Metropoulos Forum

So whats everybodies opinion on those Callaham Tremelo Blocks and Bridge/Saddle upgrades? They seem pretty tempting, I'd just like to know if anybody has experience with them.

On a side note Im thinking about Lollar pickups too, anybody like them?

I've got Lollar blonde's in my Hank Marvin strat, they are great pickup. I've got Lollar specials in a parts strat I put together, they're great too. Jason makes great pickups and is very helpful in describing what the differences are in the different models. Phil

I put one of the Callaham steel blocks in a 95 American Strat with a two point trem. Excellent product - night and day!
Massive increase in sustain and richness of tone.

my old squire strat got usable - really usable with the callaham tremolo. much more punch and sustain. sounds much bigger. and callaham's h/srv specials are nice too

I put one in a squier strat, it sticks out the back a little but makes a HUGE difference in tone, sustain, and staying in tune. Highly recommend.

I have to say Callahams products really are the beez kneez for strats. Ive been using the trems for some time but their custom Fralins are awesome too.

Those bridges are kind of magic, they really round out the tone beautifully and if I'm not mistaken add a little gain. The saddles do not form grooves as easily as other makes and they are machined precisely. However, I would not buy the "limited" V/N strat bridge again because I found the close spacing(for PAF's) to be restricting for the right hand when trying to swing a good riff. The classic S model is perfect!

i have them on two strats. they're worth it, more dynamic, new strings jump out at you. night/day. callaham's vintage tuners are much better than the fender items too.

I have a Callaham block and stainless trem arm in my 86 usa Strat, makes a big difference in tone [the block] warmer and more punch, well worth the money,top notch quality and work, the trem arm is cool and much stronger and the correct short vintage style length.

Hi Guys thought of putting the Callaham block on my two new Malmsteen strats to improve their tone, which ones should l order for these two, and what will l notice and how much by??? Thanks for introducing me to thesde wouldn't have discovered these goodies!

Yngve

Yngve wrote:Hi Guys thought of putting the Callaham block on my two new Malmsteen strats to improve their tone, which ones should l order for these two, and what will l notice and how much by??? Thanks for introducing me to thesde wouldn't have discovered these goodies!

Yngve

You will want the Callaham V/N tremolo. It has a 2-7/32" mounting screw spread, with a modern 2-1/16" E to E string spacing.

Here is a copy of a post/review I made at the HCAF forum:

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Callaham V/N tremolo ==> Cure for the dreaded "HIGH E STRING of DEATH" problem

I hope this may be of help for anyone who has a modern Fender Strat that features a vintage Fender 6-screw "synchronized" tremolo system. Specifically, for those who have encountered the dreaded high "E" string of Death. This is the problem where the high "E" string (and sometimes the low E) are too positioned too close to the edge of the fret, which results in the string being prone to slipping off the neck during aggressive lead/solo playing.

Through much trial and error, I have determined the underlying / root cause of this phenomena, which will be apparent by the end of this article. But first, I would like to discuss the wonderful Callaham V/N tremolo system. I have included pics with short descriptions, below. Also, just a bit more back-story. I recently installed a new Wilkinson VSV400P on another one of my Fender YJM Strats...and I couldn't have been happier with the results. So, the Wilky VSV400P was a tough act to follow...however, the new Callaham V/N tremolo is completely up to the challenge.

Here is a pic of the Callaham V/N tremolo out of the box. The V/N stands for Vintage/Narrow, which means it has a vintage screw mounting spacing of 2-7/32", but modern (narrow) E to E string spacing of 2-1/16"...which means it directly retrofits on all YJM Strats that use the vintage style, 6-screw Fender Synchronized Tremolo.



Here is a nice shot of the back side of the Callaham V/N, showing the precision bevel which cuts across the middle diameter of the screw mounting holes. See Callaham's website for explanation as to why this is superior to Fender's bevel, which begins just past the screw holes. The sustain block is made from cold rolled steel, to same exact specs as true vintage Fender trems.



Here I have replaced the stamped vintage type saddles with my preferred Graphtech Ferraglide / Stringsaver saddles.



And here is a pic of the Callaham V/N, now installed on #1 YJM:



So...what is the verdict ??

Guilty !!! Guilty of being one bad ass tremolo, superior in all respects to the stock Fender trem...and tied with the Wilkinson VSV400P (which I have raved about in a previous thread).

Both the Callaham and Wilkinson VSV400P provide superior sustain and tone (compared to stock trem), while greatly improving the over-all action, smoothness, sensitivity, and precise return to pitch performance of the tremolo system. The improvement in sustain and tone is quite noticeable, as are all the other aforementioned benefits. I like either tremolo equally well, so I can't really pick which one I would recommend over the other. If you want a more modern and sleek looking vibrato, then I'd say go for the Wilky VSV400P. If you want to maintain the vintage aesthetics, then go with the Callaham V/N.

Both trems feature narrower E to E string spacing, versus the stock "Vintage" Fender trem. So, they both will help solve any issues of the E string slipping of the neck. The Callaham is a smidge narrower, at 2-1/16" string spacing, versus the 2-1/8" of the VSV400P. So if you have a real bad E string problem, then the Callaham will provide just a tiny bit extra margin, compared to the VSV400P.

There has been a lot of complaints written in regards to the high E string problem on certain Fender Strat models. All the reports I have come across on the 'Net have chalked this up to either a poorly cut nut, an improperly positioned bridge, or a neck that has shifted in the pocket. Indeed, any of these can cause the problem. However, this problem has been wide-spread, and occurs with alarming frequency (especially with the YJM Strats). It is my opinion that the underlying, root cause of the problem is due to Fender's continued use of a vintage trem with vintage string spacing (2-7/32") on modern necks which are slightly thinner (less wide) then the true, early vintage Strat necks.

Fender could solve this issue once and for all, by simply changing over to a trem that has a 2-1/16" E to E string spacing. It is so simple that I can't believe no one has discovered this before (that I know of). Although, I'm sure some of the good folks at Fender know about this, but for whatever reason, they stubbornly stick with the vintage tremolo string spacing, and continue to put out guitars that are virtually unplayable when in the hands of an experienced / advanced guitarist (without significant mods of the type I have just explained).

For shame, Fender...for shame !

I seriously would recommend any of you with either YJM or vintage style strats, consider changing out the stock tremolo for either the Callaham V/N or Wilkinson VSV400P.

For those interested in learning further about the Callaham V/N, here be linky to their website:
http://www.callahamguitars.com/


Cheers,
Deuterium (John)

Great article, John. Thanks for posting!

thousandshirts wrote:Great article, John. Thanks for posting!

Hey, thanks Thousandshirts!

I hope that the article will be helpful to anyone looking into replacing their vintage tremolo on their Strat, especially if they have the "high E string of Death" problem

does callaham make a setup that is identical to vintage strats? I'd be buying whatever is exactly like an original spec, not modified to be better in any way.

DO NOT buy the V/N bridge!!! They are spaced way too close together (unless you are making a 3/4 guitar for your 7 year old). If you have problems with the strings flopping over the edge simply have a wider neck made by either Warmoth or Musikraft. Allot of the swagger and rhythmic vibe that is achieved doing riffs or solos comes from the classic Fender spacing on a strat. The V/N is a total wast of cash and an over all bad idea. -Not gospel, but just my personal experience here.