Our tremolo arms are fabricated in our shop from 303 stainless steel for genuine Fender®
Stratocaster®
tremolo
bridges only and are threaded for a screw-in attachment
to the bridge in UNF 10-32 or metric 5mm (M5 x 0.8) threading. They are not chrome plated, they are solid 303 stainless steel with a satin
finish.
These tremolo arms are
NOT designed to fit a Squire® Strat®, clone Strat® or any aftermarket bridge, so DO NOT purchase for any Squier®, clone or replica Strat® or for any aftermarket
tremolo bridge.
They are designed for original genuine
Fender® Strat® tremolo bridges only, this does NOT
include Squier's.
Our
tremolo arms are exclusively designed for a genuine Fender®
Strat®
tremolo bridge that is setup as
free-floating. The free-floating bridge setup presents the underside back edge of the bridge top plate
raised up off the surface of the body by approximately 1/8", this is how just about all Strat's®
come setup from Fender®.
The free-floating bridge setup allows you to increase or decrease string tension
thus raising or lowing pitch by lifting up or pressing down on the tremolo arm,
this setup is what allows for the best vibrato effect. Our tremolo arms normal
tip-to-pickguard distance is based on this free-floating bridge setup, if you do
not currently have your bridge setup as free-floating then you will need to set
it up as such before installing one of these tremolo arms. If you choose not to setup your bridge as
free-floating, then do not purchase one of these tremolo arms. Tremolo arm tip-to-pickguard distance is a personal preference measurement and
our tremolo arm design fits most people most of the time, but due to variances
in ones hand size, playing style and setup, it's possible you may
find the tremolo arm tip may sit a little high or low from the pickguard
surface from your desired height and this is a normal characteristic that your specific
setup may require a small adjustment to the bend angle of your tremolo arm.
After evaluating your new tremolo arm and you think you need an adjustment to
the tremolo arm tip-to-pickguard distance send us an email before attempting any
adjustment to your tremolo arm to prevent damage and / or breakage. We will
assist you in explaining what you need to do to make the adjustment correctly. See below for additional details.
Our 5-1/4" and 6" length tremolo arms both have the
same amount of up-sweep in the tip portion of the tremolo arm. The up-sweep is the angle that the bend closest to the
plastic tip that sweeps up away from the pickguard surface. Our 5-1/4" and 6"
length tremolo arms have a 27 degree angle of up-sweep, compared to an original Fender® American
Standard Strat® tremolo arm
that has a increased angle of 39 degrees of up-sweep. Our short 4-1/4" Gilmour
style length tremolo arm has a lower up-sweep angle of 12 degrees and this
corresponds to this specific artist
series tremolo arm. You'll notice this difference in up-sweep angles visually in the tip bends by closely
reviewing the above
photograph showing all 3 lengths of tremolo arms.
As you will notice in the above photograph showing all 3 lengths compared, each
different length tremolo arms first bend as it comes up and out of the bridge is
bent to a different degree angle of bend. This is by design to facilitate the
same tremolo arm tip-to-pickguard distance no matter which length you may
select. Each length will present the tip end of the tremolo arm at approximately
the same distance down to the pickguard surface when in the same playing
position.
Important Points of Reference of
Tremolo Arm Lengths, Styles and Designs:
- The typical OEM Fender®
Strat®
tremolo arm is approximately 6" in length (+/- 1/2").
- David Gilmour's short tremolo arm is published in Phil Taylor's
book "The Black Strat" as custom shortened to 4-1/4" in length.
- The tremolo arms offered here
will NOT fit the
Fender® American Deluxe, Elite, Ultra or Professional
Series Strat®, they
accept a pop-in tremolo arm.
-
The tremolo arms offered here are NOT chrome plated, they are solid 303 stainless steel
with a satin finish.
- We do NOT fabricate these tremolo arms in the 6mm (M6 x1.0) screw-in attachment threading for Squier's.
-
We do NOT accept special requests for customization's or alterations to these original
tremolo arm designs.
Selecting The Correct "Attachment
Threading"
For Your Genuine Fender® Strat® Screw-In Tremolo Arm:
-
American Strat®
10-32: These tremolo arms will fit the
Fender® American
Standard Strat®
with the 2-point synchronized tremolo bridge, American Special
Strat®, American
Vintage Re-Issue Strat®
or any genuine Fender®
American Strat®
tremolo
bridge that accepts a 10-32 threaded screw-in tremolo arm.
-
Metric 5mm (M5 x 0.8): These tremolo arms will
fit original genuine Fender®
Mexican and Japanese Strat's®
tremolo bridges that accept a metric 5mm threaded screw-in tremolo arm. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have one of the original Fender®
half-thickness, lightweight / cast zinc tremolo blocks on your import
Strat®
bridge
then these custom tremolo arms offered here will not have the proper bend angle for that model of
bridge, those bridges accept the tremolo arm into the tremolo block at 10 degrees
of angle
different than the typical Strat®
tremolo bridge than what these tremolo arms offered here are designed for. You can confirm
this by the removal of the plastic back plate on your Strat®
and looking at the bottom of
your tremolo block where the tremolo tension springs clip on, the tremolo block
will only be 1/4" thick and that is what you DO NOT want to see, so DO NOT purchase
one of these tremolo arms for that bridge.
-
These tremolo arms are
NOT designed to fit a Squire® Strat®, clone Strat® or any aftermarket bridge, so DO NOT purchase for any Squier®, clone or replica Strat® or for any aftermarket
tremolo bridge.
They are designed for original genuine
Fender® Strat® tremolo bridges only,
this does NOT include Squier's
If you are unsure of the correct tremolo arm screw-in attachment
threading for your Fender®
Strat® you will need to contact Fender customer service to determine
which is the correct one for your bridge, but ultimately it
is your responsibility to know which is the correct tremolo arm for your
guitar
and place your order accordingly. Don't just order one to see if it
fits and then return it because it doesn't fit. We're not in the
business of sending out parts for evaluation and returning what you
can't use or don't fit.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SETUP AND OUR TREMOLO ARM DESIGNS
Our tremolo arms designs neutral tip height position is based on
an original Fender vintage 6-screw tremolo bridge that is setup as free-floating
with the underside back edge of the bridge plate up off the body by 1/8” as per
Fender’s recommended typical setup. However, if your bridge is setup differently
or you are installing our tremolo arm in a modern Fender 2 point pivot tremolo
bridge then your tremolo arm tip height may be higher or lower than you may feel
comfortable with so a small adjustment to the tremolo arm bend angle may be
needed, this is a normal procedure in dialing in your specific setup.
It’s not possible to create a production tremolo arm with a design
that fits everyone every time since hand sizes, tremolo setup and tremolo usage
style will vary from one person to the next, so there may be the need for a
small adjustment to the bend angle of your tremolo arm to dial in a setup that
you feel most comfortable with. The most often overlooked setup aspect of a
Strat is the tremolo arm, most people feel that however a tremolo arm is
created is how they have to live with it, this is not so, all production tremolo
arms are created with a design that will work well for most people most of the
time, however, for some people a small adjustment of the tremolo arm may
be required to make it feel comfortable and natural in your hand when you’re
playing. This is accomplished by having your tremolo bridge setup as
free-floating in a way you prefer then installing the tremolo arm and asking
yourself how the tremolo arm feels, does the tip of the tremolo arm feel too
low, does it feel too high, and if it is either then you will need to determine
by how much the tip height needs to be adjusted from where it is now to dial in
a setup that suits you and your playing style and then have the appropriate
change made to the bend angle of the tremolo arm. It may only take 1/4” of tip
height change to make a difference in how it feels in your hand and once the
tremolo arm feels natural and comfortable in your hand then you know it’s setup
is just right. You should not be thinking that your tremolo arm is too high or
too low, you should only be thinking about how you’re going to use it musically,
then you know it’s just right. If you have any questions about this give
is a call, all orders will include our customer service telephone number and we
can discuss what to do to make your tremolo arm just right for you.
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