Help with G&L Legacy rebuild- bridge and tremolo question.

[Larry Mal]

Hi all, I have what I just found out is a 1995 model Legacy. She came out in bad shape and I'm in the process of rebuilding her. One thing that was shot was the saddles, they were pretty corroded, and I ultimately found it cheaper to order a whole new tremolo unit... which came with everything except the tremolo bar, as it turns out.

The block in the old unit was old and grey, while the new one was very shiny... both of them very heavy. I kind of assumed that the new block might be a little better, or at least it was new and shiny. But I'm on G&L's site, and they sell an upgrade block, made of cold rolled steel, and it looks exactly like the one I had decided not to use. I don't know why I decided not to use it since the guitar sounded great as it is, why I thought I'd get an upgrade, but there you have it.

What is up with these blocks? Here they are:



Thanks!

[Craig]

Hi all, I have what I just found out is a 1995 model Legacy. She came out in bad shape and I'm in the process of rebuilding her. One thing that was shot was the saddles, they were pretty corroded, and I ultimately found it cheaper to order a whole new tremolo unit... which came with everything except the tremolo bar, as it turns out.

The block in the old unit was old and grey, while the new one was very shiny... both of them very heavy. I kind of assumed that the new block might be a little better, or at least it was new and shiny. But I'm on G&L's site, and they sell an upgrade block, made of cold rolled steel, and it looks exactly like the one I had decided not to use. I don't know why I decided not to use it since the guitar sounded great as it is, why I thought I'd get an upgrade, but there you have it.

What is up with these blocks? Here they are:



Thanks!

See this post in the G&L Knowledgebase, G&L General Questions sub-forum: DF Vibrato System vs. DFS Vibrato System.

This post: 1992 S-500 saddles and tremolo? might be of interest, too.

Hope this helps.

[Larry Mal]

Thank you! That's very helpful... so it seems that older guitars just came with the cold rolled steel block, and the newer ones have something else? I'm not sure exactly what it is.

Regardless, it's clear that I should just stick with the original block, since I like it and how the guitar sounds anyway. Not sure why I was reinventing the wheel here. I just assumed the new and shiny one was the superior choice. I'm a sucker for shiny.

[Craig]

Thank you! That's very helpful... so it seems that older guitars just came with the cold rolled steel block, and the newer ones have something else? I'm not sure exactly what it is.

Regardless, it's clear that I should just stick with the original block, since I like it and how the guitar sounds anyway. Not sure why I was reinventing the wheel here. I just assumed the new and shiny one was the superior choice. I'm a sucker for shiny.

The original blocks were made from Zinc. You cannot go by the color of the block alone.

The DFS block was first introduced with the 30th Anniversary models which have the vibrato and is now an optional bridge type.

[Larry Mal]

OK! Thanks for the help. Neither of them is steel. So, now I have to decide if I want to come off the fifty bucks and get a steel one. I probably will... why not at this point. I got the guitar at a great price, but love her, so I might as well make her as good as possible.

Do you know if there is any difference between a G&L block and something that would be an aftermarket block for a Stratocaster... like a Callaham or something?