Guitarfetish Strat Bridge review

[Jondog]

So July last year I decided it was time to replace the bridge on my 20 year old MIM strat. It was completely rusted out to the point of crumbling of one of the height screws while playing. I also decided to change the tremelo block to a larger mass steel block as the original is a thin pot metal block, never bothered me, sounded fine just thought I'd try a new one. Anyways, I've had pretty good luck with Guitarfetish pickups and other accessories so I read some reviews on their bridges, which all seemed pretty good abd I wasnt looking to spend a lot on this guitar, just make it playable. When I first got the bridge, looked alright, installed it the way I always had my strat set up (bridge flush to the body and 5 tremelo springs).
Put strings on and started the setup. Low E string right away wouldnt tune because It was flat against the fretboard. The height screws in the saddle were completely stripped and just moved through the saddle like a hotdog in a hallway! So, I had to re-use one of the useable saddles off the old bridge.
Put the whammy bar in and tested it out...NO WHAMMY! The bar just bent down to the body without moving the bridge. Now I know I have it under high tension but this was never an issue in 20 years. Threw that bar out, cheap steel on that, must not of been hardened properly. Other than that everything setup and sounded fine, with lots of sustain and snap.
Its now been a year, with casual playing. All the height screws have rusted and not sure if you can tell in the picture, but the saddles actually look like they are bending under string tension. I'm just using 10-46 strings tuned standard, nothing ridiculous. The guitar sounds a bit dull now and I assume this part of the cause. Its the old "You pay for what you get" saying, but I took a shot and gave it a chance. I imagine the tremelo block is made from cheap steel as well, but it doesnt sound bad, I think its better than the original.
Anyways, a Callaham bridge and and tremelo block are currently shipping in transit as I write this and my strat desperately awaits new life.

[Jondog]

Short version: IT SUCKS DONT BUY IT

[bclaire]

Yeah, I'm wary of a lot of their stuff for this very reason. I just bought a LP Jr type of bridge from them and it will be interesting to see how it is.

I like their Slick Straps but they have a bit of an old leather smell to them that I can't get rid of....

[Jondog]

I really like some of their pickups. I've bought a dozen or so and never been dis-appointed, some are personsl favorites. I buy pickguards and such, everything lines up and looks good. I bought some tele brass saddles once that weren't great. Machined well but the brass was too soft. Strings would dig in easily and was always breaking strings and having to file the saddle.
The Les Paul will hopefully be alright. Less moving parts to worry about and more stable.
Forgot to mention in my original post that in the past few months I've been having a real hard time with intonation on this guitar too. Thats how I started noticing these issues in the bridge. This guitar really sounds junk right now.

[ragealexrage]

From my experience their stuff can be very hit or miss. One thing I can say I really like from them is their XGP Solid Brass tunamatic bridge and tailpiece system, it really is SOLID brass and I like the design, plus the brass starts looking really cool after a few years of oxidizing. Tuners are pretty crap ime, and I thought the humbuckers I got from them were halfway decent for the price.

[Les Paul Lover]

How rubbish!!!!!

Both from the mex strat and even worse form GFS!!!

Can you still contact them for a refund?

It clearly isn't performing as described??

[pedecamp]

I've been eyeing their pickups for a long time but haven't moved on anything. Dirt cheap, I wonder if its throwing money away or not, I'd be interested in trying their alnico II humbuckers, possibly their mini humbuckers and Tele bridge pickups. I remain on the fence and never seem to buy.

[Jondog]

I've been eyeing their pickups for a long time but haven't moved on anything. Dirt cheap, I wonder if its throwing money away or not, I'd be interested in trying their alnico II humbuckers, possibly their mini humbuckers and Tele bridge pickups. I remain on the fence and never seem to buy.

As I mentioned, I really like their pickups. The vintage humbuckers are really good. I love the Fat Body tele pickups, bridge and neck.

[Jondog]

How rubbish!!!!!

Both from the mex strat and even worse form GFS!!!

Can you still contact them for a refund?

It clearly isn't performing as described??

No, its been over a year. Im not worried about it. I assumed all the risk. Incant knock the mex bridge, it lasted along time with virtually no maintanence and lots of abuse.

[pedecamp]

I've been eyeing their pickups for a long time but haven't moved on anything. Dirt cheap, I wonder if its throwing money away or not, I'd be interested in trying their alnico II humbuckers, possibly their mini humbuckers and Tele bridge pickups. I remain on the fence and never seem to buy.

As I mentioned, I really like their pickups. The vintage humbuckers are really good. I love the Fat Body tele pickups, bridge and neck.

That's makes me feel better to hear first hand experience, maybe I'll start with a humbucker for my Mexi Strat. Was thinking of getting a trem block too, wasn't sure if it was necessary maybe the one I have is fine.

[Les Paul Lover]

How rubbish!!!!!

Both from the mex strat and even worse form GFS!!!

Can you still contact them for a refund?

It clearly isn't performing as described??

No, its been over a year. Im not worried about it. I assumed all the risk. Incant knock the mex bridge, it lasted along time with virtually no maintanence and lots of abuse.

I dont consider 20 years a good length of time. Especially as manufacturing specs can shift, and getting a replacement down the line isn't always an exact replacement for all guitars.

[Jondog]

How rubbish!!!!!

Both from the mex strat and even worse form GFS!!!

Can you still contact them for a refund?

It clearly isn't performing as described??

No, its been over a year. Im not worried about it. I assumed all the risk. Incant knock the mex bridge, it lasted along time with virtually no maintanence and lots of abuse.

I dont consider 20 years a good length of time. Especially as manufacturing specs can shift, and getting a replacement down the line isn't always an exact replacement for all guitars.

I get what you're saying. The only thing really wrong with the mex bridge was the height adjustment screws rusted, and because of that some were seized in the saddles. I could of just got new saddles, but I wanted to try the trem block as well. I blame the rust more on my sweat than anything. I never really took great care of this guitar. It sat in a damp basement, out of a case for a few years. For whatever reason, of all the guitars I've ever owned and sold, it's never left. I guess it's because it was my first Fender that I worked hard to save up for when I was younger.

[Les Paul Lover]

No, its been over a year. Im not worried about it. I assumed all the risk. Incant knock the mex bridge, it lasted along time with virtually no maintanence and lots of abuse.

I dont consider 20 years a good length of time. Especially as manufacturing specs can shift, and getting a replacement down the line isn't always an exact replacement for all guitars.

I get what you're saying. The only thing really wrong with the mex bridge was the height adjustment screws rusted, and because of that some were seized in the saddles. I could of just got new saddles, but I wanted to try the trem block as well. I blame the rust more on my sweat than anything. I never really took great care of this guitar. It sat in a damp basement, out of a case for a few years. For whatever reason, of all the guitars I've ever owned and sold, it's never left. I guess it's because it was my first Fender that I worked hard to save up for when I was younger.

I bought a max strat that had been kept in a damp room for years, and the hardware had suffered quite a bit.

I had to totally dismantle, put all the bridge unit, saddle in vinegar and salt, and cleaned it with foil paper.
Even had to do that to the pole piece before I could sell it.

It looked ace after all that - a relic without any body damage.

[pedecamp]

Damn, GFS doesn't carry an alnico 2 humbucker in white! That's what I wanted for my Strat.

[Jondog]

Callaham all installed in my old strat. What a difference! Definitely great quality, everything fits together nicely and there's no rough looking spots. The trem block fits a lot nicer than the GFS one. Not sure if it's noticeable in the photo of the GFS block I posted earlier, but the bottom edge of the block was pretty much touching the body at the bottom of the trem cavity, also the callaham block has much better countersinks and seating for the strings. Guitar intonates way better too, you can see the difference with intonation from the earlier post with the GFS to the Callaham in the photos below. The best part is the guitar actually plays much better and has more chime to it. Oh, and the trem arm didn't bend!
Callaham: