Hey guys, today we’re going to talk about the GFS tremolo system with brass block.
We’ve recently added this tremolo to a Squier SE Strat and we’re going to go over some
quick tips to get it installed properly, and then we’ll do a tone comparison before and
after.
We’ll start off with a quick tone comparison between the two tremolo systems.
All recordings are done direct input with Guitar Rig 5 as an amp simulator.
We used the same amp settings for both recordings to make this a fair comparison.
Both recordings were done with DR Blues pure nickel 11 gauge strings, which we highly recommend
if you’re looking for a nice warm tone.
First is the stock tremolo.
Next we’ll play the GFS tremolo with brass block.
The first thing we noticed was that the new tremolo offers improvements in sustain over
the previous one due to the heavier tremolo block.
It also gave us a smoother warmer tone that we really like.
We’ve found that the quality of this tremolo is pretty good considering it’s only $40.
Unfortunately, we found that the tremolo bar that came with it was really weak and bent
at the treads right away.
The one problem we found with the actual tremolo was that the saddle screws are slightly long
and can dig into your hands, but this can be fixed easily with a file.
To start off this upgrade, you’ll need to remove all your old strings from the guitar
as well as the original tremolo.
Once the strings are off, simply take a screw driver and unscrew the six screws holding
the tremolo to the body.
Then remove the back plate of the guitar and take off the tremolo springs.
This should be pretty easy at this point since there’s no spring tension holding them on.
Once the springs are off, just pull the tremolo and block out the front of the guitar.
I wish I could say it was as simple as just dropping the new tremolo in, but it wasn’t.
To start off, the new tremolo block was slightly wider than the top of the hole that it had
to fit through.
Luckily, there was only a slight edge to the cutout that was getting in the way, so we
took care of this with a file.
There was also a slight fitting issue with the pickguard around the tremolo.
Once again, we used a file to quickly take off some extra material.
After that’s all done, the tremolo dropped in place and fit perfectly with the previous
screw holes.
Once installed, we put a new set of strings on the guitar and made a few adjustments to
the spring tension and the screw tightness.
One important point is that you want to have the two outside screws tighter than the middle
ones and this allows the tremolo to move freely.
All the information on how to properly setup a 6 screw tremolo system can be found on Fender’s
website.
Overall, the installation process for this tremolo is quite simple, and it can be done
with only a few tools.
Thanks for watching this video on setting up a GFS tremolo on a Squier SE Strat.
If you’re looking for a good set of strings for a Strat we highly recommend pure nickel
DR blues strings.
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