I recently bought a trem block/saddle combo package from Fender for somewhere around $28. It had the block, the plate, the screws, and the bent metal saddles. The block itself is full-sized, but it’s die-cast – meaning it’s pot metal. Still, it’s interesting to note that the trem block that came with my MIM Strat years ago had a pot metal trem block that was half the width of a “normal” block. Would swapping out a half width trem block with a full width make a difference?
We are in dangerously subjective territory here. As a wise man in a forum once said, whatever you want the mod to do, it will likely do. Meaning we fool ourselves. I wanted to notice a little more sustain with a larger block. Did I? Yes. Yes, I did. The new block seems to sustain notes a little longer. Does this mean my next experiment should be moving from full sized pot metal to full sized metal? Yes. Am I going to do it? Yes.
Why? Because it’s fun. It’s fun upgrading a Strat. I’m well aware that the actual difference in tone is probably too small to hear. But when I play it, the difference is real to me. In a recording, no one would be able to tell the difference. Hell, most non-musicians wouldn’t know a POD 2 from a Marshall stack when it’s mixed into a song. We agonize over crap no one cares about.
Is it possible that there really is a difference? Of course there’s a difference. There can’t NOT be a difference, because I changed a variable. I added more mass to the bridge. The real question is, can you actually hear the difference? I feel like I do, and that’s enough for me. So would I recommend this mod? Yes, I would. At the end of the day, even though this is very subjective, I think it does make a small difference.
