Strat Tremolo Bridge- Any REAL Advantage To a "Vintage" Design

[stevieb]

My Squier strat has a modern type tremolo bridge- only two pivot screws, unlike the "vintage" design, which has 6 screws. Thing is, on the vintage, you can only do dives- you can not pull the arm up (at least not much), whereas the modern design, you can pull the arm up and get about as much pitch change as you get pushing it down. The strings do not seem to go much out of tune, either.

But MIM and MIA strats have the vintage bridge- Squiers have the modern type. Seems to me, the modern is better. Any advantage to the vintage bridge? Are they interchangable (I am looking at a couple of MIM strats.)

 

[D28Flatpickr]

Advantage to vintage design? No, not on newer mexican and asian strats. On a vintage strat yes!!! never change to non-original parts on a vintage guitar -EVER-if you plan to sell it later.

The bigest diference between the two other than the ability to pull sharp is bridge saddles. The vintage design they are stamped metal and cause a sharp string angle thru the body. They are also hard to adjust because they tilt left or right when you turn the intonation screw.

The modern design on american standards is billet(milled from single piece of metal) and has improved string angle that reduces wear and breakage at the bridge and increases sustain a bit. On the lower end instruments they are made of diecast metal.

If you change trems out just remember you'll have extra screw holes in your guitar

 

[Light]

The actual plate of the bridge? No, not really. The two post version may return to pitch just a bit better, but if they are setup right they are both pretty comparable. However, their are advantages and disadvantages to both of the saddle designs. The modern machined saddles will give you a little bit more sustain, and are usually a little warmer sounding. The old stamped saddles are a little brighter and punchier. Personally, I don't really have much preference, but most "vintage tone" weenies...er, enthusiasts swear by the the stamped saddles.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[DrewPeterson7]

But MIM and MIA strats have the vintage bridge- Squiers have the modern type. Seems to me, the modern is better. Any advantage to the vintage bridge? Are they interchangable (I am looking at a couple of MIM strats.)

Unless I'm GREATLY mistaken, modern MIA strats have a two-point plate, but "vintage" bent steel saddles; sort of a hybrid solution.

Personally, I prefer two-points since they seem to return to pitch a little better, but it's also probably just that that's what I'm used to. Certainly, there's no reason you couldn't set a 6-point to float, I guess...

EDIT - yeah, they're 2-point, with vintage style saddles.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...ndard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=515748