Strat Bridge

[AndyR]

We're not ganging up on you Philly, honest! :lol:

[Philly Q]

I'm probably wrong, but all that extra wood, and no springs or tremblock, a hardtail just don't quite sound/feel right to me...

+1 Hardtail strats just don't sound like strats!

We're not ganging up on you Philly, honest! :lol:

 :lol:

You're right, I suppose, hardtail Strats don't really sound like Strats in the true, classic sense.

They're more like a halfway house between a Strat and a Tele - in other words, pretty much perfect!  :D

I just love the simplicity of a hardtail.  And I like the fact that they're relatively rare, so when you see one there's something a bit "special" about it.  I must admit I get quite excited (in a non-sexual sort of way) every time I see a Strat and there's no backplate, just that nice little row of ferrules...  :oops:

I know you can block off a trem but I find myself wishing those springs and stuff just weren't there to even think about.   Another of my OCDs, I guess.  :roll:

[Copperhead]

I got my girls a MIM Special Players Deluxe or whatever... All gold hardware and cherry burst, pearl pick guard. Just all blingy and girly, y'know? Anyway, I screwed the vintage bridge down flat..... and this guitar seriously rocks! I play it all the time at home. I would probably renege on the whole deal and claim possession to it, but for the 21 fret neck. At least with a 22 I can bend for D# and "fret" on the neck pup somewhere for E, but on this neck I just run out of real estate.
Anyways, the vintage bridge nailed down solid to the body sound great.

[AndyR]

Out of interest Copperhead - and completely off-topic (although I can blame Philly, he has used the word "tele" above, and you for talking about 21-22 frets... :lol:) - you're a tele man as well aren't you? Have you ever used the neck pickup as an extra fret? I saw video of Roy Buchanan doing it, and it works!!

[38thBeatle]

One of my Strats is a hardtail and I love it. It most definitely sounds Stratty.

[Copperhead]

Out of interest Copperhead - and completely off-topic (although I can blame Philly, he has used the word "tele" above, and you for talking about 21-22 frets... :lol:) - you're a tele man as well aren't you? Have you ever used the neck pickup as an extra fret? I saw video of Roy Buchanan doing it, and it works!!

LOL!!
One of the first things I do on any new guitar is to figure out what part of the neck pickup I can get which notes on!!  I will raise the pole on the high E string a bit if it helps! :D

[Dreichlift]

I bought a Vintage V6 strat recently and was really impressed with the trem on that, a lot of time has been spent finding little features that make it stay in tune and believe it or not they work. JHS have a bunch of alternatives too from traditional styles, lower friction models, PRS style bridges etc. These are as far as I understand the budget models however Trev Wilkinson also has a website ( http://www.whamster.com/ )where he sells his top of the range GOTOH made models it's definatly worth looking at.

Mine is the basic WVC model and it is IMO fantastic, stays in tune, even with heavy dive bombing etc. Time will tell how it resists the corrosive chemicals that exude from my hands though. I can only imagine Wilkinson's higher spec models are even better (and more rust resistant).

Here's a link to a demonstrator giving the trem some stick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpl5SMJf2zA&feature=channel_page), if you can't be bothered with the whole video it's at about 3mins in.

Hope it helps.