating bridge problems then block it or deck it. That's what players like Clapton did.
Good video! I never had any trouble with the Bigsby floating trems. I own a Gretsch G5120 with a Bigsby and I've nose dived on it many times and although some of the strings might go a tiny shade flat for the most part it's kept it's tune fairly well. Floyd Rose floating trems? That was a different story! Sure they "lock" at the neck and they might work for some people but I could never get the intonation set correctly on mine even when it was professionally set up. Perhaps mine was defective? Aside from that probably the worst floating (if not silliest designed) trem I ever dealt with was the Gibson Lyre Vibrola trems, they are pure crap! I have a '66 Firebird VII with a Lyre and as long as you're playing it as usual it stays in tune but when you hit the trem it ALWAYS goes noticeably out of tune. Gibson makes great guitars but this design was junk!
I watched your How to be a Jerk Guitar Player lesson. Based on that lesson, I think you missed the point. The bridge should be glued and screwed down with epoxy. That will allow the fulcrum effect to be negated while preserving the counter opposing force derived from having no spring effect. Hope that helps.
It's all subjective, I have guitars set up both ways so I have the option of Jeff Beck style or more rigid applications. The tone on a clean blues style with heavier strings really sound great with bridge pulled tight to the body, But it is not possible to play jeff Beck or Steve lukather style guitar with out a fully floating bridge. Just my humble opinion!!!!
tony koesema Definitely need to have it floating for that stuff. Biggest problem with this video is that I assumed people would take into account my own playing style when filtering this advice. I keep forgetting that not everyone knows how narrow my influences are ;-)
It means shit if Jeff Beck played a floating bridge. He used many effects like delay which added sustain to the signal; but in normal conditions, a blocked tremolo will ALWAYS have more sustain
This is an issue I've deliberated over for many years. There's no doubt in my mind that a blocked trem has better tone & is miles better for those oblique bends where one string is bent & the other unbent. But when I use the bar it's most often done in a very subtle way using my pinky or pinky & ring finger with the pick remaining at the strings. A blocked trem is too tight & too high off the face of the guitar to operate in this manner. As for oblique bends I use a finger on the unbent string to push it & compensate or rest my RH palm edge on the bridge to prevent it rising as I bend. Sometimes I miss, but most times I get it...either way I get paid. At a gig, nobody cares. Recording of course is another matter.
A one-sentence response to this: You need to have a good long talk about this with Jeff Beck or Ritchie Blackmore. Yup, those guys have terrible tuning and bending problems. Not. ;)
Wow. This guy must not have a good luthier. Floating does not mean unstable. It is dynamic. Different from a hard tail, yes, Unstable or bad, far from it.
The thing about “better sound transfer to the body means better sustain” is absolute nonsense. I wish guitar educators would take a damn physics class before leading everyone astray. A classical guitar is designed to have impedance matching at the bridge to transfer energy. A solid body electric is designed to NOT transfer energy from the string except as electromagnetic waves to the pickup. Sustain means keeping the energy from leaving the string by maximising the impedance of neck and bridge.
I also thought that it‘s not a good thing letting vibration dissipate in a resonant wood. But the ears tell you otherwise- there is indeed happening a helpful feedback into the strings from the vibrating neck and body. The resonant frequency of the body and neck are best if slightly offset to the vibration of the strings, otherwise it will cause dead spots. Sometimes rational thinking gets defeated by observation.🤷🏻♂️ Peace✌🏼
@@lone-wolf-1 Sometimes people think an anecdotal observation is somehow superior to a scientific one, when the only difference is that the latter has been done many times and more carefully. You let me know whether your ears tell you that an acoustic guitar (which has a much higher degree of energy transfer to the body) has more sustain than a solid body electric. I just tested it with my ears and I'm still absolutely sure of what I said. I never said it's a good thing to have sustain, just that sustain is caused explicitly by energy preservation on the string. The sound of an acoustic is often preferred precisely for its resonant qualities, no denying that. But those qualities are the result of the sound energy leaving the string at different rates for different frequencies, vibrating the body, producing sound in the air and subsequently decaying faster from the string. Thanks!
Texas Blues Alley 8 hours ago +Ed Mathews " Blocking a tremolo means to set it up so that it can only go down in pitch, not up." - www.sweetwater.com/insync/blocking-tremolo/ Anthony, I have to respectfully disagree with you here. The article you posted goes on to say how to cut the "block" of wood to "block" the tremolo. You didn't read far enough. It tells you what blocking does, where NOT to put the block of wood, and where it really goes. Decking it with spring tension essentially does the same thing, so it's really a matter of method, and I agree with the result, one way or another - at least on a strat. I deck all my strats like you do, but prefer my PRS to float because it actually stays in tune that way.
![The Perfect Stratocaster Trem / Vibrato Setup [Floating, Flat Or Blocked?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PjVXWyUGpwc/mqdefault.jpg)
Strats either have a fixed bridge ('hardtail") or a tremolo bridge. Most guitar techs (including myself) will refer to how the tremolo is set-up by saying it is "blocked", "decked" or "floating". Fender uses this same terminology.
A "blocked" tremolo is flush to the top of the guitar and a piece of wood is inserted into the tremolo cavity to prevent the tremolo block from moving. Typically the claw is screwed in to increase spring tension and the adjustment screws on the bridge are tightened down too. This is how the Clapton comes and Fender says it has a "blocked" tremolo.
A "decked" tremolo is when the claw is adjusted to increase the spring tension to "pull" the bridge down to the body. The adjustment screws are left so the bridge can actually move. The balance is finding the claw position to keep the bridge decked to the body during string bends, but still allow use of the tremolo bar without too much force. There is nothing worse than trying to remove part of the arm from the tremolo block with the arm snaps in two. This is what Anthony is describing.
The "floating" tremolo is actually the normal set-up for a Strat. It is what Leo Fender designed the tremolo for. The arm can raise the pitch up or lower it. Properly set-up, it holds tune really well. Chords have a shimmer to them from the bridge fluttering slightly during play. Bends will cause other tuning issues, but that's part of the Strat sound - just like the inherent noise of a single coil.
The hardtail bridge looks like the tremolo bridge, but the Strat doesn't have the tremolo cavity routed in the back, there are no springs or a claw. The strings feed through the body. The tune-o-matic bridge on a Les Paul is also a fixed bridge.
I had mine decked. & blocked because of tuning issues. Was talkin the fun out of it. I like the whammy sound, but not enough to wind up frustrated & not wanting to pick it up anymore. In the long run, a small sacrifice! I enjoy staying in tune! Glad this works for you tho
Same here billy
Very nice, Anthony. You present a strong case on decking the tremolo, and I may give it a try.
One reason I've been told to keep it floating is that unique 'shimmer' from the interaction of the string and spring tension. Not sure if that's a made-up phenomena or not.
Another reason I've heard you should float is "that's how Leo designed it." But I'd suspect Mr. Fender would be quite pleased to have people tinker around until you get the results needed.
By the way, am working through your '50 Monster SRV Licks' ... jeez, what a workout!
Your trem is not blocked, it is decked. Eric clapton blocked it, with a physical block of wood. Your trem is simply resting against the deck of the guitar body.
Ed Mathews " Blocking a tremolo means to set it up so that it can only go down in pitch, not up." - www.sweetwater.com/insync/blocking-tremolo/
Cmon man Just cause someone says that's blocked. Decked and blocked. You don't see the difference. Mine floats. With a Fender Floyd Rose bridge and a Hipshot Tremsetter I set my bridge to float 26 yrs ago and never adjusted since. ALWAYS stays in tune unless I don't change strings often.
I like how your Strat is blending in with the background, its awesome!
I float the bridges on my vintage Strats. Yes, it does cause tuning nuances, but that's part of the charm to me. If you're going to block, you might as well get a hardtail guitar. Decked is a reasonable alternative since you can still use the trem. Ah well..... To each his own. PLAY ON!
Thanks for this tip! Tried it on my SX (Alder body, Maple neck), which has a brass block and solid Stainless Steel saddles now, and had some "old" springs in my drawer. Works great---fattened up the tone and sustain, and it stays in tune. Works just like you said!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insight. I personally appreciate it!
I've always known "blocked" as physically putting a wood block in to keep the trem from moving, but then again I've never head the term "decked" either. At any rate, yours is a good explanation on taking some of the fussiness out of a tremolo. Thanks!
Great points and thanks for all the lesson videos! I have two Strats, one with a floating trem and one blocked. I love the floating trem and use it a lot for subtle vibrato (no dive bombing, etc.) and don't have tuning issues. With the blocked trem I can't get that same sweet vibrato.
P.S. Can we all stop calling it a "tremolo" bar, since the effect is one of pitch, not volume. :-)
I've got two strats at the moment. Set up completely differently. One I use for srv kinda stuff which has 11 gauge strings and a blocked trem, the other I use for Jeff beck/David gilmour kinda stuff and has a floating trem and 7 gauge strings (yes, 7 gauge. It's like playing horse hair, but bending is so smooth it encourages me to bend more. Plus vibrato is beautifully smooth)
I have been playing on stage for over forty years and I never liked to using the trem bar, so I keep the tremolo bridge a little up off the body and use the palm of my hand for vibrato when I need it (which is often). I could never get use to the whammy bar so I did what was comfortable to me. If I need to dive bomb I just grab the bridge with my finger tips and pull. It hasn't slowed me down yet, so whatever works for you. Just my 2 cents worth. Peace.
Isn't blocked with a physical block behind the tremolo? and decked is pulled to the body with tension? From sound testing alone, the block (piece of wood behind the tremolo) sounds better imo the notes have better sustain. I think both of the terms are valid here. There is no blocked guitar in this video. Good job in any case! Cheers
Yeah... Tell that to Hank Marvin and Jeff Beck... It really depends on your playing style. There's stuff you just CAN'T DO with blocked tremolo.
include Gilmour. and do some meditation whether you want to include Neil Young (is he ever in tune after 15 seconds in a gig? 😂)
Dean is right. It's not called "Blocked" Blocked is blocking off the bridge in the spring cavity with wood or some other materials. When you Block a a trem bridge it can't move up or down. I'm not sure what your doing is but "Decked" sounds about right
fusioniskey Based on what I've read, what you described is a common misperception. Blocked is actually with the bridge laying against the body. In either case, it's that one :-)
Texas Blues Alley I mispoke, blocked is when the tremolo is "blocked from floating", meaning it's blocked from going past a certain point. This can be done using the body (as I do), or using a stopper block in the back. What you're describing is a tremolo that's completely fixed in place and can't move at all.
Texas Blues Alley I think the term you're looking for is "Hard-tailing" the bridge. The guitar is either missing the trem system (hard tailed), or it has been modified to not move, thus the term "hard-tailing" it.
Texas Blues Alley , To many, blocked means there is a block in there on each side keeping it in one place, hence "blocked." A Hard Tail is a solid bridge. What you are doing is simply setting it up in a non-standard way against Mr. Fender's recommendation. Not a problem, but it is just a modified set up, not blocked.
Bingo ! :)
Great video Anthony! These setup vids have been Immensely helpful, thank you!
O and to answer Jason Wise question I believe the velcro on the back of the guitar is there to mount the guitar to a free stand for camera work on Anthony's lessons.
tony koesema That was actually used to hold a Creation Audio Labs Redeemer beltpack buffer in place.
Fortunately, Scott Henderson and John Suhr have disproven your "one man's opinion" that a six-screw vintage floating trem is unstable.
Just a fact that a floating trem can be stable if the guitar is adjusted correctly. However, a blocked tremolo will make you feel more like a man, and help you play like a man. Also gives you a better, thicker tone. :)
What are you talking about. My floating trem makes me a woman or a animal? TAKE THAT BACK OR ILL COME LOOKING FOR YOU ! J K My trem has been floating for over 26 yrs without problems. So I guess doing my homework in the 90's keeps me on the wrong side. For the ones that don't understand ; HIPSHOT TREMSETTER. Fender put it in certain guitars from the factory. You ,the individual, had to install it but from my experience it works. 26 yrs of "IT WORKS".
A floating tremolo has two advantages (and I never use the whammy bar). The biggest cool advantage of a floating bridge is that when you do deep bends the bridge moves higher which gives you more fret clearance for good notes that ring out better! And the second cool factor of a floating bridge is that when you do a deep string bend the bridge moves higher and the note goes flatter which makes it easier to hit the exact note you want! That's the reason people often feel something is "off" when they go from a tremolo bridge to a hardtail bridge. The floating bridge really is one of the most ingenious devices on a guitar and is what makes the Strat so beloved. If you like doing Gilmour type bends you definitely should float your bridge!
I've had mine set up blocked for ages. I don't remember who convinced me to tighten it enough, but I've never looked back. It seems so obvious once you do it, IMO. A friend of mine told me he plays a floating bridge live and a fixed bridge to record because of intonation. Was flabbergasted that someone as experienced as him didn't realize it was a setup issue, although to be fair he's an acoustic player at heart.
I blocked my Strat tremolo after the first time I did a string bend while playing a second, non-bent string. Bent string rises in pitch as expected. Non-bent string drops in pitch. After years on a Tele this was a big surprise to me. From that point forward it's been five springs for me.
Jimmy Dodd Yup
Tremelo sag can also be fun and allow for unique sounds a la J. Beck.
same
ummm, how come your trem arm is at the top side of the strat?
Good video. I have a 2012-2013 Am. Sts srat and the bridge was definitely floating wayyy too high when I bought it from the shop. My tech has it not completely flat against the wood, but barely floating. If you pull up on the whammy, on the Low E-G strings, it brings it up a full step. On the B and high E it will bring it up a half step. I usually don't use it for that, but it has no tuning issues. The sustain could be better but some of my pedals help with that. But I think the 2 screw trem bridge is a major improvement as far as tuning if your guitar is setup correctly. It stays in tune if I wail on the bar. The only issue really is alternate tunings, such as tuning to Eb for your videos :). Its not impossible to make it stay in tune but just easier to tune in and out of different tunings more quickly with a fixed bridge. I may just switch to your setup because I really don't use the whammy to go up very much. Thanks for the info.
These are the best videos, been playing for 5 years and was just trying shit out. Now it makes more sense why bending became harder after I changed the gauge from 9s to 10s, it made the bridge float, and well, action got screwed up too. That being said, my Strat only has 2 springs in the back, is there any way to know if it's stable or not, or should I just tighten the springs until the bridge is flattened?
Ahhh much tinkering to be done ^ ^
Where did you get those Raw Vintage Springs ? Thanks for this video.
Can you please tell me what pickups those are ? They sound great !
Thanks for a great video. The biggest problem for me with a setup like that is the bar can only be used to lower the pitch, and the action of the trem arm feels unnatural (to me). Given the pros and cons, I prefer a floating set up. I've played it like that for so long (40 years) I've got used to it....I know how to work it.
Biggest problem with floating is if you break a string. But that only happens once in a blue moon.
Did you have a battery cavity cut into the back on the SRV-Sig?
The trem on my strat looks different it is attached by two screws rather than the six you see in this video. Is it still a good idea to block the trem
I wonder how Jeff Beck has his trem set up? Once you have it blocked like you have on here you can only depress the trem right? Not being able to pull it up. How did Stevie have his set-up using such heavy strings? Even tuning down 1/2 to 1 whole step?
I know Stevie's number one had all 5 springs not sure how tight they were though
Hey Anthony - thanks for the video. I go back and forth (pun intended) on blocking/floating my strats. A big reason to block is string breakage when playing live. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than popping a string with a floating trem....basically, you're going down in flames. I was going to ask what the battery door and velcro are on the back of the guitar. Are those active pickups? Thanks!
Lance Holland That's a cutout for a Creation Audio Labs redeemer buffer. Pickups are not active, they are Zexcoil.
Another thing with floating trem is when you bend one note even slightly while holding another. The note that's supposed to stay still actually goes down in pitch.
Hello''' You cetainly make all valid points, but i still set my trems'' so i able to get at least a half step up''' Also'' Not sure if it matters...? but your SRV upside down trem, may be something to consider ? thanks cool vid ,, in tune here.. C.K.
I have an early 90's G&L Legacy that has a floating trem system. I'm not expert but it would appear that it is inherently designed to be a floating bridge and am wondering if it might have the same drawbacks that you discussed in the video. If true, would you recommend blocking it with a piece of wood to the likes of what Clapton has done? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
-Cheers
I would think "Blocked" would mean it wouldn't move in any direction - you 'blocked it' from moving. What you're talking about would better be described as a 'decked' tremelo.
How did you get your tremelo bar on top?
the right tremolo sound is to pull it, make it sound like you r tremolo ur string like u use ur finger
so how do you reach that concept if u can only press it down?
i use 12's with a high e 13 and my tremolo is still floating with 5 springs and I can't really get the screws tight to the body...
Any ideas Anthony?
Is that the stock bridge and tremolo arm?
Thanks
Well I use a floating trem with no problems at all, and I'm a heavy user on my Strat (Sorrow by Pink Floyd:) also, you can check John Cruz Video "Master Builder tips" and believe me the trem will stay in tune:)
What do you think of the Trem setter
Randy Melton Have never tried it.
I just installed 5 springs to pull the bridge tight against the body of my strat after watching this. My strat now sounds a lot more bright and springy than before. Is this normal?
Whats up with the little battery looking door on the back of the strat?
Paul Ell It's a battery compartment for the Creation Audio Labs Redeemer buffer. I have to use it because of how long my cables are (amps are in an adjacent room of the studio)
Been a Strat player my whole life and haven’t played a tremolo since 1995. Nice video, though!
I see a battery chamber on the back of your guitar. what is it for? I have those pickups (Zexcoil) but it didn't required a battery...can you share?
I used to have an on-board buffer installed.
+Texas Blues Alley does a blocked trem mean there's a peice of metal blocking the trem or does it just mean that the bridge is sitting against the body I'm somewhat confused about this subject, please respond if you can. Love the videos keep me coming man!
it is nothing but another idea! look to the tremelo's of floyd rose or even g&l....they 're floating. here is another disadvantage when u deck it: strings will not go back in balance and get out of tune. the part of the string that is over the "head", the part that is attacched to the tuners, will pull the string that side when u push ur trem and it will not go 100% back. check it on a tuner machine. a good bridge (graphtech f.i.) and a balanced trem is my cup of tea on a strat with trem......otherwise take a solid bridge and use ur neck to trem!......also this is just another idea...;-)
Just wondering why bending with a floating trem would be more likely to put it out of tune than a blocked trem...? My reasoning is that both setups allow the bridge to be pulled in that 'whammy-down direction' (lower pitch), presumably a similar force would be needed to do it, regardless of the default position of the bridge. So if bending causes the bridge to move, it should move for both setups.
I guess it doesn't matter, but I'm just struggling to understand why that is. And I haven't got a guitar I can "prove it" to myself on!
Intuitively, it looks like doing bends with a floating trem *would* tend to put it out of tune more easily, but when I think about it I just don't really see why that would be the case.
Maybe it's to do with the direction of the force...When the bridge is flat on the guitar (blocked trem), increasing the string tension won't tend to rotate it as much as if it is already 'rotated' a little bit by default, as in a floating trem? There'd be less torque due to the angle of the applied force (if that makes ANY sense at all - I'm probably misusing these terms! And possible confusing an already hazy memory of highschool physics...)
Regardless though, I agree when you say you have no idea why anyone would setup a guitar that way hehe. That's my reasoning as well; it just looks obviously unstable. Each to their own, of course.
Thanks for the video anyway, just started watching a few of yours and they're great, I like your style. Especially liked the "guitar jerks" video. You really nailed that one haha :)
what does it mean if my springs are maxxed out, but then when i tighten up strings to tune the guitar, the bridge is still coming way up off the body?
You need more springs.
the tremelo bar shown is for a left hand guitar and it is mounted on a right hand guitar.what's up with that?
George Monaco SRV Strat.
I have a tremol-no. Since installing it i keep it locked. I guess i just prefer a fixed bridge. Before that i decked my strat. The main advantage is i can change tuning faster.
Anthony, I have stock springs that came with my strat + two more from another guitar in the back for the full five set, but I do know that the separate ones are of a different tension, does this make a difference on stress on the guitar or whammy action?
Don't you mean "decked," not "blocked?" I've always heard "blocked" to describe a piece of wood block wedged between the trem and body, and you wouldn't then bend up or down. Think Clapton. Anyway, thanks for the vid. I like a decked Strat also.
Dean Silliman www.trueguitar.com/tremblocking.htm
Blocking is the correct term here. It doesn't mean the tremolo is "fixed", it simply means that we "block" it from floating. Some people do this with a block in the back to allow the tremolo to find solid footing before hitting the body.
Yup''' Correct :)
Texas😂😂😂
The thing about having 5 springs... i dunno... I don't think it has any impact to the tone (maybe if the bridge was floating, but with it blocked, all vibrations get transferred to the body, so none of it reaches the springs). Also, having 3 springs vs. 5 vs. 100 springs makes no difference on the force you need to push on the whammy bar for it to move, as long as they're pulling just as hard on the tremolo. I think what happened was that with the new springs you had it set up where it was pulling harder on the bridge than with the 5 vintage springs. If you have 3 modern springs and loosen them, the bridge will behave the same.
Cristi Neagu That's not how springs work.
Texas Blues Alley Yes, it is. Check out Hooke's law and how springs in parallel behave. It doesn't matter if i have 1 big spring or 2 smaller springs, half as powerful as the big one. They behave the same.
Cristi Neagu I misread your statement to be "having more springs doesn't mean they pull harder" which is a grade school level misunderstanding of physics. I see now that your point was that if the total force balances out then it doesn't matter - which is correct. However balancing spring tensions is more complicated than "one big spring vs 2 little springs".
Balancing these two (less "new" springs -vs- 5 "old" springs) will be a combination of number of springs and the distance they have to be pulled because the force of the spring changes as it is stretched. That's just a fancy way of saying that you might have to screw in two new springs WAY farther than is wise to get the same force as 5 vintage springs. Likewise, for 3 new springs, you might have to let those screws out farther than is stable, based on the wear of the holes.
In any case, if you don't buy into the tone argument, it doesn't matter because there's no point in having 5 springs.
Texas Blues Alley "you might have to screw in two new springs WAY farther than is wise to get the same force as 5 vintage springs. Likewise, for 3 new springs, you might have to let those screws out farther than is stable, "
That is a fair point. But if you have the springs set up in such a way that both the new 3 springs pull just as hard as the 5 vintage ones, then you will need more force to get the whammy bar to the guard with the vintage strings, cause the total deformation on the springs will be larger.
In anycase, it's a matter of feel and action.
I know this is contrary to the "generally accepted wisdom" you mentioned here, regarding the more contact area the body has with the bridge should produce greater sustain, I found this to be just the opposite. The case for resting over floating makes sense, but having just switched my guitar set up this evening from resting to floating, I find that I have more sustain and resonance being produced with the bridge floating just above the guitar body than was present with it "resting". All I can figure is that those two single posts on which the bridge rest, penetrate solidly and deeply into the body of the guitar, and when the bridge rested against the rear as well, it seems it must have cancelled it out or muted the body resonance instead of increasing it. Kind of like dropping a stone into calm water, ripples flow perfectly outward from it. But drop two stones in that same calm water, and the waves conflict with each other and do not flow outwards as well ;-) This may not be a proper comparison or even applicable, but all I DO know is that since I made my bridge setup to floating just above the body, there is a noticeable increase in sustain and resonance in my guitar :-)
I tested it, and a decked trem sounds fuller (more lows and low mids) and could be maybe also with more sustain. I say maybe because I did not time the sustain, and the fuller and even louder tone of the decked trem could influence one to think it rings longer too.
A blocked trem should behave very similar.
Why does Jeff Beck have his strats floating they sound fine intune also. I think it's a preference actually.
i know its just terminology, but I'm used to think "blocked trem" when the trem is actually blocked by a some wood or the clapton way. I think this is more well known as flat trem, but anyway - this is how I always end up setting up my strats. I try to have them floating and at some point I just loose the battle with the tuning problems and they end up flatted like this.
good discussion though as both methods are equally valid ... they just give very different results. Again , a good post but IMHO a floating tren gives the best tone for vintage an modern tones . If you want to play " some Rory " , lock it down :-)
nice pickups mate!!
For a guitar manufacturer that's iconic for blues and lead guitar playing, why Fender still send Strats out of the factory setup with the bridge floating is beyond me, it just causes many problems. The majority of the famous Strat players (with the exception of Jeff Beck and a few others) deck or block their bridge.
Such a pretty bridge. Jealous. Whammy on top just seems ergonomically better and easier to grab. Wonder why that never really took.
What pickups are those???
what kind of pickups are those
Thank you !
Jeff Beck's tremolo is floating :D
and bending is easier as your string tension drops very significantly due to shallower angles
Great point!!!!
If you're not going to float the bridge don't buy a Strat, buy a Tele!
where there‘s a whammy, there will be something out of tune. with n-step bends either.
lower sustain is inherent of the whole fender family, maybe the prize of the chime when compared to the G-family, where you‘ve got less chime, but no issue with sustain.
that everybody fingers out his most liked tone! 👋🏻
@@dirkulbricht9985 There have been tests of whether the bolt on neck of Fender reduced sustain and it was proven false. Fenders sustain as well as neck thru or set neck guitars.
And if you don't like the floating bridge problems then block it or deck it. That's what players like Clapton did.
Fact is if you can play the whammy can be stapled or #10 nailed on, it would'nt matter .
Good video! I never had any trouble with the Bigsby floating trems. I own a Gretsch G5120 with a Bigsby and I've nose dived on it many times and although some of the strings might go a tiny shade flat for the most part it's kept it's tune fairly well. Floyd Rose floating trems? That was a different story! Sure they "lock" at the neck and they might work for some people but I could never get the intonation set correctly on mine even when it was professionally set up. Perhaps mine was defective?
Aside from that probably the worst floating (if not silliest designed) trem I ever dealt with was the Gibson Lyre Vibrola trems, they are pure crap! I have a '66 Firebird VII with a Lyre and as long as you're playing it as usual it stays in tune but when you hit the trem it ALWAYS goes noticeably out of tune. Gibson makes great guitars but this design was junk!
I watched your How to be a Jerk Guitar Player lesson. Based on that lesson, I think you missed the point. The bridge should be glued and screwed down with epoxy. That will allow the fulcrum effect to be negated while preserving the counter opposing force derived from having no spring effect. Hope that helps.
It's all subjective, I have guitars set up both ways so I have the option of Jeff Beck style or more rigid applications. The tone on a clean blues style with heavier strings really sound great with bridge pulled tight to the body, But it is not possible to play jeff Beck or Steve lukather style guitar with out a fully floating bridge. Just my humble opinion!!!!
tony koesema Definitely need to have it floating for that stuff. Biggest problem with this video is that I assumed people would take into account my own playing style when filtering this advice. I keep forgetting that not everyone knows how narrow my influences are ;-)
The bit about sustain on a blocked tremolo being better isn't necessarily true, go listen to some Jeff beck.
It means shit if Jeff Beck played a floating bridge. He used many effects like delay which added sustain to the signal; but in normal conditions, a blocked tremolo will ALWAYS have more sustain
This is an issue I've deliberated over for many years. There's no doubt in my mind that a blocked trem has better tone & is miles better for those oblique bends where one string is bent & the other unbent. But when I use the bar it's most often done in a very subtle way using my pinky or pinky & ring finger with the pick remaining at the strings. A blocked trem is too tight & too high off the face of the guitar to operate in this manner. As for oblique bends I use a finger on the unbent string to push it & compensate or rest my RH palm edge on the bridge to prevent it rising as I bend. Sometimes I miss, but most times I get it...either way I get paid. At a gig, nobody cares. Recording of course is another matter.
theres too many disadvantages for just being able to go up in pitch. not worth having it float in my opinion.
Unless someone plays that kind of metal I guess, at which point you'd need a guitar with a Floyd Rose bridge.
Witch tremolo is that
This is a SRV signature strat with a reversed tremolo.
A one-sentence response to this: You need to have a good long talk about this with Jeff Beck or Ritchie Blackmore.
Yup, those guys have terrible tuning and bending problems. Not. ;)
Wow. This guy must not have a good luthier. Floating does not mean unstable. It is dynamic. Different from a hard tail, yes, Unstable or bad, far from it.
Hendrix still worries about his whammy
I bought a telecaster. Argument over.
+1 on raw vintage
The thing about “better sound transfer to the body means better sustain” is absolute nonsense. I wish guitar educators would take a damn physics class before leading everyone astray.
A classical guitar is designed to have impedance matching at the bridge to transfer energy. A solid body electric is designed to NOT transfer energy from the string except as electromagnetic waves to the pickup. Sustain means keeping the energy from leaving the string by maximising the impedance of neck and bridge.
I also thought that it‘s not a good thing letting vibration dissipate in a resonant wood. But the ears tell you otherwise- there is indeed happening a helpful feedback into the strings from the vibrating neck and body. The resonant frequency of the body and neck are best if slightly offset to the vibration of the strings, otherwise it will cause dead spots.
Sometimes rational thinking gets defeated by observation.🤷🏻♂️
Peace✌🏼
@@lone-wolf-1 Sometimes people think an anecdotal observation is somehow superior to a scientific one, when the only difference is that the latter has been done many times and more carefully. You let me know whether your ears tell you that an acoustic guitar (which has a much higher degree of energy transfer to the body) has more sustain than a solid body electric. I just tested it with my ears and I'm still absolutely sure of what I said. I never said it's a good thing to have sustain, just that sustain is caused explicitly by energy preservation on the string. The sound of an acoustic is often preferred precisely for its resonant qualities, no denying that. But those qualities are the result of the sound energy leaving the string at different rates for different frequencies, vibrating the body, producing sound in the air and subsequently decaying faster from the string. Thanks!
Bingo!
I’m glad you’d never use it but Jeff heck foes
Who's Jeff Heck and who are his foes?
@@tonynew3047 probably Eric Claxon
😂😂😂
It's the only way to fly. Just be sure to readjust your intonation afterwards or you'll be too flat.
But: ( another drawback:) You cant bend up the strings with the whammybar with that blocked tremolo!!
Jonas Hohmann I understand why people like to do that, but for me that's not a drawback.
Texas Blues Alley
8 hours ago
+Ed Mathews " Blocking a tremolo means to set it up so that it can only go down in pitch, not up." - www.sweetwater.com/insync/blocking-tremolo/
Anthony, I have to respectfully disagree with you here. The article you posted goes on to say how to cut the "block" of wood to "block" the tremolo. You didn't read far enough. It tells you what blocking does, where NOT to put the block of wood, and where it really goes. Decking it with spring tension essentially does the same thing, so it's really a matter of method, and I agree with the result, one way or another - at least on a strat. I deck all my strats like you do, but prefer my PRS to float because it actually stays in tune that way.
Well done. Thanks.
I never understood why someone would buy a strat & "Block" the Trem''' Plenty of hardtails 'out their to choose from,,, Just say'n ,,?
Never tried it before but read somewhere that the springs in a strat help give it a different sound.
Chrisandra VOX Not when you want a big fat neck :-)
Am I the only one that realises that the actual tremolo bar is on the wrong side of the guitar😂
Simple answer: Correct side for SRV ala Hendrix. Forearm use.
broken string with floating trem is proformers bad trip .
a good post but sorry , I don't but any of this , check out a Google on "frudo strat "
Them*** lol
You should have changed the title by now.
I figured out how to do that crossed out text thing, so I just updated the title.
There's no ed to the crap we need to buy is there