F-100 trem question

[Madcity Fats]

I searched around the technical threads, but didn't find the answer I was looking for.

Short version: Did G&L ever make a tremolo arm with a threaded insert end?

Long version: I've never owned a guitar with a dual-fulcrum vibrato until I picked up an '81 F-100 with one recently. It's in great shape and came to me (AFAIK) all original, right down to the Allen wrenches in the original case. Came with a trem arm too. Looks very much like many in the gallery section of this site (mine has the plastic knob dealie as opposed to a bare metal rod). However, mine is threaded and screws nicely into the trem socket (which also has the hex screw akin to the saddle-lock bridge). Is this original or was there perhaps a mod made to my guitar to accommodate a threaded trem bar?

I don't really care one way or the other (though it would be nice to know if I can claim the thing to be "all original"). Mostly I'm curious, as usual, about the evolution of the hardware. I see in the G&L store that they carry a trem socket replacement that fits guitars from the late 80s to 2005, meaning prior to that it must have been a different design.

Anyone out there can shed some light on this? I hear all the time that if the original trem is lost it's virtually impossible to find a replacement, but if that's the case, some clever individual found a workaround mod for mine.

Great design, btw, that dual-fulcrum bridge. I've always been wary of trem systems and usually don't go for anything but hardtail models, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the stability of this thing (that is, once you get beyond the initial setup and tuning stage at least). That Leo, I tell ya. Never sat still, did he?

[yoeleven]

Here's the skinny from GPD:
"The earliest Dual Fulcrum vibrato arm came with either a long or short arm that was fashioned from .125” diameter stainless steel rod. It was threaded on both ends…one side had a plastic tip that threaded in place and the other end threaded into a socket (called a vibrato arm holder in the old literature). The “socket” was made of mild steel and zinc plated. It was internally threaded to receive the vibrato arm. Additionally, the shoulder of the socket was drilled and tapped for a set screw. Leo added a small nylon cushion that the set screw pressed against. This rig acts as a clutch of sorts allowing the player to easily adjust the amount of rotational resistance the arm will have…very slick!!! Easily the coolest vibrato arm mounting setup available in 1980 and still one of my favorites of all time.
Regarding the long early vibrato arm…I’ve found them on both 1980 and 1981 F-100’s and they disappeared before any other guitar models were introduced. From my research, I cannot find any rhyme or reason as to what determined what guitar would get one of these long arms. "

[Madcity Fats]

Thanks for the excellent info, yoeleven. That pretty much settles it.

BTW, am I just dense or what's GPD? In any event thanks for digging up the info my search skills were apparently unable to unearth.

[Craig]

We have a post in the Knowledgebase (in the General G&L Questions subforum) which might help:

I need a tremelo arm, do you know where I can get one?

Also, check out the Gallery album of G&L Patents: D4671157 - Vibrato Assembly

Hope this helps.

[Elwood]

BTW, am I just dense or what's GPD? In any event thanks for digging up the info my search skills were apparently unable to unearth.

No your not dense,those are Gabes initials. He is a very knowledgeable G&L fanatic who has added an immense amount of valuable information to the discussion board. He is the founder of ESI.

http://electricstringedinstrument.com/index.php

[Madcity Fats]

Great info all around, folks. Many thanks. All evidence points to mine being the original trem (which is cool) and something of a rarity to boot (which is doubly cool).

Thanks for the link to the ESI site. I've bookmarked that one just in case I spring for another dual-fulcrum fitted guitar whose previous owner might not have been so conscientious about keeping all the goodies together.

I mean, seriously, how often to you find an 80s G&L with the Allen wrenches still in the case? Okay ... it's happened to me twice, but still ...

[HLG]

These early style threaded trem arms also came on the earlier S500s.
This one is from a 1982. Notice the two mold lines on the plastic tip.