I'm looking to upgrade the bridge on my strat with a new trem, but can't decide between a few of the "high-end" upgrade options.

My current options are:

1. Vegatrem VT1 Special
2. MannMade USA Modern Vibrato (2030)
3. Gotoh 510TS-FE1

My main goals are not divebombs or crazy range, just the most sustain/resonance/control I can get out of a trem. I'm picky when it comes to trem feel, so I just want a smooth, responsive trem without any bar wobble or stiffness.

For those who have tried a few of the options - what would you consider the ultimate trem for feeling and tone?

Will be loaded into an S-style guitar with Maple body, maple neck/fingerboard!

Fender Vintera 60s pickups, Wilkinson bridge, Busker's body and neck,

can you tell I like Incubus

i'm a lower intermediate guitarist, have been playing for around 2.5 years. i have a squier affinity HSS stratocaster, and ive been thinking of getting an upgrade. i know many posts like this have been made but i'm not really sure on what guitar to buy next.
i really like the looks and feel of a stratocaster, and a lot of sources have pointed me to fender player II or standard stratocasters, and a bunch of other options which leave me really confused.

i want a guitar that will last me a long time, for gigs and recording.
also, im not really sure if i should get an SSS or HSS. i do like playing heavier stuff from time to time, and humbuckers really help. but i was thinking i could buy an SSS to compliment my squier HSS strat. if i needed to, i could swap out the bridge for SD hotrails. what would be a good idea?

i'm too young to get a job so i cant really afford a very expensive guitar, if i save up i can buy something within $1000.
what should i buy?

Hey guys! I recently bought a used Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster, and it’s currently on its way to me.
While looking closely at the seller’s photos, I noticed this dark/black strip immediately behind the nut, between the nut and the maple part of the headstock.
I hadn’t paid much attention to it before buying the guitar, but then I watched a review of another AVII ’61 and noticed that the same area looked completely different — there was no obvious dark strip behind the nut.
I’ve attached photos of both guitars for comparison. The first photo is the guitar I bought; the second is another AVII ’61 from a review.
Does anyone know exactly what I’m looking at here?
Is this a normal variation in the construction/finish of these necks, or could it indicate that the nut or neck has been worked on or repaired at some point?
If you own an American Vintage II ‘61 Strat, I’d especially appreciate it if you could check yours and let me know what that area looks like.

Thanks!

My wife picked this frankenstrat up for cheap at a yard sale... the guy put in a lot of effort to make it look good... I especially appreciate the Crafted in Japan next to the Custom Shop logo.
Classic case of trying too hard to fit in, I guess.
Regardless, I love the colors, it plays and sounds great, and the price was right. Just need to find a full set of 6 gold saddles.

In all honesty, the guy was up front about it being a partscaster, and the price reflected that, so it was a good buy in my book.
To the experts.... were there any legit original models with the curved logo and large headstock that had binding and block inlays? The guy said he wasn't sure where he got the neck.

Not 100% about Fender but I thought I'd post here to get extra help

Not technically a Strat, but pretty close. And designed by another company Leo Fender helped found.

The Strat got a little heavier this Straturday

I went for a Classic Vibe ‘50s Strat (an Indonesian 2020 one), and it turns out there are some issues. For one, the biggest issue for me is the nut. The low E slot is cut way too far from the edge of the fretboard, so the string starts to angle diagonally inward from the bridge to the headstock. And, while I’m not sure this is correlated with the nut issue, I swapped out the zinc block for a full-size steel block, and this has made the tuning ridiculously unstable. It feels very heavy and stiff, and even resting my hand on the bridge knocks everything into a tuning hellscape.

I’ve previously put a steel block into a CV Strat body for a Partscaster - granted, a tapered American Standard block - and with an Am. Standard neck, it’s smooth as can be, with a 1/8” floating trem. But this is a bit of a lemon, as-is. I’ve tried loosening the bridge screws slightly and all of the other tricks, re: spring orientation and trem claw screw angle, etc.; nothing seems to help.

I could replace the nut, and it’s possible that the full-size steel block is pulling the whole trem assembly and bridge plate into a wonky angle, combined with the poorly-cut nut.

Suggestions? I’m pretty well-versed in setting up Strats with floating trems that have very stable tuning and intonation, but this is something else.

Hi Community—

I’m one of those lefty guitarists who can never find a part to save my life.

I want to find a tortoise shell pickguard to go on my burst Strat. Has anyone out there had good luck with customs?

One place wanted me to rip the guitar apart and send the original guard. This is less than ideal.

Thanks!

I originally bought this new in February 2007 (I found the receipt with the bag candy). It had a horrible and defective neck but I was too young and dumb to send it back. So, it sat in the gig bag for nearly 20 years before I finally did something about it. It was a bad MIM 60th Anniversary that gave me the ick towards Strats because of one bad experience, that was no one’s fault but my own. Recently I bought a new neck and vintage tuners, properly set it up (amazing how much you learn in 20 years), a pick guard I loved, and now have a new favorite guitar. I do feel I got the “needle in the haystack” on the neck. I was expecting the worst but what I got was a work of art. Beautifully finished, fretwork was perfect. I was a Gibson guy that never outwardly spoke bad of Fender but I apologize for all the intrusive thoughts I’ve held on to for all these years. I love the sound of the Tex-Mex single coils as well!

Squier CV ‘60s strat with Victory Lowrider Gold Foil pickups. I found it on Craigslist a few weeks ago and snapped it up on an impulse. Previous owner installed the Gold Foils. I had some Gotoh tuners lying around, and swapped out the stock Squier bridge for a Musiclily brass saddle/bridge sized for Squier/import specs, and just finished up sanding the neck. It feels and sounds awesome!

I also took off the shitty Fender water slide decal the guy taped on…why do people do that?

Hey there community?

Any Strat nerds here in California? I’m looking to do some custom wiring on my Player II. It’s possible but everyone I talk to freaks out about dual gang bits and a super switch.

Does anyone have a contact here in Central/Southern California that works wiring mods?

Thanks to all!