Whammy Bar Question

[GREENMACHINE]

Hey guys,
I have a Fender VG Strat and it had a normal floating bridge(until my guitar tech said its more stable if it only bends the strings down) and the standard whammy bar. I prefer the floyd rose whammy bar, will that work instead of the standard whammy bar the guitar came with?

I hope that makes sense.

Many thanks,
Cav

 

[markb]

Hey guys,
I have a Fender VG Strat and it had a normal floating bridge(until my guitar tech said its more stable if it only bends the strings down) and the standard whammy bar. I prefer the floyd rose whammy bar, will that work instead of the standard whammy bar the guitar came with?

I hope that makes sense.

Many thanks,
Cav

More stable, yes, but then you can't do true vibrato.

Depending on the model of Floyd, you may need some woodwork done to accommodate it. The tone will change. I find Floyd equipped guitars to be a bit thin sounding. Metallic, maybe? String changes are slow with a locking nut too. Pray you never break one on stage. There are devices to lock the trem. The Hipshot Tremsetter really needs pro fitting and uses a spring to stop the trem moving until you overcome the spring tension. The Tremol-no is a locking bar with a thumbscrew which replaces one of the springs. You can just release the trem when you want to use it.

 

[marnold]

Makes perfect sense. The problem is that an Original Floyd is not a drop-in replacement for an American Strat trem. It would require some surgery to the body itself as well as to the neck to add the locking nut. I know that tons of people have done this. Personally, I wouldn't want to do that to a VG Strat. On top of that, I can't imagine that would be a cheap project. It'd be $150 for the OFR alone plus labor.

 

[GREENMACHINE]

Hey guys,
Thanks for your answers. I'm not going to install a Floyd Rose locking system on my guitar, but the whammy bar that came with the guitar I don't really like, I prefer the feel of the ones that come with the Floyd Rose. Would I be able to swap whammy bars?

Many thanks,
Cav

 

[markb]

Wilkinson do a drop-in replacement for the modern strat trem with a push in arm plus tension collar. NZ$99 from our local parts pusher

http://www.guitarparts.co.nz/cart/Details.cfm?ProdID=762&category=

Or one of these from GFS

http://store.guitarfetish.com/usast2pohast.html

http://store.guitarfetish.com/wistsatrfial.html

 

[Ch0jin]

Wilkinson do a drop-in replacement for the modern strat trem with a push in arm plus tension collar. NZ$99 from our local parts pusher

http://www.guitarparts.co.nz/cart/Details.cfm?ProdID=762&category=

Or one of these from GFS

http://store.guitarfetish.com/usast2pohast.html

http://store.guitarfetish.com/wistsatrfial.html

I can vouch for the GFS Wilkinson units. I replaced a Japanese Strat bridge with the Wilky (on a Squier) and it's good gear.

 

[GREENMACHINE]

Hey guys,
I just found out that my idea won't work because the Floyd Rose Whammy Bar drops in to the bridge, where as my other whammy bar screws in.

Thanks anyway guys.

Many thanks,
Cav

 

[Plank_Spanker]

Do you have access to a machine shop? You can have one built for your exact specs, and I doubt it would cost a ton of money.

 

[GREENMACHINE]

Hey Plank
Yeah, thats good thinking, I might go and find out about that.

Many thanks,
Cav