6 hole trems

[Dcguitar]

I picked up a mythical flake, and need to get a 6 hole tremolo now. I typically play Floyd’s and prefer the smooth feeling of the saddles. I don’t like the screws sticking up from typical fender style bridges. What are songs good options for bridges that will fit? Will the Wilkinson vsvg work? I will be decking the bridge on the body. (If getting shorter adjustment screws for the gotoh vintage bridge or any other type is best option let me know).
Also do I need modern/ narrow spacing to keep the strings on the fret board? I find that the fenders I play in store have a 50/50 shot of the high e string being real close to edge, and pulling off to easy (easy to spot this off string isn’t centered on the neck pickup pile piece)

 

[mayfly]

I'm in the same boat - got a shiny flakey strat body with the 6 hole trem. Not sure what to do just yet.

I'm liking this one, as it's a modern bridge that bolts to the 6 hole route:
https://nextgenguitars.ca/products/vega-trem-vt1-ultra-trem-standard-glossy.html
But - it's got the wide string spacing. But at least you can shift it back and forth.

The gotoh bridge does come in the narrower spacing, but it's a traditional 6 hole bridge, so tuning might/will be a problem.

 

[stratamania]

I would second the Vegatrem for this purpose.

 

[ruscio]

You can redrill to widen the outer two holes to fit the stud inserts for a 2-point trem. The spacing works. That would fit an Am Std trem, or with a little Dremel work you can also expand the route a touch to fit a Gotoh 510 series 2-point unit in there. The Warmoth bridge routing page has all the schematics with hole diameters and routing dimensions.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Or a PRS style like I did on my Nigel Strat.

 

[Dcguitar]

Is that a "mannmade" PRS style, if not what brand?


I'm not confident in my modification skills (don't want to ruin the body). I don't know how often I'll actually use the trem, and require no float, so I can rest my palm / tune down without issue. Years back I had a strat with the 2 point, but i didn't like the float, and decking had some other impacts. I have been searching for possible candidates, and found the vega-trem, wilkson vsvg, i think there is a gotoh 510 6 hole, the floyd rose rail tail, babicz FCH, super-vee, and probably a few others i've forgot. I don't want to spend 200+ on each bridge to figure out what works. Not sure how many of these have been tried by other members (i've done a search for some but not many hits, but maybe someones had good / bad experience and not posted about it).

 

[stratamania]

Okay if you want dive only that is not the Vegatrem and if you like Floyds then I would suggest the Floyd Rose Rail tail.

FR Rail Tail Tremolo - Narrow

Narrow 2 1/16" (modern) string spacing. Fits Strat Style Guitars with 6 Point Bridges*. (*Also fits 2 point bridge guitars with some drilling) The Rail Tail Tremolo is a full contact, dive-only tremolo designed to retrofit your existing Strat®-style 6-point tremolo with no modifications to...

www.floydrose.com

 

[ruscio]

Okay if you want dive only that is not the Vegatrem and if you like Floyds then I would suggest the Floyd Rose Rail tail.

FR Rail Tail Tremolo - Narrow

Narrow 2 1/16" (modern) string spacing. Fits Strat Style Guitars with 6 Point Bridges*. (*Also fits 2 point bridge guitars with some drilling) The Rail Tail Tremolo is a full contact, dive-only tremolo designed to retrofit your existing Strat®-style 6-point tremolo with no modifications to...

www.floydrose.com

Yes, the Floyd Rose rail tail is great if you only want to be able to push down on the trem, not pull up. I tried one on a guitar in a shop, loved it, very solid + smooth. It's not for me b/c I prefer floating, but this may be the best push-only trem.

 

[stratamania]

Yes, the Floyd Rose rail tail is great if you only want to be able to push down on the trem, not pull up. I tried one on a guitar in a shop, loved it, very solid + smooth. It's not for me b/c I prefer floating, but this may be the best push-only trem.

I normally go for floating but for dive only this one is a great option.

 

[Dcguitar]

cool, i found a few demos of the rail tail on youtube, and it looks good, but was hoping to get real opinions from here

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Is that a "mannmade" PRS style, if not what brand?

It's a Musicilly knock off, but it's very well made just like a Mann Made Use, and it has a heavy solid brass block. Smooth as butter, returns to zero wonderfully. Just don't use standard Strat bridge mounting screws, use PRS screws that have the notch in them to accommodate the knife edges. The locking tuners plus the tusq nut make it stay in tune wonderfully, and the FR noiseless heavy duty springs keep the overtones quiet for recording.

 

[mayfly]

It's a Musicilly knock off, but it's very well made just like a Mann Made Use, and it has a heavy solid brass block. Smooth as butter, returns to zero wonderfully. Just don't use standard Strat bridge mounting screws, use PRS screws that have the notch in them to accommodate the knife edges. The locking tuners plus the tusq nut make it stay in tune wonderfully, and the FR noiseless heavy duty springs keep the overtones quiet for recording.

Hey - does that mean I can get these funky screws and just use a regular gotoh?

 

[stratamania]

cool, i found a few demos of the rail tail on youtube, and it looks good, but was hoping to get real opinions from here

You mean, like the options we already gave in answer to your question?

Here are some more options.

6 String US Contour Tremolo Bridge

Description The Hipshot US Contour bridge is unlike any tremolo system out there. Hardened steel pivot pins inserted into a machined brass top plate give the US Contour a bell like tonal quality and silky smooth whammy action! Coupled with a solid machined steel tremolo block, the US Contour can...

hipshotproducts.com

Use a standard 6 screw bridge and replace the saddles, for example
https://www.highwood-guitarparts.co...azzW7XFW7InI2dWA8cb33I5HXBU6cLG0aAsd7EALw_wcB

Babicz Z series check the dimensions for fit.

Babicz FCH-Strat Trem Z-Series Tremolo Bridge Wide Spacing

Buy Babicz FCH-Strat Trem, Z-Series Wide Spacing Tremolo Bridge, upgrade for Fender Stratocaster

www.fullcontacthardware.com

Babicz FCH-Strat Trem Z-Series Tremolo Bridge Narrow Spacing

Buy Babicz FCH-Strat Trem, Z-Series Narrow Spacing Tremolo Bridge, upgrade for Fender Stratocaster

www.fullcontacthardware.com

Callaham with narrow spacing, though you might want to swap the saddles, the ones supplied don't bother me but YMMV.

https://www.callahamguitars.com/strat_bridge_vn_catalog.htm

So in my opinion, all the recommendations given that can be decked are valid options for you.

 

[DuckBaloo]

If you want to deck the bridge, it narrows the options some. Knife-edge trems, like the MannMade, were designed to float only. THey want a little leeway on each side of the pivot.

Good traditional options are the Fender Vintage/Narrow trem, Callaham V/N, or your aforementioned Wilkinson VSVG.

 

[cyberdan]

Try this:

Home - Highwood Guitarparts %

Highwood Strat saddles are strat- and telecaster saddles that don't hurt your hands, provides better sustain, quicker attack and S-type tone.

www.highwood-guitarparts.com

 

[Logrinn]

^ This!

Excellent Strat saddles. Highly recommended.

 

[stratamania]

^ This!

Excellent Strat saddles. Highly recommended.

Already recommended earlier in the thread also. ^^^^

 

[Logrinn]

Sorry, missed that. But they can’t be recommended enough I think so another recommendation won’t hurt I hope.

 

[DuckBaloo]

I swtiched to the Highoods on my '79 hardtail when I did a major refurbishment on it last year. They really are great saddles.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I can’t do those bent saddles, the grub screws chew into my hand, much prefer the flat smooth surface of the PRS type of saddles.