Callaham Mystery (to me anyways)

[SKYHIGH]

Perhaps opening another can of worms here.

On a Strat Some builders like Suhr, Grosh, Tyler, T. Anderson, K-line, Danocaster, etc don't use Callaham bridge assembly from what I understand. Some other builders like Ian Anderson, Lentz, Tuttle, etc seem to prefer it great amount.

Why some use and some don't? Why some LOVE them and some HATE it?

Availability? Are medium(reletive) companies like Suhr, Grosh, Tyler simply building too many guitars for given amount of bridge Callham can produce???

Tone? Could it possibly be that Callaham, despite it's craftsmanship, cost, and true to vintage design not produce the tone one wants?

Cost? Is it simply just too much $$$ despite how great it is?

Or is it one of those ash or alder, rosewood or maple board discussion where it's simply subjective as to why?

Cheers!

[The Funk]

I have one strat with a callaham bridge and one with a GFS bridge. The Callaham is better.

Going from the standard American Strat bridge (a 2007 before they changed it) to the Callaham was an eye opening experience. I was going to change my pickups to get that sound I heard in my head, and I'm glad I didn't. The bridge gave me the tone and response I was looking for. Gave a whole new range to my tone control too.

I would say those builders use the design that they like. They are working at a price point where they can put whatever they like best on their instruments.

[cnardone]

I agree with Funk. With the high end builders, I think it really comes down to how each part fits within there recipe.

[Route234]

Originally Posted by cnardone

I agree with Funk. With the high end builders, I think it really comes down to how each part fits within there recipe.

Yea and you have to be able to have a steady reliable supply at a price point that makes sense. Ive heard reasonable people like other hardware better too so it may just be their preference. Lots of possible factors.

[grooveht]

I tried Callaham bridge parts, notably block and saddles, in my American Std. Strat, and went back to the original parts. The quality I could not deny, but it made my strat very bright and ping-y; this is an alder strat with a rosewood board! Of course, my ping-y might be another person's sweet spot, so this is of course subjective, but I will agree with what has been said already; besides being pricey, it may not necessarily be a great fit for a guitar tonally.

[codyj84]

While I dig the callaham saddles, I don't care for the blocks. Very bright.

[VictoriluxEL84]

Switched to Callaham block and saddles for my alder Strat and the increase in sustain was really nice and immediately noticeable. I did not hear any significant increase in brightness. I am very pleased with the quality as well. Not sure why I didn't have similar results as codyj84.

[bill asher]

When completing the final R&D for the Marc Ford signature guitar we looked at and tried quite a few of the fender style bridges available out there. At the end the Callaham won in quality, staying in tune, sustain, and for the mahogany body the extra brightness you may get from his bridge worked ideal for this build! With a signature model details are quite specific and Bill Callaham was able to offer us a custom length and shaped trem-arm to match the one from Marc's favorite strat. That is custom service you can't get from most parts manufacturers. You can here how well the bridge works in this video with Lance Keltner.

This one we lightly aged. Enjoy the Tone...
http://youtu.be/4tY2IOc4dos

[wichita]

Agreed,
It works great and stays in tune.
Love it.

[BrunoGF]

My main guitar now is a strat which has Callaham tremolo.

I don't think I'll ever have a strat without one.

[VaughnC]

All of the above reasons. While I tend to prefer Callaham trems in my Strats, on one occasion I needed to install a gold plated trem in place of a Callaham, and Callaham doesn't make one in gold. So I opted for a new, vintage style, gold, Fender trem in this particular Strat...and, quite surprisingly, I thought the tone improved with the Fender trem. However, in every other Strat I installed a Callaham trem, the tone typically improved. So, sometimes you just never know how things will work out until you try them.

[SKYHIGH]

This is what I'm talking about. The Votes clearly show the preference for the Callahams. So why companies like Grosh, Suhr, etc not use these Callaham??? That is my question.

[bluesgolfer]

Originally Posted by SKYHIGH

This is what I'm talking about. The Votes clearly show the preference for the Callahams. So why companies like Grosh, Suhr, etc not use these Callaham??? That is my question.

I find Callaham brighter, accentuates the highs a bit. It's a preference. Probably compliments an Indian Rosewood board best. My friend loves a brighter tone and he likes Callaham the best. If other components of the guitar are bright, you may want to look for something other than Callaham. If your tone is dark or dull, Callaham may brighten it up to your liking. I did not like Callaham with my Madagascar RW board, combo was way too bright. But it sounds pretty good with my Brazilian RW board.

[Hulakatt]

Because they don't. It may be a personal preference, it may be financial, they may have a better deal with another hardware manufacturer or they may not be able to order in the volume that they need. It's part of what makes their guitars different.

Fwiw, I have used Callaham Bridges in 2 strats and been very pleased with the differences. I currently use a partsocaster with all Callaham hardware.

[blueman61]

love the Callaham block in one of my strats. The others have steel GFS blocks. They sound good as well. That said, the Callaham equipped guitar does have a cool extra something to it that it didn't have before I put it on five years or so ago. I like it and consider it worth it.