(AKA, The Guitar Mod Chronicles: Part II)
Back in May of 2018 we gave an old Strat some new life; shielded the electronics compartment with copper tape (big difference), Sheptone Pickups (YUGE improvement), new nut, all new pots and switch, and a proper setup by our good friend Adam at AF Precision Setups. We wanted to take this Strat from Super Strat, to Super-Duper Strat, and FU-Tone had just what we were looking for!
Our Strat’s Original Floyd Rose Trem sounded alright, and played fine, but one common complaint is that they don’t sound as big as a non-locking system. Putting 10’s on it made a difference, but we felt we could get more. We reached out to FU-Tone and told them about our guitar and they suggested one of their Brass Sustain Blocks. We had to measure the height of the block, to make sure it fit in our body without any issues, and the right version for our needs was 42mm. A couple of days later the upgraded brass block arrived, and we again headed over to see Adam at AF Precision setups to complete the install.
The entire Floyd Rose bridge needs to be removed, and all of the bridge saddles need to be removed to install the new brass block. Now it’s not that big a task for any qualified tech. Adam had it all sorted out within an hour, from out of the case, to setup and ready to go!
First off, the simple result: MORE. It’s not snake oil, there was substantial improvement in overall output. The low end seemed a bit more focused and tighter, while the mids had a nice slight bump in the upper ranges. The high end still had plenty of attack, but also a nice sweetness on the upper fretboard on the B and E strings.
All of this was very noticeable in clean tone settings, and when we kicked in the dirty sounds, it got real fun! Plenty of chunk and definition when playing low riffs and chords, and leads were crisp with plenty of clarity and articulation. All the past complaints of a Floyd Rose being thin sounding can be put to rest with this upgrade!
Cost wise, this is a great bang for the buck mod. We already liked our Strat, but we wanted more, and we got it. Going down the rabbit hole of pickup and electronics mods would have been a waste of time, money and effort. At $39, it’s less expensive than a pickup swap and far more beneficial. Any Floyd Rose user should consider this as their next upgrade immediately.
Special thanks to Adam at AF Precision Setups for the install.
PROS:
Inexpensive, simple, brings big tone
CONS:
None
STREET PRICE:
$39