Floyd: larger sustain block?

[Tommy Tourbus]

anyone ever replace the stock sustain block in a floyd for one of the aftermarket larger blocks? make a difference?

 

[dewman]

wondering this myself-

Been here to check it out- but wanted to know if anyone ever did the mod? Also, what are the tonal benefits- would the blocks warm up the guitar tone at all? Brass versus titanium??http://floydupgrades.com

 

[smorgdonkey]

anyone ever replace the stock sustain block in a floyd for one of the aftermarket larger blocks? make a difference?

I have done this on two guitars. I just thought that if the block was bigger that the vibrations would be going through more material so my sense of logic said that it would have to make a difference.

Below is a standard Floyd Rose block beside a Callaham replacement. You can see the difference in length and thickness. Although the camera angle has made the Callaham block appear narrower than the stock Floyd Rose block , let me assure you that the widths are identical.

So I have used this Steel one (Callaham) to replace one of the stock blocks and I have used a brass one (from Frankenstraat http://www.frankenstraat.com/ ) to replace a stock block and I think that both of the guitars have more sustain and both have a fuller sound. I have also heard good things about this guy's products http://www.divebombinc.com/results.aspx?cID=4 but I have no personal experience with him nor his products. I actually bought both the Callaham and the Frankenstraat blocks as a package deal second hand.

As for 'warming up' the tone...my perception of that is that any time more lows and low mids get added to the equation anything 'thin' gets thicker, anything 'brittle' gets less so by relativity to the low part of the spectrum and anything 'harsh' becomes milder. Now I know that these are terms that people use all of the time and that they tend to shift from person to person in their exact meaning so look for user reviews on Harmony Central maybe or other sources as well. The exact nature of the tonal differences from metal to metal I'm sure varies but since the two guitars that I did this to have different pickups, different fretboard material (and possibly different body wood) I think I would have a difficult time quantifying that. In fact, I think I'd have a difficult time trying to articulate the differences if all other things were equal but that doesn't mean that there aren't any.

Of further note: most of the older Floyd Rose systems had a decent sized block in them (pre 1985). They switched to the smaller block as a cost cutting measure (I assume this) around that time.

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

i ended up going for the frankenstrat brass block. just a note of warning - on my guitar a little extra routing inside the trem cavity was required to make it fit. Had I known this I probably wouldn't have gone for it, but my set up guy just went ahead and did it without asking me first if I was OK with the routing Had he called me first I probably would have said ABORT!

As to improvement, I did a bunch of other stuff to this guitar all at once so I'm not really sure of the diff just the block made. so I wasn't able to a/b it properly. I'm still curious to hear from others what they think.

As to the block itself, it's really nice. Perfectly machined and fit right onto the floyd assembly perfectly. I recommend the frankenstrat block to anyone OK with the routing issue.

Here's the geetar it went into

 

[smorgdonkey]

As to the block itself, it's really nice. Perfectly machined and fit right onto the floyd assembly perfectly. I recommend the frankenstrat block to anyone OK with the routing issue.

That's a mean looking guitar there...is it an LTD with an ESP label? Just wondering as I see so many people doing that now.

The Frankenstraat block will go into most guitars without extra routing. I don't think you should be upset about that routing though...it was probably just a 'sliver'!!

What other things did you have done to the guitar at the time you had the block installed?

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

No, it's a regular ESP. yeah it was just a sliver, but since it took some clear coat off it is something I would have to disclose if I ever decide to sell it, so it hurts the resale value.

I replaced the pickups with rio grande muy grande/tallboy set and new electronics.

 

[smorgdonkey]

Nice!

 

[dewman]

anyone know what replacement trem block size will fit an original standard floyd rose <chrome>, from a US made Kramer Pacer Deluxe??

anyone have any experiences with brass versus titanium, even in regular strats- so I can feel out any tonal differences?? I want warmth and a less metallic sound...

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

I would just measure the trem route of your guitar, then email these various guys that make/sell them and ask for their measurements. I haven't seen a titanium block but judging from what I've seen these guys selling small titanium saddles for, my guess would be that a block would be super expensive.

 

[smorgdonkey]

anyone know what replacement trem block size will fit an original standard floyd rose <chrome>, from a US made Kramer Pacer Deluxe??

anyone have any experiences with brass versus titanium, even in regular strats- so I can feel out any tonal differences?? I want warmth and a less metallic sound...

Both of the guitars I put the larger blocks in are Kramers. One is a Kramer F-1000 and the other is an American Series Pacer Custom II. I don't think you'd run into any Kramer from the 1980s that would require any routing.
F-1000

and the Pacer Custom II is on the left

 

[dewman]

How'd they sound afterwards?????

Both of the guitars I put the larger blocks in are Kramers. One is a Kramer F-1000 and the other is an American Series Pacer Custom II. I don't think you'd run into any Kramer from the 1980s that would require any routing.
F-1000

and the Pacer Custom II is on the left

 

[smorgdonkey]

How'd they sound afterwards?????

I can't say much more than what is in my first post on this thread really. It is such a quick upgrade in my opinion I don't know why more people don't do it before replacing pickups.

 

[Shredcow]

I ordered a big block from http://floydupgrades.com too.

The dude seems to know his stuff and he is confident of his products. Anyway, I couldn't install the block because I use a Gotoh Floyd Rose so the trem block mounting screws (Gotoh's) were too small for the new big brass block. Probably due to metric differences.

Anyway, I got myself a bunch of stainless steel parts - nice. I like them.

Now to find some OFR trem block mounting screws...

 

[Lewkk]

great thread, Im really close to ordering one of these :BEER

Edit: Ordered it! Even though the shipping was more expensive than the actual block 0_O