I'm a relatively small guy, and I wear my guitar kinda high...this thing is just waaaay too long.
I cruise online looking for a smaller tremolo arm.
David Gilmour is generally credited with this little innovation. No wonder Umma Gumma was such a wonderful trip.
I found a few vendors offering what I sought.
I ordered one and waited.
When I saw the receipt I had a small concern. Would the arm fit my Squier?
Squier, being a company that Fender acquired and uses to make the less expensive models. They are made offshore and so use metric rather than imperial hardware.
The day that it arrived, it indeed did not fit. But, not to worry. If I'd send my original arm to them, they'd get the specifications needed to fabricate a fitting arm for my Squier. I sent it off that same day.
Emails were exchanged, I found Craig Wells to be a patient man, he took the time to explain to me the nuances of tremolos. As well as the steps he was taking to fulfill my $15 order.
Finally the day came when my arm(s) arrived. My old, long arm and the new, chrome plated one.
I installed it. Not impressed at all.
It took nearly Herculean effort to move the bridge slightly.
More emails were exchanged and in them, Craig again, patiently took the time to walk me through the process of adjusting the claw.
The claw is the metal piece that attaches the tremolo springs to the body of the guitar. And by adjusting the claw's tension, you alter the amount of force necessary to move the arm.
In this, you seek a balance between too loose, which makes keeping the guitar as though it sounds in tune more difficult and too tight which makes it too difficult to 'break' the bridge from the body.
I spent a good hour moving the screws out...a turn or so at a time. Retuning, if needed and playing the arm.
(Tremolo claw screws are LONG - four or more inches)
And remember, you are doing this to a piece attached to five steel springs. I kept having visions of a screw coming out from the body with a sharp 'twang' and severing some needed bit of me.
Several inches of screw later, I have found that sweet spot. The arm reacts like butter. Stays in tune.
Voila.
OverDrive carries a great variety of products for your Strat. Loaded pickguards...hardware...bodies, et cetera.
Very reasonable prices and excellent customer service.
I can recommend them, without reservation.
Guitar $350
Tremolo arm $15
Mahogany knobs $25
Vintage Springs $7
Linday Fralin Blender Pot $10
Replacement bone nut $80
Setup - included a spring tree...that's right, not a string tree, a spring tree (intonation issues)- $80
Total $567
The guitar is a keeper. Indian Cedar (who knew?) SD designed pickups. And as I said, the only issues were the badly cut nut. (the 'B' had a click) and the short string tree.
When last asked why the guitar was covered in smudges and fingerprints, I replied, "Because I play it a lot?"
I really should clean it up.
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