USA strat to super strat

[hawaii121]

Hello all - I'm tweaking a strat and was wondering if anyone has used any callahan tremolo stuff? Mine has a two bolt tremolo so I would be limited to saddles and block any thoughts? Thanks!

[thesjkexperience]

I have put the Blocks and Arms on every Strat I have owned in the last 4 years. To me the two flaws in Leo's Stratocaster are the 3-way switch and the wimpy/breakable tremolo arm. The Callaham block and arm allow you do go crazy and not have to worry about breaking the the arm.

I have all vintage RI Stratocasters and the Callaham blocks seem a bit livelier and bell-like than the CS stuff and a few steps better than my Thin Skin. The machining quality is so evident that I have to imagine it contacts the bridge far tighter than other blocks

I havent tried the saddles, but I imagine they are first class and may be a little more stout than the Fender stuff. I do know that some of the two point bridges have the sintered metal saddles, but I have never owned a guitar with them.

[Joeleo]

Yeah i would agree with that assessment that switching to callaham made things sound more alive and bell-like. And the quality of the parts is apparent the minute you pull it out of the box. The Callaham stuff is wonderful. I know it's expensive but imho it's very worth it.

[Donner]

Yup Ive had Callahams on both my strats since he first started making them and switched a couple guys I teched for - just sounds and feels a bit more 'robust'.

[hawaii121]

here we go again...

Printed the fax order form this morning...

[hawaii121]

Callaham parts scheduled to arrive today! Just put in a wired pickguard with Bare Knuckle Apaches - Strat is sounding really really good.

[Joeleo]

Awesome man! Let us know how you like them. I have a Callaham tele bridge set to arrive on Friday. Can't wait!

[hawaii121]

Put everything in tonight and could notice an instant increase in sustain. The strat is a little brighter, but only to the point that I needed to adjust the eq on my amp and pedals. When I have read complaints about the brighter sound in other forums, I wonder if the people ever bothered to adjust their eq settings. With amp and pedals set right, my strat sounds fantastic and really sings. My "super strat" is kickin a$$!

[thesjkexperience]

I know this sounds insane, but if you get different springs you can tune that brightness. I picked up some Raw Vintage springs and they are designed to be a bit softer, so most people can use all 5 springs instead of 3. That didn't pan out for me, but I did notice a huge increase in fullness. So, I went back to my usual 5 springs (I use Curt Mangan 10 pure nickel strings that pull like 11s) and swapped out one Raw Vintage spring at a time until the tone was perfect. Some used none, some one, some two. It also helps adjust the "feel" of the mechanism.

I found the spring swap a better option than turning down any treble because that is where the extended harmonics and crunchy goodness lie.

[hawaii121]

Excellent suggestion to continue the build! I was worried I was out of options lol. I'll try it and it does make some sense. The increase in sustain from all of this is quite amazing.

Forgot to add - I did notice a jump in volume from the Callaham stuff and adjusted my pickups down a little. I ordered the Raw Vintage and there are a lot of posts around where people report changing the tone with them.

Strings could be a biggie too. I really like the nickel ones and I'll bet the Thomatic Insfeld would do well with this setup. When I tried their sliders on another guitar they were too woody, but I'll bet they would sound great with a brighter set up.

So when I'm done, do I actually have to play this thing?