batsbrew
 
the tiltback bolsters the tuning stability more than almost anything else...
except, maybe this:
 

What's that??
 
And more important, where can I get it? 
 
I tried building my own David Gilmour "Black Strat" (not from a tree , I only assembled the choosen parts) and I want encourage everyone in trying to do it the DIY-way.
 
It's fun, not very hard to do, and, if the parts/components are in decent quality, the result probably isn't that bad.
 
But seriously, batsbrew, could you provide a link to this spring "mod"?
 
 
 

that is a Hipshot Tremsetter.
these devices have been available for many years,
a lot of pros use them...
 
steve vai actually uses two of them at once, in tandem:
 

The tremsetter's been made by a couple of companies over the years, currently Hipshot.

It's a simple but brilliant idea. It replaces the centre tremolo spring with one that compresses rather than stretches. The tension on it is adjustable, and once set up it will return a floating vintage tremolo to tune very well. At least, it does on my modified MIM with two springs in the cavity plue the tremsetter and a set of Fender 150 0.010’s. The centre of the trem travel feels like there's a detente there, or at least a bit like a pot with a centre detente.

It does seem to need the trem arm moving slightly more than a "normal" setup before things start happening and does alter the feel of the trem a bit. But personally I wouldn't be without one, it makes a bridge floated with the back of the bridge high enough to give a semtitone or a bit more up-bend stable, dampens out "trem flutter" issues when you hit the strings hard. String bending is also easier because the bridge is less likely to move so you get less of the trem bridge problem that while your fingers bend the note upward the string is also pulling on the bridge plate which rises, flattens the note you're playing and fights you.

They're easy enough to fit. You do need to drill a narrow hole in the body from the trem cavity towards the neck to accomodate a long thin rod that runs through the tremsetter body, but it's no big deal if you can drill reasonably straight. After that it's just a matter of adjusting it to get the feel and bridge float you want. I've found it helps on a six-screw vintage style bridge if the screws, especially the central four, are backed off a bit as well so they steady the bridge some but don't prevent it moving easily.

It's a product Fender ought to offer as standard in my opinion.

Thanks to Batsbrew for posting all this information.  Beautiful guitars, by the way.
   I had heard of the tremolo mod, but seeing these pictures, I actually know what it is.  All great stuff!

i think that, for strat style guitars,
the addition of the tremsetter,
and the addition of a LSR roller nut (ala the jeff beck sig models) is about the best mod for trem users out there.
 
http://shop.fender.com/en-US/parts/string-guides-nuts/lsr-roller-nut/0990812000.html
 
alas, i can't use one, because they only make them for the necks with wider nuts than what i like.
 
 
i have locking Kahler trems on my other custom guitars,
but the kahler doesn't look good on a strat,
and a lot of strat users just can't get past the aesthetics of the look versus simply having an excellent playing machine that the trem never goes out of tune on....
 
players like adrian belew and todd rundgren use Kahler's on their fender-style guitars....
 
 
 

 
Thanks batsbrew and tlw (great review, btw, much appreciated)!

I don't use a floating tremolo on my "Black Strat"-mod, but maybe it's something for my Ibanez, which has a Floyd Rose style trem.

Currently it's modded with a Tremol-No (almost same purpose as the Tremsetter).
https://www.allparts.com/...o-Pin-Type_p_1033.html
 
Not bad at all (at least, the "locked" mode is quite useful. Interesting, how drastically the sound changes going from floating tremolo mode to "no tremolo - locked mode", sustain- and harmonic-wise).

But on the "floating" side, there's always room for improvements, so maybe I should give the Tremsetter a try.
 
Best,
Klaus
 

My son decided on a Mexican strat that he will then modify, the pickups, the bone nut, etc...the Guitar Center crew was very helpful as we spent a couple of hours going over the choices but we had a good solid background beforehand on questions to ask, etc. from the expert help above. Thanks to all. Here's Dad foolin' around with a choice similar to what he will purchase. However, he intends to pick up his own guitar in Los Angeles in a little while.
 
Well trust me, I don't seem to be able to post images anymore, but it was nice lookin'...The guitar, I mean :)

Personally I wouldn't use a bone nut unless the trem is going to be blocked or the Strat is a hard-tail. One of Graphtec's teflon impregnated nuts does at least as good a job for tone and sustain while letting the strings slide over the nut a little more easily. These nuts are most commonly black, but I think they look fine. They're also very easy to fit with a correct curve to the bottom of the nut and usually require little work if any other than a small dab of white glue to hold them in place. Bone nuts are very hard and tend to clog files so shaping and slotting them is a slow and tedious job.

The addition of a very small amount of Nut Sauce to the nut, string trees and bridge pivot screws helps as well.

that's great he settled on something he liked,
and it'll become more his 'own' as he does these mods..
these are very typical mods,
and a great way to get started in the great 'tone search'

batsbrew
that's great he settled on something he liked,
and it'll become more his 'own' as he does these mods..
these are very typical mods,
and a great way to get started in the great 'tone search'

Ahh, the never ending great 'tone search', one of the better and most enjoyable walks through this life that I have found!